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.
Transcript
ANNOUCER: 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, nonprofit for Arizona. bannerhealth.com/nonprofitforaz.
PHIL LATZMAN: ¡Feliz viernes, amigos! Happy Friday, 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. Oh we’ve made it indeed to Friday. It is the 21st day of August. Thanks for being here, and let’s get right to the news.
Gov. Katie Hobbs says lawmakers are at least partially to blame after a citizen initiative failed to get enough valid signatures to make it on the ballot. From the politics desk, Camryn Sanchez starts us off.
CAMRYN SANCHEZ: Voters won’t get the chance to weigh in on the measure this November, which would have put significant restrictions on Arizona’s private school voucher program. Hobbs says that’s partly because state lawmakers have chipped away at the citizen initiative process for years, making it more difficult for voters to get ballot measures through.
KATIE HOBBS: I spent eight years in the Legislature watching attacks on our constitutional right to citizens initiative and continuing to raise the bar on getting measures on the ballot. And I voted against most of those, probably all of them.
CAMRYN SANCHEZ: Hobbs is in favor of the proposed restrictions to vouchers, but none of her efforts to put guardrails on the program have made it through the Republican-controlled state Legislature. Camryn Sanchez, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: More U.S. children than ever before have exemptions from mandatory school vaccines, according to the CDC. And Arizona’s exemption rate is one of the highest in the nation. Ashley Chambers with Arizona Families for Vaccines told KJZZ’s The Show that vaccines have become a victim of their own success.
ASHLEY CHAMBERS: The reason that parents nowadays are susceptible to misinformation is because they’re not seeing the repercussions of measles. They’re not seeing kids in wheelchairs because of paralytic polio. And until we start seeing a really big resurgence of these things, I don’t think parents are going to take it seriously.
PHIL LATZMAN: Less than 1% of Arizona children have exemptions for medical reasons, but the rate of families seeking exemptions for personal beliefs is growing. Chambers attributes that to increased misinformation.
The Phoenix Police Chief says a criminal investigation of two officers in connection with an Aug. 5 traffic stop is a priority, and so is accountability. Chief Matt Giordano spoke Wednesday in a video posted to social media.
MATT GIORDANO: The allegations are serious, and they do not reflect the standards we expect or the values the public deserves. The actions of a few should never define an entire department.
PHIL LATZMAN: Giordano did not say what the officers are alleged to have done. They’ve not been identified, and they are on paid leave.
MATT GIORDANO: We know there are many questions about the accusations against these two officers, and we understand community concern. Those questions matter, and they deserve answers. We must allow the investigative process to proceed thoroughly and without interference.
PHIL LATZMAN: A Tempe police report that might detail the incident says two men with a body camera and tasers kidnapped, assaulted and robbed two motorists.
The Phoenix Fire Department is seeing an uptick in mountain rescues this summer over last year. Kathy Ritchie has more on one particularly busy day with hikers in distress.
KATHY RITCHIE: To illustrate just how tough the summer is shaping up for Phoenix Fire crews, Phoenix Fire Captain Todd Keller says crews had back-to-back rescues earlier this week.
TODD KELLER: There were three rescues, two at the Echo Canyon at Camelback, and one at the north side of Piestewa Peak. The initial rescue in the day was around 11 a.m. with an adult female who was found about halfway up.
KATHY RITCHIE: Her core body temperature was above 104 degrees.
TODD KELLER: So we did use our cold water immersion therapy to bring it down.
KATHY RITCHIE: Which is like a full-body cold plunge. But it’s not just hikers who can succumb to the oven-hot heat.
TODD KELLER: These firemen are going to do an absolute fabulous job, and they're the best training in the world — but it does take a toll on them.
KATHY RITCHIE: Keller is asking the public to respect trail closures and only hike in the coolest parts of the day. Kathy Ritchie, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Nearly a third of U.S. households have energy bills higher than they can afford. That’s according to new research from Duke University’s Heat Policy Innovation Hub. Elizabeth Berg is one of the study’s authors, and she told KJZZ’s The Show that people are making dangerous tradeoffs when it comes to summer cooling costs. She said energy policy should not frame air conditioning as a luxury.
ELIZABETH BERG: We’re really trying to emphasize that in a lot of places, we’re way past that point, and people are trying to reduce cooling or not have access to air conditioning to an extent that is actually threatening their health and well-being.
PHIL LATZMAN: Energy bills are rising nationwide. Berg said households in Phoenix have been seeing summer costs increase about $120 over the past six years.
The president of Guatemala says his country has accepted more than 2,000 Mexican deportees from the U.S. this year. The news adds to increased scrutiny for the U.S. practice of third-country deportations. From the Fronteras Desk in Hermosillo, Nina Kravinsky has more.
NINA KRAVINSKY: Guatemala President Bernardo Arévalo says the Mexican nationals deported there stayed in the country for less than 24 hours. Guatemala has an agreement with the United States to accept third-country deportees, but it’s not immediately clear why exactly the U.S. would deport Mexican nationals to a country other than Mexico.
Mexico has accepted tens of thousands of deportees during President Trump’s second term. Typically, third-country deportations occur when the country of origin has strained diplomatic relations with the United States and refuses to accept deportation flights. A DHS spokesperson said the Trump administration is utilizing all lawful options. Nina Kravinsky, KJZZ News, Hermosillo.
PHIL LATZMAN: The Interior Department has reportedly restricted staff from telling the public about deaths or injuries that occur in national parks. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Hanna Merzbach reports a dozen press freedom groups are pushing back.
HANNA MERZBACH: In July, a video went viral of a bison charging a visitor in Yellowstone and throwing him eight feet into the air. Yet, the park never issued a press release. That’s concerning for Anne Marie Tamburro, a lawyer with the Society of Professional Journalists.
ANNE MARIE TAMBURRO: There’s not a lot of information about why this could be happening, what visitors could be doing differently.
HANNA MERZBACH: The Interior Department reportedly issued a memo in December telling staff to no longer confirm fatalities, serious injuries or emotionally sensitive incidents. It argues this is to create a more consistent approach across parks and respect privacy, not to conceal fatalities. In the last two decades, the most deaths happened in Lake Mead, Grand Canyon and Yosemite.
PHIL LATZMAN: As Arizona works to onshore more parts of the semiconductor manufacturing process, state businesses traveled to South Korea recently to build partnerships. Greg Hahne reports.
GREG HAHNE: The delegation of local officials visited a semiconductor packaging facility in South Korea operated by Arizona-based Amkor. The company is currently building what is set to be the largest computer chip packaging facility in the U.S. just down the road from TSMC in north Phoenix.
The Arizona Commerce Authority led the visit and says many of the conversations focused on semiconductor supply chains and university research collaborations. Just days after the local delegation visit, President Trump sparked regional security concerns when he ordered the military to scale back a joint exercise with South Korea this week. Greg Hahne, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Legal aid groups are suing to stop a new policy at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that allows asylum officers to bypass affirmative asylum interviews and send participants straight to court. Affirmative asylum is only available for people that are not in removal proceedings who are seeking protection because of a threat in their home country. Michael Knowles is a retired asylum officer and spokesperson for the union representing officers and other USCIS employees.
MICHAEL KNOWLES: People need to have a fair shot before they end up going to the court because in the court, they’re in an adversarial hearing where the government is trying to deport them.
PHIL LATZMAN: The suit argues the new policy was enacted without the proper procedural steps, and it asks the court to block it and step in.
The Arizona Cardinals play the third of four preseason games, and the only one at home tomorrow. They’ll host the Dallas Cowboys. Former No. 1 pick Marvin Harrison Jr. hoping to break through after a couple of lackluster seasons. He was asked at a press conference this week if he had a chip on his shoulder from the criticism he has received on social media.
MARVIN HARRISON JR.: Sure, you probably could say that. I mean, I think we live in a world now you’re going to see everything. That’s just how it is. You’re going to see everybody make comments and post videos and whatnot, but like, I think that’s just the world that we live in.
PHIL LATZMAN: A minor ankle injury will keep this year’s top rookie, Jeremiah Love, out of the lineup for the Cardinals against the Cowboys. Kickoff 7 p.m. tomorrow at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
Baseball: Diamondbacks had Thursday off, traveling home to begin a weekend series against the Reds tonight in Phoenix. Three days after failing to show up for a game in Boston, D-backs All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte will be transferred from the restricted list to the injured list. General Manager Mike Hazen confirmed Thursday he’s headed to the injured list and will return once he is back from an undisclosed knee issue. Arizona plays tonight a game behind the Padres for the final National League Wild Card spot.
Basketball: Mercury off until tomorrow. They’ll host the Atlanta Dream.
Hey, that’ll do it for this edition of KJZZ’s Sun Up, Arizona’s morning news podcast on this Friday, Aug. 21. I’m Phil Latzman. Have a terrific weekend, stay cool and hydrated out there. We’ll do this again on Monday. Talk to you then.
