Category: The West

Anti-Sinema PAC Releases Ad Bashing Senator One Day After Kari Lake Ad Calls Gallego, Sinema Biden’s ‘Enablers’

Tom Pappert
Replace Sinema PAC

A political action committee that endorses Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) released a new advertisement targeting Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) on Tuesday, with its release timed one day after Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake released her own commercial labeling Gallego and Sinema as “enablers” of President Joe Biden.

“When Republicans take back the U.S. Senate, we will fix the problems caused by [Biden] and his enablers [Sinema] and [Gallego],” wrote Lake in a Monday post to X, formerly Twitter, containing her campaign’s new ad.

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Arizona State Sen. Jake Hoffman Pitches Bill to Ban Arizona from Contracting With Companies That Push DEI

Tom Pappert

Arizona State Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) filed a bill last Monday to prohibit Arizona from establishing large contracts with private sector entities that require Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness (DEI) training for their employees.

Hoffman’s SB 1005 would prohibit any “public entity” in Arizona “from requiring or spending public monies on a diversity, equity and inclusion program and allows an employee who is required to participate in the program to bring an action against the public entity,” and government bodies “from entering into a contract with a company that participates in a DEI program,” according to a fact sheet for the bill.

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Riley Gaines, Other Prominent Female Athletes Protest NCAA Convention in Phoenix For Allowing Transgenders in Women’s Sports

Rachel Alexander

Some of the top female athletes in the country, including swimmer Riley Gaines, attended and spoke at a protest Thursday outside the annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) convention in downtown Phoenix. Organized by the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) and numerous other groups, the athletes demanded that the NCAA stop allowing transgender females to compete against women in collegiate sports, and each one spoke about their own experiences.

Gaines opened the event, which took place at the Marvin A. Andrews Plaza outside Phoenix City Hall. Gaines is a 12-time All-American swimmer and IWF ambassador. She said allowing men who identify as women to compete against women “is not progressive, it is regressive. It’s taking us back in time at least half a century. … Title 9 was enacted and enforced to protect women and girls, not men who want to be like us.” She repeated a line featured on the signs the women held, “We have come too far to be erased.”

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Arizona Department of Education Demands Evidence Schools Are Complying with Mandatory Holocaust Education

Tom Pappert

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne sent a letter on Tuesday demanding each school in Arizona provide evidence demonstrating compliance with a state law mandating students learn about the Holocaust by January 24.

Horne notified schools via email to “report us by close of business” on January 24 “what you are doing to implement ARS Section 15-701.2 regarding instruction on the Holocaust and other genocides,” and for schools to “indicate how much time is devoted to the subject and what you use for curriculum.”

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Democratic Poll Shows Kari Lake Beating Rep. Ruben Gallego, Sinema Losing by Nearly 20 Points

Tom Pappert
Lake Gallego

Polling released on Wednesday by a polling firm heavily associated with the Democratic Party showed Kari Lake beating Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) in the race to replace Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who was 19 points behind her likely Republican challenger.

The Public Policy Polling survey released Wednesday showed Lake has the support of 36 of Arizona voters, edging out Gallego, who has the support of 35 percent. Sinema was 18 points behind Gallego and 19 points behind Sinema, receiving the support of just 17 percent of support, according to the pollsters.

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Public Records Request Reveals Cochise County Attorney Had Even Higher BAC Level, Pleaded to Only Simple DUI

Rachel Alexander

A public records request revealed that Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre had a BAC level from a blood test higher than he originally blew on a breathalyzer the night he was arrested for drunk driving. McIntyre agreed to a plea deal, which was reported in the media as an Extreme DUI, but the plea agreement, which The Cochise County Record obtained, reveals he pleaded guilty to a regular DUI.

The plea agreement, which was signed by McIntyre and accepted by the court on February 16, 2023, cited the lowest level of a DUI, A.R.S. 28-1381, which is a class 1 misdemeanor.

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University of Arizona Settles Lawsuit with Family of Professor Killed on Campus

Tom Pappert
Thomas Meixner

The University of Arizona (UA) announced on Tuesday that it settled all remaining legal claims with the family of a professor who was killed on the university’s campus in 2022.

In a statement on the university’s website, the UA confirmed the school and Arizona Board of Regents “agreed to a resolution of the legal claims” arising from the death of Professor Thomas Meixner in 2022.

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Democrats Target Election Integrity Champion State Sen. Jake Hoffman, Drive Billboard Around His District

Rachel Alexander

Democrats are targeting State Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), a champion of election integrity, by driving a truck around his district with a lit-up billboard apparently referencing him. It said, “Arizona’s fake electors tried to steal your voice in 2020. Don’t let them do it again in 2024.” Hoffman was one of 11 Republican electors chosen by Arizona Republican leadership as a possible alternate slate after the 2020 election due to concerns about election illegalities. The truck was seen driving on January 6, the anniversary of the J6 protest at the U.S. Capitol.

Hoffman responded and posted photos of the truck on X. “Extremist Democrats in Arizona think that driving a billboard around my district lying about me and defaming me will scare me into resigning,” he said. “IT WON’T. IT STRENGTHENS MY RESOLVE. It makes me fight harder for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to save this country.” 

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Arizona Freedom Caucus Confirms Plan by Gov. Hobbs to ‘Dismantle’ School Choice is ‘Dead on Arrival’

Tom Pappert

The Arizona Freedom Caucus, parents, and activists rallied on Monday at the Arizona Capitol Lawn against the plan recently unveiled by Governor Katie Hobbs (D) they warned would “dismantle” Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), the popular school choice program that boasts more than 70,000 students. Organizers planned the rally to coincide with the first day of the 2024 legislative session in Arizona.

Arizona Freedom Caucus founder Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), who spoke at the rally, told The Arizona Sun Times, “I have a message for Katie Hobbs on behalf of the Arizona Freedom Caucus and every legislative Republican: your attempt to destroy educational opportunities for more than 74,000 Arizona children is dead on arrival at the legislature.”

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Arizona Father of Five Arrested Twice for Protesting COVID-19 Restrictions Continues His Efforts to Protect Children

Rachel Alexander

Kelly Walker, a journalist and father of five in Tucson, is expanding his efforts to protect children from bad policies in schools despite being arrested and prosecuted after one school pushed back. Since the bad experience, he’s built a platform of advocacy for parents and children harmed by school policies at Real Freedom Talk. He now produces videos about abuses in schools and appears on major talk shows to discuss his experiences and expose what is happening in Tucson schools.

Walker said what prompted his activism was observing the increase in mental health problems among children due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. A student committed suicide near his home, and the suicide rate among children in Pima County increased 30 percent. A nearby school admitted they had locked students in closets and forgotten about them. He said parents from the community came to his former coffee shop, Viva Coffee House, and asked him if he could do something about it.

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Report: Scottsdale Is the Top City for Jobs Nationwide

The Center Square

Scottsdale, Arizona, is considered the best city in the U.S. for jobs, according to a new ranking from WalletHub. 

The city received its high ranking because of 12% job growth, according to the personal finance website. Scottsdale ranked first in job market out of the 182 cities listed, and sixth in the socio-economics rank. Wallethub got the numbers by looking at 31 factors to determine the rankings for people looking for jobs.

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Radio Host Bradlee Dean Speaks to Arizona Tea Party Activists About His Ministry to High School Assemblies and More

Rachel Alexander

Bradlee Dean, founder of the nonprofit Christian organization You Can Run, But You Cannot Hide International (YCRBYCHI) and host of the radio show Sons of Liberty, spoke to the Grassroots Tea Party Activists of Arizona Thursday evening in the West Valley. Dean, an ordained minister and drummer for the Junkyard Prophet, a Christian rock band, founded YCRBYCHI in 1997, which gives presentations to students at school assemblies across the country. 

The fiery, entertaining Dean started his radio show in 2002, which is now nationally syndicated. He produced a mini-series documentary in 2011 titled My War, where he “slings rocks at the political, social, and immoral giants of our time and confronts society’s ills.” He said his band has “purposely turned down 5 record deals in order to maintain control of their uncompromising message.” The Minnesota native wrote a regular column for WND until 2017.

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Cox Settles with Arizona Attorney General for $13 Million over Dubious Charges

The Center Square
Arizona A.G. Kris Mayes

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.

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Arizona Lawmakers, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne Push Back of Gov. Hobbs’ ‘Half Cocked Attempt to Destroy’ the ESA Program

Tom Pappert
Tom Horne

Multiple Arizona lawmakers and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne have pushed back on the plan by Governor Katie Hobbs to place heavy restrictions on the state’s popular Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program.

Hobbs on Wednesday revealed her plan to place a series of new restrictions on the ESA program, including new state requirements for private school educators and schools, additional scrutiny for ESA contracts before funds are dispersed, a ban on “price gouging,” “minimum standards” for schools, which would apparently be set by the state, and modified eligibility requirements for students, among other new requirements and reforms.

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Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego Appointed by Sec. Pete Buttigieg to Advise Department of Transportation

Tom Pappert
Kate Gallego

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego (D) was selected by Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg to participate in a new advisory committee on December 29.

Gallego was among the 27 members of the agency’s new Transforming Transportation Advisory Committee (TTAC) for a two-year term named by Buttigieg last week. Explaining the need for the committee, Buttigieg noted the United States faces both “unprecedented opportunity and unprecedented challenges in transportation.”

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Nevada Judge Attacked in Court by Defendant She Refused to Grant Probation

Tom Pappert
Delone Redden

Video captured the moment Nevada Judge Mary Kay Holthus was attacked in her Las Vegas courtroom on Wednesday as she prepared to decline requests from a recently convicted criminal and his attorney, who requested probation or a suspended sentence.

Holthus was reportedly attacked by Deobra Delone Redden seconds after it became apparent she intended to decline his requests. Video shows Holthus declaring, “I think it’s time he get a taste of something else, because I just can’t with that history.” Holthus was interrupted by screaming expletives, and video appears to show Redden fly across the judge’s bench to attack her.

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Convicted Arizona Ballot Harvester Appointed San Luis Vice Mayor Despite Sentence Keeping Her from Public Office

Tom Pappert
Gloria Torres

San Luis City appointed city Council Member Gloria Torres as the city’s new vice mayor on December 14, 2023, representing her first promotion since her conviction for a misdemeanor ballot harvesting scheme in June of last year. Her colleague and longtime critic, Council Member Gary Garcia Snyder, told The Arizona Sun Times his constituents “are at a loss” following Torres’ appointment.

Torres (pictured above) pleaded guilty to her role in a ballot harvesting scheme after she was indicted following the release of camera footage obtained by Garcia Snyder and David Lara, a San Luis Republican who was elected to a school board seat in 2016, as the result of a “sting” operation.

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Censorship Concerns Rise over State and Local Governments Registering Their Domain Names with CISA

Rachel Alexander

Pinal County’s website, Maricopa County’s website, and other government websites across the country recently switched their registrars from the federal government’s General Services Administration to a new registrar started by the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

CISA has come under heightened scrutiny in recent years for targeting “disinformation” through its Disinformation Governance Board. The board works with Big Tech to shut down unpopular information about COVID-19, elections, and other controversial topics.

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Arizona Legislature Expected to Sue Secretary of State Adrian Fontes over ‘Politically Loaded Election Manual’

Tom Pappert

The Arizona Legislature is expected to file a lawsuit against Secretary of State Adrian Fontes over his “politically loaded” Elections Procedures Manual (EPM), according to statements made Sunday and Monday by the Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP), House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria), and Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa).

A press release from the AZOP on Sunday “urgently” called attention “to Liberal Democrat Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ recent release of the Elections Procedure Manual (EPM), strategically issued at the last minute during a busy holiday weekend.” The party warned, the “timing seems intended to minimize scrutiny and public awareness.”

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Tucson Claims It’s ‘Immune from Liability’ from City Policy in Lawsuit Demanding Homeless Camp Cleanup

Tom Pappert

The City of Tucson claimed it is legally immune to consequences of its public policy as part of its defense in a lawsuit claiming the city’s decision to allow a homeless camp is causing damages to local residents and businesses.

Bernardo Velasco, an attorney representing the city in the lawsuit, reportedly argued on Friday that Tucson “is immune from liability for its policy determinations, according to The Arizona Daily Star. That policy determination, the outlet explained, was to allow homeless individuals to camp in a “pocket park” known as the Navajo Wash.

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Senators Sinema, Kelly Praise Border Patrol Overtime Pay Increase

The Center Square

Some Border Patrol agents will now get increased overtime pay thanks to an amendment pushed by Arizona Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, as well as Republicans and Democrats.

The increase put into the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act applies to GS-12 agents who will get 50 percent more of their “hourly rate of basic pay or extra ‘half-time’ pay for any hour(s) worked between 81-100 per pay period.” The boost is in addition to their normal hourly rate, the National Border Patrol Council explained in a statement. 

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Abe Hamadeh Files a Petition for Writ of Quo Warranto to Remove Attorney General Kris Mayes from Office

Rachel Alexander

Republican Abe Hamadeh, who is still contesting his election loss to Democrat Kris Mayes in the attorney general’s race by 280 votes, filed a Petition for Writ of Quo Warranto & Writ of Mandamus Civil in Maricopa County Superior Court on December 28 asking to remove Mayes from office. He also asked to purge Maricopa County’s voter registration records of any “inappropriate signatures” from vote-by-mail affidavit envelopes, void its canvass in the attorney general’s race, and either order the county to redo signature verification from the election using voters’ signatures on their voter registration or order a new election.

Hamadeh posted on X, quoting his attorney Ryan Heath, “NEW LAWSUIT FILED. Arizonans deserve JUSTICE. My legal team has filed a writ of quo warranto to remove Kris Mayes from office. ‘Kris Mayes, has usurped, intruded into or unlawfully holds or exercises the public office of Arizona’s Attorney General.’ – @Ryan_L_Heath”

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Poll: Trump Leads Biden in Arizona, Other Swing States

The Center Square
Trump Biden

Former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in a head-to-head matchup poll in several swing states, including Arizona. 

A Morning Consult poll among registered voters shows Trump with 46% and Biden with 42%. Their numbers are the same in Michigan and similar in Wisconsin. But Trump leads Biden by 9% in North Carolina, 6% in Georgia and 3% in Nevada. However, Trump only leads Biden by 2% in Pennsylvania. The margins of error in polls range from 3-5% and asked at least 437 people per state from October to December. 

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Judge Allows Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer’s Defamation Lawsuit Against Kari Lake for Accusing Him of Election Improprieties to Proceed

Rachel Alexander

A defamation lawsuit that Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer filed against Kari Lake is being allowed to proceed, despite the fact Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law  First Amendment Clinic joined Lake in her defense requesting that the lawsuit be dismissed.  Richer’s lawsuit, which is being paid for by the Protect Democracy Project,  accused Lake of falsely stating that he intentionally sabotaged the election. Approximately 300,000 ballots in the 2022 election lacked a chain of custody, a class 2 misdemeanor, but the county has strenuously fought litigation efforts to allow Lake to inspect the ballot affidavit envelopes and other requests from her and voter integrity groups related to the election anomalies.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Jay Adleman, who heard oral arguments on Lake’s Motion to Dismiss on December 19, issued his ruling denying the motion that same day. He indicated he already found Lake guilty without putting on a trial first. “In the Court’s view, Defendant Lake’s statements are ‘provably false’ under prevailing Arizona law,” he said.

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State Bar of Arizona Suspends License of Former Maricopa County Prosecutor April Sponsel for Two Years Over Prosecuting Antifa

Rachel Alexander

The State Bar of Arizona’s disciplinary judge Margaret Downie, along with a hearing panel of two others, suspended the law license of longtime Maricopa County prosecutor April Sponsel on December 19 mainly for prosecuting multiple people at an Antifa riot that took place in downtown Phoenix on October 17, 2020 after the death of George Floyd. The 71-page Decision and Order Imposing Sanctions also faulted her decision to charge a thief accused of assaulting police officers. The Arizona bar has come under increasing criticism in recent years for targeting conservative attorneys.

The trial was held in October, with over 8,100 pieces of evidence, including documents and videos, and 30 witnesses testifying. In February 2021, then-Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel made a decision to dismiss all the charges. ABC-15 credited their reporting with the reason for the dismissal. “On February 12, 2021, MCAO dismissed the gang charges against protesters following a week of intense scrutiny because of ABC15’s reporting,” the news site said. The station interviewed the rioters and portrayed them as peaceful protesters.

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Prison Oversight Commission Suggests Hobbs Found New State Agency Amid Lawsuit over Refusal to Appoint Directors

Tom Pappert
Walt Blackman

The Prison Oversight Commission created by Governor Katie Hobbs (D) in January reportedly lacks the “teeth” necessary to enact change, a former Arizona lawmaker said on Wednesday.

Former Arizona State Representative Walt Blackman, a Republican who represented Snowflake until 2023, said the volunteer commission on which he serves, established by Hobbs on January 25, lacks the “teeth” necessary to mandate and enforce policy changes in Arizona’s prisons, according to Arizona Capitol Times. 

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State Senator John Kavanaugh to Pitch Law for Harsher Penalties on Protesters Who Block Arizona Highways

Tom Pappert

State Senator John Kavanaugh (R-Maricopa) is reportedly preparing to pitch legislation that will increase penalties for protesters who block Arizona’s highways and public thoroughfare, with the lawmaker highlighting a recent pro-Palestine protest in California that saw roads blocked for hours.

Kavanaugh said he intends to file a bill that would raise criminal penalties for those who block Arizona’s highways, he told The Arizona Daily Star, explaining his legislation will make protesters who “block a highway, bridge, or tunnel for more than 15 minutes after they’ve been told to leave” guilty of a Class 6 felony. If found guilty, those convicted face a recommended sentence of one year in a state prison.

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Arizona Parents Want New DCS Unit to Track Missing Children After Five Children Disappear from Foster Care

Tom Pappert
Barbara Parker

Parents and foster parents urged reform during a Wednesday committee meeting in the Arizona House of Representatives led by State Representative Barbara Parker (R-Mesa), who successfully passed a 2022 bill to address missing children in the foster care system. 

In a press release published ahead of the meeting, Parker acknowledged “the heart-wrenching disappearance of five children from foster homes” in her district, identifying the missing children as “an issue that strikes at the very core of our commitment to the welfare of vulnerable children.”

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New Documentary ‘State of Denial’ Goes Over Election Illegalities in Maricopa County’s 2022 Election, Reveals ‘Intentional Conduct to Sabotage the Election’

Rachel Alexander
State of Denial Arizona

A new documentary released on Wednesday, reveals the full extent of the chaos on Election Day last fall in Maricopa County due to voters unable to feed their ballots into the machines for tabulation. Speropictures released “State of Denial” in a viewing hosted by We the People AZ Alliance (WPAA) at Pollack Cinemas in Tempe, which is now available free online. The documentary interviewed the key people involved with figuring out how the problem arose, and why nothing happened in the courts to rectify it.

WPAA, which is working with the Kari Lake campaign, posted the documentary on X, along with the statement, “The movie of what the government knows, but will never admit. Kari faces defamation charges for telling the truth, while Scott Jarrett, Stephen Richer and Bill Gates continue to gaslight and lie to the public.”

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Arizona Poll Finds Abe Hamadeh Has 23-Point Lead in House Race, Buoyed by Endorsements from Trump, Lake

Tom Pappert
Abe Hamadeh

Abe Hamadeh holds a commanding, 23-point lead in the Republican primary race for the election for the House seat being vacated by Representative Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08) according to an internal poll published on Wednesday. The pollsters suggest Hamadeh’s early endorsements from former President Donald Trump and U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake may prove instrumental in securing the support of Arizona Republicans.

The National Public Affairs poll, published by German-owned Politico, found Hamadeh, who last ran to become Arizona Attorney General, has the support of 37 percent of Republicans in the district. Former Senate candidate Blake Masters was the only other candidate to reach double digits, polling in second with 14 percent.

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Election Fraud Denying Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre Hit with Another Bar Complaint over ‘Super Extreme’ DUI

Rachel Alexander
Brian McIntyre

Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre, a Republican, was arrested for a Super Extreme DUI last January and pleaded guilty to Extreme DUI but has received no discipline from the State Bar of Arizona. He blew a .20 percent when arrested, more than two times the legal limit of .08 percent BAC. On Thursday, a concerned Arizona resident filed a bar complaint against him, just three days after State Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) and Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller filed an election-related bar complaint against him.

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Arizona State Senate Sues Gov. Katie Hobbs over Refusal to Nominate Agency Directors

Tom Pappert
Peterson Hobbs Courtroom

The Arizona State Senate and Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) took legal action against Governor Katie Hobbs (D) on Tuesday. The governor faces legal action for her attempt to bypass the normal Senate confirmation process for the directors of Arizona’s state agencies, which she started after one of her nominees was rejected for alleged plagiarism.

A summary of the Senate lawsuit was posted to X, formerly Twitter, by State Senator Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff). Rogers noted that Arizona law requires “agencies be led by Senate-confirmed directors,” and wrote that she is “proud” the Arizona Senate GOP “is committed to upholding the law to protect Arizonans’ liberty.”

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AIG Travel Guard Insurance Refuses to Reimburse Families Forced to Cancel Trips to Israel, Claims the Conflict Isn’t an ‘Act of Terror’

Rachel Alexander
Hathaway Family

At least two families were denied reimbursement by their travel insurance company when their trips to Israel were canceled due to the attacks by Hamas. AIG Travel Guard Insurance representatives told the would-be travelers that its policy didn’t cover war, or acts of war, only “acts of terror.” Arizona’s Family On Your Side (AFOYS) interviewed the families and aired coverage of a video showing that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken referred to the violence as a terrorist attack, specifically distinguishing it from war. However, AIG will not backtrack on what it told the families, even after AFOYS contacted the company.

Sheri Hathaway, who was denied reimbursement along with her husband and children, told The Arizona Sun Times that she would never use AIG again. They spent nearly $12,000, excluding airfare. “Hamas is a terrorist organization,” she said. “This happened as a terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas and clearly states in their policy that they do cover terrorist incidents, which this clearly was.”

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Arizona State Representative Kolodin, Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller File Bar Complaint Against Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre

Tom Pappert

Arizona State Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) and Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller filed an election-related bar complaint on Monday against Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre, alleging that he violated attorney client privilege when informing opposing attorneys of the county’s intention to hand-count some of its 2022 election ballots.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Kolodin said McIntyre committed “apparent violations” of attorney client privilege, calling it “his most sacred duty.” Kolodin added, “It is time for equal justice under the law.”

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Oil and Gas Workers’ Association Endorses Arizona’s Kari Lake Following Endorsements of Donald Trump, Abe Hamadeh

Tom Pappert
Kari Lake Arizona

Kari Lake secured the endorsement of the Oil and Gas Workers Association (OGWA) for her U.S. Senate bid on Tuesday, with the group highlighting her commitment to “American energy dominance” in a statement.

Lake revealed the endorsement in a post on X, formerly Twitter, writing that she was “honored” to receive the endorsement from the nonprofit trade association operated by oil and gas workers.

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Native American Nation Will Not Allow National Guard Troops Along Their Part of Border

The Center Square
Arizona National Guard

Even though Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs ordered National Guard troops to the southern border on Friday, not everyone in the region is on board.

The Tohono Oʼodham Nation, which is a Native American nation that touches parts of the southern border in the Tucson Sector, wrote in a letter that they do not want troops along their portion of the border.

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Tucker Carlson, Tulsi Gabbard, and Jonathan Isaac Conclude Last Major Day of TPUSA’s Third Annual AmericaFest

Rachel Alexander

Turning Point USA’s third annual AmericaFest ended its third full day on Monday, featuring speeches by Tucker Carlson, Democrat-turned-independent and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and NBA star Jonathan Isaac. Candace Owens was scheduled to speak, but due to giving birth to her third child, she submitted a short speech on video instead.

In her speech, Gabbard criticized “neocon” Nikki Haley, who has positioned herself in the Republican presidential primary race as a moderate. Gabbard lambasted the “Democratic elite” repeatedly.

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Before Arizona Gov. Hobbs Deployed National Guard, She Neutered Border Security Measures

Just the News

Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs on Friday deployed the National Guard to the southern border amid the unprecedented surge in illegal immigrant arrivals under the Biden administration.

She further pleaded with Washington to send further aid, admonishing the Biden administration for not responding to her request for $512 million to reimburse the state for border security expenses it had already incurred.

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Kari Lake, Steve Bannon, Vivek Ramaswamy, Rep. Matt Gaetz, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Headline Second Day of TPUSA’s Third Annual AmericaFest

Rachel Alexander

The second day of Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest featured several more prominent conservative speakers Sunday evening. Kari Lake, Steve Bannon, Vivek Ramaswamy, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01), and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-AL-14) riled the crowd up denouncing the Republican establishment and the far left. 

Greene began her talk by observing that “Joe Biden has been in office longer than I’ve been alive.” She said she is “constantly surrounded by people that serve the rest of the world and America last and it makes me so d*** angry every single day that I wrote a book about it.” She said, “They seem to forget that there’s 50 states of the United States of America; they think Ukraine is the 51st state.” 

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Charlie Kirk, Roseanne Barr, and Glenn Beck Headline Opening Night of TPUSA’s AmericaFest to Full Crowd of 13,000

Rachel Alexander
AmericaFest 2023

Turning Point USA’s third annual convention, AmericaFest, opened Friday night at the Phoenix Convention Center featuring headline speeches by founder Charlie Kirk, actress Roseanne Barr, and political commentator Glenn Beck. Kirk told the audience it was their largest conference yet, as well as the largest conservative grassroots multi-day conference ever in U.S. history, with 13,000 in attendance, completely filling the auditorium.

Kirk told attendees that the country is in the midst of a “top-down revolution” led by elites, a cultural revolution that is similar to Mao Tse Tung’s cultural revolution. Those at the conference are the “bottom-up resistance,” the grassroots response. 

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Jewish Arizona Democrat Doxxed with Flyers over Pro-Israel Views, State Party Silent

Tom Pappert
Alma Hernandez

Arizona State Representative Alma Hernandez (D-Tucson) reported being victim to a doxxing campaign on Thursday, posting evidence of masked individuals distributing anti-Israel flyers containing her personal address in her neighborhood.

The flyers cite Hernandez’s public opposition to a ceasefire between Palestine and Israel, and claimed she is “working to silence pro-Palestinian colleagues on a local and national level” before claiming Hernandez abuses “power in support of genocide.”

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State Rep. Alex Kolodin Sentenced to 18 Months Probation by Arizona Bar for Filing 2020 Election Lawsuits

Rachel Alexander
Alex Kolodin

The State Bar of Arizona has been aggressively pursuing disciplinary charges against attorneys who challenged alleged election irregularities and illegalities in 2020 and 2022. Proceedings against State Representative Alex Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) recently concluded with Kolodin accepting an agreement that would allow him to keep his law license, instead serving probation for 18 months.

The Arizona Bar charged Kolodin (pictured above) with several rules often used to disbar conservative attorneys. As part of the agreement, Kolodin admitted his actions violated Rule 42, ERs 3.1 and 8.4(d) of the Arizona Bar’s Rules of Professional Conduct. ER 3.1 prohibits attorneys from bringing “frivolous” lawsuits, and 8.4(d) prohibits attorneys from “engag[ing] in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.”

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