To Russia with love and (hopefully) money: Shadow Ridge unified floorball team lands Olympics spot
SURPRISE – Athletes from Shadow Ridge High School have qualified for the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Kazan, Russia, in 2023, but still need to raise money for the trip.
DHS tightens vaccination requirements for travelers at border crossings
WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security began requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination over the weekend for essential as well as nonessential travel across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Ducey defends use of school funding in face of feds’ threat to reclaim it
WASHINGTON - Gov. Doug Ducey said Thursday that the state's use of money to support schools that reject mask mandates is "well within" federal guidelines for the funds, despite a Treasury threat to take the money back.
Phoenix saw 9.7% inflation in 2021, outstripping national rate of 7%
WASHINGTON – Consumer prices rose by an average of 7% in U.S. cities last year, the steepest rise in decades, and they grew even faster in the Phoenix metro area, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Pandemic adds pressure on doctors, who already had one of the highest rates of suicide
PHOENIX – Physicians have one of the highest rates of death by suicide, and the pandemic has excerbated the stress on health care workers. Doctors often are hesitant to seek help because of the stigma surrounding mental illness.
Free Wi-Fi headed to Phoenix school districts to help end digital divide
PHOENIX – A project called the Digital Education Connection Canopy will provide free Wi-Fi to some Phoenix schools. The technology behind it could be the blueprint for a permanent solution to the digital divide.
Vaccine hesitancy, new variants kept COVID-19 infections from falling
WASHINGTON – Almost two years after the first case of COVID-19 was discovered in Arizona, new infections in the state have reached a "bizarre plateau," rising from summertime lows in the hundreds to more than 3,000 new cases a day through the fall.
Asians, other minorities fear attacks because of race, survey finds
PHOENIX – An NPR report found that one in four Asian households in the U.S. fear physical and verbal attacks because of their race. Studies show mental health issues related to economic inequalities increased across the country during the surge in COVID-19 cases tied to the delta variant.
Hungry holidays: Break from school means break from meals for some kids
WASHINGTON - Holidays bring a break from schoolwork for students, but for more than a half-million Arizona children they can also mean a break from their only reliable source of a nutritious meal - the subsidized school meal.
Nearly two years into the pandemic, theaters and performers adapting to the ‘new normal’
PHOENIX – Many theaters in metro Phoenix are putting on indoor performances for the first time since the pandemic started in March 2020. Despite challenges, the pandemic has allowed for a more mindful approach to planning and staging productions.
‘We cannot get complacent’: Ex-surgeon general recommends vigilance in the face of omicron variant
PHOENIX - Former surgeon general and Department of Health Services adviser Dr. Richard Carmona provides updates on the state of COVID in Arizona, and recommends a continuation of policy in the face of the omicron variant.
It’s beginning to look a lot like a post-COVID Christmas for retailers
WASHINGTON - In the second holiday season of the pandemic era, goods may cost more, but Americans have more money to spend - and they appear to be eager to spend it, and that's true in Arizona, where retailers say holiday shopping is already in full swing.
