April 18, 2024 Abortion-rights advocates, opponents continue to spar, with eye on fall ballot 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 ..read more

April 17, 2024 Republicans stall, but don’t kill, effort that would repeal 1864 abortion ban 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 ..read more

April 17, 2024 State asks Supreme Court to reject new trial for Arizona death row inmate WASHINGTON - State officials told the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday that a lower court gave too much weight to mitigating factors when it ordered a new sentencing for Danny Lee Jones in a pair of brutal 1992 murders in Bullhead City. But Jones' attorney argued just the opposite. While conceding that Jones was guilty of "brutal crimes," including the strangulation of a 7-year-old girl, the defense attorney said a lower court judge "serially nit-picked" evidence of Jones' brain damage and abusive childhood to ..read more

April 15, 2024 Biggs ready for his day in impeachment spotlight, even if it’s short-lived 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 tr ..read more

April 12, 2024 Harris, Arizona Democrats seize on abortion ban to blast Trump, GOP 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 i ..read more

April 12, 2024 Shaman sidelined: Chansley among more than 70 to miss signature threshold WASHINGTON - Jacob Angeli-Chansley, better known as the "Qanon Shaman," will not be going back to Washington - at least not in any official capacity. Angeli-Chansley was one of more than 70 would-be candidates for federal office who failed to meet the April 1 deadline to turn in petition signatures to the secretary of state's office that were needed to get their names on the ballot. While that narrowed the field, it still left dozens of candidates who will compete in this fall's primary and general electio ..read more

April 10, 2024 Clinics vow to continue providing abortions, but unsure for how much longer PHOENIX - One day after the Arizona Supreme Court resurrected a law that makes it a felony to perform an abortion, clinics around the state said they will continue offering care even as they scramble to figure out how long they can do so. The court ruled Tuesday that an 1864 law banning abortions in all cases except to save the life of the mother is still in effect, overriding a 2022 law that allowed abortions up to 15 weeks of pregnancy. But the justices put the ruling on hold to allow for legal challen ..read more

April 10, 2024 Tribal leaders seeking solutions to cartel crime, say they mostly got talk WASHINGTON - Lawmakers wanted to talk about the problems of foreign criminal cartels operating on Indigenous lands, but tribal leaders came to the House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing Wednesday seeking solutions. Instead, they said, they left the hearing afraid it was just another "check-a-box-off" exercise. "Something that wasn't really talked about is where do we go from here?" said Tohono O'odham Chairman Verlon Jose. "I heard, 'Yes I want to go to your reservations,' 'Yes, I learned something ..read more

April 10, 2024 Attempt to repeal abortion ban fails as House devolves into raucous shouting PHOENIX - The Arizona House blocked two efforts to overturn a near-total ban on abortion Wednesday, one day after the 19th-century law was reinstated by the state Supreme Court. The procedural moves to block the repeal sparked an outburst by angry Democrats, who shouted down the lawmakers who called for a recess. That was followed by a more-civil, but no more successful second try later in the day before the House adjourned for a week. Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, D-Tucson, said "the eyes of the world ..read more

April 9, 2024 Arizona Supreme Court restores near-total ban on abortions in the state PHOENIX - A divided Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday reinstated a 19th-century, near-total ban on abortion, saying it overrides a 2022 law that allowed abortions up to 15 weeks of pregnancy. State officials said it will be another 60 days before the ruling could take effect, but the reaction was swift and angry to what abortion-rights groups called a "dark day for Arizona." "Today’s deplorable decision from the state Supreme Court sends Arizona back nearly 150 years," said Angela Florez, president and CEO of ..read more