Southern Arizona could be getting a new military project soon.
The United States Air Force is planning to add its third Special Operations Command “power projection wing” at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson.
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The Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) claimed in a legal filing the Arizona State Legislature is powerless to prevent the designation of nearly 1 million acres around the Grand Canyon as a national monument.
Federal prosecutor Michael Sawyer claimed to U.S. District Court Judge Stephen McNamee that a lawsuit launched by Arizona lawmakers, led by Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert), does not have standing because only the U.S. Congress could override President Joe Biden’s decision to create the monument, according to a report by Capitol Media Services.
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Arizona State University continues to ask potential job candidates questions regarding their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion despite a board policy prohibiting the use of diversity statements in hiring, according to a document obtained by The College Fix.
In August 2023, the Arizona Board of Regents decided public universities in the state can no longer require applicants to submit diversity statements.
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The likely vote on a proposed state constitutional amendment that would make it a right to have an abortion in Arizona has garnered national attention, including from a top congressional Democrat.
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, who visited Arizona on Thursday and held a brief roundtable with Congressman Greg Stanton, The Center Square reported.
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Democrats continue to make abortion a top issue of their campaign in the 2024 election in Arizona.
Congressman Greg Stanton was joined by United States House of Representative Democratic Minority Whip Katherine Clark and abortion access advocates for a roundtable on the issue on Thursday.
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The City of Phoenix on Wednesday approved an ordinance that will ban the homeless from camping within 500 feet schools, businesses that provide child care, shelters or parks.
Effective on September 1, the ordinance was approved unanimously by the Phoenix City Council according to KTAR News, which reported violators “will face a $100 fine for the class 3 misdemeanor.”
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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.
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Governor Katie Hobbs claimed last week the “Secure the Border Act” proposed by Republicans in the Arizona State Legislature would drive businesses to neighboring California and Texas, though she did not acknowledge the similar law signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in December 2023.
Hobbs claimed the effort by Republicans, which would allow Arizona voters to decide whether to pass legislation that would make it a state crime to enter Arizona illegally, increase penalties for submitting false information to E-Verify and help prevent illegal immigrants from receiving Arizona welfare programs, would “demonize communities” and send businesses to Texas during a media appearance reported by KTAR News.
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Citizens of Mexico who live outside of the country have been invited by the country to participate in its presidential elections by voting at one of 20 locations throughout the United States.
In Arizona, Mexican nationals can cast their vote for one of the candidates in the Mexico presidential election on June 2 at the Consulate General of Mexico in Phoenix.
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The annual point-in-time count of homeless conducted by the Maricopa Association of Governments presented stabilized news for the county.
The count that took place in January 2024 determined that there are 9,435 people who are experiencing homelessness in the county, 57% of which are sheltered and 43% are unsheltered. This figure was a 2% decline from 2023, which marked 9,642 people as homeless. When broken down, there was a 17% decline from 2023 in unsheltered and a 13% increase in those who were sheltered.
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Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes on Sunday joined a number of his counterparts from other states for a Meet the Press panel discussion, and the top state election official claimed that artificial intelligence (AI) will pose new “mis- and disinformation” threats during the 2024 elections.
Fontes told Meet the Press host Kristen Walker, “AI is not a new weapon. It’s an amplifier and a magnifier of mis- and disinformation,” and revealed that his office held a “tabletop exercise” that apparently involved both election officials and members of the media.
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When Albuquerque announced plans to acquire a new fire engine, New Mexico’s governor lauded the “zero emissions” technology while a fire department spokesman called it “all electric” and KRQE 13 gushed about the “fully electric” fire truck.
San Diego’s NBC 7 reported on what it called that city’s first “all electric fire apparatus.” When the electric fire engine debuted in Portland, NBC’s KGW 8 quoted a fire department spokesman lauding the “monumental” “zero emissions” vehicle.
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Arizonans’ pension funds have repeatedly been leveraged to forward racial and climate-related resolutions at publicly traded companies, according to a report from conservative watchdog group American Accountability Foundation (AAF).
Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) used Arizonans’ pension funds to back environmental, social and governance (ESG) shareholder resolutions on issues including race, gender, climate and politics, according to documents AAF obtained through a public records request. ASRS utilizes proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, who have each expressed support for ESG initiatives.
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New polling numbers show that Republican Kari Lake is still well on her way to win the party’s nomination for Senate.
In a Noble Predictive Insights poll of 364 registered Republican voters, Lake leads with 46% compared with Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb’s 21%. Still, 25% of voters are unsure and 9% are backing “someone else.” The poll has a 5.14% margin of error and it was conducted from May 7-14. The pollster noted that this is a decrease from 54% in February, but more 8% more Republican voters are now in the undecided column.
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The Arizona civic organization Davos in the Desert hosted a “Get Trump” virtual conference on lawfare Tuesday featuring various experts. Some speakers, such as Arizona attorney Mark Sonnenklar and Louisiana attorney Daniel R. Street, focused heavily on election fraud and other illegalities in the 2020 election.
Sonnenklar, who worked as a roving attorney during the 2022 election, began his presentation by going over a precinct analysis from Army intelligence veteran and analytics guru Seth Keshel. Keshel contrasted the numbers of votes for the Republican versus Democratic candidates for president in numerous small precincts from the 2012, 2016 and 2020 elections. Each of the precincts he examined showed similar differences in numbers between the Republican and Democrat candidates in 2012 and 2016.
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The Arizona civic organization Davos in the Desert hosted a “Get Trump” virtual conference on lawfare Tuesday, featuring some of the country’s top lawfare experts.
Linda Denno, an associate dean and associate professor at the University of Arizona who hosts a podcast with Berkeley constitutional law professor John Yoo, spoke about Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of former President Donald Trump for taking home documents from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago residence. Brian Lupo, an investigative journalist who runs a podcast focusing on election corruption and lawfare, spoke about the unfair prosecutions of the January 6 protesters.
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Sheriff Mark Lamb, dubbed the “American Sheriff,” to a short break recently from his campaign for U.S. Senate to grant an exclusive interview to The Arizona Sun Times to discuss his vision, legislative objectives, and strategies for transitioning from law enforcement to federal governance. Lamb and former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake are the key contenders in the 2024 Republican primary, aiming to succeed Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who will not seek re-election.
Lamb began by expressing his gratitude for the support and encouragement he has experienced on the campaign trail. “When people see that you are protecting their families, they, in turn, become protective of you.”
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Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego announced her reelection campaign on Wednesday, confirming she will seek another six-year term at the city’s helm.
In a video posted to the social media platform X, the mayor listed recent investments in Phoenix by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the new campus being established at Arizona State University, as well as investments into “cool pavements” and homeless solutions as achievements before she confirmed her candidacy.
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A poll of Arizona voters released Wednesday showed support for President Joe Biden shrunk to just 36 percent in an election including former President Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Dr. Jill Stein and intellectual Cornel West.
The survey of Arizona registered voters found, in a five-way contest, 43 percent of the Arizona electorate would vote for Trump while just 36 percent who would vote to give Biden a second term.
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The Arizona secretary of state’s office and Maricopa County worked together to censor information about the state’s 2020 election audit of the county and reported elected officials’ posts to social media companies.
Maricopa County and the Arizona secretary of state’s office worked together with third parties to censor social media content that they believed was misinformation regarding the 2020 election audit of Maricopa County and election information posted by elected officials, according to public records obtained from both Maricopa County and the Arizona secretary of state by The Gavel Project.
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The Arizona civic organization Davos in the Desert hosted a virtual “Get Trump” lawfare conference all day Tuesday. The conference featured numerous top legal experts, including Trump’s former attorney and constitutional legal scholar John Eastman. It covered the criminal prosecutions, the high-profile civil lawsuits, the two impeachment trials, and lawfare against conservative attorneys.
Eastman, who is being prosecuted in Georgia and Arizona for his work advising and representing Trump on the 2020 election corruption and fighting disbarment in California, discussed the evidence he saw that convinced him there was wrongdoing in the election.
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The Arizona Legislature is considering sending an election integrity measure to the ballot this fall.
HCR 2056 was debated in the Senate Elections Committee last week. The bill would require voters to show photo ID when dropping ballots off. All early ballots dropped off will be tabulated at the voting location where they were submitted. Seven counties already do that. The bill also prohibits election officials from accepting funds from foreign entities to help administer an election.
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The Arizona secretary of state’s office and Maricopa County worked together to censor information about the state’s 2020 election audit of the county and reported elected officials’ posts to social media companies.
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A video purportedly from a virtual town hall event featuring Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) shows the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate claiming the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border is “not as important” to Arizona voters.
Originally posted online by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), Gallego stated in the video, “The border, people talk about, it’s not as important and salient as it is I think in other states. We do talk about it, we do worry about it, but it is not, I think, as heavy as it is in other states.”
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Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to nine felony charges in an election case regarding an alternate slate of electors in Arizona for the 2020 election.
Kelli Ward, the former Arizona Republican Party chair, and at least 11 other people were also arraigned in the case on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. Ward and nine others have pleaded not guilty thus far, and her trial begins Oct. 17. They were arraigned for conspiracy, forgery and fraud charges that Arizona authorities announced last month.
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The budget in Maricopa County will presumably go down by 11% in fiscal year 2025.
A decrease in the budget compared with the current fiscal year is largely attributed to less “one-time spending” and a decrease of $32.7 million in retirement costs. In total, the difference between fiscal year 2024 and 2025 was over $493 million. The budget totals at roughly $3.87 billion, with 47.6% going toward public safety and 25,78% going toward health, welfare, and sanitation.
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The fate of dozens of pro-Palestine protesters arrested for campus demonstrations that Arizona State University (ASU) officials called unlawful landed in legal limbo as the court dismissed charges of trespassing without prejudice. The move allows the possibility for some 72 individuals to face prosecutions for alleged wrongdoing until the end of April, 2025.
This procedural pause comes after ASU failed to submit the necessary charging recommendations to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, a critical step for formal charges to proceed.
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The arrest of a Ukrainian national previously in Tennessee on a student visa to study at Carson-Newman University was announced Thursday, with federal authorities alleging the foreign national participated in an “illicit revenue generation” scheme to aid the government of North Korea.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that Oleksandr Didenko, a 27-year-old university student originally from Kiev, Ukraine, was arrested in Poland on May 6 on charges including identity theft of U.S. citizens for use by North Koreans.
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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.”
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The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from a former New Mexico county commissioner who was removed from office by a state court for his role in the January 6 protest. This left in place a lower court’s decision to remove and bar Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, founder of Cowboys for Trump, from office for “aid[ing] the insurrection even though he did not personally engage in violence.” Griffin was convicted of a misdemeanor for trespassing on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. Griffin never entered the Capitol building.
His attorney Peter Ticktin stated in court filings submitting to the Supreme Court, “If the decision … is to stand, at least in New Mexico, it is now the crime of insurrection to gather people to pray together for the United States of America on the unmarked restricted grounds of the Capitol building.” He argued that Griffin was “fundamentally exercising his Constitutional rights to free speech and assembly.”
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Former President Donald Trump now holds a five-point lead over President Joe Biden in a head-to-head race in Arizona, a poll released Sunday revealed.
The CBS News/YouGov poll found 52 percent of Arizonans would vote for Trump if the election were held today, compared to 47 percent who said they would vote for the Democratic incumbent.
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Donald Trump’s former attorney and constitutional legal scholar John Eastman was arrested, booked, and arraigned Friday in Phoenix over his role in the 2020 election. Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes brought charges and secured indictments in April against him, Arizona’s alternate Republican slate of electors, and a few others including Rudy Giuliani and Trump’s former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Trump is an unindicted co-conspirator.
Mayes is accused by her Republican opponent for attorney general, Abe Hamadeh, of illegally holding office due to the election malfeasance in 2022. Hamadeh is still challenging his loss to her by 280 votes in the 2022 election, and has filed multiple lawsuits seeking to overturn the election, alleging among other things that 9,000 provisional ballots were never counted.
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Inflation is still impacting families in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, according to a new Common Sense Institute report.
The free-market think tank’s May inflation update analyzed different price increases from 2020, which determined that prices across the board are still significantly higher.
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Republican leadership in the Arizona state legislature and the Arizona Trucking Association are suing the United States Environmental Protection Agency over an electric vehicle mandate.
The two lawsuits in a federal appeals court in Washington D.C. focus on the EPA’s desire to have more electric vehicles on the market. Specifically, those suing are taking issue with the EPA’s rule to pivot to having 70% of vehicles overall, including a quarter of “heavy-duty vehicles,” be electric by 2032, according to a news release.
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Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels voiced his support for the Secure Our Border Act under consideration in the Arizona Legislature, telling NewsNation on Wednesday that such measures are necessary because the “federal government has abandoned” Arizona.
Dannels told acknowledged he shares concerns cited by other Arizona sheriff’s about funding for HCR 2060, but confirmed he supports the “spirit” and “intent” of the potential Arizona referendum that proposes making it a state crime to enter the United States illegally, make it a felony offense to submit false data to E-Verify and prevent illegal immigrants from accessing welfare programs.
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A Wednesday report revealed the existence of a “group chat” that includes eight female Democratic governors, including Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, who befriended other influential Democrats including Governors Kathy Hochul of New York and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.
The gubernatorial group chat additionally includes Governors Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Laura Kelly of Kansas, Tina Kotek of Oregon, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, and Janet Mills of Maine, according to the 19th News report.
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Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer faces reelection, going up against two primary opponents and a Democratic challenger. Conservatives are furious at his denials that there was significant wrongdoing in the 2020 and 2022 elections, but he may lose reelection based on merely long lines and voting complications, which frustrated voters.
Voters encountered problems casting their ballots at 70 of the 223 vote centers in Maricopa County on Election Day in 2022, resulting in long lines and concerns that ballots were not tabulated or misread.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced over $54 million in awards last month for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Shelter and Services program to Arizona entities to offset “costs incurred” due to the influx of illegal immigrants into the country.
According to funding awards posted publicly by FEMA last month, two Arizona-based charitable entities, Pima County and Maricopa County will collectively receive $54,573,093 to support illegal immigrants in the 2024 fiscal year.
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Ben Bitter was appointed on April 1st as Maricopa’s new city manager with a compensation package that has sparked controversy. His annual salary stands at $242,000 – $20,000 above that of his predecessor. The package also includes a $400 monthly stipend for personal vehicle use and a $100 monthly cell phone allowance. On April 16th, the city council approved the purchase of a house for Bitter valued up to $650,000, which he will repay at a half-percent interest rate over 30 years, significantly below current market rates. Passed through a consent agenda without public input, this arrangement has infuriated many residents over the use of taxpayer money.
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The Goldwater Institute filed a lawsuit against Pima County in late April over a new ordinance that levies fines against gun owners who fail to report stolen weapons within 48 hours after learning they are missing, it confirmed Monday.
Pima County’s ordinance requires gun owners to report guns lost or stolen within Pima County to local authorities under penalty of a $1,000 fine should gun owners take longer than 48 hours.
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Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Susanna Pineda, who was appointed to the bench by Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano, granted a Motion to Dismiss filed by Maricopa County officials in response to Abe Hamadeh’s Petition for Writ of Quo Warranto. She also suggested she would award sanctions against Hamadeh, other plaintiffs, and their attorney. Hamadeh had asked to remove Attorney General Kris Mayes from office and fix the 2022 election problems, including up to redoing it.
Ryan Heath, Hamadeh’s attorney, told The Arizona Sun Times, “I worked in judicial chambers as an intern in law school. Before this ruling, I’d never seen a case where a judge blatantly ignores arguments and allegations in order to impose sanctions. The appeal is already drafted, and I’m looking forward to overturning the trial court’s ruling on appeal.”
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Police successfully removed another anti-Israel encampment from the University of Arizona (UA), university administrators confirmed on Friday.
University President Robert Robbins confirmed police dispersed the camp early on Friday after graduation events were “successfully held” on the UA campus in Tucson “without any incident on Thursday.”
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Illegal immigrants may legally vote in U.S. elections, thanks to a loophole in federal law that provides an escape from any penalties and have their votes counted if they believe they are legally eligible to participate in an election.
Analysis by The Washington Times found that illegal immigrants are three times more likely to be Democrats than Republicans, and due to increasing numbers coming illegally across the border under the Biden administration, are expected to increase their votes for Democrats this fall.
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The Maricopa County Republican Committee’s Executive Guidance Committee unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday censuring the Arizona Supreme Court (ASC) for its handling of election lawsuits. The censure came after the state’s highest court issued two relatively favorable rulings for Republicans: reversing sanctions against the Arizona Republican Party for an election-related case and upholding Arizona’s old 1864 law restricting abortion.
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Arizona schools will soon be able to stock a medication used in emergency situations for those with diabetes.
House Bill 2174 was sponsored by Rep. Beverly Pingerelli, R-Peoria, and it would allow a school district to ask each year for a “standing order for glucagon” to allow for “emergency administration” from a school nurse, according to the bill’s text.
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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.
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Chair of the Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) Gina Swoboda announced her support for a ballot referral that would help secure the state’s border with Mexico introduced by Republican state lawmakers.
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Republicans in the Arizona State Legislature are preparing the Secure the Border Act for a public referendum in November following vetoes of border security measures by Governor Katie Hobbs, allowing lawmakers to circumvent the governor should Arizona voters agree.
Both State Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) and House Majority Leader Ben Toma (R-Peoria) have confirmed their support as of Wednesday for HCR 2060, the Secure the Border Act ballot initiative that would strengthen penalties for submitting false information to E-Verify and require new safeguards to keep illegal immigrants from receiving public welfare benefits.
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The Arizona Supreme Court upheld the trial court’s decision allowing Congressional District 1 (CD1) candidate Kim George to remain on the ballot later Wednesday, despite a challenge from businessman Robert Backie.
George told The Arizona Sun Times, “I’m appreciative the Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s ruling and am ready to focus on winning this election.”
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Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne announced the creation of a new Arizona Department of Education (ADE) task force to educate students about the dangers posed by the synthetic opioid fentanyl and provide emergency Narcan for school staff to reverse potentially fatal overdoses.
Horne announced the formation of the School Training Overdose Preparedness and Intelligence Taskforce (STOP-IT) on Tuesday, revealing the new effort will educate children about the dangers of fentanyl and other opioids while providing schools with resources to save lives.
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