Feds say states can move forward on plans for Medicaid work requirement
WASHINGTON - Federal officials issued guidelines Thursday that will let Arizona and nine other states move ahead on proposals to require that able-bodied Medicaid recipients are either working or involved in "community engagement activities" to be eligible for coverage.
Agents tell panel it will take more than a wall to fully secure border
WASHINGTON - Frontline border agents told a House panel that a wall is just one thing needed to secure the border, saying they also need better technology, more officers and better incentives to attract and keep agents.
Military accepts transgender recruits, but advocates won’t give up fight
WASHINGTON - Transgender individuals will be able to openly enlist, re-enlist and serve in the military beginning Jan. 1. Advocates in Arizona welcomed the shift, but don't believe this is the end of their fight.
In Mexico, loving the mountains to death
LA SIERRA GORDA, Queretaro, Mexico – The Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve covers nearly 1 million acres that shelter 2,200 species of plants and animals, but ever-increasing numbers of people who come to visit can pose a major threat if not regulated carefully, activists worry.
Twenty years after ASU career ended, Tillman legacy endures
TEMPE - Twenty years ago today, Pat Tillman walked off a football field for the last time as an Arizona State football player. No one knew then that he would later become a symbol of perseverance, selflessness, bravery and, ultimately, sacrifice.
Mixed feelings on NAFTA in Mexico as talks on pact continue
QUERETARO, Mexico - While some in Mexico are pushing the benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Mexican critics of the treaty say it’s time for their government to take a hard look at its shortcomings.
Trump’s rhetoric awakens new spirit, new questions in Mexico
Mexico has seen rapid growth in education levels and financial status since the signing of NAFTA, and Mexicans now want to be seen as an equal partner to the U.S., a desire only fueled by the rhetoric of the Trump administration
Mexico seeks edge with high-tech ‘Agroparks’
COLON, Queretaro, Mexico - On 700 acres of what looks like industrial park lies is could be Mexico’s farming future – Agropark, government-backed high-tech greenhouses that use high-tech methods to grow specialized products for export.
Mexicans work to reclaim corn as their own
QUERETARO, Mexico - NAFTA has battered small Mexican farmers, but plans to renegotiate the trade pact have prompted a grassroots and political push here to reclaim a trade that was once at the heart of Mexico.
Native Americans’ recovery from recession brings little advancement
WASHINGTON - A decade after the start of the recession, Native American poverty and unemployment was twice as high as the rest of the state and per capita income was less than half, margins that have barely budged since the recession started at the end of 2007.
Caught in hard-hit fields, Latinos help themselves escape recession
WASHINGTON - Arizona Hispanics were heavily represented in construction and agriculture, two industries hit hard in the recession, but that seems to have driven many Latinos to start their own businesses to get work.
Recession created ‘perfect storm’ for sharp rise in student loan debt
WASHINGTON - Arizonans came out of the recession with more than twice the student debt that they carried 10 years ago, as economic forces that came with the recession created a "perfect storm" for rising debt.
