by Ethan Faverino | Oct 5, 2026 | Economy, News
By Ethan Faverino |
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) announced its endorsement of six Arizona congressional candidates ahead of the November general election, citing their positions on policies affecting small businesses and economic growth.
The endorsements include two Republican candidates seeking seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and four incumbent Republican congressmen seeking reelection.
The organization endorsed:
- Jay Feely (AZ-01)
- Eli Crane (AZ-02)
- Mark Lamb (AZ-05)
- Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06)
- Abe Hamadeh (AZ-08)
- Paul Gosar (AZ-09)
“Arizona small businesses are the foundation of our state’s economy,” stated NFIB Arizona State Director Chad Heinrich. “The candidates we have endorsed have a deep understanding of the small business landscape and will be reliable pro-Main Street voices in Congress. We are eager to work with them to ensure that Arizona small businesses can continue to effectively operate and create jobs.”
The NFIB regularly participates in federal and state policy debates involving taxation, government regulations, labor requirements, and other issues affecting business owners.
The organization said its endorsements reflect its assessment of the candidates’ commitment to advancing policies that support small businesses.
The endorsements were issued through NFIB FedPAC, the organization’s political action committee, which is funded through voluntary contributions from NFIB members beyond their membership dues. According to NFIB, endorsement decisions are made through a member-driven grassroots evaluation process.
“We are proud to endorse a slate of candidates who have demonstrated a steadfast commitment to advancing the interests of Arizona small businesses,” stated Louis Bertolotti, NFIB Political Director. “Small business owners deserve representatives who understand the issues that matter to them and will consistently advocate for policies that promote economic growth. We look forward to working with these pro-small business leaders in Washington.”
The congressional endorsements came the same day the NFIB’s Arizona political action committee announced its support for 52 candidates seeking state offices, reflecting the organization’s involvement in both state and federal elections ahead of November.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Oct 4, 2026 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
An Arizona State University (ASU) student who inspired Tempe to create a police oversight board is facing criminal charges for attacking an officer.
Tempe police arrested ASU student Eryn Bonner in July after she refused to comply with law enforcement and charged at the officers arresting two males that she knew.
After officers twice pushed Bonner away for refusing to comply with orders to “back up,” Bonner confronted an officer who had twice pushed her away, striking him multiple times in the head and attempting to kick him away as he worked to arrest her.
Body camera footage showed the arresting officer punch Bonner once in the face to subdue her after Bonner punched him multiple times; five or six strikes and some scratching, by Tempe police’s account in court records. Benjamin Taylor, a civil rights attorney representing Bonner, disputed Bonner’s violence and has claimed to the public and city officials that Bonner was punched more than once as well as “groped” by the officer.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell declined to bring felony charges of resisting arrest and aggravated assault against Bonner.
Now, Bonner faces two misdemeanor charges in Tempe Municipal Court: disorderly conduct classified as fighting and hindering/interfering with police.
Taylor said in a statement responding to these latest charges against his client that Bonner was the victim of political prosecution. Taylor claimed to the Phoenix New Times that the city police union was pressuring the city to charge his client.
“Instead of showing accountability and transparency — accountability to their officers for their wrongdoing and transparency to the community — what they’re trying to do is cover up for the wrongdoing of their officers,” said Taylor. “It has the smellings of politics behind it when you have charges brought two months later after the county attorney decided not to bring charges. It’s very political and is basically to avoid potential civil liability and to try to cover up for their officers’ wrongdoing.”
Taylor also said that Bonner suffered “emotional trauma” in addition to physical injuries, and claimed officials were “victimizing the victim.”
According to court records, Bonner has also racked up four speeding tickets across March, April, and July. The first ticket from March also came with charges of using a cell phone while driving; the speeding portion of the charges was dropped.
Bonner’s arrest prompted the Tempe City Council to launch the Public Safety and Community Oversight Council Subcommittee, an exploratory body to discuss the creation of a police oversight board.
Taylor, a recent president of the State Bar of Arizona, has appeared before the subcommittee. Taylor addressed the subcommittee during its most recent meeting on Tuesday, claiming Bonner’s arresting officer inappropriately touched and committed excessive use of force against his client.
Shoving and punching qualify as permitted uses of force under certain circumstances to maintain control of a scene and make arrests.
Taylor also questioned the appropriateness of Tempe police appointing Sergeant Kevin Ameiss to oversee the internal affairs investigation into Bonner’s case, citing Ameiss’s 2020 suspension for his oversight of the Trevonyae Cumpian case. Ameiss was in a supervisory role for an officer who held a Black hotel worker at gunpoint while in pursuit of an armed white male suspect.
A pre-trial conference for the disorderly conduct and police interference charges is scheduled in Bonner’s case for Nov. 4, 2026.
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 4, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Pima County Attorney Laura Conover attempted to secure a plea deal that would have allowed an accused murderer to walk free based on time served.
65-year-old Blain Beckham is charged with the 2019 murder of 71-year-old Fernando Broyles. Broyles was found deceased in his home by a neighbor, bludgeoned to death by a claw hammer.
A judge rejected the plea deal during a hearing on Monday.
Broyles’ sister Yolanda Broyles-Gonzales called the plea deal “outrageous” in an interview with KVOA and expressed gratitude for the judge’s decision.
“We are grateful that justice is working at this time,” said Broyles-Gonzalez. “It’s not over yet, but at least this outrageous plea deal is off the table.”
Broyles had invited Beckham to stay in his home, something Broyles-Gonzales told KVOA that her brother often did for the homeless and those down on their luck.
“My brother was a good Samaritan. Take in the stranger, feed the poor, provide shelter for those who were in need of shelter,” said Broyles-Gonzales. “If you see a hardened criminal getting a light sentence for having killed a good Samaritan, I think the rest of the community would think twice before doing good deeds because they say this is what can happen.”
Beckham may either accept the judge’s decision on the plea deal or request another judge to reconsider the plea deal at his next hearing scheduled in about two weeks.
Beckham has a lengthy criminal history, including multiple past instances of assault over the past decade and failure to register as a sex offender.
Earlier this summer, Conover successfully implemented another controversial plea deal when her office arranged for a nurse charged with sexually abusing a female patient to serve 30 days in jail and three years of probation.
48-year-old Jadd Sarah, former nurse with the Banner Health University Medical Center in Tucson, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a female patient who was incapacitated from seizures in February.
Records reflect that footage shows Sarah entering the patient’s room and sexually abusing her. A probable cause statement said that the patient appeared to have a seizure as Sarah abused her — even then, Sarah did not stop the sexual contact.
Sarah originally faced multiple charges in addition to sexual abuse, including aggravated assault. Altogether, the sentencing range for those charges would have been six months to more than two years in prison.
Conover defended the plea deal in a video interview with KOLD, saying that Sarah didn’t sexually abuse the patient so much as commit the sort of “unwanted touching” that might occur in a place like a bar.
“It sounded like a sex assault had occurred, a rape, a molestation — and this was a touching,” said Conover. “I’m not minimizing this, but I think, you know, unfortunately in the world women are living in, I think it’s happening like in every bar across America every night. Like unwanted brief touching. Totally unacceptable, but you can see how if we had taken him to trial and we convicted him, maybe a six-month sentence for improper touching, and then he’s free to go about his life after that.”
Conover conceded that Sarah may have faced more time if they had taken the case to trial, but that the plea deal arrangement was better because Sarah would have long-term oversight through the probation process and was made to give up his nursing license.
Sarah may reapply for his nursing license in three years, though the county attorney’s office stated that Sarah promised in writing and to a judge that he would never work in the medical field again.
Conover later issued a statement saying that the arrangement of the plea deal ensured “a lifetime of community protection” from Sarah.
“Our highly experienced veteran team of special victims prosecutors ensured that the plea agreement would protect our community from this individual ever serving in the medical profession again,” said Conover. “[W]e traded one month for six months and negotiated a complete withdrawal from the medical field altogether to protect future patients for years to come.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Ethan Faverino | Oct 4, 2026 | Economy, News
By Ethan Faverino |
American consumer spending increased in August as inflation remained above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target and the personal savings rate declined, according to the latest economic updates released by Congress’ Joint Economic Committee (JEC).
The JEC’s August Monthly Expenditures Update reported that the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, a key inflation measure used by the Federal Reserve, increased 0.31% from July to August.
Core PCE inflation, which excludes the more volatile food and energy categories, increased 0.25% during August.
Over the past year, headline PCE inflation reached 3.42%, remaining above the Federal Reserve’s annual target of 2%. Core PCE inflation registered 3.01% over the same period.
Despite continued inflationary pressures, consumer spending increased during August. Inflation-adjusted personal consumption expenditures rose 0.55%, representing an increase of approximately $92.82 billion.
Spending on goods accounted for much of the increase, rising 1.33%, or $76.44 billion, while spending on services increased 0.20%, or $22.27 billion. Within the goods category, spending on durable goods rose 1.93%, while spending on nondurable goods increased 1.02%.
Several major household expenditure categories also recorded increases during August.
Spending on gasoline and other energy goods increased 4.32% from July and 23.55% compared to August 2025. Motor vehicles and parts expenditures rose 2.53% for the month, while transportation services increased 1.66%.
Housing and utilities remained one of the largest household spending categories, accounting for approximately $4 trillion in annualized expenditures, an increase of 4.51% from the previous year. Health care expenditures reached approximately $3.86 trillion, representing a 6.76% annual increase.
Meanwhile, the report indicated that Americans saved a smaller portion of their income during August.
The personal savings rate declined by 0.5 percentage points to 4.1%, while personal income increased 0.24%, or approximately $66.65 billion.
Real disposable personal income per capita declined 0.05%, indicating that inflation-adjusted after-tax income fell slightly during the month.
The JEC also released its third estimate of second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP), reporting that the U.S. economy expanded at an annualized inflation-adjusted rate of 2.22%.
The latest estimate represents an upward revision of 0.74 percentage points from the previous estimate.
Current-dollar GDP increased at an annualized rate of 8.49%, with the annualized dollar value of economic output reaching approximately $32.56 trillion during the second quarter, up $656.8 billion from the first quarter.
Consumer spending was a major contributor to economic growth during the quarter, adding approximately 2.5 percentage points to real GDP growth.
Nonresidential fixed investment contributed another 1.2 percentage points, while changes in private inventories and net exports reduced overall growth by approximately 0.5 and 1.1 percentage points, respectively.
The updated figures show that consumer spending continued to support economic activity during the second quarter and into August, even as inflation remained elevated and households devoted a smaller share of their income to savings.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Oct 3, 2026 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
Gov. Katie Hobbs is looking to spend as much of the federal COVID-19 relief funds as possible before Election Day and the December spending deadline.
On Tuesday, Hobbs announced the allocation of more than $16.4 million to Arizona’s three public universities.
Arizona State University will receive more than $8 million; Northern Arizona University will receive more than $2.6 million; and the University of Arizona will receive more than $5.7 million split between its main campus and its health sciences center.
The $16.4 million comes from the $4.2 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds given to the state. The deadline to obligate ARPA funds passed on Dec. 31, 2024, and the deadline to spend those funds is coming up on Dec. 31, 2026.
Legal forms of obligation include formal commitments through contracts, interagency agreements such as a memorandum of understanding, purchase orders for goods or services, or subawards.
Moving ARPA funds into a general fund without establishing an obligation doesn’t qualify, however.
During Hobbs’ first year in office, she clawed back more than $210 million in ARPA funds issued by her predecessor, Gov. Doug Ducey. The Hobbs administration alleged the funds were illegally issued because the recipients weren’t subjected to a competitive bidding process. Sean Behrens, Hobbs’ senior counsel, said at the time that Hobbs was just following the law.
“We didn’t have a choice in the matter,” said Behrens. “In the Hobbs administration, we follow the law.”
Hobbs’ spokesman Christian Slater refused to elaborate on the original obligations behind the $16.4 million in a statement to KNAU. Slater also denied that the millions had any bearing on Hobbs’ reelection campaign.
“I’ll decline to comment on the processes by which we determine ARPA funding,” said Slater. “As the governor has always said, she is committed to doing what’s right for Arizona and putting politics aside.”
Hobbs said the funds were necessary to offset budget cuts from the fiscal year 2027 state budget, which she characterized as the product of “extremist” and “reckless” Republican lawmakers who she claimed were opposed to public education.
The $16.4 million matches the cuts the state budget made to each university.
“I will always fight to ensure state universities have the resources they need to deliver opportunities for Arizonans and ensure our employers have a high-skilled workforce,” said Hobbs. “ I’ll continue standing up to extremist legislators and their attacks on public education that kill jobs and make our state less competitive.”
The governor sang a different tune about the state budget less than four months ago when she signed it into law.
The 2027 fiscal year budget had earned the support of Hobbs and a bipartisan collective in the legislature.
Hobbs announced her approval of the budget back in June with a press release praising it as “her Arizona First budget” with laudable public education investments.
“I’m thrilled to sign the bipartisan Arizona First budget into law,” said Hobbs. “We’re stopping the data center tax credit for three years, investing in border security, education and water security, and delivering a $1.4 billion tax cut for middle class Arizonans. Starting on July 1, Arizonans will have no taxes on tips and overtime, a higher standard deduction, a deduction for seniors, and next year, an expanded child tax credit.”
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 3, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
A progressive advocacy group plans to host election crisis training in Arizona less than a week before Election Day.
Interfaith Alliance planned stops for Phoenix, Flagstaff, and Tucson in its “The Vote Is Sacred Tour,” a series of events across Arizona and 14 other states slated to begin the first week of October.
The Arizona Republican Party’s Latino group brought attention to the organization’s planned activities, alleging that “partisan operatives” were gathering “to rehearse election disruption.”
The Phoenix event is scheduled for Tuesday, October 27; the Tucson event is scheduled for Thursday, October 29; and the Flagstaff event is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3.
The organization says the events are intended to provide voter education on ballot items, voter registration, and funds to local activists, in addition to providing a “trained, peaceful presence at the polls and crisis-ready communities.”
An election crisis scenario planning toolkit provided by the organization, in partnership with Protect Democracy, floated six sample scenarios occurring during early voting and on Election Day concerning ICE operations, President Donald Trump invoking the Insurrection Act or declaring premature victory in races, right-wing claims of foreign interference and unverified ballots, and federal takeover of election operations.
One scenario proposes that in mid-October a posted video of a faith leader being violently arrested sparks nationwide protests, resulting in the Trump administration federalizing the National Guard and filing federal criminal charges against pro-migrant organization leaders partnering in election advocacy work.
Interfaith Alliance reported that it selected the location for each of the trainings based on the “2026 Election Risk Heat Map” by the Voting Rights Lab. Arizona was ranked as 87 out of 100 for election risk, with Maricopa County ranked as 100 out of 100 for election risk and Pima County ranked as 90 out of 100 for election risk.
The risk index reportedly measures counties for “close contests, bad actors, and systemic weaknesses.”
The organization previously held a similar tour during the 2024 election across six states.
Interfaith Alliance scheduled a kick-off of this latest tour with a No Kings-affiliated event on Wednesday.
Several key members of the organization have held prominent roles within Democratic presidential administrations and the party.
Maggie Siddiqi, the senior advisor for the organization, held a directorship within the Biden administration’s Education Department. Siddiqi advised former Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on religious freedom issues and led efforts to address antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Derrick Harkins, board member, was the Democratic National Committee’s director of interfaith outreach, a faith leader for former President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, and faith leader for the Biden administration’s Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Jake Siewert, board member, was the White House press secretary under President Bill Clinton and counselor to the secretary of the treasury under Obama.
Interfaith Alliance began with seed funding from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 1994.
Since then, its foundation has grown to pull in millions every year: around $1 to $3 million annually since 2011. Its schedule of contributors isn’t public, though some contributors have named the nonprofit in their tax filings, including the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation, which gave $1 million in 2024; Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Inc., which gave $300,000 in 2023; the Rockefeller Family Foundation, which gave $170,000 between 2022 and 2024; and the William B. Wiener Jr. Foundation, which gave $80,000 between 2018 and 2019.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
