by Staff Reporter | Oct 18, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
House Speaker Mike Johnson scolded Arizona’s Democratic congressional leaders for their recent “publicity stunts” for fellow Democrat and Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva.
“It is no surprise that another Democrat politician from Arizona is trying to publicity stunt,” said Johnson. “I’ve explained this a thousand times: we are going to swear in Grijalva as soon as we get back to legislative session. So my advice to all the Democrats in Arizona is to tell their two senators Kelly and Gallego to do their job and open the government so we can do business.”
Senator Ruben Gallego issued a response that took offense, primarily, with Johnson not knowing his name. Gallego accused Johnson of being a “pedophile protector,” alluding to the push to release the Epstein files.
“It’s Gallego, not Gallegos or Gallegos, it’s Gallego,” said Gallego. “The fact is, you’re a pedophile protector. You’re protecting the pedophiles on the Epstein list, there’s just no denying that. And your idea that somehow us trying to make sure that 24 million Americans do not have their insurance rate premiums doubled is stopping you from doing your job is just pathetic bulls***.”
Gallego asked why Johnson wouldn’t swear Grijalva in when he swore in Republican representatives outside of session.
Kelly said Johnson’s reason for not swearing in Grijalva — requiring Democrats to end the shutdown — was a “lame excuse.”
“He doesn’t like losing the one-seat majority,” said Kelly.
Grijalva, too, claims Johnson is delaying her swearing in due to her support for the Epstein file release.
Johnson has stated publicly that he supports the release of the Epstein files, but has voted against measures that would potentially expose the identities of victims.
Grijalva would provide the vote needed to release the Epstein files under a bipartisan discharge petition that would release the files with limited redactions.
The government shutdown has gone on for over two weeks now and is quickly headed for three weeks.
On September 25, six days before the government shut down, the Arizona Chamber issued a statement urging Congress to pass a continuing resolution.
Likewise, five days before the government shut down, state legislative leaders issued a letter urging the U.S. Senate to pass a short-term continuing resolution.
The White House maintains a government shutdown tracker that includes estimated losses over time.
The projected impact to GDP for Arizona amounts to about $300 million per week, totaling $1.3 billion per month. At over two weeks into this government shutdown, projected GDP loss has swelled to over $600 million.
The estimated unemployment increase amounts to about 1,000 workers. Around 58,000 federal workers are working without pay or furloughed, which accounts for nearly two percent of the state workforce.
Once 30 days hits, the SNAP benefit losses (federal food assistance) will impact nearly 890,000 enrollees, of which 344,000 are children.
Small Business Administration loan delays amount to about $76 million. The federal contract spending cut amounts to around $560 million.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Oct 17, 2025 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
Over 80 of the top University of Arizona (U of A) professors pushed leadership to reject President Donald Trump’s higher education compact.
At the beginning of this month, the Trump administration sent universities across the country the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education to encourage certain reforms in exchange for preferential federal funding. One major contentious point of the proposed compact would prohibit hostility to conservative viewpoints.
“To advance the national interest arising out of this unique relationship, this Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education represents the priorities of the U.S. government in its engagements with universities that benefit from the relationship,” read the compact. “Institutions of higher education are free to develop models and values other than those below, if the institution elects to forego federal benefits.”
The proposed reforms touch on improving equality in admissions, stabilizing the marketplace of ideas and civil discourse on campuses, ensuring nondiscrimination in faculty and administrative hiring, enforcing institutional neutrality on societal and political events, raising and standardizing student academic performance standards, establishing equal treatment of students, reducing the educational costs, and reducing foreign influences.
In response, 80 Regents Professors at U of A issued a letter to university President Suresh Garimella requesting denial of the compact. The professors said the compact contained “significant legal and practical flaws” which would threaten U of A’s academic freedom, institutional independence, and legal integrity.
The Regents Professor designation is an exclusive honoring of “faculty scholars of exceptional ability” with both national and international distinction in their respective fields. It is a recognition of the highest academic merit for faculty members who gave unique contributions to U of A through teaching scholarship, research, or creative work.
Their letter questioned the compact’s ambiguity, specifically the vagueness of the alleged benefits and preferential federal funding universities would receive. The professors stated multiple times that the compact offered no insight on how it would be operationalized and enforced.
“Without clarification, UA thus could be ceding authority over internal operations and academic policies for no enforceable, concrete new benefits,” said the professors.
U of A was one of nine institutions to receive the proposed compact, and the only one in Arizona. The others were Brown University, Dartmouth College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, University of Virginia, and Vanderbilt University.
These nine universities received the letter because the Trump administration judged them “good actors” based on their having “a president who is a reformer or a board that has really indicated they are committed to a higher-quality education,” per senior White House advisor May Mailman.
Last week, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology formally rejected participation in the proposed compact.
The Tucson City Council sent a similar message to U of A. The council passed a resolution urging the university president to reject the compact.
Garimella said in statements to the media that he and the Arizona Board of Regents are reviewing the compact together to determine a response.
These are the following Regents Professors who signed the letter opposing the compact (not listed: two anonymous signers):
- John J. B. Allen, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Neuroscience;
- Sama Raena Alshaibi, art professor; co-director of the Racial Justice Studio, and Regents Professor;
- J. Roger P. Angel, Regents’ Professor of Astronomy and Optical Sciences, Steward Observatory astronomer, director of Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab;
- Neal Armstrong, director of SPECS, Regents Professor (Emeritus) for Chemistry and Biochemistry, Regents Professor (Emeritus) for College of Optical Sciences;
- Victor Baker, Regents Professor of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, Geosciences, and Planetary Sciences;
- Carol Barnes, Regents’ Professor of Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience; Evelyn F. McKnight Chair for Learning and Memory in Aging; Director, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute; Director, Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging;
- Chad Bender, Astronomer, Steward Observatory;
- Thomas Bever, Regents’ Professor, Linguistics, Psychology, Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, BIO5; Co-Director, Center for Consciousness Studies; Director, Cognition and Language Laboratory;
- Ronald Brieger, Regents Professor and a Professor of Sociology at the University of Arizona; Interdisciplinary Program in Applied Mathematics; Interdisciplinary Program in Statistics & Data Science; School of Government and Public Policy;
- David D. Breshears, Regents Professor Emeritus of Natural Resources and the Environment;
- Judith L. Bronstein, University Distinguished Professor; Joint Professor (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology);
- Judith K. Brown, Regents Professor, Plant Sciences; Research Associate Professor, Entomology; Professor, Entomology / Insect Science – GIDP;
- Gail Burd, Senior Vice Provost; Office of Academic Affairs, Teaching & Learning; Distinguished Professor, Molecular & Cellular Biology;
- Hsinchun Chen, Regents Professor of MIS; Thomas R. Brown Chair in Management and Technology; Director, Artificial Intelligence Laboratory; Director, AZSecure Cybersecurity Program;
- Peter Chesson, Regents Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology;
- Albrecht Classen, University Distinguished Professor of German Studies;
- George H. Davis, Regents Professor (Emeritus) of Structural Geology; Provost Emeritus;
- Alison H. Deming, Regents Professor of English; Agnese Nelms Haury Chair of Environment and Social Justice;
- Celestino Fernandez, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Sociology;
- Price V. Fishback, Regents Professor; APS Professor of Economics;
- Robert B. Fleischman, Professor of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics;
- Robert Glennon, Regents Professor and Morris K. Udall Professor Emeritus;
- John Hildebrand, Regents Professor Emeritus of College of Neuroscience;
- Malcolm K. Hughes, Regents’ Professor Emeritus for the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research;
- Chris Impey, Distinguished Professor of Astronomy; Astronomer, Steward Observatory; Associate Co-Department Head;
- Takeshi Inomata, Regents Professor for the School of Anthropology;
- Josephine D. Korchmaros, Director of the University of Arizona’s Southwest Institute for Research on Women (SIROW);
- Mary Koss, Regents’ Professor in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health;
- Etta Kralovec, Regents Professor of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies;
- Diana Liverman, Regents Professor for the School of Geography, Development, and Environment;
- Sallie Marston, Regents Professor Emerita for chool of Geography, Development, and Environment; Co-Founder and Consultant, School Garden Workshop;
- Oscar Martinez, Regents Professor Emeritus, History Department;
- Toni M. Massaro, Regents Professor of Law Emerita; Milton O. Riepe Chair in Constitutional Law and Dean Emerita; Executive Director of the University of Arizona Agnese Nelms Haury Program;
- William (Bill) McCallum, mathematics professor;
- Daniel McDonald, Director, Take Charge America Institute for Consumer Financial Education and Research; Extension Specialist, Financial Literacy;
- Alfred McEwen, planetary geologist and director of the Planetary Image Research Laboratory;
- Juanita L Merchant, Associate Director, Basic Sciences, Cancer Center; Chief, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, College of Medicine; Regents Professor of College of Medicine;
- Pierre Meystre, Regents Professor Emeritus of Optical Sciences;
- Roger L Miesfeld, University Distinguished Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry;
- Barbara Mills, Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Anthropology; Curator Emeritus of Archaeology, Arizona State Museum; Professor Emeritus, American Indian Studies;
- Lynn Nadel, Regents Professor Emeritus of Psychology;
- Alan C. Newell, Mathematics professor;
- Mimi Nichter, Professor Emerita of Anthropology;
- Janko Z. Nikolich, Professor, Basic Biomedical Sciences; Associate Dean for Research and Partnerships; Regents Professor; UA College of Medicine-Phoenix;
- John W. Olsen, Research Professor Emeritus of East Asian Studies;
- Jeanne E. Pemberton, Regents Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry;
- Ian Pepper, Director, WEST Center; Regents Professor, Environmental Science;
- David A. Pietz, Regents Professor; UNESCO Chair in Environmental History; Director, School of Global Studies;
- George Rieke, Regents Professor for Lunar & Planetary Laboratory;
- Marcia J. Rieke, Professor, Astronomy; Regents Professor; Astronomer, Steward Observatory; Endowed Chair, Dr Elizabeth Roemer – Steward Observatory;
- Robert Robichaux, University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology;
- Jerzy W. Rozenblit, University Distinguished Professor; Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Raymond J. Oglethorpe Endowed Chair; Professor of Surgery; Professor of the BIO5 Institute;
- Steven Schwartz, Regents Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry;
- Beverly Seckinger, Distinguished Outreach Professor in the School of Theatre, Film & Television; former director of the School of Media Arts; Executive Committee of the Human Rights Practice graduate program; founded U of A LGBTQ+ Institute;
- Chris Segrin, Regents Professor, Steve and Nancy Lynn Professor of Communication;
- Thomas E. Sheridan, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology; Research Anthropologist, Southwest Center;
- Kathy G. Short, Regents Professor, Teaching, Learning & Sociocultural Studies;
- Kelly Simmons-Potter, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, College of Engineering; University Distinguished Outreach Professor; Director AzRISE, the Arizona Research Initiative for Solar Energy; Professor of: Electrical and Computer Engineering, Optical Sciences, Materials Science and Engineering, and Indigenous Food, Energy and Water Systems Graduate Interdisciplinary Program;
- Marvin Slepian, Regents Professor and Associate Department Head, Clinical & Industrial Affairs, Biomedical Engineering; Director, Arizona Center for Accelerated Biomedical Innovation; Regents Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology; Regents Professor of Medical Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging; Regents Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
- David H. Soren, Regents Professor of Anthropology and Classics;
- Sally J. Stevens, Distinguished Outreach Professor in Gender and Women’s Studies; Research Professor with the Southwest Institute for Research on Women;
- Mary Stiner, Regents’ Professor Emeritus, Anthropology; ASM Curator Emeritus, Zooarchaeology; Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences;
- Peter A. Strittmatter, Regents Professor Emeritus of Astronomy;
- Tom Swetnam, Regents’ Professor, Emeritus of Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research;
- Bruce E. Tabashnik, Regents’ Professor & Department Head of Entomology;
- Vicente Talanquer, University Distinguished Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry;
- Leslie Tolbert, Regents Professor Emerita of Neuroscience;
- Rebecca Tsosie, Regents Professor and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law;
- Todd Vanderah, Co-Director, MD/PhD Dual Degree Program; Department Head, Pharmacology; Director, Comprehensive Pain and Addiction Center; Professor of: Anesthesiology, BIO5 Institute, Neurology, Neuroscience – GIDP, Pharmacology and Physiological Sciences – GIDP;
- Marcela Vásquez-León, Professor, Anthropology; Research Anthropologist, Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology; Director, Center for Latin American Studies;
- Donata Vercelli, Regents Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine; Director, Arizona Center for the Biology of Complex Diseases; Associate Director, Asthma and Airway Disease Research Center; Professor of BIO5 Institute and Genetics GIDP;
- Robert A. Williams, Jr., Regents Professor, E. Thomas Sullivan Professor of Law;
- Rod Wing, Director of Arizona Genomics Institute; Professor, Plant Science; Bud Antle Endowed Chair For Excellence, Agriculture & Life Sciences; Professor of BIO5 Institute and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology;
- Connie Woodhouse, Regents Professor Emerita of Geography, Development, & Environment;
- Jiang Wu, Regents Professor of East Asian Studies;
- Dennis Zaritsky, Deputy Director, Steward Observatory; Regents Professor, Astronomy;
- Ofelia Zepeda, Professor, American Indian Studies and Linguistics; and
- Lucy M. Ziurys, Regents Professor, CBC and Astronomy
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Oct 16, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Attorney General Kris Mayes says recently elected congresswoman Adelita Grijalva must be sworn in, or else she will take legal action against House leadership.
Statewide certification occurred on Tuesday. After, Mayes sent a letter threatening House Speaker Mike Johnson with legal action should Grijalva not be sworn in promptly. Grijalva assumed the seventh congressional district seat vacated by her father, Raúl Grijalva, in a special election last month.
“Failing to seat Ms. Grijalva immediately or to otherwise provide a reasonable explanation as to when she will be seated will prompt legal action,” said Mayes in her demand letter.
Representative-elect Grijalva received nearly 70 percent of the 102,000 votes certified, a “substantial share” of which were mail-in ballots. There are about 440,000 registered voters in the district, which would mean Grijalva was elected by just 16 percent of all active registered voters in the district.
Even though Grijalva represents far less than a quarter of voters in her district — and her father was virtually absent from two whole sessions of Congress — Democrats insist on the relevance of immediate representation for the seventh congressional district.
In an accompanying press release, Mayes blamed the delay to swear in Grijalva on “political games.”
“It’s way past time for Mike Johnson to stop the political games and seat Adelita without delay,” said Mayes. “We are keeping every option open to us, including litigation, to hold him accountable and make sure that Adelita is able to begin her work as Arizona’s newest member of Congress.”
Grijalva has also been accused of political games with her demands to be sworn in prior to the certification of the special election, which would officiate the results.
The Democratic Women’s Caucus — and a few male Democratic electeds — marched the Capitol hallways chanting “Swear her in!” with matching political signs that read, “Every American Deserves Representation. Swear in Adelita Grijalva Now.”
Johnson was not in the Capitol during this display, as he was reportedly attending the ceremony to award the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on what would have been his 32nd birthday. Kirk was assassinated by a progressive activist last month.
A Johnson aide told CNN that Grijalva is one bargaining measure to pressure Democrats to lift the ongoing government shutdown, which has lasted over two weeks now.
Grijalva insists there’s more to the story. The representative-elect claims Johnson’s delay doesn’t have to do with the shutdown but with her support for releasing the Epstein files. Grijalva’s signature would ensure their release.
Mayes addressed the Johnson aide remarks in her demand letter.
“Arizona’s right to a full delegation, and the right of the residents of CD 7 to representation from the person they recently voted for, are not up for debate and may not be delayed or used as leverage in negotiations about unrelated legislation,” said Mayes.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Oct 15, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
In a departure from the “soft on crime” approach, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero announced she will allow law enforcement to address crime.
Romero called the city’s approach the “Safe City Initiative.” The mayor announced the initiative on Sunday following months of community outcry over the ever-worsening levels of homelessness and crime in the city.
Tucson Police Chief Chad Kasmar said felony arrests increased by 50 percent and misdemeanor arrests increased by 100 percent over the last five years. Kasmar told KGUN9 that fentanyl’s rise is largely to blame; per the chief, 80 percent of addicts on the streets will refuse treatment because they know there are no consequences for breaking the law.
“It’s the reality that they know, if they only get caught with a lower level of possession, that they’re likely to have those charges dismissed during initial appearance, and they think, well, I’ll just be out. I’ll just be out in six or eight hours,” said Kasmar. “It’s not a big deal [to them].”
One Tucson native since 1999 described it this way in a Reddit post last November:
“The nightly shootings, open drug use and dealing, street prostitution, and gang activity is unlike anything I’ve seen here,” said the user. “It used to be the case that there were a half dozen bad intersections. Now it seems like every intersection is bad. Half of the bus stops have people slumped over or doing drugs. It feels like Gotham in a Batman movie.”
When a Tucson resident pointed out the Tucson Police Department’s reported crimes data site shows a slight decline in recent years, another native pointed out that Tucson residents don’t see the point in reporting the crimes anymore.
“Have you tried to report a crime lately? No officer shows up except for certain felony crimes. You have to make an online report that may as well be routed to some computer’s trash bin,” said the native. “Crime is ‘declining’ because people no longer see the point in reporting it, much like the declining unemployment rate that resulted because people simply stopped looking for work. An opinion column isn’t necessarily the best unbiased source for this info.”
The council may also pass an ordinance making drug possession a misdemeanor in order to work around the unwillingness of the Superior Court to prosecute drug offenses, even though those are felony offenses. With such an ordinance, the city could prosecute drug cases in the Municipal Court.
“Everyone deserves to be safe — in your neighborhood, at work, and in our public spaces,” said Romero. “We hear your current concerns about safety in our community loud and clear, and we share them. That is why we are launching the Safe City Initiative.”
As a precursor to the initiative, Romero defended the many social services aimed at the homeless population including the “low barrier” shelters, Violence Interruption Vitalization Action, Community Safety Health and Wellness, and Multi-Disciplinary Outreach Teams. And yet, Romero said these many services don’t stymie the major source of crimes: the homeless individuals with mental illnesses and/or drug addiction.
Romero said the city would continue investment in those programs. Additional investing will come from the opioid settlement funds to establish a Sobering Alternative Facility for Recovery Center, said Romero.
The Safe City Initiative will create a task force under the city manager, Tim Thomure, to help shape ordinances and policies that combine law enforcement action and drug addiction treatment. It will also increase police presence on public transit and in other high-crime areas, and social service outreach presence in areas with high levels of homelessness.
The mayor alluded to seeking greater state and regional funding and establishing more partnerships for treatments of mental and behavioral illness, and substance abuse.
The initiative also promises to expand the sessions offered by Community Court, which provides diversion programs for criminals dealing with mental illness and/or drug addictions.
Last week, the Tucson Police Department deployed officers to clear out a major homeless encampment.
Romero, first elected in 2019 and reelected in 2023, is coming up on the last leg of her second term, which ends in December 2027. The mayor may serve three consecutive four-year terms before being termed out.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Oct 11, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva says her district deserves representation, though she was silent on the absence of her father, the late Raúl Grijalva, from office.
The younger Grijalva has yet to be sworn in. She says Republicans are to blame for their refusal to agree to Democrats’ desired Obamacare continuations to lift the ongoing government shutdown.
“Speaker Johnson continues to make excuses but all the while southern Arizona still does not have a voice in Washington,” said Grijlava.
Senator Ruben Gallego also blamed House Speaker Mike Johnson and the rest of his Republican colleagues for Grijalva not being sworn in, claiming Johnson was telling “lies” to the public.
Contrary to Grijalva’s characterization of the situation, Grijalva can’t be sworn in because the statewide certification has yet to take place.
Grijalva’s desire to secure representation for her district is also a newfound one. She had little to say during the final years of her father’s term.
The late Grijalva missed most votes from last year and this year amid a lung cancer battle that would ultimately claim his life in March at 77 years old. The longtime Democrat had held his seat for 20 years when he announced his lung cancer diagnosis in 2023.
The late Grijalva missed nearly all votes (about 97 percent of votes) this and the last session before his passing. The only vote he took this session was for Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries for House Speaker at the start of session. He defended his absence with the claim his vote wouldn’t have any impact in a Republican-controlled Congress.
“They’re inconsequential because the Republicans are in charge and it’s the worst performing Congress in decades, if not a hundred years,” said Grijalva at the time.
Tucson residents were quick to point out the successor Grijalva’s hypocrisy.
“A lung cancer diagnosis in April 2024 led Grijalva to miss most of his votes in the House of Representatives throughout the year and into 2025,” said one user. “[You] didn’t say a damn word.”
Grijalva couldn’t be sworn in sooner than next Tuesday, anyways, because that’s when the statewide canvass is scheduled.
Arizona Secretary of State and fellow Democrat Adrian Fontes issued a press release on that point. The deadline to file an election contest, also, will not occur until October 20.
Next Tuesday is also the earliest date the Senate will reconvene to possibly agree on a continuing resolution to cease the government shutdown.
Debbie Lesko, Maricopa County Supervisor and former congresswoman, reminded the public that she wasn’t sworn in until the House began its session that year, in 2018.
“[This is] what’s happening with Grijalva,” said Lesko. “The Democrats and media are making a big deal over nothing.”
Congress had its longest shutdown on record from December 2018 to January 2019. The shutdown has lasted for over a week now.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
