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 for Sept. 22, 2026 Transcript
ANNOUNCER: KJZZ’s Sun Up is supported by Banner Health, Arizona’s largest nonprofit healthcare system. Last year, Banner reinvested more than $1.1 billion in community health and charity care. Banner Health, nonprofit for Arizona. bannerhealth.com/nonprofit4az.
PHIL LATZMAN: Hello there, this is KJZZ’s Sun Up, your daily news update from here in Phoenix on our state and region. I’m Phil Latzman. Good day to you. We bring you this podcast as a daily digest of Arizona news as reported by our KJZZ News team. ¡Buenas martes, amigos! Happy Tuesday, friends. Hope you’re well and your week’s off to a good start. It is September the 22nd, 2026, and here is what’s happening here in the Grand Canyon State.
We’ll start with politics. State Senator Jake Hoffman last week launched an investigation of pay-to-play allegations against Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, but yesterday, Hoffman announced he was handing the reins to that investigation over to a Senate colleague amid concerns he has a conflict of interest: his campaign work for the governor’s Republican challenger. From the politics desk, Camryn Sanchez reports.
CAMRYN SANCHEZ: Hoffman last week criticized Attorney General Kris Mayes, who declined to bring criminal charges against Hobbs after her administration gave a favorable rate increase to a group home provider whose owner donated to the governor’s campaign in 2022. Reporters questioned the timing of the inquiry given Hoffman’s role running a consulting firm that’s been paid more than a million dollars to support Hobbs’ gubernatorial opponent, Congressman Andy Biggs. Hoffman denied any conflict of interest and said in a statement that handing off the investigation would prevent the “crooked political media” from running cover for Hobbs and Mayes. Former Arizona Supreme Court Justice Andrew Gould has been brought in to oversee the Senate’s investigation. Camryn Sanchez, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: The Department of Defense recently told Congress the Iran war has cost the U.S. about $42 billion. As Greg Hahne tells us, Arizona Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly joined other Democrats in their chamber calling for a detailed breakdown of the Pentagon’s spending.
GREG HAHNE: In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Democratic senators say the Pentagon has not provided enough information on how the agency is allocating funds for the war. The letter says Hegseth has only briefed Congress seven times since the start of the war, compared to the more than 20 Defense Department briefs in the first six months of the Iraq War. The senators also ask for a breakdown of the almost $70 billion the Pentagon has requested for supplemental funding. The lawmakers say they need the information to fulfill their constitutional budget oversight duties. Greg Hahne, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Meanwhile, Arizona’s senior senator, Mark Kelly, says he’s still not decided whether or not to run for president in 2028, but he reiterated he is giving it some serious consideration. During an interview last week at The Atlantic Festival in New York City, Kelly said he’s weighing whether his style of politics will appeal to voters beyond Arizona.
MARK KELLY: “I’m not going to decide until after this election because I do really believe we need to be focused on this, but I’m thinking about it. Gabby gets a big say in this. So do my kids.”
PHIL LATZMAN: Kelly has garnered attention as a potential presidential candidate since he was censured by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who took issue with the senator and other lawmakers urging troops to resist unlawful orders from the Trump administration.
Mexico’s president said Monday her country is looking for ways to import more from the United States as the two countries continue to negotiate their trade deal. From the Fronteras Desk in Hermosillo, Sonora, Nina Kravinsky has details.
NINA KRAVINSKY: After a phone call with President Trump last week, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters her government is looking for ways to reduce the United States trade deficit with Mexico.
CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM: “Estamos buscando qué se podría hacer para que se compre más de Estados Unidos en vez de otros países.”
NINA KRAVINSKY: “We’re looking for ways to buy more from the United States instead of other countries,” Sheinbaum said. Trump has long complained of imbalances of exports and imports between the United States and other countries. Mexico tends to have an export-heavy economy, meaning it generally exports more goods than it imports. Mexico is in the process of negotiating the USMCA trade deal that binds the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Negotiations between Canada and the U.S. have stalled as those two countries engage in a trade war. Nina Kravinsky, KJZZ News, Hermosillo.
PHIL LATZMAN: Amazon is launching a two-year effort to raise $100 million for water conservation around the Colorado River. As Alex Hager reports, they’re starting with $20 million to fix leaky pipes and make tribal farms more efficient.
ALEX HAGER: Amazon says it’s trying to alleviate some of the imbalance between supply and demand on the Colorado River. Will Hewes, the company’s water sustainability lead, says threats to the long-term water supply are a problem for its business and the communities it works in.
WILL HEWES: “Companies that benefit from being in that basin have an opportunity and really responsibility to help solve those problems.”
ALEX HAGER: Amazon’s announcement is part of a trend as a number of large companies have started funding water-saving work, but much more money is needed to help the depleted Colorado River. Business and environmental groups called for $2 billion from the federal government to help the region adapt to dry times. Alex Hager, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Prosecutors have added two former Phoenix police officers charged in connection with a violent traffic stop to a list of law enforcement witnesses whose testimony may not be credible. Matthew Casey has more on that.
MATTHEW CASEY: Antonio Felix and Luis Vasquez Jr. are now members of the Brady list, which is a tally of law enforcement officers with past misconduct that prosecutors must disclose under the 14th Amendment. The list is named for a 1963 Supreme Court ruling that prosecutors have to share exculpatory information with the defense or they violate due process. Felix spent nine years with Phoenix PD and Vasquez served eight years. They were fired the same day they were arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and assaulting a couple in an unreported traffic stop. Matthew Casey, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: When Tucson officials rejected the Project Blue data center last fall, they also quickly passed a large water user ordinance without public hearing to get something on the books. As Taylor Griffith reports, the council will receive public feedback on that today after 13 months of inside debate on the requirements.
TAYLOR GRIFFITH: The large water user ordinance creates a threshold for corporate water use that triggers the need to conserve. It was created in response to community concerns that data centers could connect to the city’s water supplier with little to no public oversight. But as written, the threshold is still much less than the amount of water Project Blue planned to use. Catlow Shipek is co-executive director of the Watershed Management Group, which participated in an ad hoc committee for improving the ordinance.
CATLOW SHIPEK: “So to me, that’s—the ordinance isn’t working, right? We need to be able to capture and guide new large water users to use water appropriately and be aligned with our community values.”
TAYLOR GRIFFITH: A city spokesperson said Tucson has enough water to supply more than twice its potable demand today for the next 100 years. Taylor Griffith, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: A group of about 50 physicians and other medical professionals signed on to a letter to Republican Congressman Andy Biggs Monday condemning his efforts to eliminate the state’s Medicaid program and history of advocating for Medicaid cuts. Back to the politics team, here’s Camryn Sanchez once again.
CAMRYN SANCHEZ: Biggs is running for governor against Democratic incumbent Katie Hobbs. While president of the Arizona Senate in 2011, Biggs sponsored a bill which would have eliminated the state’s Medicaid agency. It would have also directed the Department of Health Services to establish a program to serve people without insurance who don’t qualify for Medicaid. Biggs also opposed Medicaid expansion in 2014. As a congressman, Biggs advocated for Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill last year. The letter says, “We see the consequences in our hospitals.” It goes on to say that Biggs’ agenda would put the health of all Arizonans at risk. Copper State Victory, a coordinated campaign supporting Hobbs, helped organize the letter-signing effort. Camryn Sanchez, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Sky Harbor Airport has announced which airline will become the primary carrier of the future West Terminal. Emma Bradford reports it marks a milestone in the airport’s broader business development.
EMMA BRADFORD: On Monday, Sky Harbor announced American Airlines will become the primary carrier of the future West Terminal. The new facility is expected to be built west of Terminal 3. This will be the first new construction since Terminal 4 opened in 1990. Work is scheduled to begin in 2029 with the opening expected in 2033. American Airlines is the largest airline carrier in Phoenix, serving more than 40% of passenger traffic, according to airport officials. Airport planners say Sky Harbor will handle 90 million passengers by 2050. Emma Bradford, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Preserving Diné language and customs is essential, especially for urban Navajos living off reservation in places like Phoenix. A local Navajo blogger is launching her latest project, a colorful hand-drawn children’s cookbook. Gabriel Pietrorazio tells us more about it.
ALANA YAZZIE: “Shimá likes to write down Shimásání’s recipes so they can be passed on to our young family members.”
GABRIEL PIETRORAZIO: Alana Yazzie recites a few lines from her new book, “The Blue Corn Kitchen.”
ALANA YAZZIE: “When you’re writing a children’s cookbook like this, there’s not as much text. And so I think that was the hardest part, like condensing it so much into a short story, but still having my main points come across.”
GABRIEL PIETRORAZIO: Like the magic of cooking with family. A timeless message Yazzie tried to convey through words and pictures, even by sketching the characters to resemble her own mother and daughter.
ALANA YAZZIE: “There’s these little like corn wafts of sparkly, glittery cornmeal going throughout the book, and it’s just so beautiful. Like you want to eat it, you want to make it.”
GABRIEL PIETRORAZIO: Gabriel Pietrorazio, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: In sports, basketball, Kahleah Copper scored 16 of her 31 in the fourth quarter, including a go-ahead layup with 2.4 seconds left as the Mercury rallied to beat the Dallas Wings last night in Phoenix, 87-86. Alyssa Thomas found Copper on a backdoor cut along the baseline to take the lead late. The playoff-eliminated Merc though finish up their season Thursday night at home against Las Vegas.
And baseball, almost about to be eliminated, holding, hanging a very, very slight playoff chance, Diamondbacks start the final week of the regular season tonight in Denver, the first of three against the Rockies tonight. With six games left, Arizona four back of the final National League wild card spot. Not looking good.
And that does it for this edition of KJZZ’s Sun Up, Arizona’s morning news podcast this Tuesday, September 22nd. I’m Phil Latzman, thanks for being here, and we will do this again tomorrow. Talk to you then.
