Last Friday’s CrowdStrike outage, which made headlines for disrupting operations at valley polling places, severely disrupted life for people all over the state because of Arizona’s heavy use of mobile banking, according to a study from Vention released Tuesday.
According to a release obtained by AZ Free News, the study by software development company Vention was based on Google Keyword Planner analysis of the U.S. Google search volume related to mobile banking on the basis that it can identify the states that utilize it most and were therefore the most impacted.
🚨 Recent #CrowdStrike outage shows that even automated security systems need a human touch. For startups & SMBs without dedicated security staff, Vention is here to bridge the gap. Let us help you stay secure and focused on growth: https://t.co/7J25dbcgkxhttps://t.co/tAtwqw1rYa
Arizona ranks fifth in the nation based on Vention’s findings following Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut and Florida.
Credit: https://ventionteams.com Sources: Search volume data was gathered from Google Keyword Planner | Mobile banking usage survey results are from marketwatch.com | Penetration rate of online banking in the US is from statista.com
In Arizona, the utility of mobile banking is intuitive given the nature of Arizona’s development with tens of thousands of residents living in far-flung communities further from civic and business centers. But in other areas where mobile banking is prevalent, insufficient physical banking locations to handle customer density is a reasonable cause.
Vention reports, “In recent years, mobile banking has rapidly gained popularity, driven by the convenience and accessibility it offers. A recent survey conducted by MarketWatch found that nearly 75% of people prefer mobile and online banking over in-person banking.”
Marc Karasu, CMO at Vention, commented on the findings saying, “It’s fascinating to see which states are adopting the latest trends in banking technology more quickly and which are lagging.”
“What’s more, mobile banking popularity is set to keep rising, with research predicting that over 79% of the population will be using online banking by 2029.”
“Studies such as these are invaluable for the banking industry to identify where they need to focus their marketing efforts. Additionally, it highlights the states that could benefit from increased financial technology education and support.”
A report from the Arizona Republic Friday stated that the outage brought down point-of-sale systems at Circle K locations, caused delays and flight cancellations at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, and disrupted police dispatch and communications systems all over the state.
Founder and president of Data Doctors Computer Services, Ken Colburn, told AZCentral that the situation could cause CrowdStrike and other cybersecurity firms to perform a “deep self-examination,” adding, “The silver lining of this is maybe we as an industry become better at this type of thing.”
Discussing the convenience of technology and interconnectivity as well as the risks he told the outlet, “You can’t really have it both ways.” He continued, “Every day, we as individuals make risk decisions. It is the nature of individuals. It’s the nature of business. It’s the nature of life. What we have to do is make sure that the risks that we’re taking do not exceed the value of what we’re getting out of our interconnected world.”
According to CNN, the outage, described as the largest IT outage in history, is expected to cost Fortune 500 companies in excess of $5 Billion in direct losses with healthcare and banking systems hit the hardest, suffering estimated losses of $1.94 billion and $1.15 billion respectively.
The Arizona Republic has joined the ranks of other mainstream media outlets in reporting that Vice President Kamala Harris (now presidential candidate) was never tasked with handling the border crisis.
In a report published on Tuesday, the Arizona Republic denied that Harris ever held a “border czar” title, or that President Joe Biden ever tasked her with handling illegal immigration at the border.
“Her role included working with Central American countries to address the root causes of immigration, but she was never given a ‘border czar’ label or tasked with handling migrant surges at the border,” stated the outlet.
In March 2021, Biden appointed Harris to stem illegal migration at the southern border, specifically, during a meeting on immigration announcing the appointment of Secretary Xavier Becerra. While Biden didn’t dub her his “border czar,” he did label her as “the most qualified person” and grant her, essentially, executive decision-making on the matter.
“I’ve asked her … to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and the countries [are] going to need help in stemming the movement of so many folks, stemming the migration to our southern border,” said Biden.
Biden even cited his similar appointment to oversee the border while he was vice president under former President Barack Obama. The president called the spike in illegal immigrants a “consequential” uptick.
“[T]he Vice President has agreed … to lead our diplomatic effort and work with those nations to accept the returnees, and enhance migration enforcement at their borders,” said Biden.
In fact, Biden seemingly extended full authority to Harris to act of her own accord on handling the border without his permission.
“So it’s not her full responsibility and job, but she’s leading the effort because I think the best thing to do is to put someone who, when he or she speaks, they don’t have to wonder about is that where the President is,” said Biden. “When she speaks, she speaks for me. Doesn’t have to check with me. She knows what she’s doing, and I hope we can move this along.”
If any work was done by the vice president to mitigate the border crisis, it didn’t have an impact on reducing the number of illegal immigrant entries. Monthly sightings and encounters only increased from that point onward, and have not returned to levels seen before Biden took office.
Harris promised during that televised meeting back in March 2021 to “address the root causes” behind illegal immigration into the U.S. Specifically, Harris promised to increase diplomacy efforts with foreign governments, the private sector, civil society leaders, and leaders of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Harris also promised to work with Congress on solving illegal immigration.
“And needless to say, the work will not be easy, but it is important work,” said Harris. “It is work that we demand — and the people of our countries, I believe, need — to help stem the tide that we have seen.”
Harris flew to Guatemala several months after that meeting, in June, and told would-be illegal immigrants in a viral remark: “Do not come. Do not come.”
It seems few heeded the vice president’s warning.
There have been nearly 8 million encounters at the southwest border since Biden took office, not counting gotaways. It’s likely that the total will reach 10 million by the time of the next inauguration.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Congressmen Eli Crane (R-AZ) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ) have introduced a House Resolution demanding that the United States Secret Service surrender all documents, records, and communications regarding the July 13th Trump Rally in Butler, PA to Congress. The move came shortly after Crane’s visit to the venue, where the attempted assassination of President Trump occurred, with the House Homeland Security Committee led by Chairman Mark Green (R-TN).
As reported by AZ Free News, Rep. Crane shared his professional assessment of the attempted assassin’s sniper position in a potent testimony given his service as a Navy SEAL Sniper. According to a press release from Crane’s Congressional Office, the resolution, if adopted, will require Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to surrender all of the applicable records and documents within 7 days of the resolution’s passage.
“Yesterday, I visited the site of the attempted assassination against President Trump, including the roof where the shooter was positioned. As a former Navy SEAL sniper, it was clear to me that many security measures were completely dropped making President Trump extremely vulnerable,” Rep. Crane said in a statement.
“There’s no excuse for this grave failure. Accountability must be inescapable for those responsible. With today’s resignation of Secret Service Director Cheatle, we must continue to push aggressively for continued accountability.”
“After yesterday’s hearing with Secret Service Director Cheatle, during which the House Oversight Committee received no substantive answers, it is crucial for Congress to step in and conduct oversight over Secret Service’s failures on July 13th. House Leadership must quickly bring Rep. Crane’s legislation to the Floor to force Mayorkas’s DHS to comply with our ongoing investigation.”
In a joint-statement Reps. Crane and Biggs said, “The security failures that allowed an assassination attempt on Donald Trump’s life are shocking.” They added, “In response to bipartisan demands for answers, we are announcing a House Task Force made up of seven Republicans and six Democrats to thoroughly investigate the matter. The task force will be empowered with subpoena authority and will move quickly to find the facts, ensure accountability, and make certain such failures never happen again.”
By the time the resolution was introduced, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle had already resigned from her role following hours of bipartisan questioning and condemnation from the House Oversight Committee. Monday’s proceedings saw members of both parties such as Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Republican Rep. Nancy Mace (R-TN) demand Cheatle step down with Khanna referencing the resignation of Director H. Stuart Knight eight months after the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.
“I just don’t think this is partisan,” Khanna said. “If you have an assassination attempt on a president, a former president, or a candidate, you need to resign.”
Mace asked Cheatle if the beleaguered Director would like to use her last five minutes of questions to draft a resignation letter, to which Cheatle replied, “No, thank you.”
Cheatle's resignation does not conclude our investigation.
A federal investigation into the death of a Phoenix Marine Corps veteran published on Wednesday revealed that a Veterans Administration (VA) facility was to blame, due to insufficient and lacking health care practices and policies.
The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that the deceased Marine veteran experienced a delay in basic life support and numerous deficiencies with regard to initiating emergency medical care at Carl T. Hayden Medical Center in Phoenix: conflicting facility policies inconsistent with Veterans Health Administration requirements, lack of layperson CPR training, lack of an automatic external defibrillator, lack of wearable cardioverter defibrillator as ordered, and failure to assess vital signs at an appointment preceding the medical emergency.
The OIG report determined that the facility leaders’ lack of response to treating the veteran was out of alignment with the VA’s high reliability organization (HRO) principals and I CARE values. It further found that the patient safety manager failed to investigate the related patient safety report, therefore resulting in an inaccurate harm assessment. And, the OIG found that both the patient safety manager and facility director failed to ensure a timely review of the report and investigation.
Congressman Ruben Gallego, also a Marine Corps combat veteran, issued a statement in response to the report. Gallego said the VA center investigation revealed the treatment to not only be insufficient, but “disturbing [and] dangerous.”
“The fact that something as simple as vital signs were not taken at the beginning of the appointment is particularly shocking,” said Gallego.
The 55-page report indicated that the veteran’s death may have been preventable, had better policies and procedures been exercised. Upon the veteran collapsing following an outpatient appointment, the facility operator rebuffed a rapid response attempt by a hospitality employee and advised to call VA police instead. The employee then called 911. As a result, the veteran waited 11 minutes prior to paramedics arriving, administering basic life support, and transporting him to a community hospital where the veteran died two days later.
The Phoenix facility’s policy restricted rapid response teams to events inside buildings and relegated all other emergencies to 911 and VA police, regardless of the proximity of the emergency to the building. The hospitality employee who attempted to save the veteran’s life called for a rapid response team due to the emergency’s proximity to the building, in the knowledge that they would arrive faster than the other responders. The OIG in its report expressed concern that the facility had elevated policy above all else, including lifesaving measures.
“The OIG is concerned that facility policy regarding responses to medical emergencies does not align with Veterans Health Administration (VHA) policy to ‘optimize patient safety for those requiring resuscitation’ and ensure ‘emergency response capability to manage cardiac arrests on VHA property,’” read the report.
Even prior to the emergency event, the OIG found that the veteran suffered from apparent deficiencies in medical care, such as the absence of the needed wearable cardioverter defibrillator as ordered by the veteran’s cardiologist, and no health care personnel took complete vital signs as required during the veteran’s outpatient exam.
The OIG issued 10 recommendations to the facility, which involved aligning policies with VA policies and procedures so they no longer conflict.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Reporting from The Post Millennial’s Senior Editor Andy Ngô revealed this month that on July 4th, a “pro-Palestinian” protester shot and killed Paul Franco, 51, after a fight broke out between him, his girlfriend Stephanie Renteria, and protesters in Phoenix, AZ.
According to Ngô, Renteria said Franco was killed defending her. “I just remember a black shadow just walking up to Paul and then shooting him,” she said.
Phoenix police reportedly served a search warrant on the home of a person of interest in the murder, widely reported as woman. However, Ngô reported Wednesday, “the person being investigated for allegedly shooting dead the 51-year-old Latino father is Muslim trans Antifa member Sumayyah Dawud, a man previously known as Britney Erica Austin and originally, Eric Austin.”
Ngo exclusive: On July 4, a group of pro-Palestine protesters got into a fight with Paul Franco and his girlfriend in Phoenix, Ariz.
His girlfriend says her boyfriend was shot dead while trying to protect her. "I just remember a black shadow just walking up to Paul and then… pic.twitter.com/3bRXtKVo3M
Ngô added that Muslim groups who had previously defended Austin cut him off after discovering his identity as a ‘transgender’ man.
In a report posted to X, Ngô went on to reveal that Austin has historically been involved with BLM-Antifa extremism dating back to the widespread 2020 riots adding that he is a “a fundamentalist Muslim sympathetic to radical Islam,” and has sued the Phoenix Police Department in the past for removing his Muslim facial covering during an arrest. Austin has reportedly claimed he was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed Franco. Shared video footage from 12News and footage from a June 15th action that found Austin, now known as Sumayyah Dawud taking part of a mob action against a Scottsdale restaurant.
A source sent me video of violent trans Antifa member Sumayyah Dawud, a man previously known as Britney Erica Austin and originally, Eric Austin, being part of a pro-Palestine mob that harassed a restaurant in Scottsdale, Ariz. for having Israeli products.
Resist the Mainstream posted that “Sumayyah Dawud, a man previously known as Britney Erica Austin and originally, Eric Austin, has a long history of far-left extremism and is sympathetic to radical Islam, according to Ngo,” and posted social media comments of “Dawud” extolling the virtues of armed extremism saying, “radical folx (sic) who get in the streets & engage in high risk direct actions and /or do direct confrontation against fascists/white supremacists need to be armed.”
.@MrAndyNgo reports: Phoenix PD is investigating a Muslim trans-identifying Antifa member who allegedly shot a 51-year-old father dead.
Sumayyah Dawud, a man previously known as Britney Erica Austin and originally, Eric Austin, has a long history of far-left extremism and is… pic.twitter.com/7w1sA7b34Q
— Resist the Mainstream (@ResisttheMS) July 18, 2024
Per AZFamily, Franco and Renteria were walking home from the Fabulous Phoenix Fourth event at Steele Indian School Park and Renteria became embroiled in an argument with the protesters near Camelback Road and Central Avenue. The verbal dispute then devolved into a physical altercation. Within minutes, Paul Franco was shot several times in front of the apartment complex where he lived. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
AZFamily, citing Phoenix PD, reported “a woman they believed was involved in the shooting was taken in for questioning, then released without any charges being filed, claiming self-defense.”
As reported by ABC15, cell phone video obtained by the outlet shows Franco and Renteria shouting at the pro-Palestine protesters near Steele Indian School Park that evening. Both Franco’s family and Austin claim they were acting in self-defense. Another man, one of the protestors was reportedly stabbed.
In an interview with 12News, Renteria explained that after Phoenix Police broke up the initial argument with the protesters, she and Franco returned to their apartment. The protesters followed them. She told the reporters, “We threw eggs, and they threw rocks at us. And after they threw rocks, some of them jumped the wall.” She said that several of them followed a car into the complex’s private property and that she was confronted and punched by an unidentified woman.
“I just remember a lady coming up to me, and she said, ‘You threw a f’ing egg at me,’ and then she hit me.”
According to Phoenix PD, Austin stated that he fired on Franco in self-defense. Renteria however adamantly told 12News that Franco did not fire first and was shot and killed defending her.
“It was them. It was them that fired first. I just remember a black shadow just walking up to Paul and then shooting him,” she said.
Renteria told 12News “People could just come into your property and claim self-defense. It’s scary.” She added, “I want the people that assaulted us to be charged. I want some type of justice.”
In a post to X, Ngô wrote, “The family of the Phoenix man shot dead by a trans Antifa member following a Palestine direct action believe the @PhoenixPolice are afraid of charging him.”
A border security champion is seeking to return to the Arizona Legislature for her second term in office.
State Senator Justine Wadsack, a Republican, is running for reelection in Arizona Legislative District 17, which covers Pima County, north of Tucson, including Marana and Catalina. She has resided in Pima County for more than four decades, living in several of its cities throughout this time.
Wadsack is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, and a member of the Government, Health and Human Services, Judiciary, and Senate Ethics Committees. Previously, she served as a member of the Director Nominations and Elections Committees.
On her campaign website, Wadsack lists “border security” as her number-one issue. She writes that, “Pima County is on the front lines of America’s immigration crisis. The Democratic Party is allowing our people to become dispossessed from our own nation as it allows hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens to violate our sovereignty every month. Arizona’s border is the largest crime scene in the United States, and so many of our domestic problems are symptoms of this core crisis. Until this invasion is stopped and the rule of law upheld, the border must be every Americans’ first priority.”
To that end, Wadsack sponsored SB 1608, which “classifies the unlawful use of an electronic device to smuggle human beings as a class 2 felony and prohibits a person from being released from confinement, if convicted” – according to the purpose provided by the Arizona State Senate. The bill passed with a 16-13 vote (with one member not voting). All Republicans voted in favor of the proposal.
In a statement after the vote, Wadsack said, “Human smuggling is at an all-time high. Cartels are recruiting people, often our children, to participate in smuggling operations using various apps such as Snapchat and WhatsApp. The use of social media platforms to carry out these crimes has grown exponentially and contributes to the humanitarian crisis caused by Biden’s open border policies. Our children, our law enforcement, and our communities are being targeted, and it won’t be tolerated.”
Last year, Senator Wadsack had introduced the same bill, which passed out of both chambers. Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, vetoed the legislation, writing that it “is yet another attempt by the majority to criminalize organizations and individuals who aim to support immigrants and refugees.”
Over the years, law enforcement officials, including Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels and former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, have warned of the dangers on these social media platforms posed to American teenagers, who are highly sought-after targets by cartels and smugglers for illegal couriering activities. In a 2022 op-ed for Fox News, the two officials wrote that “drug cartels are now using SnapChat, Instagram, and other social media apps to recruit American teenagers from around the country to transport migrants and drugs from the border,” and that “high-speed pursuits between these teenagers and local law enforcement have become daily events.”
The two officials concluded their piece by sounding the alarm about the reality on the ground, saying, “As law enforcement officials in our state, we can say with full confidence that we have never seen anything like this crisis at the border and how it is affecting everyday Americans in their communities. While many media outlets have declined to show the American public the disturbing images of increasing high-speed pursuits and other border-related devastation here at home, the death and danger they present are very real; lives are at stake.”
Senator Wadsack, the first-term legislator, also voted for HCR 2060, the Arizona Secure the Border Act, in May. Thanks to its successful passage out of the state House and Senate, this measure will be on the November General Election ballot, giving voters an opportunity to take some border security options into their own hands and to empower law enforcement with more resources to protect Arizona communities.
In August 2023, the Arizona Republican Party named Wadsack as its “Freshman Senator of the Year.” The release from the political organization noted that Wadsack “has persistently fought for common sense laws that benefit all Arizonans, not just those in her district,” and that “Her achievements reflect her ability to work effectively across party lines, embodying the true spirit of bipartisan collaboration.”
The Arizona Coalition of School Board Members also selected Wadsack to be its “Elected Official of the Year” this past February. The group wrote that “While only one of her bills successfully made it through the legislature (later to be vetoed by the Governor), the effort cannot be denied as Senator Wadsack demonstrated a passion for parental rights in the education space. Her bills reflect the AZ Coalition of School Board Member values of academic excellence and transparency.”
Arizona Legislative District 17 leans Republican, with an 8.3% vote spread between Republicans and Demcorats in the past nine statewide elections, according to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. In those statewide contests, Republicans have won all nine of the elections.
Wadsack is running against former legislator Vince Leach for the Republican nomination in the upcoming July 30 primary election. She defeated Leach in a three-way primary two years ago. The winner of this primary race will face off against John McLean, who is running unopposed for the Democrat nomination. McLean is a third-generation Arizonan, who has lived in Pima County for more than three decades.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
