by Matthew Holloway | Mar 16, 2026 | Must Read, News
By Matthew Holloway |
The Arizona House of Representatives passed legislation last week with bipartisan support, allowing residents to place medical directive information on their state-issued identification cards.
House Bill 2772, sponsored by State Rep. Khyl Powell (R-LD14), was approved by the House on Wednesday and now advances to the Arizona Senate for consideration.
According to a press release from the Arizona House Republican Caucus, the proposal would allow Arizonans to indicate on their driver licenses or nonoperating identification cards that they have a medical directive on file, helping first responders quickly identify a patient’s medical wishes during an emergency.
Medical directives, also known as advance directives, allow individuals to document instructions for medical treatment in the event they are unable to communicate their decisions.
According to the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry (AzHDR), the number of Arizonans with advance directives has seen significant growth, with over 100,000 advance directives registered with the program from 2019 to 2023, an increase of approximately 34%.
“HB 2772 protects a person’s right to have lawful medical choices recognized when every second matters,” Powell said. “If someone has taken the time to make these decisions with family and medical professionals, the state should not make those wishes harder to find. For someone with a valid directive, this could be the difference between their wishes being honored or missed.
“An orange form sitting on a refrigerator at home does no good if the emergency happens somewhere else. This bill puts that information where it can actually be seen.”
The bill passed the House with bipartisan support, 49–2, and now moves to the Arizona Senate for further consideration.
If approved by the Senate and signed into law, the legislation would add a mechanism for residents to voluntarily indicate the existence of a medical directive on their state-issued identification, allowing emergency responders to locate critical information more quickly.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Mar 16, 2026 | Must Read, News
By Matthew Holloway |
President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this month aimed at strengthening the federal government’s response to cybercrime, fraud, and other online schemes targeting Americans.
The order, titled “Combating Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens,” directs multiple federal agencies to coordinate efforts to disrupt criminal organizations involved in cyber-enabled fraud schemes and online scams.
According to the White House, the policy establishes that the United States will protect Americans and strengthen financial and digital systems against cybercrime while responding to attacks through “law enforcement, diplomacy, and potential offensive actions.”
The order states its purpose as follows:
“Cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes are draining American families of their life savings, stealing the benefits of years of work, and destroying the lives of our youth. These activities — which include deploying ransomware and malware, phishing, financial fraud, ‘sextortion’ and other extortion schemes, impersonation, and more — are often coordinated campaigns carried out by Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) aimed at the most vulnerable among us.”
The order also states that foreign governments are connected to many of these schemes, writing, “In many cases, foreign regimes provide willing or tacit state support to cybercrime and predatory schemes, creating a shadow economy fueled by stolen identities, coercion, forced labor, and human trafficking.”
The executive order directs federal officials to conduct a comprehensive review of the operational, technical, diplomatic, and regulatory tools used to combat transnational criminal organizations engaged in cyber-enabled crimes and fraud schemes. The review is intended to identify ways to prevent, disrupt, investigate, and dismantle scam operations.
Under the order, the Attorney General is directed to prioritize prosecutions of cyber-enabled fraud and scam schemes and pursue serious, provable offenses. The Attorney General is also tasked with submitting recommendations on establishing a Victims Restoration Program to help return seized or forfeited funds to victims of fraud.
The Department of Homeland Security is instructed to work with the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center to provide training, technical assistance, and resilience-building support to state, local, tribal, and territorial partners.
The order also directs the Department of State to engage with foreign governments to encourage enforcement action against transnational criminal organizations operating within their borders. Countries that fail to cooperate could face consequences including sanctions, visa restrictions, limits on foreign assistance, or the expulsion of officials found to be complicit.
The executive order was issued alongside the administration’s broader Cyber Strategy for America, which outlined priorities for deterring cyber adversaries, strengthening critical infrastructure security, modernizing federal networks, and expanding the government’s cybersecurity workforce and capabilities to Congress.
Federal agencies are expected to develop implementation plans and recommendations in the coming months as part of the administration’s effort to disrupt cybercrime networks and strengthen protections for American citizens and businesses.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Staff Reporter | Mar 15, 2026 | Must Read, News
By Staff Reporter |
Maricopa County Board of Supervisors sustained a loss in their ongoing court struggle against the recorder on Wednesday.
The Maricopa County Superior Court denied the board’s request to open up discovery based on the testimony they forced County Recorder Justin Heap to give last month. Judge Scott Blaney said the supervisors acted well outside of the proper proceedings and had attempted to influence the court.
“The Court further finds that the Court’s initial fear — that the Board of Supervisors was using its extra-judicial subpoenas in part to influence these proceedings — was well founded. The Court will not allow this gamesmanship to interfere with or jeopardize the integrity of these proceedings,” said Blaney. “Even if Defendants’ request actually constituted a proper use of the rule (it does not), the Court would still not reward such shenanigans by allowing this extrajudicial ‘evidence’ to taint the record in this case. The matter has already been taken under advisement for final determination.”
The supervisors forced Heap to testify last month on account of his allegedly “lying to the public,” among other very public accusations.
“He has been unreliable. He has been unprofessional. He has been untruthful. He has been unaccountable,” stated a press release from the board. “The Board cannot responsibly set a budget, make policy decisions, or oversee county operations, including an active election in Tempe right now, without complete and truthful information from Mr. Heap.”
That compelled testimony also required Heap to provide a massive report to the board on his office’s work within a week. Heap said during his testimony that it contained “thousands of pages of documents.”
Blaney also criticized the board’s decision to subpoena the recorder’s staff based on their court testimony.
“[The board] instead required witnesses to appear in front of the Board, under oath, in front of a hostile party and not a neutral arbiter, and without the protection of the rules of evidence,” said Blaney. “Upon learning of the Board’s compelled, extra-judicial discovery, the Court became concerned that the Board had issued the subpoenas in retaliation for the witnesses’ testimony at this Court’s evidentiary hearing and further, that the Board issued the extra-judicial subpoenas to improperly influence these proceedings.”
The court issued a temporary restraining order at Heap’s request that quashed the subpoenas. Heap accused the board of intimidating his staff in order to “unduly influence” the court ruling.
Based on this latest ruling, the board’s approach to any influence over the court seems unlikely.
The final ruling in the case between the recorder and board of supervisors could determine the balance of duties between the two. Heap is pushing for a complete restoration of the election duties his office lost under the Shared Services Agreement (SSA) put in place in the waning months of his predecessor and former supervisors.
The supervisors and recorder are presently at odds over plans to establish early voting locations. Supervisor Mark Stewart, who has expressed slightly more support for Heap than his fellow supervisors, said that the parties were nearing a resolution over this latest rift.
“Regardless of the back-and-forth or expressed frustrations from the Recorder’s office and the Board Chair, we are making progress and working together. It may not be perfect, but it is happening,” said Stewart.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Mar 15, 2026 | Must Read, News
By Staff Reporter |
Former State Rep. Travis Grantham suspended his congressional race after being called into active-duty service, the former speaker pro tempore announced on Wednesday.
Grantham, a lieutenant colonel in the Arizona Air National Guard, said he had “no idea” the length of his active-duty service.
“What I do know is that victory is the only acceptable outcome, so I will gladly do whatever is asked of me for however long it is needed,” said Grantham. “It is an honor to serve.”
Grantham planned to submit signatures to qualify for the ballot for the Republican primary in the fifth congressional district, the seat occupied currently by outgoing Rep. Andy Biggs, a gubernatorial candidate.
The U.S. and Israel launched a joint military campaign against Iran late last month, Operation Epic Fury. The first wave of attacks resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
So far, at least seven servicemembers have been killed in this new war launched by President Donald Trump. None of the slain were from Arizona.
Others have died at home over this new war, far from the Middle East.
Since this military campaign there have been what appear to be retaliatory terrorist attacks by Islamic individuals in the U.S.
The latest terrorist attack occurred on Thursday at Old Dominion University in Virginia. The gunman, a naturalized citizen from Sierra Leone named Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, was arrested in 2016 for attempting to help a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), coordinate a terrorist attack in the U.S. Jalloh also attempted to buy a gun as part of his plot to murder U.S. military personnel.
Jalloh faced a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; he was ultimately sentenced to 11 years in prison and five years’ supervised release in 2017.
However, Jalloh was released early from federal custody in the final month of the Biden administration in December 2024.
During Wednesday’s attack, Jalloh shouted “Allahu Akbar,” a call used by Islamic terrorists before committing their attacks.
One individual was killed in the attack: Army officer Brandon Shah, a military science professor and combat veteran. Jalloh was beaten to death by ROTC students shortly after he opened fire.
Another naturalized citizen-turned-terrorist also struck on Thursday in another state. Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a native of Lebanon, drove a truck into a synagogue. None were killed in the attack.
Last week, two terrorists targeted anti-Islam protesters and police officers with homemade explosive devices. One was thrown into a crowd protesting Islam outside the residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and the other was dropped amid a group of police officers. The two men, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, allegedly acted in support of ISIS. Both men were born to immigrant parents.
Balat wrote the following on a piece of paper after his detainment:
“All praise is due to Allah lord of all worlds! I pledge my allegiance to the Islamic State. Die in your rage you kuffar!”
“Kuffar” means “non-believers” or “infidels” in Arabic, and ISIS uses the phrase “die in your rage” as a slogan.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
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