By Kelechukwu Iruoma
Cronkite News
CHICAGO – Arizona delegates left the Democratic National Convention electrified and eager to help Vice President Kamala Harris win the presidency.
“We are returning to Arizona with a lot of energy, excitement and enthusiasm,” said Yolanda Bejarano, chair of the Arizona Democratic Party. “Our country is on the line, our democracy is on the line and our rights are on the line.”
By Phineas Hogan
Cronkite News
CHICAGO – Democrats put a bright spotlight on Phoenix Rep. Ruben Gallego at their national convention, underscoring the importance of his race with Republican Kari Lake for an open U.S. Senate seat.
Both hope to succeed Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent who announced in March that she would not seek reelection. Democrats would struggle to keep their narrow majority if they lose in Arizona.
By Kelechukwu Iruoma
Cronkite News
CHICAGO – Black Democrats account for a relatively small share of the electorate in Arizona, but they’re thrilled at the prospect of electing Kamala Harris as president.
“Her candidacy is a big deal for the African American community in Arizona,” said Nicole Brown, a communications strategist from Tempe and according to state party officials, one of 18 Black delegates from Arizona at the Democratic National Convention this week.
Continue reading “Black Democrats see Kamala Harris driving up turnout in Arizona”
By Phineas Hogan
Cronkite News
CHICAGO – Former President Donald Trump has driven some Republicans out of his party. Democrats have spent the week offering them a new home.
They have toned down progressive language in their platform. At the Democratic National Convention, they have framed Trump as an extremist and deployed disaffected Republicans to encourage others to defect to Vice President Kamala Harris.
“John McCain’s Republican Party is gone,” Mesa Mayor John Giles, who co-chairs the Arizona chapter of Republicans for Harris, said from the convention stage, invoking the late senator known for working across party lines. “Let’s turn the page. Let’s put country first.”
By Mia Osmonbekov
Cronkite News
CHICAGO – When President Joe Biden won the 2020 election, Democrats offered a sharp contrast with incumbent Donald Trump’s strict border policies and harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric.
“Not only do immigrants support us – immigrants are us,” the party’s platform said.
By Mia Osmonbekov
Cronkite News
CHICAGO – Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, fresh from Kamala Harris’ vice presidential short list, kicked off the morning for Wisconsin Democrats on Tuesday with a plea to avoid complacency and get voters to the polls.
“We cannot allow Donald Trump to get within a mile of the White House again,” the former astronaut told the breakfast crowd on Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention. “This is not rocket science. It isn’t. If it was, I could help you with that.”
By Mia Osmonbekov
Cronkite News
CHICAGO – Democrats in Arizona view the fight over reproductive rights as a key to victory in November. The strategy is front and center at the Democratic National Convention too.
One hard-to-miss symbol is the 20-foot inflatable IUD outside the United Center, where thousands of delegates are gathering this week to rally behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
“This issue is going to help us from the top of the ticket to the bottom of the ticket,” said state Sen. Eva Burch, D-Mesa, one of the state party’s delegates in Chicago. “I’m talking not only about the presidential race and our local legislative races, but also when it comes to judges and to other local elections, to city councils.”
By Kelechukwu Iruoma
Cronkite News
CHICAGO – Arizona Democrats are feeling good about Vice President Kamala Harris’ chances of achieving what Hillary Clinton could not: making history as the first female president.
“She can break the glass ceiling,” said Gabriella Cázares-Kelly, Pima County Recorder and one of the state’s 91 delegates at the Democratic National Convention this week in Chicago. “She has the support of Arizona women, men, and nonbinary. She has a lot of support everywhere.”
Clinton, the former first lady, New York senator and secretary of state, lost the 2016 race to Republican Donald Trump – dashing Democrats’ hopes of ending the all-male presidential winning streak that began with George Washington in 1789.
CHICAGO – After months of anxiety over the presidential contest, Arizona Democrats basked in a far more optimistic vibe as the party’s national convention opened Monday.
“Excited, invigorated and happy,” was how delegate Llama Habern of Cornville described the mood – now that Vice President Kamala Harris is atop the ticket, reversing a downward spiral before President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid.
“How excited everyone is in general is very motivating, very encouraging,” Habern said.
By Gianna Montiel
Howard Center for Investigative Journalism
PHOENIX – An adult sexual predator, posing as a teenager, sought out young boys from 10 to 13 years old to entice them to play various online gaming platforms and then sexually exploited them, police in Scottsdale say – part of a growing trend that authorities contend should put parents on alert.
“A lot of cases that we’re coming across, especially with younger victims, are starting from online gaming,” said the case detective, who asked not to be named because of his undercover work in the Scottsdale Police Department’s Human Exploitation Unit.
By Regan Gallo
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – Arizona attracts tourists and foodies, major sports events and big business. The money comes from all over the world, but one major investor is the neighbor in the north: Canada.
Total trade between Arizona and Canada topped $5.3 billion in 2023. Arizona Rep. David Cook, R-Globe, who serves as the chair of the House International Trade Committee, has been an advocate for increasing trade with Canada.
“Where else can you take this large amount of money? Because you’re limited for investments in your own country of Canada – then what better place, what safer place to invest your people’s money than the state of Arizona,” Cook said.
Continue reading “Arizona and Canada strengthen ties through new Phoenix trade office”
By Alex MacDonald
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – A few weeks into last school year, 30% of teacher positions in Arizona remained unfilled. The shortage persists, but there are signs of improvement.
Tucson Unified School District currently has 164 classroom openings – down from 300 at the same time last year. Deer Valley Unified School District is close to fully staffed. Tempe Union High School District has just one opening to fill compared to five at this time last year.
Continue reading “Teacher shortages persist in Arizona but may be easing”
By Lauren De Young
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – Jace Taylor is a rambunctious 4-year-old boy. He runs, jumps and plays with his friends. He isn’t aware that genetically, he’s different from other children.
“I think he’s too young to comprehend what’s going on,” said Brittany Taylor, Jace’s mother. “We let him … do his little boy thing.”
Last year, Jace was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a rare and fatal genetic condition that causes progressive muscle weakness and deterioration. But, in some ways, he’s lucky.
By Sahara Sajjadi
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – Arizona’s migrant communities have much on the line in the 2024 elections, with former President Donald Trump vowing mass deportations, and the end of both DACA protections and automatic citizenship for children born to non-Americans.
With no right to vote, some people in the country without legal status are finding ways to make their voices heard through grassroots activism – encouraging others to support sympathetic candidates.
“Not being able to vote puts you at a huge disadvantage. But we decided to organize our family, friends and people in the community that have the power of voting. We give them some information, and we share stories on how these decisions impact our daily life,” said Karina Ruiz, executive director at the Arizona Dream Act Coalition.
EDS: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described a recent rate cut. The story below has been corrected, but clients who used previous versions are asked to run the correction found here.
By Isabelle Marceles
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – Tucson is exploring a transition to a publicly-owned electric utility, as customers complain about high bills and the city aims to cut its carbon footprint.
Tucson Electric Power’s contract will expire in April 2026. The city recently hired an outside firm to assess the economics and regulatory hurdles of taking over by forming its own power utility.
“This feasibility study is another pathway of, what does the future of Tucson’s energy look like?” said Tucson resident Nick Arnold, a board member of the Sierra Club Nopales Group. “TEP is not operating as the act that will get us there as quickly as we need to.”
By Taylor Mazock
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – Time was running out as the medevac helicopter made its way from rural Arizona to a nearby hospital. The patient was in critical condition, and flight paramedics worked against the clock. Only one thing could save him – blood.
BannerAir flight paramedics worked to save the patient, who was losing large amounts of blood due to an ATV accident. If the flight team did not have access to the life-saving blood, the patient could have died.
Quick access to blood, whether at the hospital or at the scene, could be the difference between life and death.
By Keetra Bippus
Cronkite News
MILWAUKEE – In the days after a would-be assassin tried to kill former President Donald Trump, Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake shrugged aside calls for politicians to soften their rhetoric and refrain from stoking divisions.
The political climate is actually “good,” she said at one point during a whirlwind week at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee at which she lashed out at the news media and reiterated claims that she actually won the 2022 election for Arizona governor, which the courts have repeatedly tossed out.
By Alex Cunningham
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – Tucson congressman Juan Ciscomani, who enjoys a reputation as a relatively moderate Republican, has long been active with a group that promotes the goal of Christians stewarding the nation’s morality through “biblical citizenship.”
“I can wholeheartedly say that nothing in my life has given me a clearer direction for my life than Patriot Academy,” the first-term Republican wrote in a 2010 blog post.
By Morgan Kubasko
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – Congress hasn’t passed a law protecting children online since 1998. Advocates are hoping that changes soon.
The Kids Online Safety Act would require tech companies to protect minors from bullying, sexual exploitation, and material that promotes suicide and eating disorders. KOSA would also add privacy protections and limit how minors’ information is collected online.
By Brianna Chappie
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – From 1819 until 1969, hundreds of thousands of Native American children were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to boarding schools – sometimes hundreds or even thousands of miles from their families.
The schools were run by churches and the federal government with a clear purpose: to strip Native Americans of their cultures and force them to assimilate.
