In an admission that his own party is failing on the border crisis, former President Bill Clinton alluded to the illegal immigrant murder of Laken Riley — though he avoided identifying her by name, and refused to include the term “illegal” before “immigrant.”
Although Riley was a Georgia resident at the time of her death, the vocal GOP senator from Surprise, Janae Shamp, didn’t let Clinton’s avoidance of naming Riley slide. Shamp did credit Clinton for admitting that it was an illegal immigrant who took Riley’s life.
“Bill Clinton her name is Laken Riley and she was dedicating her life to the sick as a fellow RN when she was brutally murdered by an illegal Venezuelan gang member,” said Shamp. “But yes, it is Biden-Harris fault entirely.”
Clinton alluded to Riley’s murder in remarks with Georgia voters over the weekend. The former president was visiting the state as part of campaign efforts promoting the presidential bid of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Clinton reduced Riley’s murder to the GOP’s political ads focused on the injustice and avoidability of her death, and pivoted to promoting the need for mass immigration to offset low U.S. birth rates.
“You had a case in Georgia not very long ago, didn’t you? They made an ad about it, about a young woman who had been killed by an immigrant?” said Clinton. “Yeah, well, if they’d all been properly vetted that probably wouldn’t have happened. But if they are properly vetted, that doesn’t happen and America is not having enough babies to keep our population up. So, we need immigrants that have been vetted to do work. There wouldn’t be a problem and he couldn’t keep people all torn up and that’s sad.”
Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student at the University of Georgia out for a morning jog on campus when 26-year-old Venezuelan gang member Jose Ibarra kidnapped, raped, and beat and strangled her to death in February. Riley did call 911 during the attack, but law enforcement said there was no dialogue on that call.
Ibarra entered the U.S. illegally in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas. He received parole despite his gang affiliations due to ICE’s inability to lodge a detainer in a timely manner or, in other words: Ibarra benefitted from the unofficial “catch and release” policy that has come to define the Biden administration’s immigration approach.
President Joe Biden downplayed Riley’s death during the 2024 State of the Union earlier this year, mispronouncing her name as “Lincoln” Riley.
“Lincoln — Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal,” said Biden. “That’s right, but how many of the thousands of people [are] being killed by illegals?”
In March, the House passed the “Laken Riley Act” requiring detention of immigrants who commit burglary or theft. From his time entering the country illegally in 2022, Ibarra had been previously arrested for theft.
Ibarra’s trial is anticipated to occur in November. He has pleaded not guilty to the multiple charges he faces.
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The Arizona Republican Party will forgo tradition and won’t be spending lavishly on an Election Night party this November. Instead, the major swing state party has pledged to put “every dollar” into its candidates as well as those opposition efforts for defeating ranked-choice voting.
The AZGOP announced in a Tuesday press release that it has fundraised $9 million over the last three months.
“All of our resources are being dedicated to helping our candidates win and preventing the far-left from gaining control of our state,” stated the press release. “Instead of spending tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on a celebration, we are channeling every dollar directly into our candidates’ efforts.”
The announcement marked a turnaround from the AZGOP’s spending approach during the 2022 election. Under former chairwoman Kelli Ward, the party spent over $530,000 on a party and bus tour for the midterm elections, which ultimately saw a blue wave not seen in half a century: Democrats won the top three statewide races and a Senate seat. Under Ward, the party raised around $3 million.
In the past two weeks, the party says it has funded 22 Republican candidates as well as efforts to defeat ranked-choice voting. Part of the candidate contributions include a “judicial mail campaign” seeking to persuade voters to support certain judges more supportive of the Constitution.
Additionally, the party says it launched a Get Out The Vote (GOTV) program to increase early voting among Republicans.
In her statement, Arizona Republican Party Chair Gina Swoboda said the stakes this year are higher than they’ve been for any other election.
“We believe it’s more important to invest every resource we have into ensuring our candidates’ victories rather than hosting a party,” said Swoboda. It’s all hands on deck until Election Day, and we’re laser-focused on winning up and down the ballot.”
The AZGOP press release came out the same day as the party’s filing for its post-primary election campaign finance report. Per their reporting, the party gave $8,400 to the reelection campaign of State Representative Matt Gress.
The party may be making another big, expensive legal move as well concerning Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) voters. Swoboda told Axios on Tuesday that counties had indicated to her that they handle UOCAVA voters differently.
Swoboda sent a letter to all county recorders asking for confirmation of UOCAVA voters’ identities, as well as a promise from counties that they reject registrations lacking proof of citizenship. Depending on their answer, the AZGOP or Republican National Committee may take “imminent” action to challenge UOCAVA voters through a lawsuit.
The latest voter registration statistics reflected over 4.1 million total voters: over 1.4 million registered Republicans, nearly 1.4 million “other” voters, nearly 1.2 million registered Democrats, over 30,900 registered Libertarians, over 29,000 registered No Labels voters, and over 3,000 Green voters.
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The Arizona Court of Appeals ordered the unsealing of divorce records between Ruben Gallego, Senate candidate and congressman, and his ex-wife, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego.
The Washington Free Beacon, a right-leaning media outlet, sued for access to the records.
On Thursday, Presiding Judge Brian Furuya ruled in a memorandum decision that the burden remains on the Gallegos to demonstrate why records shouldn’t be unsealed. Furuya rejected the Gallegos’ argument that the records contained mention of their son, and therefore should be sealed completely. Furuya ruled that redactions of the record protecting the interests of their son were sufficient enough.
“To begin, the State of Arizona presumes court records are available to the public,” said Furuya. “[T]he party opposing the unsealing ‘must show that overriding circumstances continue to exist or that other grounds provide a sufficient basis for keeping the record sealed.’”
The Yavapai Superior Court said as much in its ruling for the unsealing of the divorce records as well. That court found that the original order sealing the records was improper, and ordered the Gallegos to submit redaction requests. The Gallegos complied, but then took issue with the rejected redactions and appealed.
Furuya had no criticisms for the superior court’s ruling.
“Upon review, we hold the court properly exercised its discretion by narrowly tailoring what is to be withheld from public view for those legitimate purposes,” said Furuya.
Ruben Gallego filed for divorce in 2016 when his wife was nine months pregnant. The Gallegos finalized their divorce the next year after their son arrived.
Last year, he told the Washington Post that PTSD was to blame for his divorce. He claimed that PTSD, acquired from serving in Iraq, caused him to drink and smoke too much, and he was prone to have “extreme outbursts.” Ruben Gallego also said he “had an addiction to artificial points of success” like running for office. Essentially, his ex-wife’s pregnancy was too much to handle on top of his professional goals and self-professed emotional issues with anxiety, moodiness, and survivor’s guilt.
The Washington Free Beaconsued earlier this year for access to those divorce records, arguing that Gallego’s race for the Senate necessitated full public transparency over his divorce with the Phoenix mayor. The outlet cited Ruben Gallego’s own remarks from his Washington Post interview, questioning whether his admission to “extreme outbursts” was in reference to physical threats or violence.
“The people of Arizona deserve to know the man who is getting down on one knee before they accept his proposal,” stated the Washington Free Beacon.
The outlet also noted that neither of the Gallegos lived in the county in which the divorce was filed, though state law requires couples to file in the county of their residence.
The Washington Free Beacon also reported that Gallego privately married lobbyist Sydney Barron in 2019, but he claimed in 2021 that he had just proposed to her that year and went on to have a public wedding months later.
Gallego is running against Republican candidate Kari Lake.
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Hundreds of Arizona’s children underwent sex change procedures from 2019 to 2023, according to data compiled by watchdog Do No Harm.
According to the organization’s database, there were nearly 80 total surgery patients, nearly 170 total hormone and puberty blocker patients, and over 1,400 prescriptions written for those patients: all amounting to over $1.7 million in charges.
At least 86 children underwent their sex change procedures at Phoenix Children’s Hospital: one received surgery and 86 received hormone and puberty blockers (HPB), all for the estimated price of over $121,700.
Phoenix Children’s Hospital didn’t make Do No Harm’s top 12 in terms of sex change procedures for minors. Those were, in order from number one to twelve: the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Children’s Minnesota, Seattle’s Children’s, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Boston Children’s Hospital, Rady Children’s Hospital (California), Children’s National Medical Center (Washington, DC), USCF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland (California), Children’s Hospital Colorado, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
The following are the 42 medical facilities and providers that reportedly provided the sex change procedures to Arizona children (not including the categorization of an “independent facility” which covered 22 HPB patients). This data was pulled from the healthcare organization’s National Provider Identifier (NPI) record in the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES):
Tucson Medical Center: 6 surgery patients, 31 HPB patients
HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center: 23 surgery patients, 1 HPB patient
Scottsdale Surgical Partners: 23 surgery patients
HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center: 14 surgery patients, 1 HPB patient
Mission Hospital Memorial Campus: 7 HPB patients
Northwest Tucson Surgery Center LP: 6 surgery patients
Banner University Medical Center Phoenix: 2 surgery patients, 3 HPB patients
Arizona Community Surgeons PC: 4 surgery patients
Northwest Medical Center: 2 surgery patients, 1 HPB patient
HonorHealth Deer Valley Medical Center: 2 HPB patients
HonorHealth John C. Lincoln Medical Center: 2 HPB patients
Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center: 2 HPB patients
Yuma Regional Medical Center: 2 HPB patients
Abrazo Arrowhead Campus: 1 HPB patient
Abrazo Central Campus: 1 surgery patient
Arizona Urological Surgeons LLC: 1 surgery patient
Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center: 1 HPB patient
Banner Desert Medical Center: 1 HPB patient
Banner Ironwood Medical Center: 1 HPB patient
Banner Thunderbird Medical Center: 1 HPB patient
Banner University Medical Center Tucson: 1 HPB patient
Camp Lowell Surgery Center LLC: 1 surgery patient
Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center: 1 HPB patient
IU Health Methodist Hospital: 1 HPB patient
Jason Daniel Johnson PLLC: 1 surgery patient
La Paz Regional Hospital: 1 HPB patient
Long Beach Medical Center: 1 HPB patient
Maui Memorial Medical Center: 1 HPB patient
Mayo Clinic Hospital Arizona: 1 surgery patient
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center: 1 HPB patient
Neurosurgical Associates LTD: 1 surgery patient
Phoenix Indian Medical Center: 1 HPB patient
Sagewest Riverton: 1 HPB patient
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital: 1 HPB patient
Santa Cruz Valley Regional Hospital: 1 HPB patient
Sina Inc.: 1 surgery patient
St. George Regional Hospital: 1 HPB patient
St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center: 1 HPB patient
St. Mary’s Hospital: 1 HPB patient
Dr. Steven H. Turkeltaub: 1 surgery patient
Valley Anesthesiology Consultants Inc.: 1 surgery patient
White Mountain Regional Medical Center: 1 HPB patient
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administers NPPES. NPIS are 10-digit numeric identifiers for provider transactions.
Per Do No Harm’s data, total procedures hit a peak in 2022 and declined slightly last year.
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The Democratic candidate for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO), Tamika Wooten, filmed a video for her campaign in the courtroom while on the clock.
Wooten filmed the video last month on September 21, posted to her campaign Facebook page as “A Day in the Life of Tamika Wooten!”.
Wooten explained in her video that she had spoken with LD3 voters at Black Mountain Democrats earlier that morning, and that she was now about to hear the cases of individuals arrested the night before and that morning. Wooten then told viewers that she would speak at Sun City Grand.
“It’s my honor to serve, and it’s all in a day’s work,” said Wooten.
Yikes 🚨
Democrat Tamika Wooten filmed a campaign video in the courtroom … in her judge's robes … while she was on the clock.
As a progressive candidate, Wooten has promised to not prosecute abortionists or criminalize abortions, limit mandatory minimum sentencing, and expand diversion sentencing for the mentally ill and drug addicted who commit crimes or abuse drugs openly. Wooten stated on her campaign website that she would only be prosecuting “serious crimes.”
“I’ll prioritize alternatives to incarceration for minor offenses so we can: reduce prison populations, save millions in taxpayer dollars, [and] give hurting Maricopa County communities a chance to heal,” says Wooten’s campaign website.
In an interview earlier this year, Wooten said that she would treat crimes committed by the mentally ill or drug addicted as “health issues” instead of punishable crimes.
“I want to treat mental illness and substance abuse as a health issue not criminal justice issue and by reallocating our money and creating diversion programs for those who are charged or those who have mental illness,” said Wooten.
Wooten also said she would work to expand programs to end recidivism, such as providing education to prisoners.
MCAO currently engages in diversion programs and prioritizes heavier prosecution for violent crimes. One of the newest programs concerns felony diversion for parents or guardians charged with child abuse, neglect, endangerment, or a related offense whose circumstances of offense relate to substance use, particularly opioid use.
During that interview, Wooten also indicated that she wouldn’t prioritize illegal immigration crimes, instead focusing on “higher-level crimes.”
In a more recent campaign video posted last month, Wooten said that she would refuse to prosecute abortions at all. Wooten said as much during last month’s debate with her Republican opponent, current Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell.
“As your next county attorney, I will always defend your right to choose and our doctors’ right to provide healthcare,” said Wooten in her campaign video.
“A prosecutor does have judicial discretion. I will focus my efforts overall on keeping communities safe, rather than policing a woman’s womb,” said Wooten during the debate.
As AZ Free Newsreported last month, Wooten has a history of erring on the side of criminals. Prior to serving as a judge, Wooten defended human traffickers and pleaded down their cases to reduced sentencing.
In that same reporting, Wooten made remarks in a closed-door meeting promising to not prosecute under the controversial ballot proposal HCR 2060, the “Secure the Border Act.” If approved by voters this November, that proposal would make illegal immigration a state crime, which would allow local law enforcement to make arrests and local judges to order those convicted to leave the country.
“We don’t need to patrol our citizens,” said Wooten.
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