Archives

PHOENIX – When Jocelyn Erickson suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and damaged meniscus cartilage in her knee while playing basketball in January, there was reason to wonder about the athletic future of the Oklahoma softball commit. However, the two-sport star at Sandra Day O’Connor High School in Phoenix has used the setback as an.

PHOENIX – Hamza Abdullah played seven seasons as an NFL safety, including three with the Arizona Cardinals, making his mark in the league primarily on special teams during a career that lasted twice as long as the average NFL player’s. But Abdullah’s quest for a starting job – well, it was almost Sisyphean. Just as.

WASHINGTON — Refugee advocates were “deeply disappointed and frustrated” by the Biden administration’s failure Friday to reverse historically low Trump-era refugee limits this year, something then-candidate Joe Biden had promised to do. The White House said Biden remains committed to raising the cap to 62,500, the number outlined in the administration’s budget request last week,.

TUCSON – Although jaguars are widely assumed to live exclusively in Mexico, Central and South America, they once prowled Arizona, New Mexico and Texas before colonizers and poachers in the 19th century drove most of these beautifully spotted big cats out of the U.S. So when Ganesh Marin was studying ecosystems along the border U.S.-Mexico.

PHOENIX – The city is partnering with health care companies to send vans into underserved communities to provide free, on-the-spot COVID-19 tests for people who might not otherwise have access. Even though about 1.5 million Maricopa County residents have been vaccinated with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, health advocates warn that now.

PHOENIX – Three years ago, Conor Garland earned his call-up from the Tucson Roadrunners. Within the first two months of his rookie season on the Arizona Coyotes, Garland made an immediate impact, scoring goals left and right, including one off his face – a testament to his hard-nosed character. Even before that, Garland knew he.

Editor’s Note: This story is part of an ongoing project to highlight Black athletes who have broken barriers and made lasting contributions to Arizona sports. PHOENIX – Jackie Robinson made his major league debut on this day in 1947, shattering the color barrier of Major League Baseball. Every 15th of April, Robinson is remembered and.

PHOENIX – After years of resistance from tribes around the state, Gov. Doug Ducey signed House Bill 2772 on Thursday, legalizing daily sports fantasy and sports betting in Arizona. The development comes on the heels of ratification of a revised Tribal-State Gaming Compact. “Today’s signing is the culmination of years of discussion and engagement among.

PHOENIX – Although Division I sports have found a route to safely hold seasons and tournaments, club sports are a different story, especially in Arizona. The state’s four major universities have handled club sports in different ways during the COVID-19 pandemic. Grand Canyon and the University of Arizona have implemented systems and procedures that allow.

Sparse monsoon rainfall last summer and spotty snowfall this winter have combined to dramatically worsen the drought across the West in the past year, and spring snowmelt won’t bring much relief. Critical April 1 measurements of snow accumulations from mountain ranges across the region show that most streams and rivers will once again flow well.

PHOENIX – Downtown is home to thousands of people, including one new resident who’s 45 feet tall and very hard to miss. The radiant teen resides on the south side of the Monroe Building and is the result of three and a half weeks of creating by artists Miles “El Mac” MacGregor and Thomas “Breeze”.

WASHINGTON – Backed by a field of flowers that represent the thousands killed by gun violence each year, former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said Wednesday that Congress can act on gun reform or “can let the shooting continue.” Giffords, who was severely wounded by a gunman in a 2011 mass shooting, joined congressional Democrats to.

PHOENIX – Legal sports gambling is just a signature away from becoming a reality in Arizona. The daily fantasy game company DraftKings and the PGA Tour wasted no time in taking the first step in Arizona even before that signature, announcing Wednesday that they will partner on a one-of-a-kind retail sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale –.

Guns are ingrained in the Arizona psyche, from the legendary Shootout at the OK Corral that morphed into tourist-dependent Tombstone to the CNN broadcast of Donald Trump supporters casually carrying long guns during a protest in downtown Phoenix. Arizona has some of the least restrictive gun laws in the nation, built on a pioneer, conservative.

PHOENIX – No college athletics program is immune to the tumultuous nature of the transfer portal – the NCAA’s database of players interested in a new school. But few programs have been impacted by it this offseason more than Arizona State men’s basketball team. Since the 2020-21 season concluded, six ASU players have entered the.

PHOENIX — Jake Weinhold watches every Phoenix Suns game. Often, it’s with his girlfriend. Occasionally, he’ll tune in at work. And with Phoenix on the verge of making the playoffs for the first time since the 2009-10 season, Suns games haven’t been this meaningful to Weinhold since he was in grade school. He has just.

WASHINGTON – Indian Country infrastructure needs, for everything from water to housing to broadband, are a high priority of the Biden administration’s $2.2 trillion American Jobs Plan, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said this week. Buttigieg, in a call with reporters Monday to discuss the plan, said the need to improve 20th-century infrastructure on the lands.

WASHINGTON – The mayor of Superior told a House panel Tuesday that a bill canceling a massive copper mine at Oak Flat would be “devastating” for the Pinal County town and its hopes to revitalize its economy. “We need to create jobs and business opportunities for our youth and working adults, so our community remains.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Senate passed legislation Monday night that paves the way for legalized sports betting in the state, possibly as soon as summer. Senate Bill 1797 and House Bill 2772 were passed with bipartisan support on the new gaming compact, which includes the legalization of daily fantasy sports, and now head to Gov..

PHOENIX – Mobile ordering. Immobile fans. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Chase Field opened their gates for the first time in over a year this past weekend for their home opening series against the Cincinnati Reds. While fans were excited to finally attend a live sporting event, ordering food and drinks and waiting in lines was.

PHOENIX – For Arizona sports fans, Doan is a legendary name. Shane Doan, former Arizona Coyotes captain, was selected seventh overall in the 1995 NHL entry draft by the Winnipeg Jets organization. When the team relocated to Phoenix in 1996, Doan became the face of hockey in the desert. He played just over two decades.

PHOENIX — It’s 11:08 p.m., and the fans at Phoenix Suns Arena have cleared out with the team about 30 minutes removed from a one-point home win over the Milwaukee Bucks in an early February matchup. With two days before the team’s next game against the Philadelphia 76ers, most of the Suns are likely looking.

PHOENIX – Nicole Minnick had been a firefighter for seven years when she gave birth in 2008 to her first child, a girl named Kyndal. A few months later, when she returned to work, one thought was foremost in her mind: Would it be safe to breastfeed? “My second or third shift back to work,.

WASHINGTON – The White House began its pitch Monday for President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure proposal by spelling out constructions needs in all 50 states, including Arizona which got a grade of C on a recent infrastructure report card. Biden unveiled his American Jobs Plan on March 31, to fund everything from roads and.

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden nominated Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus on Monday to be head of Customs and Border Protection, tapping a progressive outsider to oversee an agency facing surging numbers of migrants at the border. In making the announcement, the White House cited Magnus’ history of promoting community relations and police accountability, as.

PHOENIX – A documentary recently aired in France titled, “I’m not a slut, I’m a journalist.” The title might be shocking, but the experiences shared by female sports journalists featured in the documentary don’t come as a surprise to women in sports media. The documentary featured women speaking candidly about the derogatory comments, lascivious advances.

PHOENIX – On the court, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament lived up to all of the expectations that come with a championship event. In the Final Four alone, fans got to witness two games that came down to the final buzzer, including Stanford’s heart-stopping 54-53 victory over the Arizona Wildcats in the championship game. Viewership.

PHOENIX – NASA has chosen the University of Arizona to lead a space telescope mission meant to better understand how galaxies and stars form. The space agency awarded $20 million to the Aspera mission, which will allow the UArizona researchers to develop a telescope about the size of a minifridge for the expected launch in.

PHOENIX – The state health director said Friday that a “very, very small” increase in COVID-19 numbers is cause for concern but not alarm, and should serve as a reminder that people still need to observe health protocols. Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, said that overall progress against the.

PHOENIX – Red for Ed, the teachers group that spearheaded Proposition 208 – which increases some taxes to hire teachers and bolster teacher salaries – this week returned to the political battlefield to fight a bill it says undermines the will of Arizona voters in November. Education advocates oppose Senate Bill 1783, which would allow.

PHOENIX – Call it the Kessel Run. No, Arizona Coyotes forward Phil Kessel isn’t flying the Millennium Falcon from the Star Wars saga in 12 parsecs. Kessel is soaring through the rankings of the most consecutive games played in National Hockey League history. And he doesn’t need a spaceship to do it. Kessel will play.

PHOENIX — After starting the season with a rough 2-5 road trip against division rivals San Diego and Colorado, the Arizona Diamondbacks come home tonight to host the Cincinnati Reds in their 6:40 home opener. The game, which will feature roughly 20,000 fans and an open roof, signifies a return to normalcy not only for.

PHOENIX – Two years off the pitch nearly was enough time to snatch away Cori Sullivan’s dreams of playing college and professional soccer. The Arizona State junior faced two devastating blows that left her feeling hopeless – but just for a moment – and the experience continues to be a daily reminder that helps her.

WASHINGTON — The number of migrants apprehended at the southern border surged in March to one of the highest monthly totals on record, and the almost 19,000 unaccompanied youth stopped there set a record, the latest data shows. Customs and Border Protection reported Thursday that single adults still made up the bulk of the 172,331.

PHOENIX — Professional golfer Rory McIlroy is a lot of things. He is a U.S. Open winner, a two-time winner of the PGA Championship and a winner of the British Open. McIlroy, along with all-time great golfers Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, is one of just three players in the sport’s history to win four.

PHOENIX – Fresh off its first dance in the NCAA Tournament, Grand Canyon University is a finalist for the services of Jaelen House, the Arizona State transfer and local product out of Shadow Mountain High School, who made the announcement on Twitter. House, a 19-year-old guard entering his junior season, made a name for himself.

PHOENIX – Nationwide lockdowns in the past year have driven demand for companionship from man’s best friend during the pandemic, and shelters across the country have seen spikes in dog adoptions and fosters. But some pricey and popular canines are being ripped away from their intended forever homes and sold to unsuspecting buyers. It’s known.

Alaska artist Michaela Goade has made history, becoming the first Indigenous illustrator to win the prestigious Randolph Caldecott Medal for best American picture book for children for her illustrations in “We Are Water Protectors.” The book, written by Carole Lindstrom, was inspired by Indigenous-led movements across North America, including the protests led by the Standing.

WASHINGTON – While Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is pushing to schedule executions for two death-row inmates who he said have exhausted their appeals, advocates for the men said they still intend to fight. Brnovich said Tuesday that he plans to seek warrants of execution for Clarence Dixon, convicted in the 1978 murder of a.

PHOENIX – As the University of Arizona searches for a new men’s basketball coach, it will seek one that can sustain the success that has defined the program since the mid-1980s. And that includes financial success. The university fired Sean Miller Wednesday on the heels of an NCAA investigation that charged the school with five.

PHOENIX – Faith and community leaders on Wednesday demanded Arizona’s elected officials stand against “voter suppression” laws, joining a national movement that has embroiled businesses and lawmakers across the U.S. Supporters criticized bills in the Arizona Senate and House pushing for further identification requirements, purges of the permanent early voting list and the possibility of.

PHOENIX – As Arizona cities and counties debate mask mandates, a leading health expert warned Wednesday that wearing masks in public is essential to prevent another wave of COVID-19 cases. “There is still a risk of transmission in our community,” said Dr. Joshua LaBaer, the executive director of ASU’s Biodesign Institute. “And especially now that.

PHOENIX – Andrew Wiggins doesn’t want it. Monty Williams isn’t sure. And Herm Edwards already has it but thinks the decision should be left to the individual. These diverging opinions about the COVID-19 vaccine hint at how life has changed since March of 2020, when the virus put the world on lockdown and threw sports.

PHOENIX – Maria Brown-Spence lost two people to cancer in six years – her grandmother in 2012, her significant other in 2018. Grief-stricken, she tried to get help but found few mental health resources for people who look like her. If it wasn’t the cost of the copay, it was the cultural distance between Brown-Spence.

PHOENIX – In a way, it seems all too familiar. For the second straight year, the Arizona Diamondbacks are 1-3 after opening the season against the San Diego Padres. The 2020 season’s rough beginning was an unfortunate precursor for what was to come. Arizona hovered around the bottom tier of MLB the rest of the.

PHOENIX – Just as athletes and fans have had to navigate a new sporting normal, so have announcers and play-by-play personnel. And when a live microphone exists, so, too, does a window for exposure of unprofessional and unethical behavior. The advent of COVID-19 increased the popularity of live-streaming sporting events, especially at the high school.

PHOENIX – When the COVID-19 pandemic rolled from spring to fall in 2020, it put college football seasons at every level in doubt. Fortunately for Arizona Christian University, a small Glendale-based school that competes at the NAIA level, there were options to get the most out of what might have been a lost season. The.

WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court Monday backed the asylum claim of an undocumented immigrant in Phoenix who said her feminist political beliefs would put her in danger if she was returned to Mexico. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the abuse that woman suffered at the hands of.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Health Services on Monday opened an indoor drive-thru vaccination site at Dexcom’s regional distribution center in Mesa, providing more comfort for all involved as temperatures approach triple digits. The move comes on the heels of an announcement that the state’s five vaccine sites have administered 1 million doses since.

It would be fair to say that going into this season, or even the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, not many people would have expected Arizona, a No. 3 seed, to have an opportunity to win a national title with one shot Sunday. Despite shooting 28.8% from the field as a team, receiving a quieter-than-usual day.

PHOENIX – Carlee Turner was one push of a button away from ending her hockey career. On Feb. 1, the Boston Pride forward, 23, thought she had played in her last professional competition, a 7-1 win over the Buffalo Beauts in a National Women’s Hockey League game. Less than 48 hours later, the NWHL announced.

PHOENIX – For some sports fans, the interaction with an athlete during an autograph session is the best feeling in the world. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has taken some of the excitement out of autograph seeking. Before the pandemic, fans hoping to get an autograph from a favorite player could show up before games, especially during spring.

LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men’s basketball team doesn’t fit the usual glitz and glam associated with Los Angeles and the star-studded history of the program. The No. 11-seeded Bruins have made their way from the First Four to the Final Four by being the exact opposite – grinding out their opponents and winning at.

TEMPE – Under coach Charli Turner Thorne, Arizona State women’s basketball has been synonymous with playing well into the month of March. This season was no different, as the Sun Devils made an appearance in the 2021 WNIT in Fort Worth, Texas. It was ASU’s sixth appearance in the WNIT and 20th trip to the.

WASHINGTON – Communion will be delivered with masks and gloves. Ramadan prayers are fine, but socializing at the mosque will be discouraged. Seders were virtual or held in small groups. As major religions observe a second holy season under the specter of COVID-19, faith leaders in Arizona find themselves juggling the spiritual needs of worshipers.

PHOENIX – Just like any sports franchise, the NCAA is a business, but does a correlation exist between how much money a collegiate athletic department spends on a team and how far it goes in the postseason? In the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament, the answer this season is “yes.” According to data collected.

TUCSON — Sometimes when cruising on a long road trip, the drive goes faster than expected. Despite the distance traveled, time is made up along the way. That sums up Adia Barnes’ journey to the Final Four. Some might say her road has been a long one. A great college career at the University of.

PHOENIX – A March report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention praised only two states for their efforts in getting vaccines to vulnerable communities. One of them was Arizona. But while the federal report shows strong outreach at the broader county level, ZIP code data from the state health department reveals disparities with.

WASHINGTON – The more than 840,000 COVID-19 cases in Arizona include coronavirus variants from the United Kingdom, Brazil, South Africa, California – and, as of last month, a new homegrown version. The Arizona variant, officially named B.1.243.1, was confirmed last month by researchers at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, who said it is similar to.

PHOENIX – Native people across Turtle Island – an Indigenous name for North America – logged onto the video-sharing app for different reasons, but they stayed for the community, for the culture and to fulfill their sacred duty. In recent months, TikTok has become wildly popular with Generation Z, especially given the extended time spent.

WASHINGTON – The IRS this month extended the tax-filing deadline to May 17 to allow for complications from COVID-19, but in Arizona the due date remained April 15 – until Monday. The Legislature last week approved an extension to May 17 and the governor signed it into law Monday, just 10 days before state taxes.

TEMPE – In a strange way, baseball bookended the COVID-19 pandemic, at least in Arizona. While the NBA was the first league to act and suspend its season on March 11, 2020, the virus’s ripples were not truly felt in the desert until the remainder of the Cactus League schedule was called off the next.

Health researchers on Wednesday urged caution despite the state’s lifting of restrictions on businesses and government, echoing a federal warning of a possible fourth wave of COVID-19 if Arizonans become too complacent. Dr. Joshua LaBaer, executive director of the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, ticked off positive developments, bookended by warnings. Vaccinations are rising.

PHOENIX – A Phoenix educator, entrepreneur, adventurer and science communicator has been selected for the crew of Inspiration4, SpaceX’s first all-civilian mission to space. Sian Proctor, who’s a geology, sustainability and planetary science professor at South Mountain Community College, was one of the two final crew members SpaceX announced Tuesday at Kennedy Space Center in.

PHOENIX – The college experience is often defined as the best four years of a person’s life. Deciding where those four years will be spent can be challenging enough. For high school athletes hoping to play their sport at the next level, the decision can be even more difficult. And as Arcadia High School senior.

Justin Neely, director of language for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Oklahoma, grew up among elders who told him that if the Potawatomi language is lost, so are the Potawatomi people. Now, elders who speak those Native languages are dying from COVID-19 and its complications at much higher rates than white populations. Neely compared the.

WASHINGTON – Advocates called on President Joe Biden to “tear down this wall” Tuesday and fulfill his campaign promise of stopping the border wall construction that he put on hold in January. The meeting of border-state lawmakers, advocates and tribal members came 70 days after Biden, in one of his first acts as president, halted.

WASHINGTON – Arizona business officials welcomed Tuesday’s extension of the Paycheck Protection Program, a multibillion-dollar pandemic-relief program for businesses that one official said has been “keeping people open from day to day” over the past year. The program was set to expire Wednesday with $88 billion still unallocated, but President Joe Biden signed a measure.

TEMPE – Arizona State wrapped up spring football Sunday after getting in a full complement of 15 practices, something the program was unable to do in 2020 due to COVID-19. Not only did the Sun Devils get through the entire spring, they did so without any interruptions, COVID-19 or otherwise. So what did ASU’s coaches.

PHOENIX – Arizona is more than just desert. The state boasts six national forests, tied for the ninth-most for any state in the country. About 15% of the state’s land is designated as forest, including the largest ponderosa pine forest in North America. Mountainous grassland and chaparral in the state’s “transition zone” separates the true.

In a year that’s had no guarantees, with COVID protocols and plenty of new challenges, college basketball hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park. Positive tests plagued many teams, while others failed to live up to lofty expectations while taking on a new lifestyle. In the midst of it all, though, a team has.

WASHINGTON – A federal eviction moratorium that was scheduled to end Wednesday has been extended through June 30, good news for the close to 114,000 Arizona renters who think they are at risk of eviction. It’s at least the third extension ordered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which first imposed the moratorium.

PHOENIX – With less than two weeks before the Diamondbacks play their April 9 home opener against the Reds, Chase Field is preparing to host fans for the first time in over a year. Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall, alongside Diamondbacks legend Luis Gonzalez, recently unveiled the new procedures, amenities and food items to.

PHOENIX – Gavin Kohner’s parents noticed some peculiar signs when he was just a baby learning to crawl across their floor. “They noticed I wasn’t using my right arm and leg as much as my left side,” Kohner said. His parents immediately took action to identify the problem. Doctors soon had the answer. “We took.

PHOENIX – The Translational Genomics Research Institute has launched a new project with the Arizona Department of Health Services to better understand how COVID-19 affects pets. There is no critical evidence to suggest pets can transmit the virus to humans, but pets can transmit the virus to other animals. So far, more than 120 pets.

GLENDALE – It might have been the optics, but whenever professional bull riders Keyshawn Whitehorse and Cody Jesus entered the ring, the crowd seemed louder, more engaged. In fact, Gila River Arena appeared to shake at the sound of their names as they competed in the Professional Bull Riding competition. Whitehorse and Jesus are both.

PHOENIX – There are times when the residents in Marian Gutierrez’s group home are blissfully unaware: unaware of the pandemic gripping the globe, of the political turmoil it has caused and the lives it has stolen. Yet they aren’t exempt from the pain it has inflicted. While she cares for people living with dementia, Gutierrez,.

WASHINGTON – Traffic deaths in Arizona surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, even as the number of miles driven in the state appeared to be decreasing, according to preliminary statistics from 2020. There were 1,072 deaths on the state’s highways in 2020, the most in at least the past 10 years and a sharp increase from.

LOS ANGELES – Face masks, plastic bottles and bags – and feces, both dog and human – are some of the unsightly waste you could encounter these days while hiking in the red rocks of Sedona. Discarded masks also litter the beaches of Southern California, which already were battling a growing scourge of plastic and.

WADDELL – Nicholas Watson, 17, has spent the past eight years fine-tuning his esports skills and playing his favorite sports-focused games, including Madden. Now, thanks to Special Olympics Arizona and the Arizona Interscholastic Association, Watson plays Rocket League on Phoenix Canyon View High School’s unified esports team, which started its spring season earlier in March..

PHOENIX – It started with chain saws and a will to serve. When COVID-19 first struck the United States, the Navajo Nation was hit hard. Within months, infection rates across the reservation were the highest in the country, and death rates skyrocketed. Among those affected: about 5,000 United States veterans who live on the reservation,.

PHOENIX – It started out as a chance encounter. It ended as a special moment for a young boy. Those who knew Oscar Frayer, the Grand Canyon men’s basketball player who died in a car crash Tuesday morning, aren’t surprised. Friends remember him for his energy, smile and generosity, like the time he ran into.

WASHINGTON — Democrats looking to win the Latino vote should take their cues from Arizona, which was held up as a “shining example” of how it’s done by the author of an election post-mortem on the Latino vote. Nuestro PAC said months of advance grassroots work by organizations like LUCHA and Mi Familia Vota paved.

WASHINGTON – Tribes in Arizona will get another $88 million in housing grants – the most of any state – from the $450 million in tribal housing assistance released Thursday by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The national funding, which was included in the American Rescue Plan, will come in addition to the.

Citing 10 consecutive weeks of declining cases and rising vaccinations, Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday lifted COVID-19 restrictions on Arizona businesses and events through an executive order. The new order also prohibits the enforcement of county and city mask mandates on private entities but says “mask usage is still encouraged, especially in groups that are.

TEMPE – When senior Remy Martin reluctantly exited Arizona State’s blowout loss to the top-seeded Oregon Ducks in the second round of the Pac-12 Tournament, it was expected to be the last time he’ll leave a court wearing a Sun Devils uniform. Now, Martin and his senior teammates Alonzo Verge and Kimani Lawrence are expected.

WASHINGTON – Arizona tribal officials told a Senate committee Wednesday that the federal government can help address a crisis with water infrastructure on their lands through more funding, and less meddling. Navajo Department of Water Resources Director Jason John and Colorado River Indian Tribes Chairwoman Amelia Flores made the comments during a Senate Indian Affairs.

WASHINGTON – Federal law has long compensated residents who lived downwind from open-air nuclear test sites in the 1950s and 1960s, including many in northern Arizona – but not residents in most of Mohave County. County Supervisor Jean Bishop, who has seen her family and neighbors racked by cancers, told a House committee Wednesday that.

PHOENIX – Appointments to get a COVID-19 vaccination at state-run sites were booked within minutes of opening Wednesday morning, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. About 25,500 appointments at three vaccination sites in Maricopa County and about 900 at the University of Arizona site in Pima County were snapped up within 20 minutes.

PHOENIX – Ken Koshio has hiked Piestewa Peak every day for a year to perform a prayer at sunrise. The Japanese folk artist carries his taiko drum, flute and other instruments on his back. “I tell people 100 pounds – (it’s) maybe 30, 40, I don’t know. But that’s not heavy,” said Koshio, whose performances.

PHOENIX – Still sporting a sleeveless warmup shirt with the hoodie covering his head, Phoenix Suns guard Jevon Carter grinned when a reporter asked if he planned to spend the NBA All-Star break working on his game following a 120-98 Phoenix win over the Golden State Warriors earlier this month. Carter had just gotten his.

PHOENIX – It has been so long since the Arizona’s women’s basketball team reached the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 that Wildcats coach Adia Barnes was playing for the school at the time. But with a victory over Brigham Young today at the University of Texas-San Antonio’s Convocation Center, the Wildcats can move past the second.

WASHINGTON – Advocates said the billions in aid slated for Native Americans under the latest COVID-19 relief bill is welcome, but they told a House committee Tuesday that a one-shot infusion will not solve all the challenges facing tribes. “While the American Rescue Plan provides much-needed support to Indian Country’s ongoing requests, the pandemic is.

PHOENIX – In the sky islands of southeastern Arizona, the Chiricahua leopard frog persists – a lofty feat only made possible by a team more than 200 miles away. The frog, which is native to Arizona, was named after the Chiricahua Mountains, where researchers first documented them in the early 1970s, although the stout-bodied frog.

TEMPE – Arizona State wide receivers coach Prentice Gill and defensive backs coach Chris Hawkins have a relationship with each other dating back to when they worked together at USC. Gill was a graduate assistant while Hawkins starred in the Trojans’ secondary. Now they’ve brought their Southern California synergy to ASU, and the results are.

PHOENIX – For much of the 20th century, water polo was dismissed as a sport too taxing for women. Although men competed in the Paris Games in 1900, the 2000 Sydney Games, where the United States took home silver, was the first that featured women’s competition. Too taxing? Anyone who has watched the Arizona State.

WASHINGTON – Arizona will begin offering COVID-19 vaccinations to state residents as young as 16, throwing open a process that for months has prioritized older and ailing residents and frontline workers. The announcement Monday comes as more than 2.9 million doses of vaccine have been administered to more than 1.8 million Arizonans, or 25% of.

Even Arizona women’s basketball coach Adia Barnes didn’t see this much success coming for the Wildcats this quickly. “I expected to be in this situation in like Year Seven,” Barnes said with a smile Thursday. “Maybe Year Eight if I last that long.” Behind Barnes, the Wildcats find themselves back in the NCAA Women’s Basketball.

WASHINGTON — With Women’s History Month as a backdrop, the House last week voted to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and remove the 1982 deadline for states to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. House Democratic women dressed in suffragette white to commemorate the occasion and to usher through what they called.

PHOENIX – The number of western monarch butterflies is declining alarmingly, which prompted a push to add the butterfly to the endangered species list in 2014. But after four years of review, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has concluded that although the monarch butterfly warrants protection, dozens of other species face more urgent situations.

A showdown is looming on the Colorado River. The river’s existing management guidelines are set to expire in 2026. The states that draw water from it are about to undertake a new round of negotiations over the river’s future, while it’s facing worsening dry conditions due – in part – to rising temperatures. That means.

PHOENIX – Derick Brassard did something the Arizona Coyotes had struggled to accomplish during their seven-game road trip. Scoring goals, and he made it look easy. The 33-year-old forward scored his first career regular-season hat trick in a Coyotes’ 5-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center Saturday night, and it couldn’t have come.

TEMPE – With the hope of creating “a more diverse and inclusive ball club” – a goal shared by Major League Baseball overall – the Texas Rangers announced the creation of the Charley Pride Fellowship Program, a paid 10-week internship program they believe can address that need. The fellowship is named for the late Charley.

WASHINGTON — Arizona school and health officials welcomed Friday’s announcement that COVID-safe social distancing for students can be reduced from 6 feet to 3, but they did not appear to be rushing to embrace the lower standard. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it issued the new guidance after studies showed that COVID-19.

PHOENIX – Bryce Drew is returning home. And bringing with him the knowledge that he played a pivotal role in elevating Grand Canyon men’s basketball. By winning the Western Athletic Conference Tournament in Las Vegas, GCU earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, its first appearance in school history. GCU is the only Arizona.

PHOENIX – Atlanta police say it’s too early to say whether Tuesday’s shooting rampage, which left six women of Asian descent dead, was a hate crime. But there’s no question that hate is on the rise for many Asian Americans, who are frightened but not surprised by such attacks. The incident – authorities say a.

PHOENIX – The sports community across the U.S., and in Arizona, are condemning the violence toward Asian Americans, after 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long shot and killed eight people in the Atlanta area, six of them Asian American women, on Tuesday. Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray posted a picture to Twitter with his family, ending his.

WASHINGTON — Tribes in Oklahoma are both hopeful and anxious as they wait for the funds and spending rules from the American Rescue Plan that President Joe Biden signed last week. Native American tribes nationwide will receive more than $31 billion as part of the American Rescue Plan, the largest one-time investment to Native American.

PHOENIX — The Western Athletic Conference will tighten its borders along America’s Sun Belt. In January, the WAC announced that over the next two years, five schools will join the conference, upping the total of full members to 13. Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin State join the WAC from the.

WASHINGTON – The House passed a pair of bills Thursday that would provide a path to citizenship for Dreamers and legal status to undocumented farmworkers, potentially affecting millions in the U.S. and tens of thousands in Arizona. Republican critics derided the measures as little more than amnesty for people who came to this country illegally,.

An engineering team at the University of Arizona is proposing a “doomsday vault” – in lava tunnels on the moon – to preserve the wondrous diversity of life on Earth if the apocalypse comes. Perhaps guided by Hollywood disaster movies, partly by the looming danger of climate change, the team has proposed a packing list.

PHOENIX – Being an environmentally friendly consumer means more than recycling paper and avoiding plastic. For those who avoid fast fashion – cheap, trendy items that often come from sweatshops – thrift and resale/trade shops have offered a smart way to shop. Although the COVID-19 pandemic changed how such stores could operate, Goodwill locations and.

PHOENIX – A beautiful sunrise on an early Saturday morning greeted the trail runners as they meandered through Mesquite Canyon. The scenic view from the White Tank Mountain Recreational Park in Waddell was just one of the perks for the athletes who competed in the race. Whether they were casual runners participating in the 8K.

PHOENIX – After a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, March Madness has returned and sports fans across the country have put pen to paper hoping to fill out a perfect bracket, the odds of which are nearly impossible (about 1 in 9.2 quintillion). In Arizona, sports betting is still illegal. However, state law.

WASHINGTON – Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended the Biden administration’s immigration policies Wednesday, but conceded the department faces “historic and unprecedented challenges” coping with a surge in migrants, particularly unaccompanied minors, in recent months. Mayorkas’ comments came in his first appearance as secretary before a congressional committee, where Republican lawmakers continued to blame the.

WASHINGTON – An attorney for Arizona native Jacob Chansley, the face-painted “Q-Anon Shaman” charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, dismissed new government video showing his client as part of the mob that broke into the building and confronted police. The attorney, Albert Watkins, said two videos released this week are “one-dimensional snippets” that lack.

TEMPE – Sales of recreational marijuana are surging at Arizona retailers that, after selling medical marijuana for nearly a decade, now accommodate a crop of new customers the state estimates could push revenue to $1 billion in two years. Dispensaries in the state started recreational sales Jan. 22, after Arizona became one of four states.

PHOENIX – With COVID-19 numbers sliding, the Phoenix City Council unanimously approved a plan Tuesday that reopened many parks amenities beginning Wednesday and just in time for Easter weekend, April 3-4, when local parks are often packed. The plan, proposed by Phoenix Parks and Recreation Director Cynthia Aguilar and made in consultation with health experts,.

PHOENIX – Arizona is in a drought. That’s not exactly breaking news, but all the water in the world won’t quench the thirst of pro sports fans around the Valley. With no disrespect toward the Mercury or Rattlers, who have been like water bottles found in a sea of sand that is the Arizona sports.

WASHINGTON – Children from 6 months up to 12 years old could soon start getting the COVID-19 vaccine in Phoenix as part of a trial of the drug’s effectiveness on young people. Drug-maker Moderna announced this week that Phoenix will be one of the cities where it will test smaller doses of its COVID-19 vaccine,.

TEMPE – The last time Notre Dame Prep won an Arizona High School Hockey Association state championship skinny jeans were still in style, TiK ToK was just a song by Kesha and the year was 2011. Notre Dame’s victory against Pinnacle High School during Friday’s state championship game at Oceanside Ice Arena ended that dry.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Coyotes arrived at the first half of the shortened 2020-21 season in the middle of the pack in the West Division. After dropping two straight road games to the second place Minnesota Wild, the Coyotes sit five points out of the fourth playoff spot with a 12-12-4 record. Coyotes coach Rick.

TEMPE – Rachaad White and Chip Trayanum led a dynamic Arizona State backfield in 2020. The smooth-accelerating junior college transfer and formidable freshman were big reasons the Sun Devils averaged more yards per game than any offense in the Pac-12. So what’s the next step for these two talented backs in 2021? Learning to be.

After nearly 30 years of playing Indigenous characters, Gary Tsoodle finally played someone from his Kiowa Tribe. His star may be rising after his role as the chief in “News of the World,” starring Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel. Tsoodle, 62, who has acted in “Last of the Dogmen” and “Last of the Mohicans,” learned.

PHOENIX – Patients stand by for a phone call that could change their lives. They’re on a waitlist, but not for a kidney or heart transplant or some rare procedure. In this case, the wait is for basic health care. Even in the best of times, Phoenix Allies for Community Health has a line of.

Schools across the state reopened Monday, and many were offering in-person instruction for the first time since being shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman expressed confidence that things will get back on track for students this year. “But by and large, the majority of our schools across.

“I can look you in the eye and just about tell sincerity in somebody,” said Kiowa elder Dorothy WhiteHorse DeLaune, who built an enduring friendship with a young German actress on a New Mexico movie set. “I knew she was a special child, there was nothing snobby or anything,” WhiteHorse, 88, said of Helena Zengel,.

WASHINGTON – The Senate Monday confirmed New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland as the next Interior secretary, a historic vote that makes her the first Native American to head a Cabinet agency. The confirmation came over the objection of Senate Republicans, particularly those representing Western states dependent on fossil fuels, who have called Haaland an environmental.

PHOENIX – When Bryce Drew was hired to replace Dan Majerle as coach at Grand Canyon last March, the Lopes were not in a great spot. The 2019-20 season saw GCU suffer its worst season since becoming a Division I basketball school in 2013, a 13-17 overall record and 8-8 mark in the Western Athletic.

AVONDALE – Martin Truex Jr. has had an illustrious NASCAR Cup Series career, with 27 victories and the 2017 Cup championship. However, despite his success at NASCAR’s highest level, Truex had never broken through at Phoenix Raceway. And for most of Sunday’s Instacart 500 at the storied 1-mile tri-oval track, it appeared he would come.

WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court Friday upheld the convictions of an Arizona death-row inmate for the rapes of three Tucson women, one of whom was murdered, over the course of several weeks in 1991. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Robert Lee Walden’s claims that he should have.

Four Arizona doctors on Friday assailed Gov. Doug Ducey’s plan to return to mostly normal operations as vaccinations against COVID-19 ramp up, warning that the coronavirus that causes the disease remains out of control. Ducey last week said he will begin allowing restaurants and other businesses to run at full capacity, and he has issued.

WASHINGTON – Arizona health officials said the state is already on track to meet President Joe Biden’s challenge of allowing all adults to register for COVID-19 vaccinations by May 1. The directive came Thursday night, the anniversary of the declaration of a COVID-19 pandemic, during Biden’s first nationally televised address as president. He mourned the.

PHOENIX – Many young children grow up with dreams of flying around speedways in the pristinely painted stock cars of NASCAR’s highest level, the Cup Series. It is rare to end up in the Cup Series but many drivers try anyway by cutting their teeth in lower-level racing circuits. At Phoenix Raceway today, a group.

GLENDALE – They named her Luna, which is Spanish for moon. The name fits nicely with the Arizona Coyotes’ crescent moon logo from 1996, which is at center ice this season at Gila River Arena. Luna is fond of taking naps in Jakob Chychrun’s locker. She wobble-skates on the ice. She has left a mark.

PHOENIX – Arizona Coyotes forward Christian Dvorak has returned to school. No, not in a classroom with a paper and pencil in hand. Rather, on the ice with a set of mitts and a freshly taped stick. Dvorak has evolved into the Coyotes’ top center in his fifth season with the team, thanks in part.

PHOENIX – Grand Canyon made program history Saturday by winning a share of the Western Athletic Conference regular season championship, the school’s first conference hoops crown at the Division I level. Now, the Lopes have more history within reach. With their 74-64 victory over WAC co-champion Utah Valley Saturday night at GCU Arena, the Lopes.

TOMBSTONE — You can hear their cacophony long before you can see the sandhill cranes at Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area. It’s an ancient, thunderous clacking as thousands of the big birds trumpet back and forth before calling it a day. As the sun sinks, wave after wave of the migratory birds glide gently to the.

PHOENIX – They’ve endured postponements, positive COVID-19 tests, program shutdowns and four-game weeks. But after an abbreviated season rife with challenges, the Valley’s 6A boys high school basketball teams are ready to get under way Thursday in the state championship bracket. Central region powers Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe took meandering roads to reach their.

PHOENIX – An escalation in firearms sales last year, driven in part by new gun owners, is prompting some health experts to call for more attention to gun safety and the relationship between owning weapons and injuries or suicide. In 2020, the FBI processed a record 39.7 million firearm background checks, one of the best.

WASHINGTON – The White House had a message Wednesday for migrants who are flocking to the southern border in hopes of getting into the U.S. – “this is not an invitation, the border is not open.” The message came as part of a multipoint plan of aid, diplomacy and policy that a Biden administration official.

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Thursday signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, a sweeping pandemic relief measure that will directly touch almost every Arizonan and will send billions in federal aid to the state. Republicans have assailed it as a wasteful, partisan measure, and that was reflected in the final House vote.

PHOENIX – With two wrestlers awarded at-large bids Tuesday, Arizona State has qualified eight for the NCAA Championships. The Sun Devils dominated the Pac-12 Wrestling Championships at Oregon State’s Gill Coliseum recently, crowning five individual champions: Brandon Courtney (125 pounds), Jacori Teemer (157), Anthony Valencia (165), Kordell Norfleet (197), and Cohlton Shultz (285). Additionally, Trey.

TEMPE – For many fans of Arizona State men’s basketball, the state of the Sun Devils in March probably seemed incomprehensible four months ago. ASU entered the 2020-21 season with a couple of highly touted recruits in Josh Christopher and Marcus Bagley. Senior guard Remy Martin was returning after ranking second in scoring in the.

PHOENIX — For eight years, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has brought some of the nation’s premier high school basketball programs to the Valley for a full day of basketball against Arizona’s top teams. This year, the hall organized an all-Arizona affair because of the pandemic. Lexi McNabb, a junior at Seton Catholic.

WASHINGTON – As many as 1.5 million Arizona children could benefit from an expansion of the child tax credit that would mean monthly checks to parents of up to $300 per child if approved by Congress this week. The expansion is a little-discussed portion of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the Biden administration’s sweeping.

TUCSON – At 21, Marcus Smith is already in unique company. When he was named head men’s and women’s golf coach at Pima Community College as a 20-year-old, Smith joined an elite group to be named a head coach just out of their teens. Dennis Mahan Michie is believed to be the first, when he.

TEMPE – As Arizona State prepared to take on the Washington Huskies, the command from coach Bobby Hurley to Kimani Lawrence was simple: “Hey, I need 20 rebounds from you tonight.” Whether serious or farcical, the message was received by the senior forward, who delivered two nights later by posting 21 points and a career-high.

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns finished the first half of their 2020-21 season with the NBA’s second-best record, entering the All-Star break with a top-seven rating in offensive and defensive efficiency and overwhelming optimism toward securing their first playoff berth since 2009-10. It’s been a long-awaited result for the organization and its fans. But you.

PHOENIX – From adapting robots to decontaminate surfaces and deliver food to developing kiosks that can measure vital signs, experts across the globe are using innovative technology to solve complications brought on by COVID-19. In Arizona, the push for new technology has led to innovations to help curb loneliness, improve access to health care and.

WASHINGTON – Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema said she still believes the Senate should take up a higher minimum wage, but that didn’t keep critics from lighting into her after her Friday vote to keep the higher wage out of the latest pandemic relief package. Sinema was one of seven Democrats who joined Republicans to reject.

Since June, a large proportion of Arizona’s rivers, lakes and streams have not been protected by the Clean Water Act, the result of changes to federal rules by the Trump administration in 2019. The state had relied on the landmark law to keep its arid streams free of pollution. But after the federal protections were.

TEMPE – Gloves are popping. Bats are cracking. And gates are opening. Spring training baseball is back. But should it be? And, more important, should fans be able to attend the games just when the end to a global pandemic seems within reach? These aren’t just health questions. They’re ethical ones. “If it’s safe for.

PHOENIX – In past years, Arizona State coach Herm Edwards has preached a desire for bigger, stronger and longer players up and down the Sun Devils’ football roster. But this spring, Edwards has changed his tune. “We look good coming out of a tunnel,” Edwards said. “That doesn’t win games for you, though. But we.

GLENDALE – One could easily have written the Arizona Coyotes off multiple times this season. After a 5-1 blowout loss Friday and a 2-0 deficit through 20 minutes Saturday night against the Minnesota Wild at Gila River Arena, the Coyotes were in danger of chalking up another disappointing defeat on their home ice. Turns out.

PHOENIX – A new $10 million partnership will put medical students and other care providers under one roof to serve people of color and other underprivileged communities in Maricopa County. The partnership between Creighton University, St. Vincent de Paul and Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust was announced Thursday. For more than a decade, students in.

PHOENIX – Arizona students haven’t been properly taught about the Holocaust in recent years, according to a recent poll conducted by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. Among Arizona millennials surveyed in March 2020, 42% could not name a single concentration camp the Nazis built to detain and exterminate Jews and others deemed.

GLENDALE — When the sixth goal rustled the net, it felt like the Coyotes had hit rock bottom. Arizona, 9-8-3 at the time, was on the verge of losing its second game in a row to the Colorado Avalanche. Although they had fallen to the Avalanche by just a goal the previous night, Coyotes coach.

WASHINGTON – Educators across the state Thursday were calling Gov. Doug Ducey’s surprise back-to-school order disruptive, challenging and frustrating, a last-minute complication to reopening plans that many schools already had in the works. School officials, from the state level on down, said they were given little notice before Ducey’s announcement on Wednesday and are now.

PHOENIX – Using their backgrounds as a recruiting tool, Arizona State’s volleyball coaches are bringing international talent to the desert and helping them succeed on the court. Despite the team’s 1-9 record, the Sun Devils can be heard in more ways than one, with international players relaying supportive chants in their native languages and coaches.

PHOENIX – Mike Hazen’s words came firmly. No hesitation, no reflection before answering the question. Nothing. “We are extremely fortunate to have a superstar player that does what Ketel does,” the Arizona Diamondbacks general manager said. The description of Ketel Marte might trigger some second-guessing. Superstar? The 27-year-old utility player was fine during the shortened.

PHOENIX – Before the pandemic, Heidi Aranda’s granddaughter loved going to school. But for the past year, the second-grader’s life has consisted of Zoom classes and social distancing. The mundane, taken-for-granted moments she once shared with friends in the lunchroom and on the playground are cherished memories. Aranda, who is the senior director of curriculum.

PHOENIX – Niklas Hjalmarsson has never been afraid to take one for the team. Well, make that two or three. He’s made a living blocking shots on a nightly basis over the course of his 14-year career in the National Hockey League. “It just comes naturally for me,” Hjalmarsson said. On Wednesday night, Hjalmarsson played.

WASHINGTON – A Senate committee narrowly voted Thursday to advance Rep. Debra Haaland’s nomination to be the next secretary of Interior, moving her one step closer to becoming the first Native American to head a Cabinet-level agency. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 11-9 to send Haaland’s nomination to the full Senate, over.

WASHINGTON – The Arizona Corporation Commission grilled a West Valley water company Wednesday, asking why it did not respond more aggressively after chemical agents were discovered in water from its wells five years ago. Commissioner Anna Tovar at one point during the hearing asked an official of Valley Utilities Water Co., “Do you care for.

PHOENIX – Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday issued an executive order requiring most of the state’s K-12 schools to get back to in-person instruction by March 15. Although Ducey said students need to get back into the classroom, other states are loosening or eliminating some COVID-19 restrictions, including mask mandates. Dr. Joshua LaBaer, the executive.

PHOENIX – After leaving the Army two decades ago, Miachelle DePiano faced new challenges on the civilian battlefield: a hyper-competitive job market. “I couldn’t show anybody a portfolio because everything I had written was classified, and I didn’t have a degree to back up my claim,” said DePiano, who served as an intelligence officer in.

PHOENIX – Picture a baseball game at Chase Field. Or a basketball game at Suns Arena. As more fans begin returning to sporting events after the COVID-19 pandemic, they are welcomed by the benefits of live competition, from ballpark hot dogs to the energy of a packed stadium. In the near future, the Arizona sports.

Anyone who has hosted a good dinner party knows that the guest list, table setting and topic of conversation play a big role in determining whether the night is a hit or the guests leave angry and unsatisfied. That concept is about to get a true test on the Colorado River, where chairs are being.

PHOENIX – When Phoenix Suns forward Frank Kaminsky walked into a postgame interview following his team’s recent 106-97 win over the Chicago Bulls, there was something different about his appearance. The 7-footer, who claimed he is “not really into jewelry,” was wearing teammate Deandre Ayton’s custom-made chain around his neck, something he requested for reasons.

WASHINGTON – Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich told the Supreme Court Tuesday that voting laws struck down for reflecting the state’s “long and unhappy history of official discrimination” are really no more than “common-sense and commonplace” voting protections. But critics argue that Arizona laws banning ballot-collection and out-of-precinct voting impose substantial burdens on Black, Latino.

TEMPE – More than 16,000 Arizonans have died from COVID-19 over the past year, and many survivors haven’t had the chance to properly grieve their loved ones. On Monday, two organizations – Marked by COVID and the Floral Heart Project – came together to help Arizonans remember and pay their respects at a public memorial.

PHOENIX – High school athletes will not be required to wear masks during spring sports competition and neither will winter sports athletes during playoffs, the Arizona Interscholastic Association Executive Board voted Tuesday The decision comes after the Sports Medicine Advisory committee recommended removing the mask mandate for outdoor spring sports. The only exception is for.

PHOENIX – Drake Caggiula was in limbo. The 26-year-old forward entered unrestricted free agency with the hope of continuing his NHL career amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. While supporting his 6-week old son, Caggiula waited two months for a call. Silence. “You’re just kind of wondering ‘What’s the next plan for me?’” Caggiula said. He reached.

PHOENIX – More than 10.3 million acres of land were scorched by wildfires nationwide in 2020. Firefighters battling the harrowing flames often work shifts that exceed 24 hours, and they stay in close quarters in remote locations for weeks at a time, offering a prime opportunity for COVID-19 to spread. In addition, firefighters in urban.

WASHINGTON – The government Monday rescinded its approval for a proposed massive copper mine at Oak Flat, just days before it was to transfer thousands of acres of federal land for the project. The Department of Agriculture said it ordered the rescission to allow for a “thorough review based on significant input from collaborators, partners.

GLENDALE – A buzz filled the air about 30 minutes before puck drop, with the Westgate Entertainment District surprisingly busy. Maskless customers congregated around restaurant tables, laughing and chatting away. Fans lingered outside the arena – roughly half of them protecting their faces, others not – huddled around their friends and family in anticipation of.

PHOENIX – March Madness is reserved for college basketball. Cardinals General Manager Steve Keim is trying to make March Gladness the official brand of Arizona Cardinals fans. Or March Sadness for Houston Texans faithful. In 2020, Keim’s one shining moment was acquiring wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Texans in a trade that not only.

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon did not have reliable estimates for the cost of its work supporting Homeland Security efforts on the southwestern border and did not assess the impact of those efforts on military readiness, a new report says. The report by the Government Accountability Office also chided the Defense Department for failing to fully.

PHOENIX – Winter high school sports, which are beginning to wrap up around Arizona, took on a much different look than in past years on and off the courts and playing fields. Athletes had to jump through more hoops than they shot at. But at least the games have gone on. Now with spring sports.

WASHINGTON – The House voted Friday to permanently ban new mining claims on more than 1 million acres around Grand Canyon National Park, with supporters calling protection of the landmark canyon a “moral issue.” The bill would make permanent a current mining moratorium that is scheduled to run through 2032. Supporters said a permanent ban.

PHOENIX – For the second time since 2019, the Arizona Department of Corrections has been found in contempt for its failure to follow health care guidelines designed to protect prisoners. In a ruling issued Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Roslyn Silver fined the Arizona Department of Corrections Rehabilitation & Reentry $1.1 million for neglecting health.

PHOENIX – When the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament was canceled after the first round last season due to the coronavirus pandemic, the conference had one word to describe the preparation for this year’s event in Las Vegas to happen. Nimble. “There’s many crises that can happen and we have to be nimble enough and ready.

PHOENIX – Dave Rasley had attended every single Arizona State baseball home opener since 1984 – until this year. Rasley, an ASU alum of 1978 and former Tempe High School teacher, saw his annual tradition of attending Opening Day of Sun Devil baseball come to an end on Feb. 19 after 37 years. “It was.

GLENDALE – The Coyotes needed a kick in the backside. Arizona trailed 3-0 to the last place Anaheim Ducks early in the second period. Outhustled and outplayed, especially in the opening 20 minutes, the Coyotes had hit a new low. “In the first period we were god awful,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said about the.

PHOENIX – Leaders who fought for equity and justice. Entertainers who shifted the sound of music. Inventors who brought water toys and traffic lights to America. Arizona artists have painted the sweep of Black history at 28 businesses and organizations in downtown and central Phoenix. Malcolm X, Aretha Franklin, Angela Davis and Percy Julian are.

WASHINGTON – The House voted Thursday to expand civil rights protections to include sexual orientation, gender identity and pregnancy, a move supporters said will grant those groups “the full equality under the law they deserve.” But critics of the Equality Act blasted it as a measure that will trample on religious freedom and individual rights,.

TEMPE – The Arizona State gymnastics team continues to enhance its resume for the postseason. The No. 17 Sun Devils scored a season-high 197.450 against Arizona in a midday Territorial Cup matchup at Desert Financial Arena. Wednesday’s score topped the previous season-high of 197.150 against No. 3 Utah and tied the ninth-highest score in program.

PHOENIX – Land, and specifically what to do with land, has been among the most divisive topics in U.S. history since the arrival of European settlers in 1492. More than 500 years later, little has changed. On Jan. 20, the Biden administration ordered a 60-day pause on new oil and gas leases on federal lands.

SURPRISE – Baseball fans enjoyed a glimpse into the near future last weekend when they attended the Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic at Surprise Stadium, spring training home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, a ballpark that usually has a capacity of 10,500 was topped off at 2,200 for.

PHOENIX – Krystle Mann, a stay-at-home mother to three sons, makes and sells cornbread and jam to pay for new baseball gear and help cover club fees – approximately $1,500 per year. Her older son, Sam, 12, plays for the AZ Diamond Dawgs in Queen Creek, while her middle son, Tommy, 11, plays for both.

WASHINGTON – The federal district court in Arizona has been struggling to keep pace with a staggering civil and criminal caseload in the growing state, and it needs more judges to keep up, a judge from the court told lawmakers Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa was joined by other judges and law professors who.

WASHINGTON – Health officials confirmed COVID-19 in another 1,310 Arizonans Wednesday and reported that 43 more people died from the disease, according to the latest numbers from the Arizona Department of Health Services. Depressing numbers – but a vast improvement from just six weeks ago, when the daily average of new cases in one week.

PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns are set to play 17 games against teams that currently have a .500 record or better in the second half of their 2020-21 schedule, the NBA announced on Wednesday afternoon. The Suns are 11-4 this season against teams with a .500 record or better and 9-6 against squads with a.

PHOENIX – Reminders to stay connected and reach out to loved ones have been constant during the pandemic. However, as shutdowns and quarantines continued, the safety precautions worsened a long term issue for LGBTQ seniors – loneliness. It’s a feeling Lavina Tomer, executive director of Southern Arizona Senior Pride in Tucson, knows all too well..

WASHINGTON – Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema joined other senators asking police officials Tuesday how it is that an FBI report warning of the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol did not reach the right people before the attack. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee heard from five witnesses involved in Capitol security.

WASHINGTON – Republican senators tried to pin down Rep. Deb Haaland at a hearing Tuesday on her nomination to be the next Interior secretary, pushing her on fossil fuels and the job losses they said would come from President Joe Biden’s proposed energy policies. But Democrats at the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing.

LOS ANGELES – Golfer Tiger Woods is in serious but stable condition after suffering injuries to both legs in a traffic accident on Tuesday morning, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said. “Thankfully the interior was more-or-less intact, which gave him the cushion to survive what would have been a fatal crash,” Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.

Arizona State heavyweight wrestler Cohlton Schultz was just named Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week after going 10-0 this season. Schultz earned this award after a weekend of defeating two top-10 wrestlers. As Schultz and the rest of the Sun Devils look forward to competing in the Pac-12 Championships in Oregon on Sunday, ASU can thank.

Climate change and extreme weather events are forecast to further reduce water supplies in the American Southwest, and a new futures market could allow water users to recoup losses if the price of water spikes. The futures market is the first of its kind, allowing investors and farmers alike to bet on how much water.

Oklahoma is pushing ahead with its COVID-19 vaccination drive despite severe winter storms that left thousands of people stranded in their homes and many without electricity and running water. The state continues to lead most surrounding states in getting the first dose into residents’ arms, in spite of early opposition to the vaccine. Despite single-digit.

WASHINGTON – The state of Indian nations is strong, but the federal government still needs to “come to terms with the right of tribal Nations to chart their own course and their rightful place,” a tribal leader said Monday. National Congress of American Indians President Fawn Sharp, in a wide-ranging State of Indian Nations address,.

PHOENIX – Going, going, almost gone! Tickets are selling out fast at the Valley’s Cactus League stadiums, where 15 major league teams are based during spring training. With attendance limited this year because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, seats are scarce. At least four Cactus League teams already are sold out for the spring, including.

PHOENIX – “Skate hard, have fun.” Those words from Leighton Accardo served as a guiding light for Lyndsey Fry as she embarked on an inspirational journey. Fry, the director of external engagement and female hockey for the Arizona Coyotes and the president of the Arizona Kachinas Hockey Association, rollerbladed 96 miles Sunday to raise money.

PHOENIX – Cancer screenings in the U.S. have plunged since the start of the pandemic almost a year ago, prompting health advocates to increase calls for the public to stop postponing these potentially life-saving procedures. More than one-third of adults have failed to receive recommended cancer screenings during the pandemic, according to “Cancer Won’t Wait.

WASHINGTON – Arizona got middling scores in two new national reports on states’ efforts to boost the number of electric vehicles on the road, which advocates say is proof that the state has a long way to go. Arizona finished 24th and 25th, respectively, in the reports by the group Plug In America and by.

Lupe Solis’ prayers were answered when she received her second dose of COVID-19 vaccine recently at the State Farm Stadium mass vaccination site in Glendale. Now the 77-year-old is being cautious and patient, waiting to worship in person again at St. Timothy Catholic Church in Mesa. “Prayer takes up a big part of our life,”.

PHOENIX – Nearly a year of isolation and widespread closures has harmed the mental and physical health of many Americans. But Arizona state parks saw record visitation over parts of 2020 – a positive sign to experts urging people to get moving and get outside as COVID-19 continues to spread. Doctors have long touted the.

February is Black History Month, and Arizona PBS is honoring the contributions and achievements of Black Americans. Meet three influential leaders who have made an impact on our state. Meet Cloves C. Campbell Jr., publisher of the Arizona Informant Cloves C. Campbell Jr. has dedicated his life to positively representing the Black community in print.

PHOENIX – A House committee has passed a Republican sponsored bill that would allow Arizona business owners to decide whether to enforce mask mandates for employees and customers, a move supporters say promotes freedom and critics call a threat to health and safety. “It’s a simple bill – it restores the freedom and the liberties.

PHOENIX – Public education advocates and leaders of the Arizona School Boards Association’s Black Alliance and Hispanic-Native American Indian Caucus gathered Thursday at the state Capitol to protest a proposed voucher expansion initiative that they say would further defund public schools. Senate Bill 1452, proposed by Sen. Paul Boyer, R-Glendale, would allow all children attending.

PHOENIX — A nine-year NBA veteran, Phoenix Suns forward Jae Crowder promised to hold himself and teammates accountable when he signed with the franchise in November. He certainly kept his word on Tuesday night, calling the Suns’ 128-124 loss to the Brooklyn Nets – in which they blew a 24-point first-half lead – “disgusting.” “It’s.

CARNEGIE – Oklahoma’s Kiowa Tribe is moving to expand emergency assistance efforts for tribal members as severe weather conditions are now only beginning to abate. The tribe is offering free firewood, and households with tribal elders are the first priority. “We are monitoring the storm and doing the best we can to get help to.

PHOENIX – It began with a simple black backdrop. A white chalk grid followed. Next came pops of color, including blue, orange, red and brown. In just three days, portraits of Brianna Turner, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Chris Paul, Monty Williams and Jevon Carter appeared on the west side of Phoenix Suns Arena. Behind them stand a.

TEMPE – At every level of baseball, pitcher health is a significant concern. Attention to the issue picked up steam in the late 1990s, when statistics like Pitcher Abuse Points were introduced in an attempt to quantify the health risk associated with pushing players past their limits. Today, arm management has its own science with.

WASHINGTON – Arizona continues to be one of the worst states in the nation when it comes to funding higher education, still reeling from deep budget cuts that were made during the recession, according to a new national report. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities studied state funds from the time of the Great.

WASHINGTON – The Arizona Department of Education wants to make sure parents understand their kids will be getting letter grades this year – and to drive home the point, the department sent the message in capital letters. Actions taken by the governor and Legislature earlier this week apply to schools but “NOT individual student grade.

PHOENIX – Winter storms engulfing much of the U.S. are delaying shipments of COVID-19 vaccines and supplies, forcing delays to long-awaited appointments for some residents of Arizona. The delays are the latest obstacle for health officials in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, which has had to overcome misinformation, skepticism and ongoing scheduling issues. Shipments of both.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Diamondbacks opened spring training on Wednesday morning when pitchers and catchers reported to Salt River Fields amid news that two players tested positive for COVID-19. Catcher Stephen Vogt and pitcher Luis Frías both tested positive for the coronavirus and were absent from workouts. Vogt’s positive test came during the team’s intake.

PHOENIX – Arizona State’s 2020 baseball season ended amid the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. And the start of the 2021 season was no sure thing, either. On Jan. 29, ASU coach Tracy Smith and the Pac-12 Conference announced the team’s 2021 schedule, a routine event at any other time. But there is nothing routine.

PHOENIX – Arizona Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet is clever with his catchphrases. Ahead of the team’s first extended road trip of the season, Tocchet tinkered with his line combinations and, in the process, came up with a new nickname for the team’s top forward line of Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz and Conor Garland. “It’s a.

PHOENIX – Could an over the counter capsule be a key in fighting COVID-19? More doctors say yes, and they’re urging health professionals to help eliminate vitamin D deficiencies – especially in patients of color and others disproportionately affected by the disease. “Patients, especially patients who are hospitalized for COVID-19, should be given vitamin D.

WASHINGTON – The number of food stamp recipients in Arizona has surged over the past year, but advocates worry that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is still only reaching a portion of those eligible for assistance. A recent Census Bureau report found that one in six people who were eligible for SNAP in 2017 did.

PHOENIX – Desert Vista was pumped and prepared on Jan. 29, ready to travel to rival Mountain Pointe High School for a highly anticipated rematch of last season’s 6A state final. But as it often has in the last year, COVID-19 had other plans. In just another example of the havoc a pandemic has wreaked.

A blue haze swirled around Jaime Weidmann as the TV droned on. Another day, another high. But this day in 2016 would be different. Her boyfriend was fed up with her verbal abuse and refusal to get a job — Weidmann hadn’t worked in five years. Tired of enabling her marijuana addiction, he kicked her.

PHOENIX — Dave Thaker was 11 when the Phoenix Suns last made the NBA playoffs, advancing to the Western Conference Finals in the 2009-10 season before falling to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers. Since then, Thaker and Suns fans have endured a drought that has felt drier than the Mojave Desert. Phoenix posted a.

WASHINGTON – Health advocates welcomed Monday’s reopening of enrollment for Affordable Care Act coverage, saying the opportunity for more people to get or renew their health insurance could be “really good for Arizona.” The normal period for Americans to sign up for coverage ended Dec. 15, but President Joe Biden called for this special 90-day.

PHOENIX – Primary care physicians in Arizona say making COVID-19 vaccines available in their offices would help seniors who have struggled to make online appointments. “I’ve been wanting to offer a vaccine ever since COVID-19 really got started because I knew that was our only way out of this illness,” Dr. Andrew Carroll of Chandler.

PHOENIX – A little luck and a lot of perseverance allowed Glendale native Michael McDowell to come away with an unlikely Daytona 500 victory early Monday morning, his first win in 358 NASCAR Cup Series races. McDowell, 36, started racing in the Cup Series in 2008 and has bounced around from team to team over.

TEMPE – Sophomore David Puig wasn’t expected to be Arizona State’s hottest golfer this season. That honor was supposed to go to Chun An Yu, the fifth-ranked amateur in the world. But it is Puig who has a chance to place his name alongside Phil Mickelson’s in the ASU record book by capturing the individual.

PHOENIX – Dale Earnhardt, or “The Intimidator” as most fans knew him, was probably the most-feared driver in NASCAR history. His black No. 3 Chevrolet was almost always running at the front or near the front of the pack on Sundays. Even the asphalt he drove on seemed to be afraid of him. This is.

WASHINGTON – Arizona’s senators joined all Democrats and a handful of Republicans Saturday in an unsuccessful attempt to convict former President Donald Trump in a historic second impeachment of the same president. The 57-43 vote to convict Trump of incitement to insurrection in the deadly Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

WASHINGTON – A federal judge Friday refused to order a halt to the proposed Resolution Copper Mine on Oak Flat, land that opponents say is sacred to the Apache people and will be destroyed by the mine. U.S. District Judge Steven Logan rejected a request by the group Apache Stronghold for a preliminary injunction against.

WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday it will award contracts worth up to $220 million to three companies for the cleanup of some of the hundreds of abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation. Work could start later this year following the completion of assessments for mining sites coordinated between the EPA and.

CHANDLER – The 2020 high school baseball season was going to be one for many of Arizona’s top players to showcase their talents and attract attention at the next level. The rise of COVID-19 cases changed that. Headaches and heartbreak followed as seasons were canceled after just seven games. It wasn’t easy for Hamilton Huskies.

TEMPE – Nobody said playing sports during a global pandemic would be easy. For Charli Turner Thorne and the Arizona State women’s basketball team, navigating a season in the COVID-19 world has been a grind. “Challenging is not a strong enough word for what we’re all experiencing and trying to meet the standards we’re used.

TEMPE – A smile spread across Ty Murchison’s face as he walked through the doors of Oceanside Ice Arena for the first time. He got a taste of what will soon be home. “I can get used to being in the sun again,” Murchison said. Murchison, a Corona, California native, is the second full-time player.

WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court Thursday rejected a Maricopa County man’s claim that he was denied the right to vote in 2016 because the last day to register fell on a holiday, and he registered a day later. State election officials rejected ballots from David Isabel and about 2,000 others who registered on the.

WASHINGTON – Operators of the Palo Verde nuclear power plant told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Thursday they have addressed oversights that let a plant operator be licensed without noting a medical condition that could have restricted his license. The error was caught by officials at the plant and reported to the NRC, which issued an.

WASHINGTON – Arizona delivered its 1 millionth COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday, a milestone that came just two months after the first doses were administered and “thrilled” state officials. But the state still has a way to go: The 224,542 Arizonans who have received the two shots needed to be fully protected represent just 3% of the.

PHOENIX – On a recent weekday morning, Liz Northcott, 78, logged onto her home computer, went to Arizona’s COVID-19 vaccination registration site and tried her best to make an appointment. Two frustrating hours later, she found a phone number to call instead. After finally getting through to a human on the phone, Northcott secured first-dose.

PHOENIX – Batter up. Mask up. Despite an offseason that suggested a delay to the start of spring training, Major League Baseball pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report Tuesday, with games kicking off on Feb. 27. Arizona is home to 10 stadiums where 15 Cactus League teams prepare for the regular season each year..

TEMPE – For Bobby Hurley’s team, finding a rhythm in a season that has been full of irregularities has been one of the toughest challenges. It didn’t get any easier for ASU last week. Coming off of back-to-back wins over California and Stanford, their first weekend sweep in conference play, the Sun Devils were faced.

PHOENIX – With eight new players on his roster, Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams has had to continuously solve puzzles with his team’s rotation and chemistry. But more often than not, he has not had each piece at his disposal. Of the Suns’ 24 games played, they have rarely had their full rotation available. At.

PHOENIX — Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams said the national anthem holds “a special place in my heart” when asked about the Dallas Mavericks’ decision under owner Mark Cuban to not play it in any of their first 13 preseason and regular-season home games, including their first contest with limited fans present against the Minnesota.

PHOENIX – A top Arizona health official on Wednesday said the number of COVID-19 cases in the state is “definitely trending in the right direction,” but he cautioned that “we need to keep following guidelines.” “We need to keep wearing masks, and we need to keep staying separated,” Dr. Joshua LaBaer, the director of the.

SCOTTSDALE – Consumers will start seeing new “STOP” signs at gift card displays in many Arizona stores, part of an effort to fight a growing and costly fraud in which scammers – often posing as government officials – ask consumers to pay off a debt or penalty through gift cards. Attorney General Mark Brnovich and.

GLENDALE – The St. Louis Blues are no pushover of a team. They’ve made the playoffs in all but one season since 2012, and won the Stanley Cup just two years ago. Beating the Blues on their home ice once is difficult enough. Beating them in three games out of four at the Enterprise Center.

PHOENIX – Tyler Shough. Johnny Johnson III. They are familiar names to college sports fans in Arizona and Oregon. Johnson, a wide receiver, graduated from Chandler High and made several highlight plays for the Ducks in their 2019 loss to Arizona State. Shough, a product of Hamilton High, also in Chandler, started at quarterback for.

PHOENIX – In a downtown parking garage, a health care worker, dressed in protective gear, waits for cars to pull up for drive-thru HIV tests. Inside the building, volunteers assemble packages of at-home tests and condoms to be shipped across the state. Elsewhere in metro Phoenix, a van travels to neighborhoods whose residents may face.

WASHINGTON – As the Senate began debate Tuesday on a historic second impeachment of former President Donald Trump, a recent poll shows that more than half of Arizona Republicans believe Trump was the rightful winner of the November election. The poll, taken by OH Predictive Insights shortly before President Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration, found.

Tempe police responded to a 911 call on Jan. 15, 2019, about a suspected burglary in an alley. Officer Joseph Jaen arrived to find Antonio Arce, sitting in a truck with a handgun. Jaen called to Arce, 14, who turned and ran. “Let me see your hands!” Jaen yelled, but Arce continued running, and Jaen.

PHOENIX – Despite driving for a smaller NASCAR team, Glendale’s Michael McDowell understands his significance to the Arizona racing community. “I used to not think about it very much when I was young,” McDowell said. “Like it doesn’t matter where you’re from because it’s where you are now and all that. But as I’ve gotten.

PHOENIX – A U.S.-Mexico partnership could aid the long-term recovery of the endangered Mexican wolf, a subspecies of the North American gray wolf, and its eventual removal from the U.S. endangered species list, according to a new study. In a peer-reviewed study published Jan. 21, researchers from several universities in Mexico, the University of Arizona.

TEMPE – The last time Arizona State’s softball team was prepared to take the field, the Sun Devils were on a bus traveling to Los Angeles to face UCLA at the Bruins’ Easton Stadium in a Pac-12 Conference opener. They never got there. En route, the 22-7 Sun Devils, who were ranked 15th nationally in.

PHOENIX – Almost a year has passed since Nico Mannion last started and played a full basketball game. March 11, 2020, to be exact – his final game of his one-year college career at Arizona before COVID-19 shut down the rest of the college basketball season. After being drafted in the second round by the.

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden called Arizona’s around-the-clock COVID-19 vaccination site at State Farm Stadium a “model for the nation” Monday, as the administration pushes its goal of administering 100 million shots in its first 100 days. The virtual tour for Biden, joined by Vice President Kamala Harris, came as the Arizona Department of Health.

PHOENIX – Blanca Collazo started working as soon as she could. She was approved for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, at 16. She then was hired as a hostess at the Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant to help her family with bills and to save for college tuition. She worked long shifts after school.

WASHINGTON – Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. but two recent reports say Arizona needs to do more to help people break free from using tobacco products. “We certainly need a lot more resources here in Arizona to help people quit smoking,” said JoAnna Strother, senior director of advocacy.

PHOENIX – Super Bowl Sunday was in full swing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers routing the Kansas City Chiefs when the gut punch landed. It wasn’t another Tom Brady scoring pass that floored many sports followers, especially baseball lovers. It was the stunning news that ESPN reporter Pedro Gomez, 58, had died unexpectedly at his.

WASHINGTON – Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions knew the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policy would separate families at the border but moved ahead with it anyway, a Justice Department official told lawmakers this week. Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz told the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Thursday that the 2018 policy followed a test.

PHOENIX – Hunger in America is on the rise, putting more pressure on food banks already struggling to keep up with the unprecedented need during the COVID-19 pandemic. St. Mary’s Food Bank, which has been feeding families for more than five decades, has seen the need soar over the past several months, spokesman Jerry Brown.

TEMPE – When the 2019-20 NCAA hockey season was shut down by COVID-19, Arizona State’s men’s team ranked 13th in the nation by both the USCHO and USA Today polls. The Sun Devils peaked in Week 19 of that season, when both polls placed them at a program-best ninth overall. But even with that success,.

PHOENIX – Bruce Arians is proud, proud of a young man he took a chance on nearly eight years ago. Arians, then the coach of the Arizona Cardinals, rolled the dice when the Cardinals selected former LSU safety Tyrann Mathieu with the No.69 overall selection in the 2013 NFL Draft. Mathieu had just spent a.

WASHINGTON – Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs told a national panel Thursday that the best way to combat election misinformation is with truth, even if “there are some folks who are never going to believe anything I say.” Her comments came during a call with election officials from the battleground states of Ohio, Michigan.

PHOENIX – From the importance of personal protective equipment to dealing with the harsh isolation of quarantined patients, the medical community learned countless lessons during the first year of COVID-19, a pandemic unprecedented in modern times. “Limiting it to one (lesson), it is how profound it is that social inequity kills people,” said Dr. Andrew.

PHOENIX – Apprehensive Arizona parents of high school athletes can rest easier now. Citing improving COVID-19 metrics, the Arizona Interscholastic Association executive board has amended its current attendance policy so that up to two parents or legal guardians of student-athletes can attend away games, the governing body announced via a release on Thursday afternoon. Prior.

PHOENIX – The 16th hole at the Waste Management Phoenix Open is not just any par-3. The 16th hole is three stories high. The 16th hole is a coliseum, built to hold tens of thousands of crazy, screaming fans. The 16th hole is where the hordes would line up at the break of dawn and.

PHOENIX – Even before Devin Booker set his feet and swished the go-ahead 3-pointer that beat the Dallas Mavericks Monday night, Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul had “all the confidence in the world” the shot was going in. Separated in age by 11 years and teammates for just 16 games, Paul has quickly gained trust.

PHOENIX – Since the onset of the pandemic, health experts have touted masks as the best way to reduce the spread of COVID-19, but wearing them in public met considerable resistance and was politicized in some places. That was true in Arizona, where Gov. Doug Ducey initially opposed mask mandates sought by local officials. “Until.

WASHINGTON – Members of the group Apache Stronghold told a federal district judge, in sometimes tearful testimony Wednesday, that a proposed copper mine at Oak Flat would destroy a “holy place” for Native Americans and needs to be stopped. “This is what this fight for Oak Flat is revealing,” said Wendsler Nosie Sr., a leader.

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court postponed upcoming hearings on two Trump administration immigration policies Wednesday, after both had been reversed on the first day of President Joe Biden’s term. The court was scheduled to hear arguments in the coming weeks challenging then-President Donald Trump’s ability to divert Defense Department funds to border wall construction and.

WASHINGTON – Six Arizona mayors were among hundreds who urged Congress to pass a $1.9 trillion pandemic-relief bill that includes $350 billion in aid for state and local governments who say they are on the front lines of the crisis. Republicans in the House and Senate have said they want to approve COVID-19 relief but.

SCOTTSDALE – The Phoenix Thunderbirds, sponsors of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, like to call their event “The People’s Open.” However, it won’t be open to many people this year, and the people’s champion will be missing. For the second straight year, three-time WM Phoenix Open champion Phil Mickelson decided to play in the Saudi.

PHOENIX – With Major League Baseball pitchers and catchers expected to report in two weeks, Cactus League teams are scrambling to determine what spring training will look like for fans in 2021. The league announced on Monday night that it is preparing for an on-time start to spring training and Opening Day as originally scheduled.

PHOENIX – Kelly Oubre Jr. made his return to Phoenix recently for the first time since he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who then moved him to the Golden State Warriors, but his homecoming was greeted by the quiet of an empty arena thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was quite the twist,.

PHOENIX – Time seemed to slow to an agonizing crawl. On a high school soccer field in Queen Creek, a sophomore goalkeeper remained motionless on the pitch. Miles away, his two parents were glued to their iPad, watching helplessly, frozen with fear. Because of Arizona Interscholastic Association’s rules limiting attendance amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Jason.

PHOENIX – As the daughter of a medical technician, Hanna Hyland was raised to put her faith in science. But Hyland, 18, also was raised as a person of color in a country with a health care system marred by historic instances of racism. When it comes to deciding whether to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

WASHINGTON – Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said the 2020 elections “challenged our democracy in ways we’ve never seen before” but that officials still managed to deliver a safe, secure election with record-breaking turnout in the midst of a pandemic. Hobbs, speaking as part of a panel of election officials Tuesday, also blasted what.

PHOENIX – Arizona’s top schools chief on Tuesday called for state funding for remote learning to be allocated at the same rate as funding for in-person learning, and she urged extra help for students and staff members suffering mental issues as the yearlong COVID-19 pandemic stretches into an uncertain future. Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy.

WASHINGTON – COVID-19 infections in Arizona appeared to be leveling off last week when officials confirmed that a variant of the virus, first found in the United Kingdom, had been found in the state. Not good news, but experts say things could be worse. “If this new variant had become dominant in early January, it.

PHOENIX – As Diana Taurasi officially signed a contract that will keep her with the Phoenix Mercury for another two years, it was easy to jump ahead a few months and imagine what might be, while also cherishing what has always been. A team that had been playoff contenders the last few years while not.

PHOENIX – Long before Dustin Pedroia turned spectacular double plays for the Boston Red Sox, he was turning heads in the desert. On the heels of the former Arizona State baseball star and long-time Red Sox second baseman announcing his retirement on Monday after 14 seasons with the franchise, his former college coach marveled at.

PHOENIX – Since the COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape of sports competition, teams around the country have adjusted to playing in empty or near-empty arenas, making home-field advantage less of a factor. For Grand Canyon University, however, their fan base, the Havocs, continues to provide noise and energy that has impressed opposing coaches but also.

PHOENIX – Arizona health officials on Monday opened the state’s second COVID-19 vaccination site, at ASU’s Phoenix Municipal Stadium, aiming to build on the success of the first site at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. Until more vaccine doses are available from the federal government, the Phoenix site will be limited to 500 shots a.

GLENDALE – Oliver Ekman-Larsson is the face of the Arizona Coyotes. Excluding last season’s shortened campaign, Ekman Larsson has played in at least 75 games every season since 2013-14, all with Arizona. He’s been an All-Star five times and the Coyotes captain since 2018. Since Shane Doan’s retirement, Ekman-Larsson’s name has been synonymous with the.

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden’s order that the Justice Department stop contracting with private prisons could eventually affect thousands of inmates – but not the roughly 3,000 immigrants being held in private facilities in Arizona. Biden said Tuesday that his executive order is part of an effort to promote racial equity and is needed to.

PHOENIX — Kaimarr Price recalls the night, as a student and basketball player at Mountain Pointe High School, that police pulled over a car he was in after a high school party. Now the varsity basketball coach at Mountain Pointe, Price was with friends and his brother, all of whom are Black. His brother’s girlfriend,.

LOS ANGELES — Clayton Foster was living out of his car when he contracted COVID-19. The 67-year-old knew he faced higher risks of death or severe outcomes during the pandemic because of his chronic heart and bladder conditions, but for Foster and thousands of other homeless people across the Southwest, it’s been hard to protect.

WASHINGTON – In any other year, scores of Arizonans would be heading to Washington about now to take part in the National March for Life, an annual anti-abortion event that typically draws tens of thousands. But this year’s event will include very little marching, and a lot more surfing. The march, like so many other.

PHOENIX – Anthony Gilich remembers March 16, 2020, the day when the National Junior College Athletic Association announced it was canceling the remainder of the spring sports seasons because of COVID-19. The Central Arizona College baseball coach, now in his seventh year, had to tell his players something he never thought he would have to.

WASHINGTON – Total deaths in Arizona rose 25% in 2020 over the previous year, with some counties seeing increases approaching 50% for the year in which COVID-19 became the leading killer in the state. While data on the causes of death is not expected until later this year, experts attribute the “exceptional increase” in deaths.

WASHINGTON – Native American policy experts and Arizona lawmakers welcomed President Joe Biden’s order calling for stronger relations with tribal governments, with one saying it “goes right along with what Indian country has been asking for.” The memorandum, signed Tuesday, largely restores earlier executive orders set under the Clinton and Obama administrations that aimed to.

WASHINGTON – COVID-19 cases in Arizona may have reached a plateau after a deadly two-month surge, one expert said Wednesday, but that does not mean the pandemic is under control. Dr. Joshua LaBaer, executive director of Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, noted that the number of confirmed new cases of the virus dropped from a.

PHOENIX – As COVID-19 pummels away in Arizona, unemployment in the state dipped slightly in December, with the restaurant and entertainment industries continuing to take the hardest hits. The state unemployment rate was 7.5% last month, compared with 8% in November, putting Arizona among 20 states with the good fortune to post December decreases, according.

WASHINGTON – Pascua Yaqui Council members called it “a blessing” Tuesday. They were talking about $900,000 in federal funds that will be used to bring water to the tribe’s lands for irrigation, the first fruits of an effort last year by members of the state’s congressional delegation to win $150 million in federal funding for.

PHOENIX – The stats are almost undeniable. Curt Schilling posted a 3.46 ERA over 20 years pitching in MLB. He recorded 3,116 strikeouts. His ERA+ was a well-above average 127. And yet, Schilling, a product of Shadow Mountain High School, failed to make the Baseball Hall of Fame for the ninth consecutive year Tuesday by.

PHOENIX – Mandatory masks. A fog of disinfectant sprayed throughout the gym before and after the game. Socially distant seating in the stands. Temperature checks at the door. This is high school basketball in a pandemic. It wasn’t normal. But it was still the same sport. And when Mountain Pointe and Corona del Sol tipped.

PHOENIX – On his first day in office, President Joe Biden sent to Congress his plan to reform the U.S. immigration system. The bill includes preserving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, and outlines a path to permanent residence and citizenship for its recipients. That includes Reyna Montoya, an activist in Phoenix.

PHOENIX – The 2020-21 NHL season already has been an unusual one. A condensed, series-based schedule. Realigned divisional play. And games with limited fan attendance are a few of the twists and turns the league has maneuvered amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, another wrinkle has been added to the mix. Just six days into the.

PHOENIX – Health care experts are calling on federal and state agencies to take action to provide better care for the estimated 100,000 Americans who suffer from sickle cell disease. Sickle cell is the most common inherited blood disorder in the U.S. and disproportionately affects African Americans, occurring in 1 out of every 365 births.

WASHINGTON – COVID-19 may now be the leading cause of death in Arizona, apparently surpassing both cancer and heart disease for the number of fatalities in a year, according to the latest data from the Arizona Department of Health Services. The COVID-19 death toll through Monday was 12,448, according to numbers reported by the state.

PHOENIX – The Cactus League has asked Major League Baseball (MLB) to delay the start of spring training in Arizona due to high COVID-19 infection rates in Maricopa County. The request came in a letter addressed to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. “In view of the current state of the pandemic in Maricopa County – with.

PHOENIX – Amid moves by some states to declare racism a public health issue, experts are looking to medical schools to identify strategies to improve care for people of color and eliminate disparities related to a patient’s race or ethnicity. Dr. David Acosta, chief diversity and inclusion officer with the Association of American Medical Colleges,.

PHOENIX – His voice cracking, eyes cast toward the floor, Suns forward Cameron Johnson gave out a deep sigh and shook his head as he tried to explain his team’s 120-112 double-overtime loss Saturday to the Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns Arena, the team’s second straight loss in extra time against the surging Nuggets. “It’s.

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden made good on a campaign promise within hours of his swearing-in this week, ordering a pause in construction of the border wall and a plan for how to redirect wall funding. Opponents of the wall called the executive order “a huge win.” But they also said it is not the.

PHOENIX – Three COVID-19 vaccines have made their way through trials in the United States since December. Vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna passed testing standards set by the Food and Drug Administration with the hope that millions will be distributed across the country in the coming months. The third vaccine, from AstraZeneca, is in the.

PHOENIX – When Cielo Meza heard that her team would be taking a bus to its first conference series at UCLA, she knew something was wrong. “We fly everywhere, especially during Pac play, so getting on a bus – it was weird,” said Meza, who was a fifth-year senior pitcher on the Arizona State softball.

WASHINGTON – Almost half of the 24 executive orders President Joe Biden has signed in his first two days in office have dealt with COVID-19, which White House officials cite as proof that fighting the pandemic is the top priority for his administration. “The first order I’m going to be signing here … relates to.

PHOENIX – In the midst of a week in which three of his team’s games were postponed in accordance with the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton overheard a statistic from coach Monty Williams that particularly unsettled him. “Coach made a valid point that I think we were last in points.

TEMPE – This was supposed to be Arizona State’s year. But so far, it sure hasn’t gone that way. After years of early-season runs leading to late-season disappointments and early March Madness exits, the 2020-21 basketball season was supposed to be different. A backcourt of top recruit Josh Christopher and returning senior Remy Martin was.

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden unveiled a sweeping immigration reform bill Wednesday that would create a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, preserve DACA and end the ban on travel from Muslim-majority countries, among other changes. The proposal, released on the first day of his presidency, is a sharp reversal from former President.

WASHINGTON – In one of his last acts as president, Donald Trump on Wednesday pardoned two Arizonans, including former Rep. Rick Renzi who was convicted of extortion, racketeering and other charges while representing the 1st District in Congress. The pardons – including one for Scott Connor Crosby, a one-time bank robber who supporters say has.

WASHINGTON – In any other year, Ak-Chin Chairman Robert Miguel would have headed to Washington to be part of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. But Miguel will instead be watching the swearing-in from home, one of the thousands who would normally have flooded Washington this week but were told.

PHOENIX – News that New York Mets general manager and former Arizona Diamondbacks executive Jared Porter sent sexually explicit texts to a female reporter drew widespread criticism, including some from one of sports journalism’s female trailblazers. “I’m saddened that we’re still having these conversations,” said Valley resident Anne Montgomery, who was one of ESPN’s first.

GLENDALE – Linda Riggins was first in line at Gate 3 before the Arizona Coyotes’ season opener at Gila River Arena. Riggins, a season ticket holder, and her son, Keith Traub, arrived three-and-a-half hours early. They were ready for hockey. “I was just so happy to be there,” Riggins said. “My son was in seventh.

WASHINGTON – Four years ago, President Donald Trump claimed the crowd attending his inauguration was the largest in history, a claim widely ridiculed in the face of photos showing a half-empty National Mall. But when President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in Wednesday, it’s safe to say he will have one of the smallest crowds ever..

WASHINGTON – The Arizona Department of Health Services said Friday it is expanding its COVID-19 vaccination programs, adding distribution at pharmacies and at a second state-run site in the East Valley and broadening the number of people eligible for the vaccine. The expansion comes as the state has already administered well over 200,000 doses of.

WASHINGTON – The Arizona Capitol is surrounded by two rows of chain-link fence and police presence has been increased, as authorities brace for possible violence in response to the inauguration next week of President-elect Joe Biden. The preparations come amid reports that the FBI has warned of possible armed protests at all 50 state capitals.

PHOENIX – One day he is studying accounting at Arizona State. The next he is hitting his “business” partner with a briefcase. Welcome to the world of former ASU wrestler Levi Cooper, better known these days as “Tucker,” a WWE performer on Monday Night Raw. “I love ASU and always will,” Cooper said. “Tempe has.