PHOENIX – As state lawmakers push to repeal a near-total ban on abortion, Planned Parenthood of Arizona confirmed Wednesday that it will continue to provide abortions up to 15 weeks of pregnancy “until the last legal moment.” But when that last legal moment is depends on who’s talking. Abortion opponents argue that the ban should have taken effect this week, while Attorney General Kris Mayes said it would not take effect until June at the earliest – and she would not enforce it then. It could take weeks yet for final Senate approval of a repeal, and even then it would be months before the law ..read more

PHOENIX – The Arizona House voted Wednesday to repeal the state’s near-total ban on abortion, with three Republicans joining all Democrats to reverse the law despite emotional rhetoric from anti-abortion lawmakers. The 32-28 vote came just two weeks after the Arizona Supreme Court reinstated the 1864 law that criminalizes abortion except to save the life of the mother, and it was the third try by Democrats to reverse that ruling. The measure still needs Senate approval before it goes to the governor, who has said she would sign it. Even though it took weeks, House Republicans called the vote r ..read more

PHOENIX – “Today, the world is looking to Phoenix as a city of the future, where possibility is found in every corner,” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said Tuesday at her annual State of the City address. Gallego focused on efforts to create a successful, sustainable and safe Phoenix to enable residents to live comfortably. Phoenix is looking to build its economy by addressing climate and housing issues along with increasing investment opportunities. She said record levels of investment are already having an extensive impact on the local economy, creating thousands of high-level jobs to support th ..read more

PHOENIX – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down an appeal from Kari Lake and Mark Finchem, apparently ending their two-year bid to block the use of electronic voting tabulation in Maricopa and Pima counties. Lake, the failed GOP nominee for governor in 2022 who is now running for U.S. Senate, and Finchem, the failed 2022 Republican nominee for secretary of state, had claimed in court filings the tabulating machines were susceptible to hacking. But a district court judge rejected those claims as highly speculative, and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed. That set up their appea ..read more

PHOENIX – Students across the state are still in limbo as they wait to hear how much financial aid they can expect to receive for the upcoming school year. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, otherwise known as FAFSA, has now been delayed for months. This means that students and parents are still unsure how much financial aid they will be offered for the 2024-25 school year, which may delay college decisions. Arizona universities are hoping the information will be ready by the end of April so they can relay financial aid information to students. The delays have caused a significant d ..read more

PHOENIX – While lawmakers inside the Capitol were jockeying over efforts to repeal a near-total abortion ban from 1864, advocates on both sides of the issue who gathered outside the Capitol Wednesday were looking forward to fights at the ballot box this fall. Hundreds showed up over the course of the day, carrying signs, handing out literature and manning tables in hopes of recruiting people to their cause. It came as Democrats tried – and failed – for a second week to repeal the 19th century law that was revived last week by the Arizona Supreme Court, that makes abortion a felony except to sa ..read more

PHOENIX – The Arizona Senate took tentative steps toward a repeal of the state’s 1864 abortion ban Wednesday, just hours after House Republicans blocked efforts to do so. Senate Democrats, with the support of Republican Sens. T.J. Shope and Shawnna Bolick, were able to introduce a bill to repeal the territorial-era law that bans virtually all abortions, a law that was resurrected by the Arizona Supreme Court last week. That ruling is currently on hold, but abortion-rights activists have been scrambling to stop the ban from taking effect. Attempts last week to overturn the law, just days after ..read more

PHOENIX – In response to the surging popularity of lab-grown meat and plant-based alternatives, Arizona Rep. Quang Nguyen, R-Prescott Valley, has introduced a bill seeking to impose stricter regulations on the labeling and representation of such products. HB 2244 aims to prevent “intentionally misrepresenting” food items not derived from traditional livestock or poultry as meat or animal products. This legislation would apply to lab-grown meat created from the cells of animals as well as plant-based meats or synthetic alternatives derived from insects or other sources. “I’m not banning anythin ..read more

WASHINGTON – Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs said he is prepared to tell the Senate, and the American public, the “historical basis” of high crimes and misdemeanors and how they apply to the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. If he gets the chance. The Senate is expected to quickly dismiss articles of impeachment that will be sent over this week from the House, which indicted Mayorkas in February on two articles, including willful refusal to comply with the law and “breach of public trust.” Biggs is one of 11 House managers scheduled to present the case to the Senate, which ..read more

TUCSON – Vice President Kamala Harris blasted former President Donald Trump Friday as “the architect” of new abortion restrictions sweeping the country, including the near-total ban that was resurrected this week in Arizona. The hastily arranged Tucson campaign stop came just three days after a divided Arizona Supreme Court ruled that, since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its Roe v. Wade decision in 2022, an 1864 abortion ban that was still on the books in Arizona was back in effect. “What has happened here in Arizona is a new inflection point. It has demonstrated, once and for all, that ov ..read more