Search result for Julian Hernandez

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.


Chef’s special: Anthony Pressley parlays 200-pound weight loss into cooking for world’s best boxers

PHOENIX – Anthony Pressley went from overweight at 400 pounds to a performance chef for world champion boxers such as Tyson Fury and Errol Spence Jr., using the same cooking techniques that helped him lose 200 pounds naturally.

An unsuccessful pursuit to be selected for 'Master Chef' inspired Anthony Pressley to pursue opportunities as a chef, where he combines his passions of food nutrition and combat sports. (Photo courtesy of Anthony Pressley)

It’s summer and Arizona gas prices sizzle to third-highest in country

PHOENIX – Arizona gas prices remain the third-highest in the country, just in time for summer vacation season.

Cars line up to get gas early at a QT on the corner of Germann Road and Arizona Avenue in Chandler. (File photo by Hope O’Brien/Cronkite News)

Aumento de muertes por conducir bajo la influencia del alcohol en Arizona entre los más altos del país en 2021

WASHINGTON – Un aumento en las muertes por conducir bajo los efectos del alcohol en las carreteras de Arizona desde el 2020 al 2021 se encontró entre los más altos del país tanto en términos de porcentaje - 43% - como en números brutos, con 126 muertes adicionales por conducir ebrio llevando el total del estado a 421 en el 2021.

Las muertes por conducir bajo la influencia del alcohol en EE.UU. aumentaron un 14% de 2020 a 2021, y en Arizona aumentaron un 43% en el mismo período. Los expertos citan varios factores, pero dicen que los hábitos imprudentes de conducción durante la pandemia son al menos en parte los culpables. Aquí, en esta foto de archivo de 2018, tripulaciones de la Fuerza Aérea realizan un simulacro de rescate en Carolina del Norte. (Foto de Staff Sgt. Brittain Crolley/Fuerza Aérea de EE.UU.)

Phoenix Union school district considers return of school resource officers on campuses to address school safety

PHOENIX – The Phoenix Union High School District is considering bringing back school resource officers on campus after dropping its contract with the Phoenix Police Department nearly three years ago. The move brings great debate among students, faculty and parents.

Officer Edward Toves, shown in a 2018 file photo, when he worked at Westview High School as a school resource officer. His job included visiting classes to teach students about the law. (File photo by Faith Miller/Cronkite News)

Arizona plans to sink more than $85 million into potholes, other repairs

PHOENIX – After a tough winter for roadways, the Arizona Department of Transportation is working to patch potholes and to resurface, repair and improve highways in Arizona. ADOT has pledged over $85 million for the effort.


Arizona increase in drunken driving deaths among highest in nation in 2021

WASHINGTON - A surge in drunken driving deaths on Arizona highways from 2020 to 2021 was among the highest in the nation both in terms of percentage increase - 43% - and raw numbers, with the additional 126 drunken driving deaths taking the state's total to 421 in 2021.


Arizona’s veterinary medicine grads aid shortfall of vets in nation, state

GLENDALE – Arizona’s veterinary loan assistance program will repay up to $100,000 in loans for graduates who have practiced in the state for four years. Midwestern University and the University of Arizona hope to graduate more veterinary medicine students to fill the vet shortage.


Diagonal crossing? Tempe tests all-pedestrian crosswalk

TEMPE – Tempe recently wrapped up a four-week pilot program for an all-pedestrian crosswalk at the busy intersection of Mill Avenue and Fifth Street. Pedestrians could cross in any direction — even diagonally — when traffic was stopped.


Donate Life Arizona advocates for organ donations at the Arizona Capitol

PHOENIX – Donate Life Arizona brought together legislators and families of both organ donors and recipients at the Arizona Capitol to celebrate a record number of organ donations in 2022.

Kelsey and Zaccarri Krasnov tell how an organ donation saved their son, Valen’s, life when he was 3 years old. Photo taken during Donate Life Living Donor Day in Phoenix on April 5, 2023. (Photo by Drake Presto/ Cronkite News)

Unmistakable rhythm of cumbia music grows louder in Phoenix as local DJ duo and fusion band work to create thriving scene

It’s an unmistakable rhythm that catches you by the ear and doesn’t let go. It’s the booming heart of Latin music and dance known as cumbia, and it’s a form of Latin culture that local DJ duo, Vinyl Vagos, and a cumbia fusion band known as Las Calakas are cultivating in Phoenix.

Eduardo Pym, left, and Felix Trejo, of the DJ duo Vinyl Vagos, get ready to hype up the dance floor with their cumbia music mix at The Womack in Phoenix on March 17, 2023. (Photo by Fernando Hernández)

Jonathan Gannon settles in as new Cardinals coach, expects DeAndre Hopkins back

PHOENIX – The Arizona Cardinals' new front office is beginning to build a new roster together with rumors and headlines swirling around the organization. On Tuesday, new coach Jonathan Gannon gave an update on the process.

New Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon shared the latest developments in the organization during Tuesday's NFL owners' meetings at Arizona Biltmore. (Photo by Olivia Eisenhauer/Cronkite News)