Lisa Diethelm grew up in California and expects to graduate in May 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a certificate in philosophy, rhetoric and literature. Diethelm is a digital reporter for Cronkite News. She also serves as the editor in chief and politics editor for the Downtown Devil.
PHOENIX - The Trump administration said it will stop accepting new DACA applications and will limit renewals to one year while it undertakes a "full reconsideration" of the policy - a move critics called little more than a ruse to renew efforts to kill the program.
PHOENIX - A lot has changed in the 30 years since passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which not only removed physical and legal barriers but forced Americans to see people with disabilities "as fully human" in the words of one Arizona advocate.
PHOENIX - A lot goes into a successful election, and in the era of COVID-19 that includes 3,200 gallons of hand sanitizer, one of several items on a list that includes gloves, masks and face shields as officials prepare for a safe and secure Aug. 4 primary.
Arizona lawmakers and advocates were unsparing Monday in their praise of the late Rep. John Lewis, using words like hero, giant and legend for the man one described as "living, breathing history."
PHOENIX - At a time when some Native American communities continue to struggle with the most basic needs, tribal leaders Wednesday called it "an outrage" that tribes had to wait months for coronavirus relief funds.
PHOENIX - This Fourth will be a first for many in Arizona: The first time fireworks are replaced by sparklers, or are a drive-through or online event, or are watched in masks at a healthy distance. While planners juggle festivities with COVID-19 health concerns, they insist the celebrations will go on.
PHOENIX – The number of new COVID-19 cases on the Navajo Nation is on a downward trend, but tribal leaders said that does not mean they are ready to ease up on health restrictions. They plan to continue 57-hour weekend lockdown for the next three weeks, as the tribe works to bring numbers even lower.
TEMPE - Arizonans will face a 14-day quarantine if they travel to New York, New Jersey or Connecticut, whose governors announced the restriction Wednesday to keep people from COVID-19 "hot spots" from bringing the infection with them.
PHOENIX - As President Donald Trump was hailing the pace of border wall construction Tuesday, Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris Jr. was bemoaning a project he says continues "to destroy … sacred sites.” Norris was one of five tribal leaders talking about the threats to sacred sites.
Experts can cite any number of historical and logistical reasons why Native Americans have relatively low response rates to the Census, but they point to a very new, and very specific challenge this year - COVID-19, which has hit tribes hard while keeping enumerators out of the field..
PHOENIX – Pledging harsher enforcement of state rules for restaurants and public spaces, Ducey allows local leaders to mandate the use of face masks in public.
PHOENIX – With cases of COVID-19 in Arizona rising by more than 1,000 a day, members of the medical community have written letters asking state officials to issue new pandemic guidelines.
The Phoenix Police Department will ban the use of chokeholds on suspects, a change aimed at regaining community trust in the wake of George Floyd's choking death two weeks ago while he was in Minneapolis police custody.
Surging numbers of COVID-19 cases in Arizona have pushed some hospital intensive-care units to their limits in recent weeks, but health experts around the state said hospitals still have room to adapt - for now.
Congressional Democrats unveiled a sweeping police reform bill Monday that would ban the use of chokeholds and make it easier to hold officers accountable, a bill that one Arizona police group blasted as "one-sided" and "disappointing."
With the Republican National Committee actively seeking new homes for its August convention, some in Arizona are angling for the state to get in line with the long list of other potential suitors.
After being closed for months by COVID-19, casinos around Arizona had just started to reopen when a statewide dusk-to-dawn curfew took effect Sunday. But casinos around the state said their hours are unchanged, curfew or no curfew.
After days of clashes between protesters and police, Arizona spent a relatively quiet night Sunday under a statewide dusk-to-dawn curfew that was ordered by Gov. Doug Ducey Sunday. It's unclear how much impact the curfew order had - and it's also unclear how strictly it will be enforced.
Memorial Day weekend crowds that one official said were "off the charts" at Arizona vacation spots have health experts worried that tourist behavior could lead to an increase of COVID-19 of cases.
Arizona tribes were among those who could get too much - or too little - COVID-19 relief funding under a Treasury Department funding formula that is based on "probably not the best numbers," according to the author of a new report.
The travel forecast for this Memorial Day weekend is fuzzy - just another victim of the COVID-19 pandemic, as restrictions and concerns about the virus are scrambling trip planning. The traffic will likely not be near the 43 million Americans who traveled last year, but after that it's anybody's guess.
