EDS: Cronkite School journalists profiled candidates for Phoenix City Council and the Maricopa County sheriff race. You can find all the profiles here.
By Tori Smith
Special for Cronkite News
EDS: Cronkite School students profiled candidates for Phoenix City Council and the Maricopa County sheriff race. You can find all the profiles here.
By Grace Berry
Special for Cronkite News
By Aaron Stigile
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – Rep. Ruben Gallego and Kari Lake had a polite handshake to start their first and potentially last U.S. Senate debate, but that was the friendliest moment in a border-focused and interruption-prone event.
Gallego and Lake quickly launched broadsides about their opponent’s position on the border, with Lake firing off comments about open borders and Gallego countering with her position on the failed bipartisan immigration bill.
Continue reading “Kari Lake, Ruben Gallego clash in Senate debate for Arizona’s open seat”
EDS: Cronkite School students profiled candidates for Phoenix City Council and the Maricopa County sheriff race. You can find all the profiles here.
By Alessandra De Zubeldi
Special for Cronkite News
Cronkite School journalists profiled candidates for Phoenix City Council and the Maricopa County sheriff race.
EDS: Cronkite School students profiled candidates for Phoenix City Council and the Maricopa County sheriff race. You can find all the profiles here.
By Kennedy Chanell
Special for Cronkite News
EDS: Cronkite School students profiled candidates for Phoenix City Council and the Maricopa County sheriff race. You can find all the profiles here.
By Kayla Christenson
Special for Cronkite News
EDS: Cronkite School students profiled candidates for Phoenix City Council and the Maricopa County sheriff race. You can find all the profiles here.
By Eve Wodarcyk
Special for Cronkite News
Continue reading “Ann O’Brien runs unopposed for Phoenix City Council District 1”
EDS: An earlier version of this story included incorrect information about the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and about an involuntary hold for Jane Jepson’s son, Nick. The errors occurred in grafs 6, 7 and 25. The story below has been corrected, but clients who used previous versions are asked to run the correction found here.
By Shi Bradley
Cronkite News
Jane Jepson remembers when her son, Nick, first came back home in 2017. He was working as a bellman, traveling across the country, from Alaska to Virginia.
“He was so excited,” Jepson recalled fondly. “He looked so handsome and so strong and in such good shape.”
However, a few weeks later, Jepson received strange phone calls from Nick.
By Brianna Chappie
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs a blood donation, according to the American Red Cross. The Southwest Arizona Chapter of the organization is running a campaign to encourage more Latinos in Arizona to donate blood.
The Southwest Arizona Chapter serves 1.4 million people across Pima, Santa Cruz, Cochise, Yuma, La Paz, Graham and Greenlee counties. The group’s”Los Donates” campaign, timed to coincide with Hispanic Heritage seeks to inspire more Latinos in Arizona to donate blood and help meet the critical demand.
“Donating blood is one of the noblest acts a person can do,” said Edgar Olivo, CEO of the Red Cross of Arizona and New Mexico.
The initiative draws inspiration from the traditional Mexican card game lotería, similar to bingo. The donantes, or donors, featured on the Red Cross cards represent people who’ve won because they’ve donated a lifesaving necessity which is blood donations.
Around 60 percent of Latinos have Type O blood, according to the American Red Cross. Type O is vital: O-positive blood is the most common blood type, account for an estimated 37% of the world’s population. O-negative blood is a universal donor, meaning it can be donated to anyone regardless of blood type or phenotypes.
Latinos also make up 30.7% of Arizona’s population, showing a heightened need for a significant portion of people in the state.
Olivo emphasized how increasing the number of blood donors could help meet the needs of people outside urban areas.
“We know that the rural hospitals, the ones that are away from the metro Phoenix area, are the ones that need blood just as much as the metro hospitals as well,” Olivo said.
Ashley Mérida, chapter president of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses in Phoenix, says that fighting misinformation is a challenge when it comes to encouraging new donors.
“I think a lot of Latinos have a lot of misinformation regarding the donation of blood,” Mérida said. “I’ve heard some people say that it can alter the DNA. It changes the DNA. I’ve heard people just say like they just really aren’t interested, or maybe it’s just the lack of time of getting to a blood drive.”
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs was at the Red Cross’ Hispanic Heritage Month Kick Off on Sept. 17 and encouraged all people to donate, regardless of blood type.
“Even if you don’t have Type O blood, your donation is invaluable,” Hobbs said. “So today, I’m encouraging all of you celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month to consider doing so by making a blood donation and encouraging your friends and family to do so as well.”
Hispanic heritage Month runs through Oct. 15. Anyone interested in donating blood or blood platelets can visit the American Red Cross website to find the nearest American Red Cross clinics and view available times to donate.
For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.
By Amelia Monroe and Mia Osmonbekov
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – As Hurricane Milton slams into Florida, and North Carolina residents dig out from Hurricane Helene, Republicans are pushing claims – widely debunked – that federal disaster aid has been depleted because of illegal immigration.
“FEMA, among a whole bunch of other federal agencies, has been using your tax dollars that are supposed to help you as American citizens,” said U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, during a campaign stop Tuesday in Phoenix on behalf of former President Donald Trump. “They use that money helping illegals here that they brought into America.”
By Miguel Ambriz
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – In the rematch between first-term U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Tucson, and former state Sen Kirsten Engel, D-Tucson, immigration and abortion rights are forefront issues.
Both call the other extreme, even as each claims to be a centrist eager to work with people across the aisle.
“Rep. Ciscomani and I agree that Congress has been run by extremists,” Engel said during a fiery 55-minute debate Tuesday night. “Where we disagree – I believe Mr. Ciscomani is part of that dysfunction. He has sided with extremists.”
Ciscomani portrayed his challenger as out of touch on kitchen-table issues and public safety.
By Jalen Woody
Cronkite News
SACATON – In the heart of Sacaton, located south of Phoenix, the Gila River Indian Community received nearly $6 million in funds from the Biden administration in 2023 to create a renewable energy plan involving the construction of solar panels over the Casa Blanca Canal.
Funding came from the Inflation Reduction Act, part of Biden’s Investing In America agenda, which aimed to combat the effects of climate change with new projects to conserve energy, according to the Department of the Interior. The project aims to cover 2,782 feet of the canal and requires approximately 2,556 solar panels.
By Zev Black
Cronkite News
TEMPE – As incidents of antisemitism continue to surge across the United States, new data from the Anti-Defamation league shows staggering numbers with college campuses emerging as a focal point.
Jewish students report feeling increasingly unsafe and facing harassment, vandalism and hateful rhetoric in both physical and online spaces. While some students at Arizona State University believe that the administration has done a good job with ensuring safety on campus, concerns remain.
Continue reading “1 year after Hamas attack, antisemitism remains problem on college campuses”
By Hayden Larkin
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – Monday, Oct. 7, marks the final deadline for Arizona voter registration. Volunteers and state officials across the political spectrum are attempting to engage citizens for the November election.
This election is a tight one, where both presidential candidates are fighting to win battleground states like Arizona.Polls show both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris effectively tied in many of the key states, meaning both campaigns are vying for votes to clinch a victory. Continue reading “Groups target potential Arizona voters on last day to register for 2024 election”
By Mia Osmonbekov
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – The threat of a government shutdown thrust noncitizen voting, a long-standing Arizona political flashpoint, into the national spotlight after House Speaker Mike Johnson paired the government funding package with a controversial election integrity bill.
Backed by former President Donald Trump and four U.S. House representatives from Arizona, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
EDS: An earlier version of this story miscast when Native Americans in Arizona gained the right to vote. The error occurred in the first and second grafs of the original. The story below has been corrected, but clients who used previous versions are asked to run the correction found here.
By Marshall Baker
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – The Indian Citizenship Act was signed into law in June 1924, granting Indigenous people born in the United States citizenship and paving the way to their right to vote. Although this was 100 years ago, today Indigenous people in Arizona still face many challenges when it comes to the electoral process at the federal, state and local levels.
It wasn’t until 1948, when the Arizona Supreme Court weighed in, that Indigenous people gained the right to vote in the state, though Native Americans still faced many suppression tactics. Even after the Voting Rights Act was passed by Congress in 1965, reinforcing Indigenous voting rights, English literacy tests were given as a requirement to vote until the 1970s.
EDS: An earlier version of this story misspelled Sam Morrissey’s last name. It also included incorrect information about the LA Metro K Line. The errors occurred in grafs 2, 8, 13, 17 and 21. The story below has been corrected, but clients who used previous versions are asked to run the correction found here.
By Emery Davis
Cronkite News
LOS ANGELES – Ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games, the City of Angels is already preparing for its turn with the torch by improving public transport in support of a “transit-first” Games.
“Public transportation will be the best option for spectators to take because it will be built into the Games plan to serve as the most reliable and efficient way to get to your destination while minimizing traffic in highly congested areas,” Sam Morrissey said in a statement. Morrissey is vice president of transportation for LA28, the Games’ organizing committee.
Additional public transportation will not only benefit spectators of the Games but also Southern California residents.
By Brandelyn Clark
Cronkite News
LOS ANGELES – Last month, experts examined cancer in medically underserved communities at the 17th annual American Association for Cancer Research Conference in Los Angeles. One panel was dedicated to the intersections of climate change and cancer disparities.
The panelists said there is a need for a more equitable approach to environmental justice and cancer care among marginalized communities.
By Sienna Monea
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – As the 2024 presidential election approaches, women of color are emerging as one of the most influential voting blocs in the United States. Their growing political power is reshaping policy debates and driving grassroots activism across the country.
Arizona, a battleground state, has seen substantial change to the racial and ethnic composition of its electorate. According to the Center for American Women and Politics, Black women became the second-largest group in voter turnout in the U.S. in 2022, behind White voters and ahead of Asian American/Pacific Islander and Latino voters. In recent elections, the number of women voting exceeded the number of men. Black voters play a crucial role in several key battleground states this year.
Continue reading “Experts say women of color will massively influence the 2024 election”
