by Elizabeth Troutman | Jan 27, 2024 | News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
Human smugglers assaulted a Border Patrol agent with rocks while he was arresting several illegal immigrants near San Luis, Arizona, earlier this week, Border Patrol reported. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., called out the “lawlessness” of the incident.
“This lawlessness must come to an immediate halt,” Biggs said on Twitter.
Chief Patrol Agent Sean McGoffin said human smugglers threw rocks at the Border Patrol Agent hitting him in the head early Tuesday morning, leading to lacerations across the eye. An investigation is underway to bring those responsible to justice, according to Border Patrol.
“Wishing this agent a speedy recovery,” Biggs continued. “Many folks streaming across our border right now are armed and dangerous.”
McGoffin of the Yuma Sector Border Patrol said individuals were making an illegal entry into the area of the assault and the smugglers who were on the Mexican side of the border began throwing rocks.
The agent was taken to the hospital and is now on the road to recovery, according to McGoffin.
“The agent is doing okay,” McGoffin said. “We’re thankful for him being okay, but he did have to go and receive medical treatment. He’s currently not back to work yet, but we anticipate he will be in the near future, we’re just so thankful that he’s safe.”
McGoffin said that though overall assaults have been down over the previous year, every assault is serious and could be fatal.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
by Elizabeth Troutman | Jan 26, 2024 | News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
A bill proposed by state Sen. Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, to require cities and counties to have a 2/3 vote to increase taxes passed out of the Senate Government committee.
Every Republican voted yes, while every state Senate Democrat voted no.
Senate Bill 1056 “Prohibits the common council of a municipality from increasing an assessment, tax or fee without a two-thirds vote of the common council of the municipality and “Prohibits the board of supervisors of a county from increasing an assessment, tax or fee without a two-thirds vote of the board of supervisors of the county.”
“Basically, if you want to increase taxes or fees, you need to have a supermajority, or a two-thirds vote, I should say,” Petersen said in summation of the bill during the state Senate Committee On Government meeting.
Taxes are often the biggest expense people face in their lifetime, Petersen said.
“Right now, our citizens are reeling from inflation, which has been caused by a large part by Washington, D.C. and our printing of money and overspending,” Petersen said. “The last thing we need to do right now is increase taxes and fees on our citizens.”
Governments need to find more efficient solutions, according to Petersen.
“I saw one study,” Petersen said, “It shows over your lifetime. You spend over one out of every three dollars of your money on taxes, whether you’ve got income tax when you receive money. When you spend money, sales tax, you’ve got property tax. You have utility taxes. I could go on and on and on.”
Government is very well represented while the taxpayer is limited, Petersen continued.
“I think this levels the playing field a little more between the taxpayer and the government,” Petersen said.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jan 26, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Most illegal immigrants crossing the border are released into the United States.
In a recent meeting with federal officials that was broadcasted by Fox News journalist Bill Melugin, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reportedly “admitted that the current release rate for migrants caught crossing the border illegally is ‘above 85%.’”
Melugin added context in a later post, divulging his conversation with a DHS official on background, which did not amount to a denial of Mayorkas’ admission to Border Patrol agents. The Fox News reporter was able to share an official statement from the department, that read, “After the ending of Title 42 in May, through the end of the fiscal year, DHS removed or returned more noncitizens without a basis to remain in the United States than in any other five-month period in the last ten years. In fact, the majority of all Southwest Border migrant encounters throughout this Administration have been removed, returned, or expelled – the majority of them. We are doing everything we can, within a broken system, to incentivize noncitizens to use lawful pathways, to impose consequences on those who do not, and to reduce irregular migration.”
The crisis at America’s southern border has deteriorated out of control in the past year, after steadily expanding in the first two years of the Biden administration. In Fiscal Year 2021, which Biden inherited, there were 1,734,686 encounters at the Southwest Border. In FY 2022, there were 2,378,944 apprehensions, and then 2,475,669 in the just-completed fiscal year (2023) – a record number. Already in FY 2024, there have been 483,404 arrests of illegal immigrants – with December’s reported number of over ‘300,000’ encounters still outstanding from CBP’s official chart.
While these apprehension numbers are concerning, the figures do not represent the worst of the situation at the border. Almost two million ‘gotaways’ have been estimated to have entered the country since Biden took office in January 2021. Also, the amount of fentanyl seized at the border has increased over the years, leading to educated speculation that much more of this deadly drug is finding its way around law enforcement and into communities from coast to coast.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jan 26, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A major vehicle rental company is offloading thousands of electric cars in its fleet.
In a January 11, 2024, filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. wrote that it had “made the strategic decision to sell approximately 20,000 electric vehicles (EV) from its U.S. fleet, or about one-third of the global EV fleet.” Hertz plans on “reinvest[ing] a portion of the proceeds from the sale of EVs into the purchase of internal combustion engine vehicles to meet customer demand.”
Hertz added that the sale of these vehicles would “position the Company to eliminate a disproportionate number of lower margin rentals and reduce damage expense associated with EVs.” When addressing the financial results for the fourth quarter of 2023, Hertz asserted that “expenses related to collision and damage, primarily associated with EVs, remained high in the quarter, thereby supporting the Company’s decision to initiate the material reduction in the EV fleet.”
The Vice-Chairman of the Arizona Senate Committee on Transportation, Technology and Missing Children, Senator Frank Carroll, addressed this announcement from Hertz, telling AZ Free News, “When one of the largest worldwide vehicle rental companies decides to sell off a third of its electric vehicles, we should pay attention. This move sheds light on the lack of demand and increased costs associated with EVs, which is why we need to continue to stand up against liberal extremism attempts to force every American to transition to electric cars. Hertz hopped on the EV experiment and paid the price.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Corinne Murdock | Jan 25, 2024 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
The chairman of the Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP), Jeff DeWit, resigned on Wednesday after a leaked recording revealed his attempt to bribe Senate candidate Kari Lake to postpone her 2024 campaign.
In the leaked audio originally given to The Daily Mail exclusively, DeWit said that the unnamed, “very powerful people […] back East” wanted Lake to sit out of the 2024 race. Lake posited that those people were corrupt; DeWit conceded to that observation.
“Is there a number at which… not be bought. You can take a pause for a couple of years, and then go right back to it,” said DeWit.
Lake said that she was offended that people were “trying to buy [her] out,” to which DeWit replied that she should be “honored.” DeWit asked Lake not to release their conversation because it would hinder the ability of the AZGOP to “get things done” in the future.
“This is not about money, this is about our country,” said Lake. “These people are un-American, and I think they’re unethical, and I would be absolutely immoral if I did that.”
DeWit said that even he was hoping for a different candidate, seeing as he couldn’t think of any other candidates that won a race immediately after losing.
“I want a fresh face right now for the reason that I’ve never seen anyone, I can’t think of a person in a federal race who’ve lost, ran again, and then won,” said DeWit. “I can give you an incredible opportunity to have a bigger voice to fight for stuff than you currently do.”
In his parting remarks to Lake, DeWit insisted again that she should be honored by the buyout, because the unnamed power players “back East” weren’t instead focusing on beating her.
DeWit announced his resignation in a press release. The former chairman characterized the audio as “selectively edited,” “deceptive,” and an “ethical breach” that raised “serious legal and moral concerns,” revealing that the recorded conversation took place in Lake’s living room while she was in DeWit’s employment.
“This act of recording was not just a betrayal of trust but also a violation of the fiduciary responsibilities of an employee,” said DeWit. “Contrary to accusations of bribery, my discussions were transparent and intended to offer perspective, not coercion.”
DeWit expressed the belief that Lake set him up in order to gain total control over the AZGOP.
“The release of our conversation by Lake confirms a disturbing tendency to exploit private interactions for personal gain and increases concern about her habit of secretly recording personal and private conversations,” said DeWit. “This is obviously a concern given how much interaction she has with high profile people including President Trump.”
According to DeWit, he was intent on fighting for his position — which he emphasized was unpaid and required many volunteer hours on his part — but decided to step down after Lake allegedly blackmailed him with “a new, more damaging recording.” DeWit noted that he wasn’t sure what this recording might contain, explaining that he and Lake shared numerous open conversations in the past.
“I am resigning as Lake requested, in the hope that she will honor her commitment to cease her attacks, allowing me to return to the business sector — a field I find much more logical and prefer over politics,” said DeWit.
DeWit emphasized that the controversy over the recording was “a distraction” to the mission of electing Republicans.
DeWit’s resignation came just days before the AZGOP planned to play host to former President Donald Trump at its Freedom Fest.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Jan 25, 2024 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
A glitch in the state’s voter registration system resulted in dozens of voters, potentially more, to have their party preference switched to independent.
In an email last week to county recorders, first reported by the Arizona Daily Independent, the secretary of state’s office said that at least 65 voters’ registrations were switched to independent because they wrote “party” after “Republican” or “Democratic.”
“We are currently investigating an issue where EZ Voter transactions party preferences as of 1/17/2024 are now containing the word ‘Party’ at the end of the party preference value,” said the office. “As a result, the current AVID system may set an EZ Voter party preference to ‘Other’ by default instead of one of the designated party preferences. This is currently impacting all recognized party preference values.”
AVID — the Access Voter Information Database system — somehow began interpreting certain Republican and Democratic voter registrations as “other,” meaning “independent.” Of note, the secretary of state’s office used only Republicans as an example of affected voters in their email.
“[W]hen processing an EZ Voter registration the party may be marked as ‘Other’ and ‘Republican Party’ is written in. This example record would need to have the party preference marked as ‘Republican,’” said the office.
The secretary of state’s office explained in a follow-up email that they would provide county officials with lists of the affected voter registration records.
Some voters reported on social media that they ran into issues with verifying their voter registration in the days following the email alerting counties to the AVID issue.
The deadline for voter registration is in less than 30 days, and only those registered with a party may vote in the primary election. Independents have until Feb. 20 to update their party preference.
Although the secretary of state’s office notified county recorders of the glitch, they didn’t notify the public. On the day they emailed the county recorders, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ account made no mention of the glitch. Instead, Fontes highlighted a local advocacy group, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry of Arizona, for hosting him.
Fontes also made no mention of the glitch in a Tuesday interview with Arizona Horizon. Rather, Fontes took the time to focus on addressing election misinformation, rehashing the recent No Labels Party court ruling, and advocating for treating election threats as domestic terrorism.
However, Fontes did briefly mention the lack of competence in current election workers.
“We’re having a tough time ensuring everyone is sufficiently trained and equipped to get the elections done that need to be done for our voters,” said Fontes.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
