By Gabrielle Wallace
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – Many oil and gas wells across Arizona with no known owners leak methane into the environment, which tribal, state and federal agencies are responsible for cleaning up.
These wells – referred to as “orphaned” – are often not properly maintained and can lead to surface and groundwater contamination causing pollution, health issues and threats to wildlife.
By Lizeth Adriana Calderon
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – Roughly a fifth of expecting and new mothers in Arizona receive little to no prenatal care, which can lead to poor health outcomes for mothers and their children, according to the March of Dimes report from last year.
Overall the health of mothers and infants in the U.S. is on decline, partially because more than a third of Americans live in maternal care deserts, according to the subsequent March of Dimes report. A maternity care desert is an area where access to reproductive health care is limited or women face other obstacles in their ability to access care.
Continue reading “On-call maternity care in rural Arizona boosted by AHCCCS funding”
By Tony Gutiérrez
Special for Cronkite News
Following reports of armed “poll watchers” at Arizona polling places during the last several election cycles, two groups have launched initiatives inviting people of faith to help promote peace at the polls.
Faiths United to Save Democracy is actively recruiting “poll chaplains” to serve at various poll locations, while the Arizona Faith Network, in partnership with Election Protection Arizona, is inviting people of faith to be “peacekeepers.” Medina Moore, voting rights organizer for the Arizona Faith Network, said both groups support each other in their missions.
Continue reading “Religious groups recruit volunteers to provide peaceful presence at Arizona polls”
By Ana Burk
Special for Cronkite News
PHOENIX – In this era of social media, a seasoned political reporter shares key strategies for identifying disinformation during election season.
The American Psychological Association reports that over the past few decades, people’s attention spans have decreased due to constant distractions from phones and other devices. People tend to only read the first line of a story, or watch the first few seconds of a video.
Continue reading “Election Day essentials: The do’s and don’ts for spotting disinformation”
By Aaron Stigile
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – Rallies outside of Maricopa County offices, threats and intimidation directed toward election workers and false election conspiracy theories spread by politicians are all problems Maricopa County officials have had to deal with in the past.
Now, officials are preparing security measures and fighting back against misinformation in the run-up to Nov. 5.
Continue reading “Maricopa County officials confident but wary of threats ahead of Election Day”
By Nash Darragh
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – With just a week to go until Election Day, all eyes remain on the swing state of Arizona. The state’s 11 electoral votes have been increasingly sought after by both Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris over the past few months.
But Republican Kari Lake and Democrat Ruben Gallego are also aiming to secure the final undecided votes from a generation that is voting for the first time.
Continue reading “Arizona Senate candidates Kari Lake, Ruben Gallego targeting younger voters”
By Mia Osmonbekov
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – Both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have launched get-out-the-vote coalitions targeting the close to half a million Latter-day Saints in Arizona, a battleground state where every voting bloc will count in the presidential race.
Trump pitched himself to Arizona LDS voters while campaigning in Prescott Valley earlier this month. During an online “LDS for Trump” event, Trump told attendees that “we really have the same values.”
By Brandelyn Clark
Cronkite News
LOS ANGELES — On Thursday, Sens. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) and Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) officially launched the Mexican Repatriation Memorial Project in Los Angeles.
The project aims to commemorate the 2 million Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants who were forcibly deported from the United States during the Great Depression, including approximately 400,000 individuals from California. Senate Bill 537, authored by Gonzalez and Becker, was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September. It will enable a selected nonprofit to construct and maintain a memorial in a public area of Los Angeles. The memorial is planned for completion before the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics in LA.
By Hayden Larkin
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – Nonprofit organization Act One funded a school trip to the Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix to see the Tetra String Quartet on Wednesday, which kicked off the organization’s 2024-25 season.
“I just think it was so beautiful,” said Milani Duran, a sixth grader from Sunland STEAM Academy. “Seeing all the different (things), seeing the violin, the cello, it was very different.”
By Lizeth Adriana Calderon
Cronkite News
PHOENIX — People line up outside the Consulate General of Mexico in Phoenix, one of the five Mexican consulates in Arizona.
They’re seeking assistance with visa application, consular and voter registration, community agendas and more. And while they wait, they learn about the free health services the consulate offers. Approximately 200 to 300 people use the consulate’s services daily, according to Consul General Jorge Mendoza Yescas.
By Gabrielle Wallace and Marshall Baker
Cronkite News
LAVEEN VILLAGE – President Joe Biden on Friday formally apologized for the 150 years of abuse and harm suffered by Indigenous children that were put into the federal boarding school system.
“I believe it is important that we do know there was generations of Native children stolen, taken away to places they didn’t know, with people they never met, who spoke a language they never heard,” Biden said during a visit to the Gila River Indian Community in front of an emotional crowd. “The federal government has never formally apologized, until today.”
This apology comes after an extensive investigation by the Department of Interior. The Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative began in 2021 and was designed to recognize the long-term impacts of Indian boarding schools from 1819 to 1970. Continue reading “Biden issues formal apology for treatment of Indigenous children within federal boarding schools”
By Aaron Stigile
Cronkite News
TEMPE – A normally frozen Mullett Arena hosted heated rhetoric about immigration, the economy, Vice President Kamala Harris and faith during a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump on Thursday.
The crowd, which filled much of the 5,000-seat arena save a smattering of empty seats, consistently broke out into chants of “fight, fight, fight” before Trump came on stage, a reference to the words he said after an assassination attempt in July.
“Immediately upon taking office, I will launch the largest deportation in American history,” Trump said. “I will rescue every town across America that’s been invaded and conquered.” Continue reading “Donald Trump focuses on immigration at Tempe campaign rally just 12 days before election”
By Grace Monos
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – Arizona’s higher-income residents and homeowners with steep property taxes have felt a pinch since Congress capped the state and local tax (SALT) deduction at $10,000, but the presidential election could lead to changes in the tax code.
The SALT cap and other provisions in former President Donald Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) are set to expire next year. Even Trump has said he wants to let the cap expire.
By Jalen Woody
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – Summer is the most brutal time in Phoenix, especially for those surviving without basic needs like water and cool places to rest. This year, the city offered 24-hour heat relief spaces that skyrocketed in demand. City officials say 92% of visitors were experiencing homelessness, and the centers are a means to help them get off the streets and into safer places.
The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) implemented the centers to provide people experiencing homelessness with much needed necessities to survive the temperatures.
By Aryton Temcio
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – Since 1989, the international commercial trade of ivory has been banned in an effort to rebuild the dwindling population of elephants and other species poached for their ivory. Although these animals are found primarily in Africa and Asia, many agencies think the ramifications of ivory poaching are felt around the world.
The United States only adopted a near-total ban in 2016. Despite the bans on commercial trading, ivory is still legal to possess in the U.S., and many people still do.
By Brandelyn Clark
Cronkite News
LOS ANGELES – Amid the barren patches of dirt scattered throughout Los Angeles’ bustling streets, a movement for social change is taking root. Community gardens and local plants flourish in underused land, bringing much-needed green to the city’s concrete jungle.
Starting as a necessity for people who didn’t own land seeking to provide food for their communities, guerrilla gardening has evolved into a powerful tool for social rebellion and environmental activism.
By Amelia Monroe
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – An estimated 97% of Americans have detectable levels of invasive “forever chemicals” in their bloodstreams – many are unaware that they’re drinking them.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – or PFAS – are man-made synthetic chemicals manufactured and commercialized since the 1940s. This class of chemicals includes roughly 14,000 variations, widely used in consumer and industrial products – nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, cosmetics and firefighter foam – due to their grease-, oil- and water-resistant properties.
EDS: An earlier version of this story miscast what $14.9 billion in tax revenue through 2045 would fund. The error occurred in the fifth graf the original. The story below has been corrected, but clients who used previous versions are asked to run the correction found here.
By Hayden Larkin
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – With Proposition 479, a continuation of a half-cent sales tax in Maricopa County for transportation funding, on the ballot in November, Valley Metro and other groups are advocating for the continuation, while opponents say the tax on consumer goods is unneeded for a service few people use.
Public transit has provided Maricopa County residents with access to ease of travel. Light rail expansions, short-term rental bikes and scooters and public buses have all become viable options for city-dwelling Arizonans. With these options becoming more available, voters and groups are butting heads over the taxation and costs of expanding these transit systems. Some places in Maricopa County also may not have the means to afford certain forms of public transit to be able to expand into their cities.
By Madeline Nguyen
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – Maria Losoya isn’t a doctor. She can’t treat patients, and she can’t do surgeries. But in southern Arizona’s border communities, she performs a special kind of life-saving health care. She’s an expert at navigating the health insurance marketplace – in English and Spanish.
It’s a strength that has made Losoya a trusted face in her home of Santa Cruz County, where nearly one in three residents were uninsured in 2022 – the highest rate in the state, according to the National Institutes of Health. Day and night, community members call Losoya from hospital rooms to see how they can afford the treatment they need, from emergency care to chemotherapy.
Continue reading “Future of ACA, health insurance coverage at stake in presidential election”
By Nicollette Valenzuela
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – “Can we skip straight to the empowerment session?” shouts someone from a crowd at a small, dimly lit shop with a fluorescent pink glow. The “empowerment session” gathers more than 30 participants every Tuesday night at The Daily Mix Nutrition store in Avondale.
After a battle with postpartum depression, Yormheri Munguia, the store’s owner, and Jennie Parra, a women’s transformation coach, recently started the Women’s Empowerment workout.
Continue reading “How mental health affects maternal mortality in Arizona”
