Businesses hurry up and wait, as relief funds dry up, new fund stalls

WASHINGTON - Mesa business owner Savannah Sander hoped a Paycheck Protection Program loan would keep her business afloat, when the $349 billion fund ran out of money week. Now, all she and other business owners can do is wait while Congress fights over plans to add another $251 billion to the program.


State, U.S. jobless claims dip slightly, but still ‘shockingly high’

WASHINGTON - After three weeks of record-breaking unemployment filings, jobless claims for the state and the nation dipped slightly last week, but they were still in what one economist called "shockingly high" territory.


COVID-19 in Arizona: 11,000 small businesses approved for loans

PHOENIX – Confirmed cases surpass 4,000 and the death toll stands at 150; peak of need for medical care predicted for April 30; and other updates from around the Grand Canyon State.


Hospitals near ‘financial extinction’ from limits to prep for COVID-19

WASHINGTON - Arizona hospitals are facing "dire financial consequences" and furloughing staff, as cutbacks meant to prepare for COVID-19 cases have instead cost them as much as $575 million a month, about 30-40% of normal revenues statewide.


Driving’s down – and that’s driving down insurance claims, premiums

TEMPE – Social distancing may drive you up the wall, but it could be also drive down your car insurance. With fewer cars on the road, claims have dropped as much as 90% in major cities, and most insurers have responded by pledging rebates, credits or direct payments to customers as a result.


Coronavirus relief payments start landing in Arizonans’ bank accounts

TEMPE - Thousands of dollars started arriving in Arizonans' bank accounts this week as the first payments from the massive coronavirus relief package began to be distributed in the form of expanded unemployment benefits and direct stimulus payments.


Arizona Housing Fund hopes to move people from the streets into homes

PHOENIX – The Arizona Housing Fund will provide grant money to nonprofits to bring low income, supportive housing to the market.


Businesses running out of time, as delays plague week-old loan program

WASHINGTON - While Congress and the White House are promising to add billions to the Paycheck Protection Program, some small businesses say they are just trying to hang on long enough to get the money there now.


COVID-19 in Arizona: Navajo leaders exposed to illness; state to get 100 ventilators from FEMA stockpile

PHOENIX – Breakdown of cases by ZIP code is coming to Arizona, and other news from around the Grand Canyon State.


State, national jobless claims continue surge, experts see no end

PHOENIX - Another 129,215 Arizonans filed for unemployment last week, boosting the number of new jobless in the state above a quarter million since March 1, according to the latest numbers from the Department of Economic Security.


COVID-19 in Arizona: Social distancing, face masks may be flattening curve of hospitalizations

PHOENIX – Ducey announces students in rural communities will receive 200 internet hotspots, a Page man allegedly urged violence against Navajos, and other updates on how COVID-19 is affecting Arizona.


Kirkpatrick says Air Force targets Davis-Monthan for bulk of A-10 cuts

TEMPE - The Air Force plans to retire 42 A-10 aircraft at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson next year, according to a state lawmaker, a move that would cut the base's fleet of the storied "Warthogs" in half.