Supreme Court to consider if two death-row inmates get new hearings
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court said it will consider whether two Arizona death-row inmates should get new hearings on claims that attorneys who represented them decades ago failed to present evidence that could have spared them.
Phoenix police keep tabs on social media, but who keeps tabs on cops?
PHOENIX - Police took to monitoring activists' social media in a year that saw Black Lives Matter rallies, anti-lockdown events, election protests and the Capitol riot - but experts worry that many agencies are operating under barebones surveillance guidelines.
Another Hill to climb: Obscure law denies Dreamers congressional jobs
WASHINGTON - One benefit of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is work authorization, but it does not extend to Capitol Hill - a surprise to some Arizona Democrats who are now trying to change the law.
Diamond in the rough: Japanese Americans imprisoned at Arizona camps during WWII found solace in baseball
PHOENIX – Baseball served as a distraction for some Japanese Americans who were imprisoned at Arizona camps during WWII
5 transgender military veterans discuss abuses, how political changes can alter lives
PHOENIX – Transgender military veterans have faced a constant shift in policy, depending on which party is in power. Five of them talk to Cronkite News about their experiences.
Wildfire prevention gets boost from behind bars with expanded program
WASHINGTON - It's important to have boots on the ground when battling wildfires, and state officials will soon be able to put 1,400 more boots on the ground - in the form of up to 700 prison inmates, who will be used to do forest maintenance under a new law.
Fight over Oak Flat mine draws support of diverse religious groups
WASHINGTON - The Oak Flat copper mine battle has gone from an environmental to a religious fight, with groups ranging from the Sikh Coalition to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints backing a White Mountain Apache claim that the mine will destroy sacred lands.
A Community’s Response: Reflections from the White Mountain Apache Tribe a year into the COVID-19 pandemic
WHITERIVER – COVID-19 devastated Native American communities. With the spotlight often on places like the Navajo Nation, the much smaller White Mountain Apache Tribe quietly battled to save its people.
Why this ‘radical librarian’ believes libraries, to address inequity, should keep buildings closed
Fobazi Ettarh believes reopening in-building library services to the public highlights disparities between the less fortunate and the well-off. Ettarch says it’s best to keep libraries closed to force a long-term solution.
With drug overdoses rising, leaders take action
PHOENIX – Amid record overdose deaths in the U.S., policymakers are proposing measures to expand treatment, reduce the chance of overdose and direct more funding to the problem.
‘I instantly knew he was dead’: Drug overdoses surge during pandemic, piling tragedy upon tragedy
TUCSON – While stay-at-home orders kept people safe from contracting COVID-19, home is where isolation and limited access to treatment fueled substance use disorders and led to a spike in overdose deaths.
Arizona near top of states for bills aimed at voting rights, limits
WASHINGTON - Arizona lawmakers began the year with the third-highest number of voting restriction bills in the nation, but it appears only a few will survive as the Legislature winds down. But voting rights activists say those few bills will still disenfranchise minority voters.
