• Slug: BC-CNS-Paycheck Protection,830
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Christopher Scragg
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Banks and small businesses reported an overwhelming volume of calls and some confusion Friday as the Small Business Administration launched the first phase of the $2 trillion economic stimulus package in the face of COVID-19.

The $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program aims to help small businesses weather the economic crisis with loans that can be forgiven if companies use the money to keep workers on the payroll throughout the coming months of social-distancing. Continue reading “‘Overwhelming’ demand on first day of $349 billion small-business aid program”

• Slug: BC-CNS Arizona Coronavirus Update, 915 words.
• Graphic here.

By Farah Eltohamy
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – More Arizona businesses face closure with a revised order from Gov. Doug Ducey, who is calling on salons, barbers, tattoo parlors, massage parlors, spas and other previously exempt businesses to cease operation by 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 4.

Mayors in Arizona voiced criticism of the state’s list of essential services in recent weeks, Cronkite News reported. Ducey, in a press release Friday afternoon, updated his executive order to redefine those services the state considers essential.

Although the state vowed to keep public parks as open to the “greatest extent as possible,” amenities at public parks that do not allow for recommended physical distancing or proper hygiene will close. That includes splash pads, basketball courts and even park restrooms. Continue reading “COVID-19 in Arizona: Hair salons, massage parlors, other businesses ordered to close by 5 p.m. Saturday”

• Slug: BC-CNS ASU Drive-Thru Testing, 435 words.
• 3 photos and captions below.

By Hannah Foote
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – After more than a week of delays, the Arizona State University Biodesign Institute began its drive-thru testing for COVID-19 on Thursday, and it will not be open to the general public.

Testing is reserved for selected essential workers, including first responders and hospital workers who face exposure more frequently, according to Joshua LaBaer, the ASU Biodesign Institute executive director.

“If we were to lose them it would threaten routine operations so we’re getting involved with them,” he said. “A lot of these folks have to work either in tight spaces or work in groups, so if one of them were to get sick they could infect others and that would be a problem for everybody.” Continue reading “ASU launches drive-thru testing for essential workers after weeklong delays”

• Slug: BC-CNS Latina Postpartum Depression, 655 words.
• 2 photos and captions below.
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• Video here.

By Jordan Elder
Cronkite News

MESA – Bringing home a new baby is supposed to be a happy time. Parents spend months preparing the nursery, stocking up on diapers and formula, and waiting excitedly for their tiny addition.

But Christina Loya-Moreno would lie awake at night while her husband and baby slept. For a while, she didn’t think much of it.

“Then it had kind of a spiral effect – the anxiety, the depression, the crying – and that’s when I knew something wasn’t right,” Loya-Moreno said. “But I didn’t know what postpartum depression was at that time.”

Postpartum depression is one of many conditions that fall under the umbrella of perinatal mood and anxiety disorder. It has long been referred to as the “baby blues,” which are mood swings, anxiety and insomnia up to two weeks after giving birth.

One in seven mothers will struggle with these symptoms more severely and for longer periods of time. That is postpartum depression, and some women are more likely to suffer than others. Continue reading “Struggling in silence: Latinas face higher risk of postpartum depression”

Here is your Cronkite News lineup for Friday, April 3. If you have questions on news stories from the Phoenix bureau, please contact Executive Editor Christina Leonard at 602-361-5893 or christina.leonard@asu.edu, while questions about stories from our Washington bureau should go to Steve Crane at 202-684-2398 or steve.crane@asu.edu. Sports story questions can be directed to Paola Boivin at paola.boivin@asu.edu. Clients who want to use Cronkite videos can find clean versions, and scripts, for download in a Dropbox – if interested, contact Executive Editor Christina Leonard at christina.leonard@asu.edu for access. Stories promised for today, along with photos and links to multimedia elements, will post to our client site at cronkitenews.jmc.asu.edu/clients. Continue reading “Cronkite News Digest for Friday, April 3”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Jobless Jolts,740
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By Christopher Scragg
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – New jobless claims continued to soar to record heights in Arizona and the nation, with state filings jumping from the then-record 29,333 claims two weeks ago to 88,592 last week.

They were among the 6.6 million unemployment claims nationwide last week, twice the 3.3 million of a week earlier. While the numbers are staggering, Arizona economists say they probably do not include all the people out of work and may be “just the top half of an iceberg which has still many claims to come.” Continue reading “New jobless claims shatter week-old records in state, across nation”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Census Tribes,730
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By Joshua Gerard Gargiulo
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Tribal response to the 2020 Census badly trails state and national rates, according to Census Bureau data, with the already-challenging task of counting in tribal areas further complicated by the arrival of COVID-19.

U.S. and Arizona response rates to the questionnaire that went out in mid-March were hovering around one-third of the expected total by the end of the month. But the highest response rate for an Arizona tribe is just under 22%, and many more of the state’s tribes are at or below a 1% response rate. Continue reading “Down for the count: Tribes’ Census response lags far behind state, U.S.”

• Slug: BC-CNS ASU Commencement Reaction, 1,215 words.
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By Jamie Landers
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Arizona State University will conduct spring graduation ceremonies online rather than in person to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, upending a storied tradition where graduates stride across a stage before beaming families and friends and the ASU community to celebrate earning their diplomas.

ASU President Michael Crow’s announcement on Thursday was not unexpected, given the state’s two other universities and colleges across the country already have decided to forego or delay commencement ceremonies. Crow vowed to make the virtual experience a celebration and said May graduates also could choose to walk in December or next year.

Still, the news cast a pall over some seniors and their families who are already grappling with enormous life shifts in the wake of the pandemic, which has ground much of the economy to a halt, shuttered sports and entertainment events, spurred panic buying at grocery stores and prompted acts of charity and social good. Continue reading “ASU cancels May commencement due to coronavirus, joining NAU, UArizona”

• Slug: BC-CNS Arizona Coronavirus Update, 1,145 words.
• Graphic here.

By Grace Lieberman and Velvet Wahl
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – A group of immigrant detainees have filed suit against U.S. officials, alleging federal inaction during the COVID-19 outbreak endangers those in detention and violates the Constitution.

In a lawsuit filed March 30, four Cuban asylum seekers and one green-card holder facing deportation accused the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review and Immigration and Customs Enforcement of violations, KJZZ reports. The plaintiffs argue that the organizations are ignoring warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the risks of in-person court hearings, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs argue immigration courts should follow the precedent set by prisons, which halted in-person court hearings, to minimize the possibility of infection. Continue reading “COVID-19 in Arizona: Detainees call for immigration courts to halt in-person hearings”

• Slug: BC-CNS Olympic Dream Delayed, 850 words.
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By Valerie Gonzales
Cronkite News

LOS ANGELES – Athletes everywhere are refocusing and reworking their training regimens now that the 2020 Summer Olympics have been pushed back a year.

One of them is Canadian swimmer Taylor Ruck, 19, of Scottsdale, who took off a year from Stanford University to train for Tokyo.

“The only thing that’s changing is based on what the coaches say about what we will do for the next blocks of training. I don’t really ask them what that looks like,” Ruck said in a recent phone interview with Cronkite News. “I think they are waiting to tell us when the other meets will be, and what meets we will be using to train in preparation for the Olympics.”

The games being moved to 2021 will give athletes an extra year to train and prepare, which could be beneficial. Continue reading “‘It’s a weird mindset’: Canadian swimmer reflects on delay of Summer Olympics”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Canyon Closed,650.
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By Jessica Myers
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The National Park Service abruptly closed Grand Canyon National Park on Wednesday, bowing to weeks of pressure after health officials expressed “extreme concern” about the potential for spread of COVID-19 in the park.

The park has been open with reduced services – and no entry fee – for two weeks as the number of coronavirus cases have spiked in the state and the nation and as public health officials have enacted increasingly strict limits on gatherings and public activities. Continue reading “COVID-19 fears close Grand Canyon National Park after weeks of pressure”

• Slug: BC-CNS-EPA AWOL,800.
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By Jessica Myers
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The Environmental Protection Agency this week defended its plans to waive some environmental compliance requirements in the face of the coronavirus, insisting the temporary policy is “not a license to pollute.”

Environmentalists were not convinced, repeating charges that the “pretty outrageous” policy, first announced last week, creates a “catch me if you can” situation for polluters. Continue reading “EPA defends plan to ease compliance requirements in face of coronavirus”