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:
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PHIL LATZMAN: 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 Tuesday. Hope the week's off to a good start for you, the 15th day of September. Lots of news, so here we go.
Well, the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday rejected President Trump's bid to restrict mail-in ballots for the midterm elections. The decision allows states to continue sending out ballots and is being received as good news here in Arizona, where over 80% of residents vote by mail. Secretary of State Adrian Fontes was relieved by the High Court's rejection.
ADRIAN FONTES: This is a big win for voters, not just in Arizona, but across the entire United States. And it upholds the constitutional rule, Article I, Section 4, that states get to make the rules, not the White House.
PHIL LATZMAN: Fontes and other state officials have challenged the administration's efforts in court along with voting rights groups. As a result, he says there'll be no changes in procedures for this upcoming election in Arizona. Trump and his allies have argued that mail-in ballots are a chief source of voter fraud, but there's no evidence that shows that.
The heads of competing U.S. AI firms, Anthropic and OpenAI, have claimed that artificial superintelligence is imminent and must be reined in by the government. But Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego says federal lawmakers are not paying enough attention. Taylor Griffith has more.
TAYLOR GRIFFITH: In a now-viral post online, a former Anthropic employee said he quit over objections to the AI firms being locked in a dangerous race to develop artificial superintelligence despite known risks. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei echoed these concerns in a blog post over the weekend and said AI bots could overtake the internet in less than a year. Senator Ruben Gallego says federal lawmakers must act quickly or face the consequences.
RUBEN GALLEGO: We're hoping that some, you know, committee in the House or in the Senate is just going to come together with, you know, some staffers and puts put together the framework that's going to go into place maybe three years from now. We don't have the time. Dr. Frankenstein is telling us the monster's escaped. Help us stop this.
TAYLOR GRIFFITH: Last week, Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari called for a ban on artificial superintelligence until federal regulations can be put into effect. Taylor Griffith, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, people smoke less tobacco now than 20 years ago when Arizona voters approved a cigarette tax to fund early childhood development programs. Now, First Things First, the organization which distributes that shrinking pot of money, is asking lawmakers to create an entirely new levy on vaping products. Melinda Morrison Gulick is the group's CEO.
MELINDA MORRISON GULICK: We believe that this honors the voter intent. If these products had been in the marketplace in 2006, they would have been included.
PHIL LATZMAN: To fill a $100 million funding gap, the group wants lawmakers to impose a 50% tax on all vaping devices to be paid by retail customers.
MELINDA MORRISON GULICK: I feel obligated and passionate about sustaining the revenue for this, and I will talk to anybody who's willing to talk to me about it.
PHIL LATZMAN: New taxes are possible only, though, with the approval of two-thirds of both the House and Senate, along with the consent of the governor.
Oh, residents and environmentalists are raising alarm over potential threats to the San Pedro and Arivaipa Canyon. As Alex Hager reports, their warning that proposed mines and energy pipelines could harm the remote area that's northeast of Tucson.
ALEX HAGER: Local activists say the San Pedro is a unique and fragile river system, and new mining work could drain its water, hurting natural ecosystems and a section of wilderness that's popular with tourists from around the state. Melissa Creytz-Frye is with the Lower San Pedro Watershed Alliance.
MELISSA CREYTZ-FRYE: We often feel that we are becoming the sacrifice zone. We feel that our elected officials are not protecting us. They're not protecting our federal and our state lands. And those are treasures that belong to all of us.
ALEX HAGER: Creytz-Frye says the area hasn't been studied enough, and groundwater pumping can be greenlit without a full understanding of how much it's harming the San Pedro and surrounding wildlife habitat. Alex Hager, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: The Environmental Protection Agency is eliminating its rules that limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. As Greg Hahne reports, it comes as utilities are looking to increase the number of natural gas plants to meet an unprecedented demand for energy here in Arizona.
GREG HAHNE: While there are also plans to expand renewable resources, utilities are increasingly turning toward natural gas as that energy demand continues to rise, in large part due to data centers. There are about a dozen planned natural gas power projects in Arizona. The new rule from the EPA would repeal all greenhouse gas emission standards for fossil fuel plants. The head of the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club, Sandy Bahr, says the move would be irresponsible and result in more, quote, "climate-harming pollution." The rule change from the EPA is expected to face legal challenges. Greg Hahne, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Southern Arizona's largest school district could see another 3% decline in enrollment this year. And as Noor Haghighi reports, that comes as administrators discuss potential school closures and consolidations.
NOOR HAGHIGHI: David Scott, a data analyst with the Tucson Unified School District, told the board enrollment is decreasing, especially for kindergarten, which may drop by 13%. Across all grades, it'll likely drop 2 to 3%.
DAVID SCOTT: The numbers that I presented here are more or less in line with what we had anticipated, but maybe because of that kindergarten decline, a little bit higher.
NOOR HAGHIGHI: The TUSD board is set to vote on potential school closures due to enrollment shortfalls by December. Chronic absenteeism is also a challenge for the district. Roughly one in six students is chronically absent or missing about 18 days of the school year. That's Noor Haghighi reporting from Tucson.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, the Trump administration has now filed suit against every state with a law on the books that grants in-state tuition to undocumented students, including Arizona. From the Fronteras Desk in Tucson, Alisa Reznick has more on that.
ALISA REZNICK: The Department of Justice filed suit against Arizona's law granting in-state tuition to undocumented high school graduates who grew up here at the end of August. The final legal filings this month against Hawaii, D.C., Arkansas, and Utah bring the total number of tuition-related suits to 25. Susan Collins is with TheDream.US, an education advocacy group that works with colleges to grant scholarships to undocumented students. She says despite issues Dreamers face, like heightened ICE arrests, delays renewing DACA, and now the lawsuits—
SUSAN COLLINS: There's no doubt that people are still seeing going to college and getting their degrees as something that adds to the stability of their futures.
ALISA REZNICK: Still, Collins says the lawsuits will impact students for years to come as the legal challenges and their appeals make their way through courts. Alisa Reznick, KJZZ News, Tucson.
PHIL LATZMAN: Members of Arizona's congressional delegation announced yesterday a $2 million investment into water reuse research for semiconductor manufacturing. From the politics desk, Camryn Sanchez tells us more.
CAMRYN SANCHEZ: The federal funding will go to Arizona State University to, quote, "develop, test, and demonstrate innovative water reuse technologies." The announcement comes from Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, along with Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari and Congressman Greg Stanton. The project will test out various water treatment technologies at ASU's MacroTechnology Works facility in Tempe. The data can inform what works best for water conservation. The lawmakers hope Arizona can manage its water supply with these reuse technologies while remaining a top chip manufacturer. Camryn Sanchez, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, be on the lookout for monarch butterflies here in the area. The month of September is when they come from Canada and the northern U.S. and pass through Arizona along their 3,000-mile journey south. And the city of Phoenix is trying to help them on their journey. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego was among a group of city officials planting milkweed and other pollinator-friendly plants downtown on Monday.
KATE GALLEGO: It's part of a major effort. Our biggest plantings have been at our mountain parks and along the riverfront, but we're trying to create that habitat throughout the city.
PHIL LATZMAN: Gallego says anyone can help create a habitat for pollinators. Free milkweed seed packets are available through the city's Office of Environmental Programs and at public libraries across the valley.
Two candidates under investigation by the Clean Elections Commission have filed a lawsuit challenging the commission's power to claw back millions in public financing from their campaigns. Also from the politics team, here is Wayne Schutsky with that.
WAYNE SCHUTSKY: To unlock public campaign funding from the commission, candidates must first collect a specific number of $5 qualifying contributions. Last month, the commission voted to continue an investigation into whether Green Party candidates Rosa Lombardo and DeWayne Collier actually collected those contributions, even though the Secretary of State certified their eligibility months ago. That came after commission staff said it found evidence backing up Arizona Mirror reports that some individuals listed as contributors say they never made the donations. In a lawsuit, Lombardo and Collier argue the commission doesn't have the power to retroactively decertify candidates, and they say the process is stopping them from campaigning in the months leading up to the November election. Wayne Schutsky, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, in sports, a huge win for the Diamondbacks. Corbin Carroll's game-winning, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth gave them a much-needed 8-7 comeback victory over the Marlins last night in Phoenix. The win helps the D-backs keep pace in the National League Wild Card race. They remain two and a half behind the streaking Padres for the final spot. San Diego's won eight straight. Arizona plays the second of three against Miami this evening at Chase Field.
And that will do it for this edition of KJZZ's Sun Up, Arizona's morning news podcast on this Tuesday, September the 15th. I'm Phil Latzman. Thanks so much for being here. We'll do it again tomorrow. Talk to you then.
