Sydney Carruth
Sydney Carruth syd-knee kuh-rooth (she/her/hers)
News Reporter, Washington, D.C.

Sydney Carruth expects to graduate in the August 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication and has a bachelor’s degree in political science from ASU’s School of Politics and Global Studies. Carruth is a money reporter at the Cronkite News Washington, D.C., bureau and has interned at The Arizona Republic as a breaking news reporter.

Latest from Sydney Carruth

Student loan repayments will hit economy; how hard depends on who’s being hit

WASHINGTON - When federal student loan payments resume Oct. 1, they could pull $71 billion a year out of the economy, $5.3 billion from Arizona. The pain could be real for borrowers - about 880,000 in Arizona - but will present only a "modest headwind" to the overall economy.


Big fight for a little bird: Pygmy-owl gets threatened species status

WASHINGTON - Federal officials this week granted threatened species status to the cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl, capping 17 years of "litigation and controversy" from advocates fighting to win protection for the 6-inch raptor.


Coconino official tells House ‘anti-ESG’ bills threaten public investments

WASHINGTON - Coconino County Treasurer Sarah Benatar told House lawmakers Tuesday that it's her job to get the best, and safest, return on public investments for taxpayers, but that "anti-ESG" legislation puts public dollars at risk.


Teaching Tempe: City leaders learn to ready workers for infrastructure jobs

WASHINGTON - Tempe was one of 16 cities invited to Washington this week for a Labor Department "academy" to help local governments learn how to overcome challenges with the implementation of the "once in a generation" Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.


Phoenix area inflation cools, but still higher than national average rise

WASHINGTON - Phoenix-area inflation has cooled since its peak last summer, but the region's 4.4% increase since last June is still higher than the national average of 3% over the same period, new data shows.


Inmate can press claim that phone limits hurt right to stay in his kids’ lives

WASHINGTON - An inmate who claimed that the federal prison system's 300-minute-a-month limit on phone calls infringed on his ability to be involved in his children's lives should get a chance to present his case, an appeals court ruled.


Another summer, another lifeguard shortage, as pools cut hours, openings

A $3,000 incentive program brought a boom in lifeguard applications to the city of Phoenix this year, but not enough lifeguards and pool managers to open more than 18 of the city's 29 pools this summer.

City of Phoenix lifeguard Carrie Nelson is the manager at Encanto pool. June 14, 2023 (Evelin Ruelas/Cronkite News)

For July Fourth picnic prices, inflation is down this year – but not done

WASHINGTON - Americans can expect to pay less for their Independence Day cookouts than they did last year but don't go setting off fireworks over the drop - it's still 14% higher than two years ago after a historic spike in 2022.


Supreme Court rules race-based college admissions unconstitutional

WASHNGTON - A divided Supreme Court said that race-based college admissions policies are unconstitutional violations of the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. Arizona universities do not believe it will affect them, but advocates called it "a shameful day."


Arizona gets $1 billion for broadband, part of $43 billion federal program

WASHINGTON - Arizona will get just under $1 billion in federal funding for high-speed internet access improvement, part of more than $42.45 billion released Monday under the Commerce Department's Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment - or BEAD - program.


Arizona official, others, urge Senate to renew economic development fund

WASHINGTON - A northern Arizona official was among a panel of local government officials from across the country who called for the "long overdue" reauthorization of the Economic Development Administration - even as they all outlined ways it could be improved.


Justices uphold law giving Native families priority to adopt Native youth

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a federal law that requires tribal families get priority in the adoption or foster placement of an Indigenous child, a law aimed at stopping what one justice called the "nightmare" of family separation.


The Bee is not to be: Final Arizona spellers out of National Spelling Bee

And then there were none. After surviving several rounds of competition this week, the last two Arizona contestants in the 95th Scripps National Spelling Bee were eliminated Wednesday in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, respectively.


Spellbound: Arizona middle schoolers compete in national spelling bee

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - Three Arizona middle schoolers are in the Washington area this week, minding theii P's and Q's - and every other letter of the alphabets, as they compete against more than 200 students in the 95th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.


With pandemic in the rearview mirror, Memorial Day travel expected to boom

WASHINGTON - Memorial Day weekend travelers are expected to pack roads and airports at or above pre-pandemic levels this year, with experts saying that an estimated 42.3 million Americans are likely to travel. Of those, about 887,000 will be from Arizona.


Prescott resident decries hurdles veterans face trying to start a business

WASHINGTON - An Arizona veteran who started a string of Prescott businesses after his military service ended told lawmakers Wednesday that reducing barriers and streamlining federal loan applications are essential to helping other vets become business owners.