Underdogs? Disrespected? Despite obstacles, UArizona women find themselves in Final Four

TUCSON — Coach Adia Barnes’ long road has led her to the Final Four, where her team is the lowest seed still remaining in the NCAA Tournament and hopes to continue to surprise the sports world.


Lower income, Hispanic neighborhoods lag on vaccinations

PHOENIX – Although vaccinations are now open to most Arizonans, some neighborhoods are lagging behind – notably those that are lower income and predominantly Hispanic.


Arizona adds its own variant to the growing list of COVID-19 mutations

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 that has since been detected in Texas and New Mexico.


RezTok: Indigenous storytellers find stronger voice on popular platform

PHOENIX – Native American artists and creators have found a home, a community and a voice in TikTok. They use their voices to uplift their communities and their relatives.


Death, taxes and April 15? Maybe not. Tax filing dates shift in 2021

WASHINGTON - The IRS extended the tax-filing deadline to May 17 because of COVID-19, but the due date remained April 15 in Arizona - until Monday. Lawmakers approved an extension last week, the governor signed it Monday, just 10 days before the usual tax day.


Limited Cactus League attendance has ripple effect on local businesses

TEMPE – For plenty of Arizona businesses, March is the busiest month of the year thanks to an influx of tourists for spring training. But in 2021, with the pandemic limiting Cactus League attendance, restaurants didn’t see the same sales spike they usually do.


‘Fourth wave’: As mask mandates are lifted, Arizona health researchers urge COVID-19 caution

Researchers at ASU call for social distancing and mask wearing to continue in the face of a possible fourth wave and local mutating strains of COVID-19.


Phoenix explorer, entrepreneur will be on first civilian crew to go into space

PHOENIX – A Phoenix professor will be among the crew members to fly on the first all-civilian space flight that SpaceX launches this fall.


Navigating college recruiting process proved challenging for sand volleyball standout during pandemic

PHOENIX – A lack of spots due to funding, limited campus tours, and being evaluated solely on film are just some of the obstacles that Arcadia High School senior Lauren Sayre encountered while deciding where she would play sand volleyball at the collegiate level.


Tribal efforts to preserve languages get boost from COVID relief funds

The American Rescue Plan will set aside $20 million to help Native American nations preserve their languages. The funding is designed to help assure the survival of tribal cultures, spiritual identities and forms of traditional communication.


Advocates call on Biden to ‘tear down this wall,’ repair border damage

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.


Businesses get another 60 days to apply for pandemic relief assistance

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.