Joshua Gerard Gargiulo
Indian Country Reporter, Washington, D.C.Latest from Joshua Gerard Gargiulo
Whack-a-troll: Watchdogs scramble to keep up with COVID-19 scams, fraud
PHOENIX - Authorities and consumer watchdog groups say the threat of COVID-19 and the national focus on it have combined with the speed and anonymity of the internet to spread scams that have left them scrambling to keep up with the fraudsters.
Trump’s Phoenix trip first in weeks, as he aims to ‘move around’ more
PHOENIX - President Donald Trump will visit Phoenix next week to tour a Honeywell facility that was revamped last month to make N95 masks, his first trip away from Washington in more than a month. It comes as the state continues tts social distancing policies.
418,000 jobless claims crater 10 years of new jobs in just five weeks
PHOENIX - New jobless claims in Arizona over the past five weeks have wiped out two-thirds of the new jobs created in the state over 10 years, according to the latest numbers from the Arizona Department of Economic Security.
Tribal leaders struggle against ‘very slow’ allocation of COVID-19 aid
PHOENIX - The Navajo Nation has the country's third-highest rate of COVID-19 infections, but it has watched funds go to less hard-hit areas in a "very slow" federal aid process, Navajo President Jonathan Nez said Friday, part of an online discussion of federal response to coronavirus in Indian Country.
Trump taps three Arizona lawmakers for ‘opening America again’ group
PHOENIX - Both Arizona senators and a House member were named Thursday to President Donald Trump's "Opening Up America Again" task force, which is charged with looking at ways to start easing business and social restrictions imposed because of the coronavirus.
Border officials use COVID-19 fear to turn away 6,306 at southern border
PHOENIX - Border Patrol agents turned away 6,306 migrants at the southern border in just 10 days after President Donald Trump authorized the immediate return of immigrants and asylum seekers under a 1944 law to check communicable diseases like COVID-19.
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.
Down for the count: Tribes’ Census response lags far behind state, U.S.
PHOENIX - Tribal response to the 2020 Census badly trails state and national rates, according to Census Bureau data, with the already-challenging task of counting in tribal areas further complicated by the arrival of COVID-19.
Distance spurning: State OK on social distancing; counties, not so much
WASHINGTON - Arizona did relatively well in a new study of social distancing, but the same could not be said of how well most counties in the state follow the practice that is aimed at stemming the coronavirus' spread.
U.S., Mexico to limit ‘nonessential’ border crossings to stem COVID-19
WASHINGTON - The U.S. and Mexico will stop all "nonessential" border crossings after midnight Friday in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus, but goods and essential workers will still be allowed to cross, the White House announced Friday.
Grand Canyon lodging, food services shuttered in face of coronavirus
WASHINGTON - Grand Canyon National Park is still open, but the same cannot be said for lodging and food services in the park, which will be shuttered for the next two months by concerns over coronavirus. Operations will be suspended from noon Friday through at least May 21.
House passes $8.3 billion coronavirus bill; Biggs one of two ‘no’ votes
WASHINGTON - The House late Wednesday approved $8.3 billion in emergency funding to combat the coronavirus outbreak. The bill passed by an overwhelming 415-2 vote - with Reb. Andy Biggs, R-Peoria, counting for one of the two "nays."
Court rejects claim that Ducey’s pick of McSally was unconstitutional
WASHINGTON - Martha McSally can still claim the title Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., after a federal court this week rejected a claim that her 2018 appointment by Gov. Doug Ducey was unconstitutional because of the almost-two-year gap from the appointment to the next election.
Two Arizona witnesses, two very different views at border wall hearing
WASHINGTON - While Tohono O'odham Chairman Ned Norris Jr. repeated his opposition Thursday to the border wall and the damage it's causing sacred sites, Arivaca rancher Jim Chilton testified that a wall is needed to protect his land and his family.
Rally tallies: Campaigns come to town, often leave unpaid bills behind
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's campaign returned to Arizona - where Tucson and Mesa say he still has not paid $145,000 for city services he ran up during previous rallies. But analysts say Trump is not alone, that campaigns do not have to reimburse local governments, and often don't.
Immovable objects: Asarco, striking workers at odds after four months
WASHINGTON - Striking Asarco workers passed four months on the picket line Thursday, but union officials insist they have strong community support and that workers are committed to staying out until they get a fair deal.
Democrats bring presidential debate to Phoenix, days before primary
WASHINGTON - The Democratic National Committee on Friday tapped Phoenix to host a presidential primary debate next month, a move that state Democrats called an acknowledgment of Arizona's increasing importance in the 2020 election.
Tribal officials press for more, and more predictable, federal funding
WASHINGTON - Tribal officials this week raised issues ranging from polluted water to underfunded police but there was one message they all had for House lawmakers - the government needs to be a more reliable partner on critical projects
Businesses, officials hail USMCA signing, worth billions to state trade
WASHINGTON - Arizona businesses and elected officials hailed Wednesday's signing of the new United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement that they say preserves markets worth more than $20 billion in trade and 228,000 jobs in the state in 2018.
Arizonans join thousands – and, in a first, a president – at March for Life
WASHINGTON - Tempe resident Katie Forbes was at the 47th March for Life because she finds the national event's "magnitude and scale" encouraging for anti-abortion groups at the event, which this year drew a first-ever personal appearance by a sitting president.
Mesa’s Giles leads panel of mayors grappling with immigration policy
WASHINGTON - They were Democratic and Republican mayors from cities large and small across the country, but officials on the panel Wednesday on immigration agreed - it's an issue they all grapple with, said Mesa Mayor John Giles who led the U.S. Conference of Mayors event.
