KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ.
Transcript
PHIL LATZMAN: Hi there, this is KJZZ’s Sun Up, your daily news update from here in Phoenix, on our state and region. I'm Phil Latzman, your host for this podcast, a daily digest of Arizona news as reported by our KJZZ news team. It is Thursday, April 23, and while we’re dreaming about the weekend, thanks for being here today on this Friday eve. Let's check the news.
Well, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will ask a judge to pause his ruling that handed Recorder Stephen Richer a victory in a yearlong fight over control of the county's elections. From the politics desk, here's Wayne Schutsky with the latest on that.
WAYNE SCHUTSKY: Last week, a judge found the board illegally removed Richer's information technology staff and also provided clarity on Arizona's complicated web of election laws, which divided administrative duties between county boards and recorders. The board voted 4-1 to ask the judge to stay that rule and told their attorney to appeal the decision if that request is rejected. Supervisor Mark Stewart, the lone "no" vote, asked for an explanation for that decision, but Board Chair Kate Brophy McGee declined, saying that reasoning was discussed in a private executive session.
KATE BROPHY MCGEE: But I do not want to open this matter for further discussion. And the reason I don't is I will not allow privilege to be waived.
WAYNE SCHUTSKY: But in a statement, Brophy McGee claimed the judge's ruling is contradictory and creates uncertainty for election officials ahead of upcoming elections. Wayne Schutsky, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Arizona Republican leaders moved a bill through the State Senate that would protect those who refuse to be vaccinated from being denied services or employment. Kathy Ritchie has details on that story.
KATHY RITCHIE: The bill contains a list of protections from quote, "medical interventions," but the focus was clearly on vaccinations. What makes the measure stand out is that it would make it illegal for any business to refuse to provide any service, product, admission to a venue, or transportation if a person has opted out of a medical intervention. Republican Senator Janae Shamp said it's time to stop shoving Big Pharma into citizens.
JANAE SHAMP: And we as the government absolutely have the right to say our citizens live in a free state of Arizona and a free country, the United States of America.
KATHY RITCHIE: Democratic Senator Lauren Kuby had a different take, asking, "Aren't we here to protect those most vulnerable?" Kathy Ritchie, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Arizona has now dropped more than 450,000 people from the SNAP program since federal changes went into effect last July. From the politics team as well, Camryn Sanchez reports that includes 196,000 children that are no longer receiving benefits.
CAMRYN SANCHEZ: The Arizona Department of Economic Security implemented changes to the SNAP application process to comply with federal cuts included in HR 1, also known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill." The changes include implementing new work requirements, ostensibly designed to weed out waste, fraud, and abuse in the program. But Arizona has cut more people from SNAP than any other state, and food banks say they're overwhelmed as a result. A new report from the Arizona Center for Economic Progress shows that based on DES data, about one in every three children who use SNAP benefits were removed from the program as of March. Camryn Sanchez, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Environmental activists say recent changes to Colorado River management could seriously harm threatened fish in the Grand Canyon. And as Alex Hager reports, the native humpback chub could be exposed to invasive species.
ALEX HAGER: The chub lives nowhere else on Earth besides the Colorado River system. Now, changes to the amount of water released from Lake Powell could let invasive fish into its most important habitat. Taylor McKinnon with the Center for Biological Diversity says humans' response to the shrinking river hasn't done enough to consider wildlife.
TAYLOR MCKINNON: As the states have fought and failed to come up with an agreement about how much water each state gets, the Colorado River's ecosystems and endangered species have really fallen by the wayside.
ALEX HAGER: Newly announced federal plans will keep hydropower equipment running at Lake Powell, but McKinnon says those same plans could erase decades of work for fish in the Grand Canyon. Alex Hager, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Record-shattering heat and another dry winter have created dangerous wildfire conditions throughout Arizona. John Truett is with the State Department of Forestry and Fire Management. He told KJZZ’s The Show that this year's wildfire season will not be limited to the summer.
JOHN TRUETT: It’s going to be definitely an early start. We're having fire starts now. They're not getting outside of a single-day burning period yet, but that is very close at hand.
PHIL LATZMAN: Truett said the state's continued growth has pushed more residents into typically rural areas monitored by his department, and more staff is needed to keep those populations safe.
Arizona Senator Mark Kelly is advocating for bipartisan immigration reform. Yesterday, he joined a group of lawmakers supporting the Dignity Act. That bill was introduced last year and would create a pathway for Dreamers to achieve legal status while implementing stricter penalties for immigration law violations. It prioritizes immigrants who have already been living in the U.S. for a certain time.
MARK KELLY: I mean, these folks are as American as my own two kids. In what world does it make sense to focus time and resources chasing down and holding people like them rather than chasing down criminals?
PHIL LATZMAN: The bill would create a 60-day period for determining if a migrant is eligible for asylum and streamline court proceedings. It has 40 sponsors who are a mix of Republicans and Democrats.
Well, gas prices in Arizona could get even higher if the Iran war continues. GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan says prices continue to skyrocket and that might be unavoidable.
PATRICK DE HAAN: We certainly could set new all-time records. We could go above $5, $6— you know, it really just depends where global demand destruction really starts to occur, which I believe would probably be around the $6 mark in the U.S.
PHIL LATZMAN: De Haan says the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed countries that had their supply cut off to import oil from the U.S., which put additional pressure on prices.
Mexico's president says her government will consider sanctions on the Mexican state of Chihuahua after the deaths of two U.S. agents there. From the Fronteras Desk in Hermosillo, Nina Kravinsky has more.
NINA KRAVINSKY: Chihuahua state officials say the U.S. agents and two state investigators were killed in a car accident on the way back from a mission to destroy covert drug laboratories. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum maintains that her administration was not aware CIA agents were working with Chihuahua state authorities, and their involvement there could violate Mexico's constitution.
CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM (via translator): We don't accept U.S. operatives participating in the field in Mexico.
NINA KRAVINSKY: Responding to questions at a press conference, Sheinbaum denied that the agents' presence in Mexico signals a deliberate Trump administration strategy against drug cartels. Nina Kravinsky, KJZZ News, Hermosillo.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, you foodies may have heard of "Chopped," that is a Food Network show where four chefs compete in a race against time to make a three-course meal. The latest episode aired Tuesday night and featured an all-Indigenous lineup. As Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, a Navajo chef took the honor.
GABRIEL PIETRORAZIO: From Montana to Chicago, Indian Country's top cooks vied for the "Chopped" title. But two of them repped the Southwest, including Chef Ray Naranjo, who comes from the Santa Clara Pueblo just north of Santa Fe. Here's show host Ted Allen.
TED ALLEN: And that means, Chef Justin Pioche, you are the "Chopped" champion. Congratulations, sir. Well done. So, how does that feel?
JUSTIN PIOCHE: It feels really good.
GABRIEL PIETRORAZIO: The 2023 James Beard finalist for Best Chef in the Southwest co-owns Pioche Food Group, a high-end catering company. He plans on using the $10,000 cash prize to help pay for his own brick-and-mortar restaurant. Gabriel Pietrorazio, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: In sports, basketball not looking good for the Suns who lost again in Oklahoma City last night, 120-107, to fall behind two-nothing in their first-round NBA playoff series with the defending champion Thunder. Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 37 points and nine assists for OKC. A frustrated Devin Booker had 22 in a losing cause for the Suns who kept it close in the first half as opposed to the blowout in the opener.
DEVIN BOOKER: Better than game one. Still some things to learn from, you know, those bright spots that we were in. You know, we have to learn to bottle that up and keep it more consistent throughout the 48.
PHIL LATZMAN: Phoenix will try to stay alive hosting the next two games of the best-of-seven series; game three is on Saturday afternoon.
In baseball, Diamondbacks' bats came alive in an 11-7 win over the White Sox last night at Chase Field. Ildemaro Vargas hit a couple of home runs and had five RBIs. Nolan Arenado added a two-run shot for Arizona, which had 16 total hits, three home runs and three triples included. Same two teams battle this afternoon in the deciding match of that three-game series.
And in football, the NFL Draft is tonight. The Arizona Cardinals are on the clock with the third pick in the first round of the draft. That'll be in Pittsburgh.
And that'll do it for this edition of KJZZ’s Sun Up, Arizona's morning news podcast on this Thursday, April 23. I'm Phil Latzman, thanks so much for being with us, and we'll be back at you to do it again tomorrow when it's Friday. Talk to you then.
