Arizona’s “Save Women’s Sports Act” no longer faces a court challenge following a Supreme Court ruling.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in West Virginia v. B.P.J. (inclusive of Little v. Hecox) that states have a constitutional right to enact laws restricting single-sex sports participation on biological sex. The court ruling affirmed that biology, not gender identity, defines sex when considering federal regulations on sex-based discrimination.
The Save Women’s Sports Act went into effect in 2022 under SB 1165. The law requires K-12 students to play on sports teams aligning with their biological sex.
The following spring, the families of two boys who identify as transgender girls sued State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne in Doe v. Horne. The boys who filed were, at the time, an 11-year-old middle schooler in Maricopa County identified as “Jane Doe” and a 15-year-old high schooler in Pima County identified as “Megan Roe.”
Roe, now identified as Grey Picciano, dropped out of the case upon graduating high school, and until this week only Doe remained in the case.
The two youths had alleged the law was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act since they had either not undergone puberty or were taking puberty blockers.
The Tucson division of the Arizona District Court blocked the state law in July 2023, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling in 2024.
Horne celebrated the lawsuit’s dismissal in a press release announcement, bringing to close a three-year court battle in which Horne ultimately held the line on Arizona’s law.
“There had been numerous articles about girls who worked hard on their sports, hoping to make the team, or even get a college scholarship or compete for the Olympics. Then they had to compete with a biological boy who was bigger, stronger and faster from birth,” said Horne. “They could not compete. Their dreams were shattered and they were devastated. They no longer need to fear those outcomes.”
Horne also pointed out that, of all those named as defendants in the original lawsuit, only his office remained three years later. Attorney General Kris Mayes reportedly declined to represent Horne in the case. Horne contracted the services of Wilenchik Law Firm to represent him.
An attorney behind the lawsuit to stop Arizona’s law, Rachel Berg, senior staff attorney with the National Center for LGBTQ Rights (NCLR), told Capitol Media Services that it was Doe’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit.
“[O]ur client has decided for personal reasons that she does not want to continue with the litigation,” said Berg.
In a statement last week responding to the Supreme Court ruling, Berg claimed state laws restricting participation in single-sex sports based on biological sex would lead to institutions checking the gender of participants should they appear to be physically above average.
“Blanket bans on transgender girls playing school sports invite anyone to call for a ‘gender check’ on any girl who wants to play sports if they think she is ‘too tall’ or ‘too strong,’” said Berg. “Local schools and sports associations should be handling this issue, not politicians.”
Including the dismissed case, NCLR has filed five cases challenging Arizona laws and policies which allegedly impose unlawful discriminations against individuals who identify as transgender.
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Republican gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ05) says Arizona should embrace an expanded nuclear future, backing additional reactors at Palo Verde Generating Station while positioning the state to become a national leader in small modular reactor technology.
In an exclsuive interview with AZ Free News, Biggs voiced unequivocal support for expanding Arizona’s nuclear generating capacity as electricity demand continues rising from population growth, advanced manufacturing, and data centers.
“I’m 100 percent behind it,” Biggs said when asked about expanding Palo Verde. “I think they need to be located there.”
His comments come as Arizona utilities continue to pursue license renewals that would allow Palo Verde’s three existing reactors to operate into the 2060s. Palo Verde was also originally envisioned with additional generating capacity, including Units 4 and 5, expansion plans first contemplated in the 1970s and revisited in 2006.
Separately, Arizona Public Service (APS), Salt River Project (SRP) and Tucson Electric Power (TEP) announced in February 2025 that they were working together to identify potential sites for an entirely new nuclear power plant to meet growing energy demands.
“New nuclear generation could provide Arizona with reliable, around-the-clock carbon-free energy to power economic growth while helping us make progress toward a clean energy future,” TEP President and CEO Susan Gray said in a news release at the time. “We know the development timeline would be long, so it makes sense for our state’s energy providers to begin this preliminary evaluation as soon as possible.”
Biggs also expressed strong support for small modular reactors, commonly known as SMRs.
“I’ve been supportive of the development of SMRs,” he said.
The Arizona legislature considered House Bill 2795 in February, which aimed to ease regulatory barriers for next-generation nuclear power projects in rural Arizona. However, the measure failed to pass in the State Senate.
While Biggs cautioned the technology is probably “not going to be scalable for five to 10 years,” he said Arizona should move aggressively to secure one of the first demonstration projects.
One location stands above the rest, according to Biggs. He said, “We’re advocating that Luke Air Force Base gets an SMR—one of the first nine or 10 that the administration is insisting needs to be there by the end of 2027.”
Biggs said he has been working alongside fellow Arizona Republican members of Congress, including Reps. Paul Gosar (R-AZ09), Eli Crane (R-AZ02), and Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ08), to encourage the effort.
“We want to be on the cutting edge of that. Because I think SMRs are the wave of the future,” Biggs said.
He also said recent meetings with energy-sector officials reinforced that view.
“I just talked to an energy group last week, and they agree SMRs are the wave of the future. And that’s where we need to be going.”
Biggs also tied nuclear development to Arizona’s broader economic future, saying reliable baseload power will be essential as advanced manufacturing, semiconductor production, artificial intelligence, and data centers continue expanding throughout the state.
Although he said he supports data center investment, Biggs argued such projects should proceed without taxpayer subsidies or preferential treatment.
“No special breaks. No special benefits,” he said.
Instead, Biggs said developers should be responsible for securing their own electrical generation—including SMRs where appropriate—while ensuring existing residential and commercial ratepayers are not displaced by new industrial demand.
His comments come as Arizona utilities and policymakers increasingly examine nuclear energy as part of the state’s long-term strategy to meet growing electricity demand while maintaining grid reliability.
Biggs is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, making energy development one of several major policy areas he says will shape Arizona’s long-term economic competitiveness.
The Joint Economic Committee’s latest analysis of federal trade data shows the U.S. trade deficit widened in May, reaching $77.58 billion — the largest monthly gap since March 2025.
The deficit increased by $23.02 billion from April and stood 28% above its 12-month average as exports declined and imports climbed.
Goods trade accounted for the bulk of the imbalance, with the goods deficit rising to $106.48 billion, up $23.57 billion from April, while the nation’s services surplus increased modestly to $28.90 billion, up $557 million from April.
Total exports fell to $317.68 billion in May, led by a decline in goods shipments of $11.29 billion, whereas imports rose to $395.26 billion as purchases of both goods and services increased by $12.50 billion.
Over the twelve months ending in May 2026, the United States recorded a cumulative trade deficit of $728.02 billion. Goods trade posted a $1.06 trillion deficit, partially offset by a $336.00 billion surplus in services. During that period, exports totaled $3.59 trillion and imports reached $4.32 trillion.
The nations largest goods trade deficits were with Vietnam ($203.85 billion), Mexico ($199.18 billion), and Taiwan ($194.38 billion), while its largest surpluses were with the Netherlands ($75.57 billion), the United Kingdom ($44.48 billion), and Hong Kong ($41.23 billion).
Civilian aircraft and related equipment, non monetary gold, and pharmaceutical preparations led the U.S. exports by value, accounting for 17.54% of all exported goods in the past 12 months. Whole computers, pharmaceuticals preparations, and computer accessories were the top imports accounting for 19.83%.
Mexico and Canada remained the country’s leading trading partners on both the export and import sides, joined by the United Kingdom among export destinations and China among import sources.
Major gateways for trade activity from May 2025 to May 2026 included the port districts of New York City ($273.88 billion), Houston-Galveston ($266.35 billion), and Laredo ($169.20 billion) for exports.
Over the same period Los Angeles ($379.22 billion), Chicago ($331.73 billion), and Laredo ($328.22 billion) were the port districts with the highest imports.
The United States collected $296.97 billion in import duties over the past year with $21.03 billion in May 2026. Passenger cars, vehicle parts, and electric apparatus generated the greatest duty revenue.
China accounted for the largest share of those duties, followed by Vietnam and Mexico accounting for around 46% of all applied duty rates.
Currency movements also shaped trade conditions. Between May 2025 and May 2026, the U.S. dollar weakened against the Chinese yuan by 6%, the euro by 2.1%, and the Mexican peso by 9.8%, while strengthening against the British pound by 0.5% and Japanese yen by 11.5%.
Exports prices rose 11.21% year-over-year, while import prices increased 4.61%, with fuel imports experiencing particularly sharp inflation at 35.89%.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Graham Platner has dropped out of the Maine Senate race.
His exit comes after Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) withdrew his endorsement of Platner following widespread criticism of the candidate.
This is the second candidate in nearly as many months that Gallego has backed off endorsing over sexual assault claims. Back in April, Gallego rescinded his endorsement of his longtime best friend: California gubernatorial candidate and resigned congressman, Eric Swalwell.
Although other allegations against Platner detailing unseemly behavior began to emerge earlier this year, it wasn’t until reporting came out this week detailing a sexual assault allegation that Gallego ended his support.
“The allegations against Graham Platner are troubling and deeply serious,” said Gallego. “I am rescinding my endorsement.”
The allegations against Graham Platner are troubling and deeply serious.
Gallego declined to rescind his endorsement after an initial accusation of assault emerged from 40-year-old conservative pundit Lyndsey Fifield in New York Timesreporting. Fifield and others have speculated that Gallego opted not to act because he was less inclined to believe Fifield’s claims. This new allegation claiming sexual assault came from a 41-year-old Maine resident and massage therapist, Jenny Racicot.
Racicot accused Platner of raping her in 2021 when he was heavily intoxicated. Racicot offered accounts of the alleged assault in exclusive interviews with CNN and Politico. Racicot had initially lent some insight to the media about Platner’s “reckless” and “unsettling” behavior, but decided to come forward with her story after witnessing the doubts raised against Fifield’s testimony.
Platner issued a short video statement calling the allegations “troubling, serious, and false,” and that all accusations of nonconsensual behavior were untrue. Platner also indicated he would take time to “reflect” on the future of his Senate campaign.
Gallego had praised Platner as a unifier across varied voting demographics, defending him against discoveries of Platner having acquired a tattoo of the Nazi military’s skull and crossbones known as a Totenkopf, and aligned himself publicly with Antifa and socialism.
“Platner can bring out new voters, can bring out cross-voters,” said Gallego. “This guy is an authentic man.”
The senator also defended Platner’s online indications of sexual deviancy as typical military behavior. Platner had admitted to a habit of masturbating into portable public toilets and appreciating the explicit graffiti on restroom walls.
Gallego described Platner as “relatable,” though other veterans serving in Congress disagreed.
The Republican Party of Arizona called Gallego “just another fat rat jumping off the various sinking socialists’ ships.”
There is a pattern emerging – first his former "roommate" Swalwell, now his socialist buddy. Ruben is just another fat rat jumping off the various sinking socialists' ships. https://t.co/4IgTNS4WJy
— Republican Party of Arizona (@AZGOP) July 7, 2026
Other Democrats who have held onto their endorsements of Platner have also begun bowing out.
The Democratic nominee for Maine governor, Hannah Pingree, called the allegations “deeply disturbing” and urged Platner to exit the race.
“Democrats need a nominee who can beat Susan Collins in November. Graham Platner is no longer that candidate,” said Pingree. “Graham Platner tapped into something real — voters hungry for change showed up with real passion and energy. That energy doesn’t have to go away. It needs a new candidate to carry it forward.”
My statement on Graham Platner:
These allegations are deeply disturbing. Jenny Racicot is a woman who has shown real courage in sharing her story — what she's describing is serious, credible and cannot be dismissed.
For Maine, for the future of control of the US Senate, and…
The Goldwater Institute has filed a motion in Maricopa County Superior Court seeking to intervene on behalf of two Air Force veterans in a lawsuit challenging a proposed constitutional amendment that would protect certain scholarship funds for children of military families.
The motion was filed on behalf of Nickolas Kupper and Robert Figueroa, whom Goldwater identified as Air Force veterans whose children currently participate in Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program. The proposed intervenors are seeking to defend House Concurrent Resolution 2048, the “Military Families College Savings and Scholarship Protection Act,” which the Legislature recently referred to the November 2026 ballot.
The lawsuit was filed by the Protect Education Accountability Now Committee, Save Our Schools Arizona, and voter Linda May Lyon against the State of Arizona and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. According to Goldwater’s motion to intervene, the plaintiffs are asking the court to block HCR 2048 from appearing on the November ballot.
Arizona's military families don't deserve to have their children's educational opportunities ripped from their hands. That's why we're stepping up to defend them. https://t.co/ayRcX5JbBE
— Goldwater Institute (@GoldwaterInst) July 2, 2026
Goldwater said in a July 2 announcement that Kupper and Figueroa are seeking to defend the measure because their families have used ESA funds for years and have a direct interest in the outcome of the litigation.
“Proposed Intervenors seek to intervene as Defendants to defend the constitutionality of House Concurrent Resolution 2048 (‘HCR 2048’), the ‘Military Families College Savings and Scholarship Protection Act,’ which is a legislative referral passed to protect the educational stability of military families,” the motion states.
HCR 2048 proposes adding a new section to Article XI of the Arizona Constitution. Under the measure, the state could not confiscate funds from the scholarship account of a child of a military family if the account is maintained under a state program that designates such students as eligible and allows the funds to be used for tuition or fees at eligible postsecondary institutions.
The measure defines a “child of a military family” as a student who is the child of a person serving on active duty in the U.S. armed forces, who was serving on active duty when the student’s eligibility was initially determined, or who was killed in the line of duty.
The proposed amendment also contains a nonseverability provision. If a future law or voter-approved measure violates the military-family scholarship protection, the entire conflicting law or measure would be void, and a court could not sever only the offending portion.
The House passed HCR 2048 initially on March 2, the Senate passed it on June 12 by a 16-13-1 vote, and the House passed the final reading on June 13 by a 31-22-7 vote.
Goldwater’s motion argues that Kupper and Figueroa have a right to intervene because the lawsuit directly threatens their ability to secure long-term constitutional protections for their children’s education funding.
“By seeking to keep HCR 2048 off the ballot, Plaintiffs directly threaten to block Proposed Intervenors’ ability to secure long-term constitutional protections for their children’s educational funding,” the motion states.
The filing also argues that the existing government defendants cannot adequately represent the families’ specific interests. Goldwater said Fontes is defending the measure as a neutral election administrator, while Kupper and Figueroa are defending the substantive validity of the proposed amendment because their children rely on ESA funds.
In its July 2 statement, the Goldwater Institute said, “The Arizona Constitution is clear: Arizona voters have the right to amend the state constitution, and the Military Families Protection Act would trump the activists’ efforts to cripple the scholarship opportunities currently afforded to Arizona military families and others.”
The lawsuit comes as ESA opponents are also seeking to place the Protect Education Act on the ballot. Save Our Schools Arizona says the proposal is intended to “reform Arizona’s universal ESA voucher program” and increase transparency and accountability.
The Protect Education Campaign announced last week that it submitted 421,451 signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office.
The Protect Education Act proposal would require unused ESA money to revert to the state and be directed to public schools, and it would bar families making more than $150,000 annually from joining the program. It would also ban ESA spending on non-educational or luxury items and require the Arizona Department of Education to report how much voucher funding each school receives.
HCR 2048 could conflict with the Protect Education Act because the proposed constitutional amendment would block future laws or ballot measures from changing the protected scholarship-account funds for military families.
Goldwater argued in its motion that the litigation is directly tied to that conflict, saying an adverse ruling could remove HCR 2048 from the ballot and leave the families’ ESA accounts vulnerable to “regulatory and financial rollbacks” under the competing Protect Education Act.
“Without HCR 2048, Proposed Intervenors’ educational accounts will remain highly vulnerable to systemic legislative and political volatility, including the exact regulatory and financial rollbacks slated under Plaintiffs’ competing ‘Protect Education Act,’” the motion states.
Kupper and Figueroa are asking the court to allow them to enter the case as defendants, either as a matter of right or by permission. They also said they intend to file a motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ claim rather than expand the litigation with counterclaims.
The case is assigned to Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Joseph Kreamer.
One year after President Donald Trump signed the Working Families Tax Cut Bill into law, U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ05) defended the legislation as a cornerstone of the nation’s economic recovery, arguing it prevented what he described as a massive tax increase while expanding tax relief for families, workers, and small businesses.
In an exclusive interview with AZ Free News earlier this week, Biggs, who is also running for Arizona Governor, said the legislation’s most immediate accomplishment was preserving tax relief that otherwise would have expired.
“I think what you’re seeing is, the biggest success, is you stopped a $4 trillion tax increase,” Biggs said. “That would have been economically really, really bad for the country—maybe the death knell.”
Biggs said extending the 20 percent deduction for qualifying small businesses and preserving immediate business expensing provisions were among the bill’s most significant accomplishments. He also pointed to Treasury Department estimates indicating many families could see larger tax savings.
“According to the Treasury Department, the average family is going to see somewhere north of $2,000,” Biggs said, adding that other estimates range between $1,500 and $2,000. “That provides money to the economy and stimulus to the economy and helps the working men and women of this country.”
The congressman said some provisions are only beginning to show their long-term effects, particularly expanded domestic energy and natural resource development.
“I think people are getting… that a lot more federal land is being opened up for oil, gas, coal, minerals, whatever those natural resources are,” Biggs said. “Years from now, looking back, people will say, ‘Man, that really was one of the most critical things that could have happened for us.'”
Biggs also cited provisions eliminating federal taxes on tips, reducing taxes on overtime income, and providing tax relief for seniors receiving Social Security benefits as measures designed to increase disposable income while stimulating economic activity.
Critics of the legislation, such as Arizona Senate Minority Leader Priya Sundareshan (D-LD18), have argued it disproportionately benefits higher-income Americans and could increase the federal deficit, as reported by The Center Square. Biggs rejected both claims.
“The problem that we have is not a revenue problem in Washington, D.C.,” Biggs said. “It is a spending problem.”
He argued that economic growth generated by lower taxes ultimately produces additional federal revenue.
“What you do get is more economic activity,” Biggs said. “More taxes ultimately get paid and go into the federal government.”
Looking ahead, Biggs said a future Republican Congress should consider additional tax reductions for businesses while encouraging domestic manufacturing and development of critical mineral resources.
“If you want to stimulate jobs,” he said, “you’d find a way to reduce some of the corporate tax policy… and pass those along to sole proprietors and small firms as well.”
Although Biggs described the legislation as comprehensive, he said one area he wished Congress had addressed more aggressively was healthcare policy.
“One thing that we didn’t take care of, in my opinion… is we did nothing really on healthcare costs in the One Big Beautiful Bill,” Biggs said.
He said he had introduced legislation to expand Health Savings Accounts and increase their portability, adding that Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri had proposed similar but broader reforms.
“I would have liked to see us do more on tax policy related directly to healthcare as well,” Biggs said.
Speaking with KTAR’s Mike Broomhead Monday, Biggs also discussed fraud in Medicaid and the Indian Health Services program. In a post to X sharing a clip he wrote, “When we root this waste out, we’ll get taxpayer dollars back in the pockets of Arizonans so families and businesses can thrive.”
There’s still billions of fraud in Arizona, especially in Medicaid and our Indian Health Services program.
When we root this waste out, we’ll get taxpayer dollars back in the pockets of Arizonans so families and businesses can thrive.
Looking ahead to a possible Biggs administration, he said future state tax policy should continue focusing on healthcare affordability and higher education while complementing the broader economic approach established by the federal legislation.
“The affordability of housing” remains Arizona’s largest economic challenge, Biggs said, arguing that utility costs, water policy, and management of state trust lands all play significant roles in addressing long-term affordability.
Biggs, who declined to seek another term in Congress to run for Governor, said Arizona has already incorporated many of the federal tax provisions into state law, though he criticized Gov. Katie Hobbs for initially vetoing related legislation before later signing it.
