Uranium ore transports through the Navajo Nation in Arizona to a mill in Utah are temporarily stopped.
Gov. Katie Hobbs’ office announced Thursday night that a call between Energy Fuels, which runs the Pinyon Plain mine, and tribal leaders resulted in the pause while both parties involved hammer out a solution.
Read the full story
An apartment management company is under fire for seemingly leaving residents out to dry amid scorching summer heat.
Attorney General Kris Mayes sent Buenas Communities LLC a cease and desist over one of their buildings allegedly failing to solve the cooling issues for roughly 400 units at Buenas on 32nd. Mayes is giving them a deadline of Friday at 5 p.m. to fix the problems.
Read the full story
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs will face increased scrutiny following revelations of an alleged “pay-for-play” scheme uncovered by a left-leaning publication with media ads hitting the airwaves this week. State-solutions, Inc., affiliated with the Republican Governor’s Association, has invested in a six-figure advertisement campaign to highlight the investigation into Hobbs. Media attention is intensifying, with the ad urging, “Tell Hobbs to cooperate and cut the corruption.” Both Attorney General Mayes, a Democrat, and Republican County Attorney Mitchell have asserted claims over the investigation. Attorney Gina Godbehere, who is challenging Mitchell in a competitive primary told The Arizona Sun Times, “My opponent [Mitchell] should be more concerned about the effect of her lenient policies on our community, the victims, and law enforcement rather than chasing the political spotlight.
The story broke after the progressive news organization revealed Sunshine Residential, a significant donor to the Hobbs Inaugural fund and the Democrats, received a nearly 60% increase in state contracts. The ad released this week told Arizonas, “Three days after a state agency denied a contractor’s request to charge taxpayers higher rates, a donation appeared: One hundred thousand dollars from the same company… into a slush fund controlled by Governor Katie Hobbs. Within months the Hobbs administration reversed course, approving the request for more taxpayer money. Pay-to-play so brazen, Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes has launched a criminal investigation.”
Read the full story
Arizona has avoided potential abortion law confusion with the conclusion of the legislative session.
Since the session concluded on Saturday night, all normal legislation without an emergency clause signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs will go into effect on Sept. 14. This also includes the May repeal of the abortion law that was created in 1864 and re-codified in 1977 that banned abortion in nearly all circumstances.
Read the full story
Seventy-five million dollars from the federal opioid settlement is expected to head toward the state’s Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry in the latest budget proposal, but Attorney General Kris Mayes and some lawmakers are unhappy about it.
Mayes might sue over the proposed use of the money, saying it would act as a “sweep” to help with the budget deficit in an illegal fashion, according to Capitol Media Services. The budget is far from finalized as of Friday morning, but lawmakers could pass a budget on Friday night or Saturday morning. The proposed budget is the result of months of negotiations between Gov. Katie Hobbs’ office and Republican legislative leadership.
Read the full story
Five Republican committee members on a special House panel initiated impeachment proceedings against Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes on Friday. The lawmakers accused her of abuse of power, neglect of duties, and malfeasance in office.
State Representative Jacqueline Parker (R-Mesa), who chairs the panel, announced the release of a 102-page report detailing these allegations, which has stirred significant political controversy.
Read the full story
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes claimed this week that she is “fighting so hard” to preserve abortion access to prevent Arizona from following Texas’ path of banning the practice after the child’s heartbeat is detected, according to an article published Wednesday.
Mayes made the remarks to the Austin American-Statesman while in Texas for a Democratic Attorneys General Association meeting the outlet reported was designed to allow the legal officials “to strategize on abortion access” throughout the country.
Read the full story
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes on Monday released a full, unredacted version of the criminal indictment of Republican activists and politicians who assisted former President Donald Trump with his efforts to contest the 2020 election results in the state.
In a brief statement posted to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office website, Mayes’ staff confirmed, “The following individuals are named as defendants in the indictment: Rudolph Giuliani, Mark Meadows, John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, Christina Bobb, Jenna Ellis, Michael Roman, Kelli Ward, Tyler Bowyer, Nancy Cottle, Jacob Hoffman, Anthony Kern, James Lamon, Robert Montgomery, Samuel Moorhead, Lorraine Pellegrino, Gregory Safsten, and Michael Ward.”
Read the full story
The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), an independent body with powers derived from constitutional authority, ultimately opted to reopen the APS rate case to enhance the evidentiary record. During the February rate case, the ACC approved this controversial fee, intended to cover grid access costs for solar customers. Its last-minute introduction during the hearing sparked allegations of discrimination and due process violations.
In the APS case, the ACC voted to approve a rate hike for customers on February 22, 2024. It was approved 4-1 along party lines with the Democrat Commissioner Anna Tovar as the sole “no” vote. Chairman Jim O’Connor (R) seemed to allude on Arizona Horizon that this complex case, first filed on June 1, 2022, was handled in a meticulous manner.
Read the full story
Arizona U.S. House candidate Abe Hamadeh declared Attorney General Kris Mayes “illegitimate” in a Thursday appearance on Steve Bannon’s War Room after she handed down indictments against Arizona Republicans and allies of former President Donald Trump for their role in the 2020 election contest.
Hamadeh previously ran against Mayes in 2022 and continues to contest the results of the election. Mayes won by just 280 votes and Hamadeh contends there are about 9,000 uncounted ballots that would likely break in his favor.
Read the full story
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes confirmed on Tuesday her office will not enforce the 19th century abortion law recently upheld by the Arizona Supreme Court until at least June.
Mayes said in a video posted to the attorney general’s account on X clarifying that the law is slated to go into effect on June 8. Calling the ruling “outrageous,” Mayes also confirmed she is “working on a plan to fight back” against the abortion ban.
Read the full story
Two Republicans in the Arizona State House announced its investigation of Attorney General Kris Mayes over using her office to advance her political career with her recent legal threat against farmers over water use.
State Representatives Austin Smith (R-Surprise) and Jacqueline Parker (R-Mesa) on Wednesday sent a letter to Mayes which they say includes requests for “public records related to recent unfounded attacks she has made on the agricultural industry, her threats to file a public nuisance lawsuit against Arizona’s farmers and using town hall events to make campaign speeches.”
Read the full story
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes reportedly issued a subpoena to Mike Roman, the opposition researcher who worked former for President Donald Trump and was criminally charged in the Georgia election case against the former president.
Cable news outlet CNN reported Wednesday that Roman is “being subpoenaed by prosecutors” in the “state-level probe” into the former president’s contest of the 2020 election results launched by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.
Read the full story
Arizona Republican lawmakers are asking Attorney General Kris Mayes to retract a consumer alert on crisis pregnancy centers.
A news release from Mayes’ office on Wednesday said that the centers, which are meant to assist pregnant women as an alternative to Planned Parenthood or other abortion facilities, are masked as “legitimate healthcare clinics” but have the intent of encouraging women not to have abortions.
Read the full story
Following the Wednesday news that an Arizona grand jury issued subpoenas regarding the 2020 election contest, reports now claim prosecutors working under Attorney General Kris Mayes reportedly asked witnesses about former President Donald Trump and his direct involvement in the effort to challenge the election results in Arizona.
Subpoenas were sent on Wednesday by the grand jury investigating the challenge to the 2020 election results in Arizona. Multiple reports now confirm the grand jury targeted those involved with the effort to create an alternative slate of Electoral College electors in a bid to preserve the former president’s legal standing in various court cases.
Read the full story
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes began an official investigation into the Yuma County Board of Supervisors on Thursday in response to a request to investigate by Republicans in the Arizona House of Representatives.
A letter sent on Tuesday, led by State Representative Laurin Hendrix (R-Gilbert), warned about the decision by Yuma County to give a $30 billion contract to Allo Communications (AC), a Nebraska-based company, which did not have a contractor’s license in Arizona.
Read the full story
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Senate President Warren Petersen are asking the Internal Revenue Service not to tax a rebate that went out last year to roughly 700,000 Arizona families.
Some Arizona families received a state tax rebate in the fall, which maxed out at $750 per family. Families got $250 for each dependent under 17 and $100 each for dependent adults. The Center Square reported on Monday that the IRS has decided to tax it as miscellaneous income.
Read the full story
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced a $13 million settlement with Cox Communications over “disguising price increases” as fees.
Roughly $10 million of that settlement will be paid to the state government, but $3 million will be doled out to Cox customers who “signed up for television services” from 2017 to March 2021, even if they are still using the company’s services.
Read the full story
Attorney General Kris Mayes is warning about gift card scams amid the holiday season.
Her office announced that eight individuals were arrested on Thursday regarding an elaborate gift card cloning scheme.
Read the full story
Arizona State Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) released a statement on Thursday revealing the Arizona Freedom Caucus plans to vigorously oppose Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes’ prosecutions of Cochise County election officials, and told The Arizona Sun Times he expects near-unanimous support in the state legislature.
Mayes’ office on Wednesday announced the indictments of Cochise County Supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd, who are both Republican, after they briefly delayed certifying the county’s 2022 midterm election while they investigated possible illegal activity. Mayes, who narrowly won election in 2022 by just 280 votes, claimed in a statement that Crosby and Judd were attempting to “to undermine” Arizona’s “democracy” with the short delay.
Read the full story
A special meeting of the Arizona Civil Rights Advisory Board (ACRAB) was called on Tuesday to respond to what Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) called a “surge” in “antisemitic crimes” throughout the state.
ACRAB is a “politically balanced volunteer body” of Arizonans appointed by the governor to three year terms. There are currently three Republicans and three Democrats on ACRAB’s board, with one board seat vacant.
Read the full story
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne (R) vowed to protect the state’s law prohibiting boys from competing in girls sports — taking the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary.
Read the full story
All 31 members of the Arizona House Republican Majority Caucus signed a letter calling on Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes to take executive action to protect Arizona from the crisis occurring at the state’s southern border.
This follows reports from last week where officials from the Biden administration inexplicably welded open 114 massive gates along the Arizona border allowing tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to flood into the U.S.
Read the full story
An Arizona Republican senator said this week that Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes should stay out of a proposed merger of the state’s two largest grocery chains as they “know very little” about the grocery industry.
Hobbs said on Wednesday that the proposed merger of Kroger Co., the parent company of Smith’s and Fry’s Foods, and Albertsons Companies, which not only runs stores under its name but also acquired Safeway and all of the stores that the company owned in 2015, may have some negative effects on Arizona.
Read the full story
Two Arizona Republican State Representatives have filed an SB 1487 complaint with Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes requesting an investigation and report into an ordinance the City of Phoenix passed in June authorizing the transfer of hundreds of unclaimed firearms to the National Police of Ukraine.
The National Police of Ukraine is the national, and only, police service of Ukraine.
Read the full story
A spokesperson for Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes told The Arizona Sun Times that the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office will publish all public comments on the 2023 Election Procedure Manual on the website after a review of comments has been completed.
“The comments will be made public after staff has a chance to review. Once that review is complete, it will be posted on the Secretary of State’s website,” the spokesperson told The Sun Times.
Read the full story
Leading Republicans in the Arizona Legislature, alongside America First Legal (AFL), lodged amicus briefs on Wednesday, throwing their support behind Abraham Hamadeh’s petition to the Arizona Supreme Court for a retrial of his 2022 election contest. Hamadeh is petitioning for a fresh trial citing newly surfaced evidence, purportedly dubious rulings from the presiding Mohave County judge, and an effort to stave off protracted legal disputes over his election that could last well into 2024.
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma filed an amicus brief in support of Hamadeh on the same day AFL filed its own. Hamadeh, whose race against Attorney General Kris Mayes was the closest in Arizona history with only 280 votes now stand between the candidates, celebrated the development.
Read the full story
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs said she “absolutely” hopes former President Donald Trump will be criminally charged for his actions while contesting the 2020 election results in Arizona.
Hobbs said she would “absolutely” like to see Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes bring new charges against Trump that mirror those in Georgia, telling local media that such charges would hold those who contested the election “accountable” for their actions.
Hobbs said she would “absolutely” like to see Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes bring new charges against Trump that mirror those in Georgia, telling local media that such charges would hold those who contested the election “accountable” for their actions.
Read the full story
Arizona Republican lawmakers demanded that Secretary of State Adrian Fontes publish all public comments on the 2023 Election Procedure Manual on the Arizona Secretary of State’s website to demonstrate his commitment to transparency.
This follows State Representatives Steve Montenegro (R-Goodyear) and Michael Carbone (R-Buckeye) requesting that Fontes extend the “extremely short” deadline for public comment on the 259-page manual, which he refused.
Read the full story
An attorney representing Attorney General Kris Mayes has asked the Arizona Supreme Court to refuse Abe Hamadeh’s request for a new trial for his election lawsuit contesting his purported loss, and asked the court to force Hamadeh to pay Mayes’ legal fees.
Lawyers for Mayes claimed argued that Hamadeh’s team could have worked to expedite his legal cases, has not asked the current judge for a final decision, and once acceded it did not have enough evidence to overthrow the election.
Read the full story
Arizona Republican lawmakers are urging Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to extend the deadline for public comment on the 2023 Election Procedure Manual.
State Representatives Steve Montenegro (R-Goodyear) and Michael Carbone (R-Buckeye) are calling on Fontes to extend the “extremely short” public comment period he set for the 2023 Elections Procedure Manual. Fontes released the manual draft on August 1st and set the deadline for August 15th, even though he is not required to produce it to Governor Katie Hobbs or Attorney General Kris Mayes until October 1st.
Read the full story
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) is increasing his legal efforts to protect women and girls from being required to compete in sports against biological males at public schools, colleges, and universities in Arizona.
This follows after Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) filed a motion intervening in a lawsuit in May that threatened to repeal the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” which tries to level the playing field for women and girls in athletics, was passed into law last year.
Read the full story
Two Arizona Republican Senators are calling on Attorney General Kris Mayes and Governor Katie Hobbs to protect the citizens of Arizona by immediately rescinding the release of a “seriously mentally-ill patient” who was housed at the Arizona State Hospital after being found incompetent to stand trial in the murder of his own mother and seven-year-old niece.
Last week, Arizona State Hospital released Rodney Aviles after they held him at their facility for over twenty years. However, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell wrote to Mayes back in February of this year to express her grave worries about community safety and her conviction that Aviles continues to pose a threat to his family and the larger community.
Read the full story
Arizona State Representative and Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee David Cook (R-Globe) is speaking out in support of a new Pro-Life Baby Brand and the release of their new anti-woke advertisement.
The new California-based company Everylife launched its brand on Thursday, with a powerful unapologetically pro-life advertisement saying that every baby is a miracle from God who deserves love, protection, and support.
Read the full story
The Arizona Senate Republican Caucus said a meeting last week between Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) and Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs to discuss her recent abortion-related crimes executive order “went well.”
According to a session, update e-mailed to reporters by the caucus, after the meeting, Petersen (pictured above, right) was optimistic that the discussion between him and the Arizona Governor benefited the state.
Read the full story
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs says she will not rescind an executive order that strips county attorneys of their authority to prosecute abortion-related crimes.
According to Hobbs, it is her “legal authority” to protect Arizonans’ ability to get an abortion.
Read the full story
Gov. Katie Hobbs signed an executive order that pulls prosecutorial authority away from counties looking to enforce the state’s abortion laws. Critics are calling the move an overstep of authority.
The executive order has four main points to protect abortion.
Read the full story
The Universal Expansion of the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program is unlikely to bankrupt the state, according to a new report from the nonpartisan research group, the Common Sense Institute Arizona (CSIAZ).
According to the report, at least 56,000 students received an ESA grant as of May, an increase of 44,000 who joined following the expansion. In total, the CSIAZ states that there are roughly 82,000 private or homeschooled students in the state eligible for the program, and they expect all of these families to join during the 2024 school year.
Read the full story
The leadership of both houses of the Arizona Legislature sent Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) a scathing letter Thursday, demanding that she redact public comments she made against Arizona Universal Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program.
“As legislators and other elected officials have long emphasized, Arizona was the first in the nation to implement universal school choice and has been a model for the rest of the country. Legal and political attacks against ES As have failed time and time again. Parents have spoken and the Legislature has enacted ESAs into law. Your job, as an executive branch official, is to execute the law, not attack it,” the lawmakers wrote.
Read the full story
A group of Republican lawmakers, including Representatives Gail Griffin (R-Hereford), Lupe Diaz (R-Benson), and Senator Sine Kerr (R-Buckeye), sent Governor Katie Hobbs (D) a letter Friday, demanding that she stick up for Arizona’s water future and defend access to the Colorado River.
“Under the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation’s (“BOR”) Action Alternative 1 for allocating cuts on the Colorado River, which allocates cuts based strictly on the seniority of rights, Arizona’s citizens that rely on the Central Arizona Project will see dramatic reductions, potentially cutting them off from the Colorado River completely,” the legislators wrote. “With our state’s population and economic prosperity on the line, protecting our state’s share of the Colorado River from the looming risk of complete disconnection is paramount.”
Read the full story
Many Arizona taxpayers could have a roughly $30 settlement check in their mailbox as soon as next week following government legal action against TurboTax.
Nine other states, including New York, Tennessee, and Texas, all took part in a lawsuit against TurboTax’s parent company, Intuit, for what they say was deceptively getting people to pay for tax services that should have been free in the first place. However, all 50 states are part of the final agreement made between the states and the company, according to a statement.
Read the full story
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) announced Wednesday that he, along with House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria), filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to halt any enforcement of President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
“We will not allow President Biden to blatantly undermine the will of the Arizona State Legislature in the protections we’ve provided for our citizens to prevent a COVID-19 vaccine mandate from dictating employment opportunities,” said President Petersen. “The Biden Administration has made it clear that they are against any Americans who push back against this vaccine and will abuse their powers in order to force compliance as a stipulation of doing business with the federal government.”
Read the full story
Arizona State Representative Steve Montenegro (R-Goodyear) announced Tuesday that he is rescinding a complaint he filed against the City of Tempe with Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) after alleviating his concerns.
“Based on information and written assurances I have received within the last 24 hours, I hereby withdraw my request for an investigation of the City of Tempe’s Ordinance No. 02022.56, Ordinance No. 02022.57, Resolution No. R2022.l 70, and§ 12.9 and§ 17 of the Development and Disposition Agreement (“Agreement”) between the City and Bluebird Development LLC (“Bluebird”),” Montenegro wrote in a new letter emailed to the press.
Read the full story
Attorney General Kris Mayes said that a common abortion pill is still accessible in Arizona after two federal court rulings last week sparked confusion.
A Texas-based judge ruled that the Food and Drug Administration scrap its approval of mifepristone.
Read the full story
Arizona State Representative Matt Gress (R-Phoenix) released a statement Thursday praising the newest Executive Order from Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) banning the social media app TikTok on state agency devices. Gress has a bill moving through the Legislature to achieve a similar result.
“I applaud the Governor for taking action to address the security and data collection threats posed by TikTok and similar apps. The Legislature still needs to act, and the Governor should sign HB 2416, a comprehensive plan to keep the state’s critical information secure and strengthen public safety. It would expand on the Governor’s order, codifying it permanently into state law, and apply to all government entities, employees, and contractors,” Gress said.
Read the full story
Arizona State Rep. David Cook (R-Globe) announced Tuesday that his letter asking Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) for her legal opinion on the Rio Verde Foothills (RVF) area water situation.
“I’m grateful to the Attorney General for this informative response clarifying a county board’s legal authority in this matter,” said Cook in an update emailed to the press. “I believe this could be immensely helpful in the effort to provide relief for Rio Verde residents who continue to struggle without a reliable point of access to water for their homes and families. I will continue working with the residents and other parties until a comprehensive solution is in place.”
Read the full story
As many Arizonans prepare for the first Super Bowl in the state since 2015, Attorney General Kris Mayes offers a warning about sports betting scams.
“While many Arizonans participate in legal sports betting, it is important to remember there are scammers out there trying to intercept your money and your personal information,” Mayes said. “If you bet on the Super Bowl, or any sporting event, make sure you are gambling on sports and not on whether an illegal sportsbook will steal your winnings.”
Read the full story
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) sent a letter to Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) Monday, requesting she investigates Republican Kari Lake for allegedly violating state law by sharing images of voter signatures on social media. Tim LaSota, one of Lake’s attorneys, accused Fontes of selectively quoting the law to defame Lake.
“This is becoming all too common in politics – another attempt to weaponize the justice system with a phony allegation against a Republican. Adrian Fontes selectively quotes the statute in an attempt to distort the law and smear Kari Lake in the process. Kris Mayes should immediately say that she will have no part in this shameful, disgusting effort,” LaSota said in a statement emailed to The Arizona Sun Times.
Read the full story
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ is defending her administration’s decision to keep in place a money transfer surveillance program that paves the way for a growing number of law enforcement agencies across the country to keep tabs on the dealings of potentially illegal activity.
With the database originally set up nearly a decade ago under the stewardship of a Republican attorney general, the so-called Transaction Record Analysis Center (TRAC) act was billed as a voluntary agreement with Western Union aimed at combating drug trafficking that has now expanded to touch more than 600 law enforcement agencies.
Read the full story
Gov. Katie Hobbs issued an executive order on Friday to review the death penalty process in Arizona, while a stay from Attorney General Kris Mayes halts it for the time.
Hobbs will be selecting an “independent review commissioner” to investigate “all components” of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, & Reentry’s “execution process for lethal injections and the gas chamber,” the order states.
Read the full story