• Slug: BC-CNS-Border Disorder,1000 words.
• 2 photos, graphic available (embed code, thumbnails, captions below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Border officials said they encountered more than 300,000 migrants at the southern border in December, setting a one-month record that pushed the total for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 to 785,422.

The continuing surge in migrants comes as debate on immigration is heating up in Washington. Senators this week are expected to unveil a sweeping, bipartisan immigration reform bill that is already being called “dead on arrival” in the House, where a committee is set to start impeachment proceedings Tuesday against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Continue reading “As immigration debate heats up, migrant encounters in December set record”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Funding Feud,640 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail, caption below)

By Reagan Priest
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Gov. Katie Hobbs and Arizona Democrats formally introduced legislation Monday to expand funding for public education and teacher pay, even as Republicans insist they will continue to push their own plan.

Both measures would extend Proposition 123, the voter-approved measure that increased the amount of money taken from the state land trust for education. That measure will expire in 2025 if not renewed. Continue reading “Hobbs pushes for school funding plan, GOP stands by its own proposal”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Respiratory Rush,620 words.
• 3 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Brenna Gauchat
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – As flu season reaches its peak, Maricopa County hospital emergency rooms and urgent care clinics are filling up with people with flu and flu-like illnesses. Health professionals advise residents to take care of themselves and their community members with preventive measures.

Mercedes Morris, a nurse practitioner at Banner Urgent Care, has worked in various facilities throughout the Valley for two years. She feels this year has brought a higher volume of influenza cases than in previous years.

“Influenza can affect all age groups and the seasons are from October through May,” Morris said. “Right now, we’re basically at the peak.” Continue reading “Phoenix urgent care workers treat an influx of respiratory illnesses”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Tribal Broadband,1440 words.
• 2 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Madyson Fitzgerald
Stateline

On the Hopi Reservation’s more than 1.5 million acres of desert landscape in northeast Arizona, most residents live in villages atop arid mesas.

Below ground, there’s a network of copper wires that provides telephone and internet service. Hopi Telecommunications in 2004 bought the company that had installed them, but has been struggling ever since to upgrade the network to broadband speeds.

Hopi Telecommunications serves both the Hopi reservation and parts of the surrounding Navajo Nation. To broaden access, the company provided free internet for students during the COVID-19 pandemic and began offering discounted prices for residents through a federal program. Continue reading “Native nations with scarce internet are building their own broadband networks”

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• Slug: BC-CNS-Party Crashers,900 words.
• 2 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – One day after its chairman was forced out over the leak of an embarrassing audio tape, the Arizona Republican Party got more bad news Thursday when former President Donald Trump backed out of a planned Friday fundraiser.

The rally, which was to have featured many of the state’s leading GOP candidates, was subsequently canceled – on the eve of the party’s annual meeting set for Saturday.

It’s been a week for the Arizona GOP. Continue reading “DeWit quits, Trump bails, rally’s cut: It’s been a week for Arizona’s GOP”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Environment Day. 470 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By John Sanders
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Activist groups and legislators gathered at the state Capitol for “Environmental Day” to address nature, wildlife and water. With the “Save Water, Save Life” theme, dozens of groups advocated for legislative changes and support for the environment and general sustainability.

Among these organizations was the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter, a nonprofit environmental advocacy organization. Borderlands Program Coordinator Erick Meza expressed the importance of preserving wildlife around the U.S.-Mexico border, especially endangered species.

Continue reading “Environmental groups champion nature, wildlife and water to Arizona policymakers”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Healthy Enrollment,730 words.
• Photo, graphic available (embed code, thumbnail, caption below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Affordable Care Act enrollment surged to new highs in Arizona and the nation in 2023, as people shifted away from pandemic-era health coverage and the Biden administration continued to push for the program.

Data released Wednesday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said more than 21.3 million Americans enrolled last year for 2024 coverage, up from 16.6 million the year before. The number of Arizonans covered by the ACA – also known as Obamacare – rose more than 110,000 during the year, to 348,055.

Both were records, and a sharp rebound from lows set during the Trump administration. Continue reading “Affordable Care Act enrollment hit record highs in Arizona, U.S. in 2023”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Grooming Ban,750 words.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Martin Dreyfuss
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Teresa, now 16, testified about the late-night texts from her softball coach, his talk of drinking and losing his virginity and, eventually, the uncomfortable touching.

And how prosecutors later told her there was nothing they could do about it.

That’s why she and her parents turned out Wednesday for an emotional hearing on a proposal to make child “grooming” a crime.

Under current law, “the actions that occurred in my situation … are legal,” Teresa told the House Judiciary Committee, choking up at points during her testimony. It was the emotional highlight of a packed 90-minute hearing in which murmurs and occasional crying could be heard from the audience.

But opponents argued that there are laws in place to punish the coach for what he did, and the bill is unneeded. Continue reading “Victim backs bill to criminalize child ‘grooming’; opponents say it oversteps”

• Slug: BC-CNS-DEI Diviude,780 words.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Reagan Priest
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Republican legislators are trying again to ban diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at institutions that receive state funds, saying it “divides communities and dehumanizes human beings.”

Supporters argued just the opposite during the Senate Government Committee hearing, saying DEI promotes inclusion in agencies and that for businesses it can “actually promote their financial interests and bottom lines.”

Wednesday’s hearing marks the second attempt by Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, to ban DEI programs. A similar bill passed the Senate last year died in the House. Continue reading “GOP lawmakers renew push to ban DEI programs in state-funded institutions”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Tobacco Report. 575 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail and caption below).

By Huston Dunston Jr.
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The American Lung Association released its grades of Arizona tobacco control policies Wednesday in its annual State of Tobacco Control report. The association grades states on policies that aim to eliminate tobacco use – and Arizona received three F grades.

“Tobacco use is the leading cause of death in Arizona and across the country, taking the lives of 8,250 Arizona residents each year,” JoAnna Strother said in a statement. Strother is the senior director of advocacy at the American Lung Association in Arizona. “The tobacco industry will do anything to protect their profits at the expense of Arizona lives, so we must push forward in our efforts to prevent and reduce tobacco use.”
Continue reading “American Lung Association report card gives Arizona F’s on tobacco control policies”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Mushrooms Hearing,730 words.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Martin Dreyfuss
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – A House panel voted Monday to extend the deadline on Arizona’s first-in-the-nation program to research medical uses of psilocybin, or “magic mushrooms,” a hallucinogenic currently classified by the federal government as a Schedule I illegal drug.

The 11-3 vote by the Arizona House Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee comes a little more than a week before the deadline to distribute $5 million in state grants for the research – research that advocates say would be impossible to complete with the current June 30 program sunset.

The bill would extend the program through July 1, 2026, if it wins final approval. Continue reading “State plan to extend psychedelic mushroom study takes step forward in House”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Airport Worker Strike. 700 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails and captions below).

By Lauren Kobley
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Workers employed by SSP America at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport walked out on strike Tuesday morning in response to alleged labor-law violations.

UNITE HERE Local 11, the union that represents the strikers, filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board for alleged “unilateral changes” made to the SSP America payroll system. The changes were reportedly made without negotiating with the union and resulted in paycheck delays for workers. Cynthia Reyes is one of the workers who experienced the delays.

Continue reading “‘We’re not just numbers, we’re not robots, we’re people’: Workers at Sky Harbor strike over job conditions”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Battleground Arizona,1110 words.
• 4 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Lillie Boudreaux
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – In the 51 years since the U.S. Supreme Court recognized – and then reversed – federal abortion protections, advocates and opponents have fought constantly over the boundaries of that right.

That fight continues today, but now Arizona finds itself at the forefront of the national battle.

Abortion-rights advocates are hoping to get voters to amend the state constitution this fall to enshrine abortion protections, while opponents are arguing that the proposal goes too far. And both sides are waiting to see if the Arizona Supreme Court will restore a 19-century law, still on the books, that bans almost all abortions. Continue reading “After 51 years of fighting, abortion in Arizona comes down to next 10 months”

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• Slug: BC-CNS-Focus Phoenix,880 words.
• 8 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Lillie Boudreaux
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Chanting “bans off our bodies” and “my body, my choice,” protesters marched on the Arizona Capitol Saturday as the National Women’s March was held in Phoenix to highlight the state’s role as the next battleground over abortion.

The chanting, cheering crowd of mostly women included those who fought for abortion rights as well as those who grew up knowing nothing else until the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

“I honestly can’t believe that I’m doing this all over again,” said Jennifer Kimball, 74, a Phoenix resident who recalled advocating for abortion rights in the 1970s when the Supreme Court handed down Roe v. Wade, the decision that recognized abortion as part of the constitutional right to privacy. Continue reading “Phoenix hosts ‘National’ Women’s March, as abortion debate moves to Arizona”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Marching On.750 words.
• 5 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – For Tucson resident Jacob Mauer, joining the National March for Life in Washington was a “bucket-list moment” – even if it came on a frigid, snowy Friday that kept down the crowd size, if not the excitement.

“I went to a Catholic school growing up so even from a very early age I was always taught that all life is important and so I felt like coming here,” said Mauer, 22.

“Obviously, it’s not a short trip to D.C. and the weather’s not great, but this is too important of an issue to not come out and support,” he said as he wrapped a blanket over his shoulders to ward off the below-freezing temperatures on the National Mall. Continue reading “Roe is gone, but Arizonans still join abortion opponents marching in D.C.”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Immigrant Interpreters,530 words.
• 2 photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Adriana Gonzalez-Chavez
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Asylum seekers who don’t speak English are once again required to bring their own interpreters to interviews for U.S. immigration services, and some worry it will be a hindrance for those fleeing persecution in their home countries.

The September rule change reverted to a pre-pandemic requirement that put the onus on non-English-speaking migrants to find and pay for an interpreter. Continue reading “Asylum seekers face new requirement to find their own interpreters”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Commerce Criticism.690 words.
• 2 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Reagan Priest
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – A Senate committee grilled Arizona Commerce Authority officials Wednesday, just one day after Attorney General Kris Mayes said the agency’s wining and dining of CEOs violated the state’s gift clause.

The normally routine sunset review by the Senate Government Committee turned into an hours-long review of the agency’s performance.

It included an Arizona Auditor General report that said the authority spent millions on “CEO Forums” for tickets, hotel rooms and food for events like the Waste Management Phoenix Open and the 2023 Super Bowl. The audit also said the authority is at “increased risk of fraud and waste of public monies” because it lacked sufficient documentation for some of its activities. Continue reading “Senate panel blasts Commerce Authority in face of audit, legal questions”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Undocumented Mental Health,1440 words.
• 4 file photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below)

By John Leos
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Ileana Salinas has to renew her immigration status this year. If she misses the deadline or doesn’t get approved, she doesn’t know what will happen to her job, her family, or her life in the United States. Living each day in survival mode has taken a toll on her mental health, and the ever-changing slew of immigration policies are compounding the problem.

Salinas is a recipient of temporary immigration protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative, or DACA, enacted by the Obama administration in 2012. This program was intended to temporarily alleviate the threat of deportation for the hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth who immigrated to the United States as children. Continue reading “Arizona’s anti-immigrant policies foster culture of fear, create barriers to mental health care for undocumented communities”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Budget Salv0,820 words.
• 2 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Lillie Boudreaux
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Gov. Katie Hobbs unveiled a $16.3 billion budget proposal Friday for fiscal 2025 that would close a projected $889 million revenue shortfall by cutting transportation projects and sharply reining in the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts.

Those cuts and others, if approved, would clear the way for Hobbs to fund $488 million in new initiatives, including investments in child care support, prisons, housing and public education.

But bipartisan support seems unlikely. The Republican chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations committees were already blasting the proposal Friday afternoon, with Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria, calling it an “unserious mess.” Continue reading “Hobbs targets transportation, ESA program to close $889 million budget hole”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Rural Veterans,750 words.
• Photo available (thumbnail, caption below)

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren called on lawmakers Thursday to put Veterans Affairs medical and benefits centers on the reservation to help deliver services that he said Indigenous veterans have earned but often cannot access.

“The lack of VA care in the Navajo Nation is not reflective of the continuous contributions the Navajo people have provided to this country,” Nygren in testimony to the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Continue reading “Navajo president calls for new VA medical, benefits centers at House hearing”