• Slug: CN2Go.
• Runtime: 5:55.
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THIS IS YOUR CRONKITE NEWS 2GO BRIEFING.

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I’M NATALIE SKOWLUND ( go to story )

Ballot count (Alexia / sadie/ reader )

MARICOPA COUNTY ELECTIONS BEGAN COUNTING EARLY BALLOTS MONDAY. AT THE ELECTION CENTER, THERE ARE 16 TABULATOR MACHINES TO COUNT THE VOTES. THAT IS 7 MORE THAN WHAT THE CENTER HAD FOR THE 2020 GENERAL ELECTION. SO FAR 168-THOUSAND EARLY BALLOTS HAVE BEEN PROCESSED.

AHEAD OF ELECTION DAY, 3-THOUSAND TEMPORARY ELECTION WORKERS WILL BE HIRED TO HELP.

MARICOPA COUNTY ELECTIONS IS ALSO WORKING HARD ON TRANSPARENCY TO IMPROVE VOTER CONFIDENCE. THERE ARE 24/7 CAMERAS AT THE ELECTIONS DEPARTMENT AND BALLOT BOXES SO VOTERS CAN WATCH THE PROCESS LIVE.

Mesa vigilante drop box intimidation (Natalie / reader )

MEANWHILE….. MARICOPA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CHAIRMAN BILL GATES AND RECORDER STEPHEN RICHER RELEASED A STATEMENT SATURDAY TO RAISE CONCERN ABOUT VOTER INTIMIDATION TACTICS AT BALLOT DROP BOXES.
THAT’S AFTER TWO INDIVIDUALS CARRYING ARMS AND DRESSED IN TACTICAL GEAR STATIONED THEMSELVES AT A MESA BALLOT DROP BOX FRIDAY. THE MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE RESPONDED TO THE SITUATION AND THE INDIVIDUALS LEFT THE DROP BOX AREA.

THE STATEMENT STRESSES VIGILANTES AT DROP BOXES DO NOT INCREASE ELECTION INTEGRITY. VOTER INTIMIDATION IS AGAINST THE LAW.

MARICOPA COUNTY CURRENTLY HAS 16 DROP BOXES AND 12 VOTING CENTERS. ON ELECTION DAY THERE WILL BE MORE THAN 200 LOCATIONS. VOTERS CAN ALSO RETURN BALLOTS BY MAIL. ELECTION DAY IS NOVEMBER 8.

Fentanyl (Conor / superspot )

HOST INTRO :
SOCIAL MEDIA IS CHANGING THE WAY DRUG DEALERS ARE SELLING PRODUCTS LIKE FENTANYL. SOMEONE CAN GET THESE TYPES OF DRUGS DIRECTLY DELIVERED TO THEM WITH A CLICK OF A BUTTON. CRONKITE NEWS REPORTER CONOR MCGILL REPORTS ABOUT AN ADVOCACY GROUP IN GLENDALE THAT HOPES TO EDUCATE PARENTS ON THE MATTER.

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PARENTS, EDUCATORS, AND PROFESSIONALS RECENTLY GATHERED IN GLENDALE TO TALK ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA …AND FENTANYL. CHERI OZ IS A SPECIAL AGENT WITH THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION. SHE SAYS SOCIAL MEDIA MAKES IT EASY TO ACCESS DRUGS LIKE FENTANYL.

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“We live in an era where social media touches all of us without even trying. So the availability and the low price of fentanyl pills makes it look more enticing and it is so so dangerous.

IN A RECENT SURVEY SEVENTY PERCENT OF ARIZONA STUDENTS SAY USING FENTANYL POSES A GREAT RISK.
THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS PARENTS LIKE DENISE CARLSON ARE COMING TO EVENTS LIKE THIS ONE. SHE WANTS TO LEARN MORE FENTANYL AND HOW KIDS ARE GETTING THERE HANDS ON IT.

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“fentanyl was another thing I didn’t .. I heard it because my husband is a fireman. So I hear a lot of things about it but I didn’t really know the potential of what’s happening in school with this drug. It’s scary especially the candy ones there really scary.”

DRUG TRAFFICKERS. USE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS LIKE INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK, AND TWITTER TO ADVERTISE, CONNECT, AND EXCHANGE GOODS. MASTER SERGEANT TOMMY MORGA IS WITH THE ARIZONA NATIONAL GUARD DRUG DEMAND REDUCTION AND OUTREACH TEAM. HE SAYS SNAPCHAT IS THE MOST POPULAR PLATFORM AMONG TEENAGERS.

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“thirty five percent of youth are on this application so they obviously know it’s the ones being used the most so why not use the one they can get the most contact with our kids.”

THE MINIMUM AGE TO JOIN SNAPCHAT IS THIRTEEN WHICH MEANS KIDS ARE BEING TARGETED AS EARLY A MIDDLE SCHOOL. CARLSON ADMITS SHE NEEDS TO KNOW MORE ABOUT SNAPCHAT.

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“I think there’s a lot of parents like me that don’t know enough about fentanyl or snapchat in general. Like we said we let our kids use snapchat at an early age and we really didn’t know enough about it. So we might be back tracking on what we are going to let them do.”

MORGA SAYS EDUCATION LIKE THIS CAN HELP PARENTS HAVE GOOD COMMUNICATION WITH THEIR TEENAGERS.

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“ Know who they are talking to. There are ways to monitor social media applications. The biggest thing is to be and have an open conversation with their kids.”

TALKNOWAZ.COM IS A GOOD RESOURCE FOR PARENTS TO GET MORE INFORMATION. IT HAS IS HAS MOVIES, GUIDES AND HELP ON HOW TO START THE CONVERSATION.

CONOR MCGILL, CRONKITE NEWS.

Digital license plates (reader/ Kenny)
ARIZONA IS ONE OF THREE STATES THAT HAS LEGALIZED NEW DIGITAL LICENSE PLATES, ALONG WITH MICHIGAN AND CALIFORNIA. THE BATTERY POWERED PLATES CAN FLASH AMBER ALERTS, OR EVEN SAY “STOLEN” IF YOUR CAR IS TAKEN. ARIZONA DRIVERS CAN DIGITALLY ADD THEIR DRIVER’S LICENSE OR STATE IDENTIFICATION CARD TO THEIR IPHONE OR APPLE WATCH. THEY CAN PRESENT THE DIGITAL VERSION AS VALID IDENTIFICATION AT AIRPORT SECURITY CHECKPOINTS. ARIZONA’S GOVERNOR SAYS THE DIGITAL PLATES OFFER “CHOICE, CONVENIENCE, PRIVACY, AND SECURITY.” THE NEW PLATES MADE BY THE BOSTON BASED REVIVER ARE PRICEY COMING IN AT LEAST $20 A MONTH OR HIGHER. SO FAR THERE ARE ROUGHLY 500 DIGITAL PLATES REGISTERED IN ARIZONA.

New Languages Center (Autriya / reader )

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA’S NEW LANGUAGE TRAINING CENTER WILL OFFER INTENSIVE LANGUAGE TRAINING TO U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PERSONNEL. THE PROGRAM IS FUNDED BY A THREE-YEAR $1.5 MILLION GRANT FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. THE COURSES INCLUDE 160 HOURS OF INSTRUCTION AND RIGOROUS CURRICULUM. THE TRAINING CENTER WILL ALSO HAVE FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTOR CERTIFICATE COURSES. DEFENSE PERSONNEL WILL RECEIVE COURSES IN ARABIC, FARSI, RUSSIAN, SPANISH AND UKRAINIAN. THE FIRST YEAR’S COURSES WILL RUN FROM OCTOBER TO MAY.

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WE HAD HELP TODAY FROM ALEXIA STANBRIDGE, FERNANDA GALAN MARTINEZ, CONOR MCGILL AND AUTRIYA MANESHNI. A BIG THANKS TO DAMON FAIRALL FOR PRODUCING OUR SHOW.

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YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THE STORIES YOU HEARD IN TODAY’S NEWS UPDATE, BY GOING TO CRONKITENEWS-DOT-AZPBS-DOT-ORG.

THAT’S ALL FOR YOUR CRONKITE NEWS 2 GO. I’M NATALIE SKOWLUND.

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