He was a robber, she sold drugs; only one can get help with school
WASHINGTON - The American Opportunity Tax Credit lets people, including former inmates, claim a credit for college education expenses - unless they were convicted of a drug crime. Lawmakers are trying to lift that ban, saying someone jailed for drugs should not be denied benefits a murder can get.
Racist taunts aimed at Native American high school athletes denounced
SCOTTSDALE – Salt River High School volleyball players were targets of racial taunts. Their governing body is organizing a committee to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
No money, no lights: Shutoff of senior woman’s electricity leads to calls for reform
PHOENIX - The Arizona Corporation Commission is spending the next few months pursuing reforms for the utility companies it oversees in Arizona. There is no state government standard as to how and why a user’ who is behind payments on a bill has their utilities shut off.
Census officials will work to accurately count all communities in 2020
PHOENIX – Census officials emphasized improvements in accuracy for 2020 to reduce historical undercounts of minorities.
Report: Phoenix sixth-highest metro area in nation for gun suicides
WASHINGTON - The Phoenix metro area had the sixth-highest rate of firearm suicides among the nation's urban areas, according to a new report by House Democrats tying the availability of guns to the prevalence of gun suicides.
Justice Department pressing ahead with plan to collect immigrants’ DNA
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department is moving forward with plans to collect DNA samples from immigration detainees, including those without criminal offenses, raising alarms among both privacy and immigration advocates.
New Fry’s grocery store ends food desert for downtown Phoenix
PHOENIX - A new Fry’s Food and Drug will open in downtown Phoenix on Wednesday, the first grocery store in an urban area dotted with new businesses and housing.
Johnson & Johnson settlement on surgical mesh includes $2.8 million for Arizona
PHOENIX – Arizona will receive $2.8 million of a nearly $117 million settlement from Johnson & Johnson over safety concerns of a surgical mesh product.
Advocates worry as ‘domestic violence green cards’ get greater scrutiny
WASHINGTON - Applications for "domestic violence green cards" have risen steadily since the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, but the percentage flagged as possibly fraudulent has risen even faster. But advocates say greater attention does not mean more problems.
Trump’s emergency wall funding declaration was ‘unlawful,’ court says
WASHINGTON - A federal judge in Texas Friday blocked an administration plan to use $3.6 billion in Pentagon funds for border wall construction, calling President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency to secure the funds "unlawful."
Court: Woman injured by leaking breast implant cannot sue manufacturer
An appeals court said federal law protects the manufacturer of a leaking silicone breast implant that injured a Gold Canyon woman, who tried to sue the company for damages from the implants she received after a cancer diagnosis and double mastectomy.
Arizonans rally as court weighs LGBT, transgender workplace protections
WASHINGTON - Arizonans were among the hundreds who ralledi outside the Supreme Court as it considered one of the most emotional questions of its term - whether employment laws that prohibit discrimination "because of ... sex" also apply to sexual orientation and gender identity.
