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 News.
KJZZ's Sun Up Transcript for July 21, 2026
ANNOUNCER: KJZZ’s Sun Up is supported by Banner Health, Arizona’s largest non-profit healthcare system. Last year, Banner reinvested more than $1.1 billion in community health and charity care. Banner Health, Non-Profit for Arizona. BannerHealth.com/nonprofitforAZ.
PHIL LATZMAN: Greetings. 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 with this podcast, a daily digest of Arizona news as reported by our KJZZ news team. It is Tuesday as we roll on during monsoon season. We had some wind and rain, mostly in the East Valley last night. Some debris out there today as you get out and vote on this Election Day, July the 21st, and here is the latest news.
Polls are now open around Arizona on this primary election day 2026. At the top of the ballot, Republican voters will choose between challengers for statewide Democratic-held offices, including governor, secretary of state, and attorney general. Candidates will also be narrowed down in key congressional primaries, and there are jurisdictional primaries in 21 Maricopa County cities. You can find a list of voting locations and information on the candidates at voterguide.kjzz.org.
Well, the Interior Department is planning to reveal its plan for how to divide water in the Colorado River among seven states that continue to fight over it. As Scott Franz reports, Arizona is bracing for potentially huge cuts.
SCOTT FRANZ: The Feds are walking a delicate line as they decide how to move water in the dwindling river while it's drying up from historic drought. They're trying to balance the interests of states whose snowmelt feeds the river with downstream states that use the most water. Conservationist John Bergrun says the federal plan is likely to make all the states unhappy.
JOHN BERGRUN: There's been a lot of threats of litigation, and Reclamation's trying to avoid inviting lawsuits. And so, like, maybe by annoying both basins equally, are you kind of threading the needle enough that you don't get people initiating lawsuits?
SCOTT FRANZ: Arizona and the Lower Basin are now bracing for massive water cuts. And Colorado and the Upper Basin are concerned their reservoirs could be drained to prop up Lake Powell.
PHIL LATZMAN: That's Scott Franz reporting.
Arizona's senior senator is among a group of a dozen lawmakers who say rapid growth of prediction markets and online casino games threatens tribal sovereignty. Matthew Casey reports.
MATTHEW CASEY: Democratic Senator Mark Kelly is among the signers of a letter to Senate committee chairs calling for regulation of prediction markets like Kalshi and Robinhood. Kelly and others want legislation that bans the platforms in places where tribes hold gaming rights. They write that prediction markets are misusing commodity and derivatives rules to offer sports and event betting in the face of state laws. The Arizona Attorney General has accused Kalshi of illegal betting, but courts have ruled it's under the authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Matthew Casey, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, last week's announcement from TSMC to invest another $100 billion in Arizona comes as the company is ramping up production to meet demand largely driven by the AI boom. Steve Zylstra leads the Arizona Technology Council and told KJZZ's The Show that the buildout will likely result in thousands more jobs here in the state.
STEVE ZYLSTRA: This is going to be 8 to 10 years of construction of facilities here in Arizona. So, not only does it create these high-paying, high-quality jobs, but it creates a massive amount of construction jobs for a long period of time.
PHIL LATZMAN: The four newly announced facilities from the investment will likely be near TSMC's current campus. Earlier this year, the company bought about 900 acres south of Loop 303 to support its further expansion.
Well, the Trump administration wants to eliminate two Biden-era rules that sought to make it harder for mining operators to abandon oil and gas wells. Taylor Griffith assesses the impact here in Arizona.
TAYLOR GRIFFITH: When drilling wells are abandoned or improperly plugged, leftover oil can contaminate nearby land and groundwater supplies, posing risks to humans and wildlife. They can also leak methane gas, which raises greenhouse gas emissions. Aaron Kindle is with the National Wildlife Federation.
AARON KINDLE: So there's a cost environmentally, but then there's a cost, you know, fiscally if they need to go clean these up.
TAYLOR GRIFFITH: Kindle says drilling companies paid the same cleanup fees to the federal government for more than 50 years until the Biden administration passed new rules. He estimates U.S. taxpayers are now on the hook for more than a billion dollars in avoided cleanup costs. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality says there are around 200 abandoned wells in the state. Public comment on the proposed federal changes ends on August 22nd. Taylor Griffith, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: An increase in monsoon activity has led government officials to reduce fire restrictions across the state. Jill Ryan has details.
JILL RYAN: The Grand Canyon National Park South Rim is now under Stage 1 fire restrictions, meaning visitors are allowed to light campfires in designated areas at maintained campgrounds. Stage 2 restrictions remain in place for the North Rim. The city of Flagstaff is lowering its restrictions to allow the use of fire pits and fireworks. Smoking is still prohibited in all city parks and trails. The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management says it's lifting all fire restrictions on state trust lands in several counties, including Maricopa, Gila, and Pinal. And the Tonto National Forest has also lifted all its fire restrictions. Jill Ryan, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego is again calling on the federal government to do more to address extreme heat. Katherine Davis-Young reports on that.
KATHERINE DAVIS-YOUNG: Phoenix has seen heat-related deaths decrease slightly over the past two years. Gallego says that was no accident. The city has made more investments in cooling centers and other heat relief programs. A lot of that has been paid for with pandemic-era federal aid that's now running out. So next year, the city will dedicate more general funds toward heat relief. And Gallego says the city can't do it alone.
KATE GALLEGO: This challenge is here. It is not going away, and the federal government could save lives if they stepped up.
KATHERINE DAVIS-YOUNG: Gallego says federal programs for energy assistance, transportation and infrastructure, housing, or disaster relief could all be expanded to help communities like Phoenix cope with rising temperatures. Katherine Davis-Young, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Lawyers and those who represent themselves in court can now get into trouble if they cite non-existent cases because they've used AI tools to help write their legal briefs. Kathy Ritchie reports.
KATHY RITCHIE: The Arizona Court of Appeals recently ruled that citing fake case law is sanctionable conduct, which could include dismissal, fines, or fees. Sean Harrington is the director of the AI and Legal Tech Studio at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at ASU.
SEAN HARRINGTON: So they're being really hard on attorneys right now, rightfully, I would say, to stop this, but this is the first time I'd ever seen a pro se litigant.
KATHY RITCHIE: Harrington says this latest decision came about after a pro se litigant, which is someone representing themselves in court, made false claims in his legal brief. That litigant later admitted he used generative AI to write the brief and did not verify the case citations.
SEAN HARRINGTON: You know, there is a big promise with AI in closing the access to justice gap, but then there is also this slop filing issue, overwhelming the courts, vexatious litigation, you're seeing a huge rise in that.
KATHY RITCHIE: Because now anyone can file a legal brief using generative AI tools, and the courts, he says, don't have enough staff to carefully evaluate what's coming through. Harrington says one solution would be for the courts to integrate their own AI tools to help detect fake case citations sooner. Kathy Ritchie, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, the film industry in Phoenix garnered over $28 million in local spending from 2025 to 2026. That's a near 19% increase from the previous fiscal year. Lily Roseburrough has more details.
LILY ROSEBURROUGH: According to the City of Phoenix Film Office, the 2025-2026 season featured over 1,200 projects. The majority of these productions were commercials, including popular brands like Hyundai, Nike, and Southwest Airlines. The film office report emphasizes the use of Arizona's natural landscapes for filming at locations like Papago Park or South Mountain. Additionally, 44% of the filming permits used were issued to local Arizona production companies. Projects across the city utilized almost 6,000 Phoenix-based actors and crew members, which helps support the local film industry. Lily Roseburrough, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: In sports, baseball, Diamondbacks cooled off by the A's last night in Phoenix, 5 to 2. Arizona tied the game in the sixth inning with a homer from Ketel Marte, but the A's broke the tie with three runs in the seventh as reliever Kevin Ginkel got hit. The big highlight for the D-backs, Nolan Arenado's double in the fifth inning though for his 2,000th career hit. He became the 298th player to reach that milestone and the 21st third baseman. Same two teams tonight at Chase Field in the second of three. Basketball, the Mercury off till tomorrow. They'll play in Los Angeles, the last game before the WNBA All-Star break.
That does it for this edition of KJZZ's Sun Up, Arizona's morning news podcast on this Tuesday, July 21st. Don't forget to vote if you haven't already, and you can check out voterguide.kjzz.org for some last-minute resources. I'm Phil Latzman. Have a great day. We'll do it again tomorrow. Talk to you then.
