Feds want to rush aid to public housing residents to stay cool during extreme summer heat, but Tucson and Phoenix are in no hurry

WASHINGTON – Arizona public housing authorities can expand utility assistance for cooling costs during extreme heat, but the Tucson authority won’t be participating this year. Residents face challenges accessing cooling, creating health risks as triple-digit temperatures hit the state.

Richard Monocchio, the top official for Public and Indian Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, spoke at the Martin Luther King Apartments in Tucson on June 13, 2024, to announce emergency aid to help public housing residents pay utility bills. (Photo courtesy of Tucson Housing and Community Development)

Last place? ASU dismisses skeptics who predict poor Big 12 finish

LAS VEGAS – Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham attended his first Big 12 Football Media Day. Picked to finish last in the conference, the Sun Devils and Dillingham say they have improved in the offseason and hope to prove critics wrong.

Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium was transformed into a press setting for Big 12 Football Media Day. Players and coaches, including Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham, addressed questions about the new-look conference. (Photo courtesy of PHNX)

Arizona farmers turn to solar panels to shade crops, save water and generate power

WASHINGTON – With Arizona’s blazing sunshine and depleting water sources, agrivoltaics could be used to grow healthy crops in a sustainable way. Federal funding under IRA and REAP is helping farmers get started.

Rows of crops grow under solar panels while farmers work on the side of Spaces of Opportunity’s agrivoltaic plot in Phoenix. (Photo courtesy of Sarah Bendok)

Phoenix Suns newcomers Oso Ighodaro, Ryan Dunn set to shine in NBA 2K25 Summer League

PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns announced their 2024 NBA 2K25 Summer League roster, featuring rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro. The team will open Saturday against the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas.

Oso Ighodaro (right), the promising Phoenix Suns rookie and Chandler native, prepares to take on the 2024 NBA 2K25 Summer League in Las Vegas. (Photo by Shirell Washington/Cronkite News)

‘Philly Special’: Natasha Cloud and Kahleah Copper’s hometown grit reshaping Phoenix Mercury’s culture

PHOENIX – Philadelphia natives Natasha Cloud and Kahleah Copper are transforming the Phoenix Mercury with their resilient play and shared hometown bond.

Natasha Cloud (left) and Kahleah Copper (right), congratulate each other after combining for 56 points during Sundays victory against the Los Angeles Sparks. (Photo courtesy of Phoenix Mercury)

‘Something to prove’: ASU men’s basketball rebuilds for Big 12 transition with high-profile recruits, transfers

TEMPE – After a disappointing season, ASU men’s basketball revitalizes its roster with top-tier recruits and transfers, aiming for a successful debut in the Big 12 Conference under Coach Hurley’s leadership.

Head coach Bobby Hurley expresses optimism about the future as ASU men's basketball transitions to the Big 12 Conference. (Photo by Dylan Slager/Cronkite News)

‘It’s a lot’: Phoenix Mercury battle mental challenges to endure grueling compressed schedule

PHOENIX – Nate Tibbetts and his players discuss the mental toll that playing on a compressed schedule presents. The team stresses unity to persevere through the demanding juncture in the season.

Natasha Cloud and the Phoenix Mercury players show solidarity during an intense stretch of games, playing four times in six nights over the past week. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

Navajo uranium miners, people downwind of atom bomb tests demand justice as Congress lets aid program lapse

WASHINGTON – Congress let the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act expire June 10, leaving Navajo uranium workers and people downwind of nuclear weapons tests furious.

The BADGER explosion on April 18, 1953, at the Nevada Test site (Photo courtesy of National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office)

International athletes watch from sidelines as U.S. peers cash in on NIL deals

PHOENIX – International college athletes in the US cannot profit from NIL deals due to visa restrictions. However, lawmakers are looking for ways to change that by adjusting visa restrictions and implementing employment authorization for student-athletes.

"Beth Coulter, an Irish golfer at Arizona State University, represents thousands of international athletes unable to profit from NIL opportunities (Photo courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)

Arizona could see open primaries on the ballot this November, allowing independents to weigh in on presidential nominees

WASHINGTON – Backers of a ballot initiative that would open Arizona’s presidential primaries to independent voters filed over 500,000 signatures to get on the November ballot. Over a third of voters are independents, who make up one in three registered voters.

In addition to voting inside, Arizona residents were able to drop off their ballots at the entrance of Gila River Arena. (File photo by Michael Gutnick/Cronkite News)

Arizona’s homeless could be targeted by police under Supreme Court ruling allowing bans on public encampments

WASHINGTON – Arizona advocates fear the new Supreme Court ruling will have a disastrous impact on homeless people.

Arizona advocates worry what the new Supreme Court ruling means for local homeless populations. (File photo by Monserrat Apud/Cronkite News)

Curling in the desert: Ability360 champions wheelchair curling in Arizona heat

TEMPE – In Arizona's desert heat, Ability360's wheelchair curling clinics at the Coyotes Curling Club fostered community and local enthusiasm for the sport.

Ability360 participants learn the basics of wheelchair curling during a six-week clinic at the Coyotes Curling Club in Tempe. (Photo courtesy of Karam Gafsi/Ability360)