News
Democratic school chief candidates debated voucher fraud, teacher shortage and Horne hotline
The two candidates vying for the Democratic nomination to be Arizona’s public schools chief focused on voucher accountability, funding and teacher retention during a Wednesday evening debate. Teresa Leyba Ruiz, a longtime teacher and former president of Glendale Community College, shared the stage with Brett Newby, a behavior analyst who works with children who have […]
New construction reduces housing shortage in most states
Housing shortages have eased in most states since 2020, as new construction has made apartments and houses more affordable. Connecticut, New Jersey and Rhode Island are the only states that have lost housing units per capita since 2020, according to a Stateline analysis of housing data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Most other […]
911 call reveals ICE pepper-sprayed 47 detainees in overcrowded Mesa holding facility
In the early morning hours of late February, a 911 call was made from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Mesa because a man was having a seizure after immigration agents used pepper spray on a group of 47 detainees in an enclosed room. “Um, yeah we had, uh, a officer safety issue […]
DOJ argues voter data ruling that blocked Arizona request would have undermined civil rights
The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday suggested to a federal appeals court that upholding a lower court decision blocking the Trump administration’s access to sensitive voter data would weaken its ability to investigate racial discrimination in voting. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held oral arguments on whether to reverse a district court […]
Trump taps former career ICE official to lead agency
WASHINGTON — Long-time federal immigration official David Venturella will lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency spearheading President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson. Venturella will replace outgoing ICE acting Director Todd Lyons, who last month announced he would leave his position by May 31, the DHS […]
Phoenix launches portal to report ICE and federal agent abuses amid growing distrust
The City of Phoenix on Tuesday launched an online portal to report civil rights violations committed by federal agents. The website is the city’s latest response to growing concern over President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement actions. Earlier this year, the Phoenix City Council adopted the Community Transparency Initiative, a policy that bars federal agents from […]
Anti-abortion groups wanted Marty Makary fired. Now he’s out as Trump’s FDA commissioner.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary on Tuesday became the latest member of President Donald Trump’s administration to leave their post this year. “I want to thank Dr. Marty Makary for having done a great job at the FDA. So much was accomplished under his leadership,” Trump wrote on social media. […]
Arizona voters rank water supply above immigration and inflation, new poll finds
As the state faces the possibility of big cuts to its share of Colorado River water, a new poll shows that protecting the water supply is a top issue for likely Arizona voters across the political spectrum. A poll commissioned by Audubon Southwest found that, when voters were asked to rank their top three priorities […]
Mark Kelly pushes permanent citizenship for DACA recipients as renewal delays spike
Immigrant rights groups and elected officials are calling for the creation of a permanent pathway to citizenship for people who came to the country as minors, even as President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign puts them at risk. More than 500,000 people across the country depend on the work permit and temporary protection against deportation […]
Arizona indicts man for using AI to create child sex abuse images
A Chandler man will be the first person in Arizona prosecuted under a new law that makes it a felony to create AI-generated child pornography. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office on Tuesday announced that it had indicted William Powderly, 44, for possessing child sexual abuse material, including two images in which AI was used to […]
How the Strait of Hormuz affects the price of filling your gas tank
On paper it makes little sense. Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, roughly 7,000 miles from the United States, is restricted and gasoline prices in this country soar? The strait is the major export route for oil produced by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Bahrain and Iran, according to the International Energy […]
Senate panel advances Hobbs’ National Guard nominee after combative GOP-led hearing
Republican senators spent hours on Monday grilling the Democratic governor’s nominee to lead the Arizona National Guard and criticizing him for perceived transgressions like his “lawyerly attitude” toward decisionmaking. The Arizona Senate Director Nominations Committee hearing was marked by the contentious exchanges and focus on political talking points that have become a hallmark of the […]