• Slug: BC-CNS-Lethargic Lawmakers,940 words.
• File photo, graphic available (embed code, thumbnail, caption below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers passed a last-minute budget extension Thursday to head off a looming Friday government shutdown – just the 40th law passed by this Congress, which is on pace to be the least productive in at least a half-century.

Those 40 bills – four of which were continuing resolutions to extend the budget that Congress has been unable to pass since fiscal 2024 started Oct. 1 – are about 11% of what would normally be passed at this point in a typical congressional session. Continue reading “Congress in action, or inaction? This Congress among the least productive”

EDS: UPDATES original lede, second and sixth grafs to reflect governor’s veto of SB 1231. No other changes.

• Slug: BC-CNS-Immigration Bills. 870 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By David Ulloa Jr.
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Gov. Katie Hobbs on Monday vetoed a bill that would have made it a state crime to cross the border illegally, one of a package of bills that critics have called modern versions of SB 1070.

Other bills in the package – including a proposed ballot initiative that would expand the use of E-Verify to welfare recipients as well as workers – have been approved in the House with strong Republican support, but have not yet reached the governor.

Critics such as Lena Avalos, a senior policy adviser at Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), see the bills as “a coordinated attack on communities of color and immigrant communities.” They compare this year’s bills to SB 1070, the controversial 2010 Arizona legislation that gave local law enforcement the power to enforce immigration law.

Continue reading “Arizona GOP legislators pass immigration bills on border crossing and E-Verify”

• Slug: BC-CNS-LGBTQ+ Mental Health. 1,570 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails and captions below).

By Mia Milinovich
Cronkite News

TUCSON – LGBTQ+ youth across the country are facing an increased risk for suicide, as reported by the 2023 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People by the Trevor Project. At the forefront of this issue are conversations about anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, barriers to accessing mental health care and the importance of resources for the community.

The Trevor Project surveyed 28,000 LGBTQ young people from ages 13 to 24 across the U.S. and found that 41% of them seriously considered suicide. The report also showed that 49% of LGBTQ youth in Arizona seriously considered suicide and 16% of them attempted it in 2022.
Continue reading “LGBTQ+ youth face increased risk for suicide and barriers to accessing mental health care”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Teen Dating Violence. 660 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails and captions below).

By Donovan Growney
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The city of Phoenix has been highlighting teen safety in romantic relationships for February’s Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. The city provides outreach programs to help tackle the complex issue and uses marketing materials to increase awareness.

Melissa Jimenez is a victim advocate supervisor at the city’s Family Advocacy Center, which provides services to victims of violent crimes. Jimenez said that raising awareness is just a small part of what the city is doing.

Continue reading “Phoenix continues outreach to struggling teens during Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Maricopa Opioid Forum. 1,100 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).
• Video available.

By Brenna Gauchat
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Ronny Morales never finished his journalism degree at Arizona State University. After attending the school for four years, the Cronkite Noticias student was just one internship credit short of graduating.

Morales said it was not his lack of enthusiasm or experience in the field that prevented him from graduating, it was his fentanyl addiction.

“The first newscast I did (for Cronkite Noticias), I was not necessarily in the grips of addiction quite yet, but I was definitely falling into it,” Morales said. “And then towards the end, I was trying to get off and I think you could see it.”

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid drug that produces feelings of euphoria, relaxation and pain relief. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, it is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as a pain reliever.

Continue reading “Former drug user tells story at Maricopa County’s first Spanish-only forum on fentanyl addiction”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Ballet Scholarships. 1,100 words. By Marnie Jordan.
• Photos available (thumbnails and captions below).
• GIF available below.

By Marnie Jordan
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Dancers nervously wait backstage to perform in front of judges who may determine the fate of their careers. Once a performer’s number and name are called, they elegantly walk on stage under dramatic stage lights as they prepare to start their routine.

In the darkness of the auditorium, the audience, the judges sit and wait.

“It feels like my skin is on fire and has ants all over it,” says 17-year-old performer Alicia Lucchesi. “And then I get on stage and it’s still there, but the second I start moving, it’s like it disappears. I come off and it feels like I’ve taken the first breath after a million years of not breathing.”

Continue reading “‘All I wanted to do was dance’: Ballet scholarship competition helps further dancers’ dreams”

• Slug: BC-CNS-EVerify Vilified,780 words.
• 2 photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Martin Dreyfuss
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – House Speaker Ben Toma says his latest immigration bill could save Arizona billions in welfare benefits annually, but small-business owners rallied Monday to say it will cost the state instead, by driving out businesses and workers.

The business owners, backed by advocates and Democratic lawmakers, said HCR 2060 – which would require proof of citizenship to work or to receive any public assistance – will wind up hurting the state’s economy while renewing fear among Latinos in Arizona. Continue reading “Business owners challenge bill requiring E-Verify checks for jobs, benefits”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Defense Dollars,680 words.
• 2 photos, graphic available (embed code, thumbnails, captions below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – When the Senate approved $95 billion in military and other aid for Ukraine and Israel earlier this month, President Joe Biden singled out Arizona as one of the states that would benefit from the increased defense spending.

It’s not clear whether Ukrainian aid is entirely the cause, but there’s no question that defense spending has been good to the state. The Pentagon spent $15 billion in Arizona in fiscal 2022, the last year for which data is available, up from $14.6 billion the year before. Continue reading “Going on offense over Defense spending: Biden touts benefits to states”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Health Equity Software. 950 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails and captions below).

By Annika Tourlas
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – An expecting mother goes for her first ultrasound with a new doctor. During the appointment, the doctor’s attention is drawn to an alert on her computer about the maternal mortality rate for Black women, like her new patient, being 2.6 times higher than that for non-Hispanic white women in the United States. The doctor adjusts her patient’s care plan, making personalized clinical decisions.

With the integration of Truity, a comprehensive health equity software platform developed by TruLite Health, this hypothetical situation may soon become real for patients of Mayo Clinic Arizona.

“If you are not white, male, educated, living in an urban ZIP code, have some money and straight, your outcomes are likely worse in some capacity, and that’s the disparity,” Dr. Alan Roga, co-founder and CEO of TruLite Health, said. “How’s that possible in the wealthiest country in the world?”

The Truity software tool is designed to identify and remedy the kinds of disparities named by Roga, for instance the“institutionalized racism and bias in medicine” researchers have highlighted as reasons behind the disparate Black maternal mortality rates.

Continue reading “New software tool takes on institutionalized racism in health care”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Illegal Arizona,840 words.
• 3 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, members of Arizona’s congressional delegation remain just as divided as ever on what role the U.S. should play in the war as it enters its third year.

While many of the state’s Republicans are increasing their calls to take a hard look at the $75 billion in aid so far, and a pending request for $60 billion more, Democrats have steadfastly called for aid to continue, saying it is now “more important now than ever.” Continue reading “Two years later, Arizona lawmakers remain divided on Ukraine support”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Sickle Cell,1430 words.
• 8 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Mia Milinovich
Cronkite News

PHOENIX — Arizona currently has a one- to two-day supply of donated blood, barely half of the standard supply. The shortage is critical for Arizonans who need frequent blood transfusions because they have sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease is a red blood cell disorder that affects close to 100,000 Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Sanjay Shah, the director of the sickle cell program at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, said without frequent transfusions, sickle cell patients experience severe pain that can result in organ damage. According to BioNews, simple blood transfusions for sickle cell patients are “typically given in intervals, possibly once or twice a month.” Continue reading “Arizona is in critical need of blood donations for sickle cell disease patients”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Illegal Arizona,830 words.
• Photo available (thumbnail, caption below)

By Martin Dreyfuss
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The Senate voted Wednesday to make it a state crime to illegally enter Arizona by crossing the border between ports of entry – a proposal that Democratic opponents called both racially motivated and unconstitutional.

The 16-13 party-line vote followed nearly two hours of sometimes heated debate in which opponents invoked the state’s failed SB 1070 law and supporters pointed to failed federal control of the border. Continue reading “Senate votes to put the ‘illegal’ in illegal migration, make it a state crime”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Inflation Incentives. 620 words.
• 4 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Naomi DuBovis
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Leaders of Arizona’s public, private and nonprofit sectors Monday discussed financial incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, explaining how they will use available federal funds for conservation efforts and renewable energy projects.

The conversation centered around the Inflation Reduction Act’s direct pay provisions, which allow governments and organizations “to treat the amount of certain credits as a payment against tax on their tax returns and as a result receive direct payments for certain clean energy tax credits.” Eligible entities are local and state governments, federally recognized tribal governments and agencies, rural energy cooperatives and other tax-exempt organizations.

Continue reading “Arizona leaders take advantage of Inflation Reduction Act tax credits for sustainability projects”

Saludos cordiales,

Aquí encontrarán un listado de los reportajes de Cronkite Noticias del día 21 de febrero de 2024. Los medios de comunicación que deseen utilizar los videos de Cronkite Noticias los pueden encontrar en versiones limpias. Los guiones y el resto del material puede descargarse aquí en Dropbox. Los reportajes de hoy, junto con sus fotografías y enlaces a elementos multimedia también se distribuirán en nuestro portal de internet para nuestros clientes en cronkitenews.jmc.asu.edu/clients.

Continue reading “Cronkite Noticias 21 de febrero 2024”

• Nombre: MigrantesVio. 720 palabras
• 3 fotos disponibles

Por Nicole Macias Garibay
Cronkite Noticias

NOGALES, SONORA, MEX. – A unas pocas cuadras del muro fronterizo de Nogales, Sonora, en una colina arriba se halla el modesto vecindario Del Rosario, caracterizado por sus viviendas con techos de lámina y la animada escena de niños de todas las edades jugando bajo el cálido sol en las calles sin pavimentar.

Continue reading “Migrantes huyen de la violencia y piden asilo en EE.UU.”

• Slug: BC-CNS-KidsCare Expands,820 words.
• 3 photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Lillie Boudreaux
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – State officials said Tuesday they have been given federal approval to expand income eligibility for the state’s KidsCare program, a change that could add 10,000 children to the low-cost health care program run by the state.

They also said they got the green light to make permanent what started as a pandemic-era program to compensate parents who act as caregivers for their disabled children. Continue reading “Feds OK state plan to expand KidsCare eligibility, pay parent caregivers”

EDS: This is a partner story from KUNC. If you choose to use it, please fill out this form to help their tracking.

• Slug: BC-CNS-Chub Snub. 530 words.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Alex Hager
KUNC

Federal water managers proposed a new plan to protect native fish species in the Grand Canyon, but conservation groups say it does not go far enough.

The native species at issue is the humpback chub, which is found nowhere on earth besides the Colorado River and its tributaries. Decades after it was declared an endangered species, conservation efforts had allowed its populations to recover to the point that the fish could upgraded to “threatened” in 2021.

Continue reading “Chub snub? Advocates question plan to protect threatened Colorado River fish”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Mental Health Clinic. 1,100 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Leah Mesquita
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – When David Karr finally sought help for his debilitating depression, he didn’t anticipate the long road ahead.

“I got tired of looking at the ground,” Karr said. “When you’re depressed, that’s all you do.”

Karr, who has a chronic mental illness, said he was treated by state mental health providers in the past but failed to receive long-term help. He explained how his journey toward mental stability came about through a found object art piece he named “Lost Horizons.”

“I call this ‘the dancer,’” Karr said, pointing to a wooden stick on the canvas. “She’s a beautiful dancer, but she can’t always dance because of her SMI (severe mental illness) conditions. It gets in the way of her talent.”

Karr’s art can be found throughout the walls of Community 43, a nonprofit, licensed outpatient clinic providing psychosocial rehabilitation services for adults with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or major depression, among others.

Continue reading “Community 43 supplements Phoenix traditional mental health services with ‘clubhouse’ model focused on social and cognitive skills”

• Slug: BC-CNS-E-Verify Expansion,550 words.
• Photo available (thumbnail, caption below)

By Reagan Priest
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Arizona Republicans want to make it harder for undocumented immigrants to receive state benefits, and they plan to bypass the governor to do so.

The House Appropriations Committee, on a party-line vote, gave preliminary approval to House Speaker Ben Toma’s proposal to require cities, towns and agencies to use E-Verify to check the citizenship status of anyone applying for public welfare benefits or a license of any kind. Continue reading “House panel advances GOP plan to check citizenship of welfare recipients”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Teacher Shortage Strategies. 915 words.
• Photo, video story available (thumbnail and caption below).

By Analisa Valdez
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Public school educators say they are some of the most underpaid and overworked laborers in the country.

In 2023, Educators for Excellence polled thousands of teachers about their experiences and workloads and found that while 80% of teachers are likely to spend their entire careers in the classroom, only 14 % of teachers would recommend the job to others. These striking statistics come as no surprise for educators who have been dealing with the pitfalls of school staffing shortages for years now with little to no reprieve.

The Arizona State University Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College’s annual Strategic School Staffing Summit earlier this month highlighted a collection of potential solutions, but now the question remains if any of them will incentivize teachers enough to commit to the classroom long term.

Continue reading “Arizona public schools struggle to fill teaching positions as leaders brainstorm school staffing solutions”