• Slug: BC-CNS-Biden Wall,590 words.
• File photo, graphic available (embed code, thumbnail, caption below).

By Alexandria Cullen and Adrienne Washington
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration reversed course Thursday and said it would resume border wall construction, citing an “acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers” at the southern border to handle record-breaking numbers of immigrants.

The announcement by the Department of Homeland Security said it would waive 26 environmental and other regulations and use previously allocated funds to construct roads and “border barriers” along the Texas border, in the Rio Grande sector.

It is an abrupt change in direction for President Joe Biden, who halted wall construction on his first day in office, saying it was “not a serious policy solution” and a “waste of money that diverts attention from genuine threats to our homeland security.” Continue reading “Biden administration reverses course, resumes border wall construction”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Student Debt,700 words.
• File photo, video story available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Adrienne Washington and Alexandria Cullen
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration said Wednesday that it has cleared the way for another $9 billion in student debt relief for as many as 125,000 borrowers – 11,700 of them in Arizona.

The savings, which will come through changes to existing debt relief programs, would save Arizona borrowers an estimated $840 million, according to the Education Department. Advocates said that will likely come as good news to the 917,300 borrowers in the state who owed $32.5 billion as of June 30, according to department data. Continue reading “Latest student debt relief plan could save 11,700 Arizonans $840 million”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Speaker Silenced,680 words.
• 2 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Renee Romo and Alexandria Cullen
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Arizona Reps. Andy Biggs and Eli Crane were among the eight conservative Republicans who voted with all House Democrats Tuesday to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the first time in history a sitting speaker has been removed.

The 216-210 vote could paralyze the House – it took 15 ballots for Republicans to elect McCarthy speaker earlier this year – at a time when Congress has a little more than six weeks to pass a fiscal 2024 budget or face another potential government shutdown. Continue reading “Biggs, Crane join Democrats in historic vote to oust McCarthy as speaker”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Witness Rejection,600 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Renee Romo
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court will hear the appeal of an Arizona man who said his right to confront his accuser was violated when the expert witness who tested the drugs in his case was replaced by another expert.

Jason Smith was convicted in part on the testimony of Greggory Longoni, who testified using reports filed by Elizabeth Rast, the Arizona Department of Public Safety forensic scientist who tested the drugs in Smith’s case. Rast had left the department before Smith’s case came to trial. Continue reading “Supreme Court to hear appeal over expert testimony in Yuma drug case”

• Slug: Sports-The Sweet Spot. Runtime 19:12.
• Downloadable audio here. (Note: Some web browsers may not support media download)

[Music bed under] 

YATES: This is The Sweet Spot where we take a closer look at the week’s biggest sports stories in Arizona. I’m Benjamin Yates, and welcome to our fourth episode of the Sweet Spot. We are excited to have everyone listening in to the show.

[Music fade in/under] Continue reading “The Sweet Spot: Basketball fever, a – literal – charity drive, a new kind of two-way player”

• Slug: BC-CNS-CN2Go Weekly Update. Runtime 12:57.
• Downloadable audio here. (Note: Some web browsers may not support media download)

[Music bed under] 

CN2Go Host: This is Cronkite News 2 Go. I’m your host, Kiersten Edgett.

[Music fade in/under]

CN2Go Host: On today’s show we talk about Biden’s visit to Arizona on Thursday, the recent record breaking heat’s effect on those experiencing homelessness, water levels in the greater Phoenix area, and how NASCAR Accelerator Charities allowed drivers to do laps around their famous race track. Continue reading “CN2Go Weekly Update: Extreme heat affecting people living in ‘The Zone’”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Shutdown Food,450 words.
• 5 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Angelina Steel
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – If Congress doesn’t come to a spending agreement this weekend, the federal government will shut down on Sunday, Oct. 1.

The shutdown would force millions of federal workers and military service members to go without pay, and many federal services like passport offices and national parks could close.

People who depend on federally funded nutrition programs to pay for groceries were alarmed when U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warned, during a press conference this week, that nearly 7 million Americans, mainly women and children, would suffer from a rapid loss of food benefits in a shutdown. Continue reading “Shutdown would not affect food aid – for now – but pantries brace for surge”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Biden Tempe,720 words.
• 3 photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Reagan Priest
Cronkite News

TEMPE – President Joe Biden invoked the spirit of the late Sen. John McCain while denouncing “MAGA extremists” as a threat to democracy, during a speech Thursday at the Tempe Arts Center.

Biden, in town to announce the creation of a library and museum honoring McCain, cited the Arizona Republican’s willingness to cross party lines and work with Democrats – a far cry from former President Donald Trump’s supporters who he said “would fundamentally alter the institutions of American democracy as we know it.” Continue reading “Biden honors McCain, denounces ‘MAGA extremists’ during Tempe event”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Health Changes,670 words.
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By Lux Butler
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The number of Arizonans with health insurance rose in 2022, a post-pandemic bump that experts say has likely turned sharply south in the year since, as COVID-19 benefits have been phased out.

Recent data from the Census Bureau shows that the percentage of Arizonans with health insurance rose from 89.3% in 2021 to 89.7% in 2022. While that is an improvement, the state still lags slightly behind the nation, where coverage rose 0.7% from 91.3% of Americans insured to 92% in that period.

Experts say that rise was likely due to increased availability of Medicaid during the pandemic health emergency. But as the country has moved away from COVID-19 programs and protocols in the past year, one change is that states are no longer prohibited from removing people from their Medicaid rolls. Continue reading “Experts: Slight 2022 Arizona health insurance gains likely to vanish in 2023”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Gosar Milley,720 words.
• 2 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Adrienne Washington
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Two years after he was formally censured for a video that appeared to espouse violence against lawmakers, Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar has again grabbed headlines by saying the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would be hanged in a “better society.”

The Bullhead City Republican made the comment Sunday in his weekly newsletter, in which he blamed Gen. Mark Milley for delays in deploying troops to the Capitol on Jan. 6 – citing a hearing last week that made no mention of Milley.

Analysts said that even for a “rhetorical bomb-thrower” like Gosar, the comments were surprising, but that he is unlikely to suffer any political damage from the comments from voters in his conservative district. Continue reading “Gosar back in spotlight with call for general to “be hung” over Jan. 6”

• Slug: Sports-The Sweet Spot. Runtime 9:59.
• Downloadable audio here. (Note: Some web browsers may not support media download)

[Music bed under]

HOST INTRO: This is the Sweet Spot where we take a closer look at the week’s biggest sports stories in Arizona. I’m Brandon Tran, and welcome back to the show, for our third episode of the season!

[Music fade in/under] Continue reading “The Sweet Spot: Cardinals’ rough start, Final Four’s head start, a prep star’s early start”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Defense Torpedo,720 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Alexandria Cullen and Adrienne Washington
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Two Arizona lawmakers were among five GOP House members who broke ranks Thursday and voted to block the Defense authorization bill, the latest twist in a budget fight that could cause a government shutdown in 10 days.

Republican Reps. Andy Biggs of Gibert and Eli Crane of Oro Valley were part of the self-styled “Hold the Line” group that joined with 210 Democrats to block a procedural motion, on a 212-216 vote, that would have allowed the Defense bill to advance.

Democrats oppose the appropriations bill because it includes GOP-backed language to limit funding for things like abortion access and gender-affirming medical treatment for the troops. But for Republican opponents like Crane it’s about leveraging their handful of votes. Continue reading “Biggs, Crane join conservatives who block Defense bill, as shutdown looms”

• Slug: Sports-The Sweet Spot. Runtime 10:47.
• Downloadable audio here. (Note: Some web browsers may not support media download)

[Music bed under] 

HOST INTRO: This is the Sweet Spot where we take a closer look at the week’s biggest sports stories in Arizona. I’m Alex Chenevey, and welcome back to the show, for our second episode of the season!

[Music fade in/under] Continue reading “The Sweet Spot: Exit interviews cool temperatures on Mercury”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Green Jobs,680 words.
• File photo, graphic, video story available (embed code, thumbnails, captions below).

By Renee Romo
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Arizona added more than 2,300 clean-energy industry jobs last year, falling just shy of the state’s pre-pandemic employment levels but matching the nation for job growth in the sector, a new report said.

The annual Clean Jobs America report by Environmental Entrepreneurs – or E2 – said the bulk of the 61,583 clean-energy jobs in the state were in energy-efficiency fields, like efficient lighting, heating and insulation. But Arizona also had almost 12,000 jobs in renewable energy industries and more than 4,000 in clean vehicles. Continue reading “Arizona added 2,374 clean-energy jobs in 2022, near pre-pandemic levels”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Border Wars,790 words.
• 4 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Renee Romo and Adrienne Washington
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Will the flow of migrants into the U.S. “grow our workforce, our productivity, and our economy” or is it “unchecked, unfettered, illegal immigration” that depresses wages and takes jobs?

In Washington, it can be both.

While two committees held two hearings on the same topic Wednesday, the hearings in the Democrat-controlled Senate and the GOP-led House came to two very different conclusions. Washington observers were not surprised. Continue reading “Glass half-full or half-empty? In partisan Washington, it’s usually both”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Wall Damages,850 words.
• 2 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Lux Butler
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – A new Government Accountability Office report confirms what critics have long said, that the Trump administration’s rush to build a border wall caused significant environmental damage, depleted water sources and devastated sacred tribal sites.

The report also said that wall-related damage at the border has continued under the Biden administration, which ordered a pause in border wall construction on President Joe Biden’s first day that left sites abandoned and vulnerable to erosion and the elements. Continue reading “GAO: Rush to build border wall caused harm, damages continued after pause”

• Slug: BC-CNS-ESA Climbs,960 words.
• 2 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Adrienne Washington
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The state added nearly 12,000 students to the Empowerment Scholarship Account program in the last quarter, bringing total enrollment to 61,689 at the end of June and renewing debates about the costs and benefits of the program.

In the year since Arizona began offering universal ESA, close to 50,000 students have flocked to the program that redirects public school funding directly to families to pay for their children’s education – in private, charter or homeschool settings.

The Arizona Department of Education predicted in May that there could be as many as 100,000 students enrolled by this time next year, growth that they say reflects the popularity of the program. But critics say it will blow a $320 million hole in the state budget next year while depriving public schools of badly needed funding. Continue reading “ESA program added almost 50,000 students in the past year, state reports”

• Slug: News21-After Roe-Abortion Pill Networks (Abridged),1400 words.
• A full-length version of 2,270 words is also available.
• 6 photos, video story available (thumbnails and captions below).

By Marien López-Medina, Kevin Palomino, April Pierdant and Tori Gantz
News21

MONTERREY, Mexico – Verónica Cruz Sánchez watched something remarkable happen from the office of her women’s rights organization in Guanajuato, the capital city of one of this country’s most conservative Catholic states.

Founder of Las Libres – “the free” in English – she had built an underground abortion-pill network in a country where having the procedure could have meant going to jail.

In September 2021, the Mexican Supreme Court issued a surprise ruling that abortion was no longer a crime – not even in places like Guanajuato, where it continues to be outlawed by the state.

That same month across the border in the U.S., Texas instituted a so-called “fetal heartbeat bill” that effectively outlawed abortion. Continue reading “Mexican abortion-pill networks reach across U.S. border to help immigrants without access”