by Matthew Holloway | Dec 2, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
With the certification of the 2024 Elections complete, the battle lines are being drawn in what could amount to a lengthy legal clash over abortion restrictions in the state.
As reported by the Associated Press, the next fight to break out will likely be to render the present abortion law, a 2022 ban on abortions after 15-weeks with the exception of saving a mother’s life, inoperative. Unless and until a court rules or the legislature passes a new statute to align with the newly minted amendment, the 15-week ban remains in effect. It is around this bulwark that pro-life parties are beginning to build a defensive case, or conversely one that attacks the constitutional amendment.
Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes told reporters, “The position of the state of Arizona will be that we agree that abortion is legal in our state.”
Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy (CAP) told reporters with the AP that the group is working to anticipate any legal challenges to the current statutes and are preparing to legally “intervene where appropriate.”
Darrell Hill, policy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona told the wire service, “All the laws that have currently been on the books are under question and are subject to possible challenges at some point.”
In a post to X, the Center for Arizona Policy commented, “Today, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs ‘celebrates’ the passage of Proposition 139 to amend the Arizona Constitution to enshrine a constitutional, fundamental right to an abortion. It is not a time to celebrate. It is a time to mourn the legal taking of unborn children’s lives and the resulting harm to their mothers.”
The advocacy group warned, “Within days, Arizona will see one or more lawsuits that will prove the real intent of Proposition 139: to overturn up to forty of Arizona’s common sense safety standards. Standards that not only protect the viability of unborn children but also the well-being and lives of their mothers. These laws were passed to protect women and their unborn children. Prior to the election, Prop 139 proponents scoffed when we pointed out that the amendment would not only legalize abortion until birth but would put all of Arizona’s common sense abortion safety standards in jeopardy.”
In addition to the 15-week ban, as many as 40 additional statutes require abortion restrictions. They range from requiring pregnant women seeking abortions to have an ultrasound performed at least 24 hours beforehand, to forbiddding abortions explicitly performed due to the existence of a genetic abnormality in an unborn child.
CAP added, “The proponents of this disastrous amendment are revealing what their real agenda has always been: to expand abortion – and their profits – at any cost, even the cost of Arizona women’s health and lives. Governor Hobbs celebrates. Those who value the sanctity of human life at all stages weep. Our commitment remains what it had always been: protect both the woman and her unborn child. We will fight tirelessly to defend these critical, lifesaving measures. We will do all we can to limit the anticipated breadth of Proposition 139.”
Challenges to Prop 139 may range from the vagueness of its standard of “fetal viability,” to how “a compelling state interest,” is defined, with one argument being that preventing murder is in the state’s direct and compelling state interest. Further, allegations that the proposition was only approved through disinformation propagated by Governor Hobbs may lead to legal challenges as well.
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 | Dec 2, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
A study published in the International Journal of Historical Archaeology, revealed a detailed discovery of what has been described as “the oldest firearm ever found within the continental USA, and perhaps the oldest cannon currently known on the continent.”
As reported by ancient-origins, the cannon, a bronze wall gun dated to the Coronado expedition of 1539–1542, was found in the Santa Cruz Valley of southern Arizona. The weapon is described as measuring 42 inches long and approximately .95 inches in bore diameter, weighing in at approximately forty pounds. The outlet described it as roughly the equivalent of a 5-gauge shotgun of the sort typically employed to breach the fortifications of the 16th Century.
The weapon was reportedly discovered on the floor of a heavily eroded adobe-and-rock-walled building, undisturbed for approximately 480 years. Though its date of manufacture is unclear, the context of its use can be effectively determined at 1541.
As independent journalist Mario Nawfal reported via X, “The relic was unearthed at San Geronimo III, a Spanish settlement established in 1541 during Francisco Vázquez de Coronado’s quest for the mythical “Seven Cities of Gold.” This cannon symbolizes resistance, marking one of the earliest Native American victories. The Sobaipuri O’odham launched a surprise attack on the settlement, dismantling Spain’s foothold in the Southwest.”
In the study as cited by Newsweek, the authors, Deni J. Seymour and William P. Mapoles observed, “It is a design consistent with the mid-to-late 1400s and was practically obsolete by the time of the expedition. This cast bronze cannon is a pristine historical specimen and was found in situ, resting on the floor of a Coronado expedition Spanish structure,” the authors wrote in the study.
They added, “This gun is small enough that it would have been easily transportable, weighing about 40 pounds and is roughly 42 inches long. This was the perfect piece to carry on this expedition owing to its light weight, durable nature, and ease of use,” the authors said. “The expedition brought artillery pieces so that as they traveled to unknown lands they could breech the wooden or light adobe walls of cities encountered and so they could repel any enemy.”
The authors added, “The advantage of this type of firearm is that it is versatile, which was especially valuable for an expedition embarking on such a long land journey. For example, the powder charge could be varied from light to heavy depending on the intended target, which also determined the recoil. It could be fired in the fork of a tree, across the saddle of a mount, over a wall, or with a tripod which meant that it could be used just about anywhere.”
As noted by ancient-origins, the relevant historic records suggest that the cannon’s immaculate condition was left behind by retreating Spanish forces during an attack by the Sobaipuri O’odham on a Spanish settlement. This is supported by the fact that the cannon was found unloaded and showed no signs of being fired, surrounded by nearby clusters of lead shot and Sobaipuri arrowheads.
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 Daniel Stefanski | Dec 2, 2024 | Economy, News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona utilities providers recently revealed plans to partner with an emerging energy market.
Earlier this week, representatives from Arizona Public Service (APS), Salt River Project (SRP), Tucson Electric Power (TEP), and UniSource Energy Services made news by announcing that their utility companies would be joining Southwest Power Pool’s (SPP) Markets+. The partnership would take place starting in 2027 if the fledgling market receives the final green light from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
According to the release issued by the state energy providers, an energy market “is an interconnected network of electricity providers that help meet the supply and demand of power across a specific geography and include transmission pathways for electricity to travel from one location to another.” For example, “When demand is lower, the Arizona utilities can sell energy, like excess solar power during the winter season, to maintain a balanced electric system, while also taking advantage of cost-savings opportunities.”
The Arizona utilities promise “increased reliability, greater cost savings, [and] more clean energy” for state customers after the partnership would take effect. It is projected that this market would save approximately $100 million from the status quo, which would be, in part, realized by the energy customers of the participating companies.
“Arizona is one of the fastest growing states in the country and we are thoughtfully planning for the future and evolving our operations to continue to provide top-tier service and reliability to our customers at an affordable cost,” said Brian Cole, APS Vice President of Resource Management. “Together with our neighboring utilities, APS plans to join Markets+ to efficiently deliver energy and bolster the resilience of our shared energy grid in Arizona and across the region.”
“SRP’s participation in SPP Markets+ is a key component of our plan to meet the growing energy needs of our customers reliably and affordably and will help us achieve our 2035 Sustainability Goals,” said Josh Robertson, SRP Director of Energy Market Strategy. “We look forward to working with utilities in the region to bring the cost and resilience benefits to our respective customers.”
“Tucson Electric Power and UniSource Energy Services are excited about the value that Markets+ can provide to our customers, including cost savings and greater access to clean energy and other resources that support affordable, reliable service,” said Erik Bakken, TEP Senior Vice President. “We look forward to strengthening an already collaborative, productive relationship with Southwest Power Pool, our reliability coordinator, in its new role as market operator.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Dec 1, 2024 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
Arizona State University (ASU) President Michael Crow may not be in outright support of President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Department of Education (ED), but he does seem to favor the idea of reform at the very least.
In Politico coverage gauging university presidents’ sentiments toward another Trump administration, Crow voiced a desire for an ED overhaul. Crow made the remarks during the annual Higher Education-News Media Dinner-Discussion at the University of Pennsylvania Club of New York City (Penn Club), which he hosted.
Crow said that ED student loans largely prove to be a waste of taxpayer dollars, since a majority of recipients don’t graduate.
“The Department of Education is a mismatch of bank feeds that have been cobbled together over 50 years of congressional history or more,” said Crow. “If you look at the United States and our success, we have almost three quarters of a trillion dollars being spent on Pell Grants in the last few decades, and more than half of those individuals have never graduated from college.”
Crow went on to say that the federal student loans weren’t having their intended effects — more citizens with a higher education that, in all likelihood, would strengthen the economy, depress poverty, spur innovation, and raise the education level (and welfare) of subsequent generations — since most borrowers weren’t getting their degrees.
“Most of the people that have loans supported by the government of the United States have no diplomas, no certificates, no degrees of any kind,” said Crow. “Clearly, something is not yet perfected and so what we need is new designs, new models, new ways of doing things.”
Trump vowed to abolish ED in a campaign promise made last year. The proposal was released as part of his “Agenda47” platform outlining his plan for his second and nonconsecutive term.
In his campaign promise, Trump said he would revert education authority and responsibilities to the states entirely. The president-elect explained the low education outcomes weren’t worth the high rates of federal spending and bureaucracy.
“And one other thing I’ll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education in Washington D.C. and sending all education and education work and needs back to the States. We want them to run the education of our children, because they’ll do a much better job of it. You can’t do worse. We spend more money per pupil, by three times, than any other nation. And yet we’re absolutely at the bottom. We’re one of the worst. So you can’t do worse. We’re going to end education coming out of Washington D.C. We’re going to close it up — all those buildings all over the place and yet people that in many cases hate our children. We’re going to send it all back to the States.”
Under the late Democratic president Jimmy Carter, the U.S. founded the ED in 1980 through legislation splitting the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare into two: ED, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
ED received about four percent of the fiscal year 2024 budget, and its budget sits at around $240 billion. ED provides over $150 billion in new and consolidated loans annually.
ED has the smallest staff of the 15 Cabinet agencies, consisting of about 4,400 employees.
Those employees are split among 17 offices within the department: Federal Student Aid; Institute of Education Services; Office of the Chief Information Officer; Office of Communications and Outreach; Office for Civil Rights; Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education; Office of the Deputy Secretary; Office of English Language Acquisition; Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Office of Finance and Operations; Office of the General Counsel; Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs; Office of Postsecondary Education; Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development; Office of the Secretary; Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; and Office of the Under Secretary.
South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds introduced a bill to abolish ED, the Returning Education to Our States Act. The bill proposed to shift certain programs to other departments.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Dec 1, 2024 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
The National Education Association (NEA), a teachers’ union and the nation’s largest labor union, has continued its promotion of gender transitions for children.
NEA posted the guide by Advocates for Youth on Transgender Day of Remembrance last week. The guide was published last year.
The guide claims that humans are “assigned” their sex at birth based on reproductive traits (genitalia, chromosomes, and hormones), and that while everyone has a gender identity, only some align with their reproductive traits. The guide claims that children inherently know their gender identity as young as 18 months to three years.
Parents, per the guide, shouldn’t be the sole decision-makers about their children. Those parents that rely on information conflicting with or opposing transgender ideology are relying on “misinformation and falsehoods.” Instead, parents should accept information which affirms transgender, non-binary, and gender-expansive youth (TNGE).
“Parents have everything they need to begin the journey of supporting their TNGE children,” said the guide. “When making decisions for their children, many parents search for information and resources to support their efforts, but some of what is readily available is misinformation and falsehoods. Parents who are interested in seeking out additional help to support their TNGE children are encouraged to do so.”
As for the role of educators, the guide says that they should “proactively teach the entire school community about gender identity, gender expansiveness, and celebrate LGBTQ history and culture.”
The guide also says that schools should affirm students in their gender identity by using their chosen name and preferred pronouns, regardless of their legal name; ensure students have unencumbered access to their preferred gender-specific facilities such as bathrooms and locker rooms; and ensure students may participate in their preferred gender-specific extracurricular activities and athletics.
Per the guide, those who oppose transgender ideology, especially in children, qualify as “extremists” who put out disinformation.
The guide puts out a number of other contested claims, such as: puberty blockers are lifesaving, not harmful; LGBTQ ideologies contribute to healthy diversity; transgenderism isn’t a mental illness;
The NEA affiliate in Arizona — the Arizona Education Association (AEA) — has over 22,000 school employees as members (in addition to teachers, their members include librarians, custodians, cafeteria workers, and counselors).
Like the NEA, AEA has actively worked to foster transgenderism and advance other LGBTQ+ ideologies in minors.
AEA successfully advocated for the repeal of the 28-year-old “no promo homo” law prohibiting the discussion of homosexuality during HIV/AIDS instruction in schools. The law prohibited discussion that “promotes a homosexual lifestyle,” “portrays homosexuality as a positive alternative lifestyle,” and “suggests that some methods of sex are safe methods of homosexual sex.”
AEA also fought against legislative efforts to require the use of bathrooms based on biological sex, and prohibiting access based on gender identity.
The union also supported gender transitions for children as young as preschoolers, promoting a parent in 2017 who transitioned his four-year-old son into his “daughter.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Dec 1, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Attorney General Kris Mayes has said that the State of Arizona is prepared to act upon its first execution warrant after fellow Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs dismissed a retired federal magistrate she appointed to review the state’s execution process in 2023.
Former Magistrate David Duncan reportedly never finished his work before his dismissal according to the Arizona Daily Star. Despite his authorization to charge $175 per hour up to $100,000 to conduct a full review of Arizona’s fraught execution process, Duncan was notified in a letter obtained by Capitol Media Services that Hobbs no longer has confidence in him.
According to the Daily Star, Hobbs said in the letter that Duncan’s review has strayed beyond his mandate, which was explicitly to review the protocols and procedures used by the AZ Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR) to judicially mete out death.
Gov. Hobbs observed in one report that Duncan suggested the ADCRR should weigh the implementation of the firing squad, explaining that it “does overcome the impediments to lethal injection from unavailability of material and skilled personnel.” Though firing squad is not currently available under Arizona law, it is far from unprecedented with Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah still offering the option as of 2024. Duncan’s inquest was terminated and he stands to be paid just $36,000.
Hobbs noted further that Ryan Thornell, whom she tapped for director of the corrections department, also completed his own review of the execution protocols and, per Capitol Media Services, made a series of recommendations including revised training standards and enhanced documentation.
Thornell told reporters that the greatest issues facing the department have been staff who’ve proven unable to place an intravenous line into the condemned to deliver the lethal injection, leading to “executions lasting longer than expected.” He further noted that some executions have depended on a procedure that was “extensive and intrusive.”
He reported that a medical team has been sourced, which includes a trained phlebotomist “providing a level of expertise to the team related to IV placement procedures.’’ He added that decision making in executions has been “inconsistent” and said, “I will not make decisions without the advice of the trained and qualified medical/IV team.”
Hobbs claimed, “With these changes in place, ADCRR is prepared to conduct an execution that complies with the legal requirements if an execution warrant is issued.”
Capitol Media Services reported via X that the first execution warrant should be sought by AG Mayes within two weeks.
That warrant will be sought to execute Aaron Gunches, a man who pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder and kidnapping of his girlfriend’s ex-husband Ted Price in 2002. In 2022, after nearly two decades on death row, Gunches waived his right to post-conviction appeal and motioned for his own execution, a motion he later withdrew in 2023 upon Hobbs taking office. The Arizona Supreme Court has refused to reconsider the motion, however, the warrant expired before it could be acted upon. Mayes must now seek a new death warrant.
“Given the review that has now been completed by the Department of Corrections, I feel confident that the state is prepared to conduct an execution,’’ the Attorney General told Capitol Media Services. “And so I will be issuing a request for an execution warrant to the Supreme Court in the next two weeks.’’ AG Mayes told reporters that there are some 111 inmates currently housed on death row in Arizona, awaiting execution and among them 25 have exhausted all possible appeals.
“There are 25 families out there who have an expectation that the killer of their loved ones will be executed,’’ Mayes told Capitol Media. She also added that the disparity between counties that can afford to implement the expensive procedures of the death penalty as opposed to those that cannot as easily is “something I think the Legislature needs to address.’’
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.
