Search result for Keerthi Vedantam

Sinema censure effort stalls; progressives say they made their point

WASHINGTON - An intraparty threat to censure Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is on hold for now, but progressives who called for the vote said they achieved their goal of putting the freshman Democrat on notice over her voting record.


State GOP looks to clear nomination path for Trump by canceling primary

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's road to renomination could get easier through Arizona, with the state Republican Party looking to join three other states and drop its presidential primary next year - a move used before by both Democrats and Republicans in the state.


Arizona lawmakers Grijalva, Schweikert focus of House ethics probes

WASHINGTON - Experts say it is "more of a coincidence than anything" that Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva, a Democrat, and David Schweikert, a Republican, are both being investigated by the House Ethics Committee, but they caution that neither lawmaker should take the probes lightly.


In Indian Country, potholes can be a bump in the road to an education

WASHINGTON - Of all the problems facing tribal schools, impassable roads are not the biggest problem, "but it is the most annoying one." With three-fourths of Bureau of Indian Affairs roads unpaved, students are often stranded and districts are forced to spend precious resources on bus repairs.


Thin on broadband: Tribal areas still struggle with lagging technology

WASHINGTON - To some Hopi, "just Google it," is an inside joke - only about 29% of Hopi households have broadband internet access, compared to 79% in Arizona and 78% nationwide. On tribal lands across Arizona, fewer than half the homes have broadband access, stifling business, health and schooling.


Robocalls hit 3 million a day in Arizona, but help may be on the way

WASHINGTON – Despite efforts to block them, robocalls keep coming, with almost 3,2 million such calls made per day to Arizona phone numbers in the first four months of this year. New regulations and new technologies might help stem the tide, but not everyone is convinced.


Court lets class-action suit proceed against state for foster care

WASHINGTON - A divided federal appeals court said a class-action lawsuit over the state's care of foster children can proceed against the Arizona Department of Child Safety and the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.


Report: Latino voters flexed muscle in 2018, set to be a force in 2020

WASHINGTON - A new report says Latinos are on track to be the largest minority voting group in 2020, when an estimated 32 million will be eligible to vote, and that they began to make their influence felt in 2018, when a surge of Latino votes tipped Senate races in Arizona and Nevada to Democrats.


Crossing a line: Military encounter at border sparks Trump threats

WASHINGTON - A peaceful border encounter between U.S. and Mexican soldiers earlier this month became a political issue Wednesday when President Donald Trump picked up the incident and threatened in a tweet to send armed soldiers to the border in response.


Critics blast DHS environmental waivers that clear way for border wall

WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security said ti will waive dozens of environmental, health and other laws to clear the way for construction on about 58 miles of border barriers, including 12 miles of fencing near Yuma, in a move quickly attacked by lawmakers and environmentalists.


Same report, different take for state lawmakers eyeing Mueller report

PHOENIX - Arizona lawmakers looked at the same 448-page Mueller report and saw two different things, with two very different reactions, depending on which side of the aisle they are on. If there was a common thread, it was that nobody's mind appeared to be changed by the report.


House Ethics panel releases details in ongoing probe of Schweikert

WASHINGTON - The House Ethics Committee released details of its probe of Rep. David Schweikert, R-Fountain Hills, that began last year finding "substantial reason to believe" he may have approved improper office expenditures and campaign contributions.