by Corinne Murdock | Mar 19, 2024 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Arizona Democratic congressional candidate Kirsten Engel implied that Trump’s recent use of the common “bloodbath” metaphor was a call to violence.
The congressional candidate didn’t come to the conclusion on her own. Engel played off viral claims made in the media by the Biden-Harris campaign and top Democrats. She used the media storm on the former president as an opportunity to condemn her opponent, incumbent Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06), for not rebuking Trump’s rhetoric. Ciscomani endorsed Trump earlier this month.
“Just one week after my opponent endorsed him, President Trump warns of a ‘bloodbath’ if he’s not elected in Nov,” said Engel. “Predictably my opponent remains silent. Time and again he’s demonstrated an unwillingness to stand up to extremism. #AZ06 deserves better.”
Democrats and legacy media claimed that Trump mentioned a “bloodbath” in a political rally Saturday night as a promise of violence should he lose the election, many comparing the rhetoric to the 2021 Capitol breach. However, the former president was warning that his loss in the upcoming presidential race would result in a “bloodbath” for the country’s auto industry, as well as the entire economy.
“Those big monster car manufacturing plants that you’re building in Mexico right now, and you think you’re gonna get that, you’re gonna not hire Americans and you’re gonna sell the cars to us. No, we’re going to put a 100 percent tariff on every single car that comes across the line. And you’re not gonna be able to sell those cars; if I get elected. Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the whole – that’s gonna be the least of it, it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the country. That’ll be the least of it. But they’re not going to sell those cars; they’re building massive factories.”
The “bloodbath” metaphor is a popular one employed often by politicians, and even the same outlets that have now criticized Trump for its usage.
The Biden-Harris campaign also accused Trump of eliciting violence. James Singer, the campaign’s spokesman, passed on a statement to numerous outlets from a press release claiming that Trump was trying to start another January 6 incident.
“This is who Donald Trump is: a loser who gets beat by over 7 million votes and then instead of appealing to a wider mainstream audience doubles down on his threats of political violence,” said Singer. “He wants another January 6, but the American people are going to give him another electoral defeat this November because they continue to reject his extremism, his affection for violence, and his thirst for revenge.”
Biden’s team also issued a response directly from him with a similar accusation.
“It’s clear this guy wants another January 6,” stated Biden.
The campaign’s communications director, Michael Tyler, also put out the accusation in an interview with former White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Elizabeth Troutman | Mar 17, 2024 | Economy, News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
Two House Republicans and one Democrat from Arizona wrote to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel asking the agency to reconsider its decision to subject the Arizona Families Tax Rebate Program to federal income taxation.
Representatives David Schweikert, R-Ariz., Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., and Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., sent the letter Wednesday.
“We urge the IRS to reconsider its determination and provide expedited relief to compliant Arizonan taxpayers who have already filed their 2023 tax returns,” the three wrote.
More than 700,000 Arizona taxpayers were eligible to receive a one-time tax rebate as the state continues to recover from historic inflation levels that placed severe financial strain on families across the state, according to the representatives’ news release.
“The country is poorer now than it was three years ago, and Arizonans are no different, facing the brunt of financial pressure with supermarket prices now nearly 25% higher than in January 2020, for example,” the letter says. “State officials acted in good faith with the reasonably available information to provide more than 700,000 households with much-needed relief from price increases on everyday goods and services.”
Tax rebates enacted by 21 states were determined to be tax exempt in guidance issued by the IRS in February 2023, Schweikert, Ciscomani, and Stanton wrote. Though Arizona’s tax rebate wasn’t signed into law for another three months, the IRS extended its decision to make the rebate taxable past the period when the state issued payments, according to the letter.
“In December 2023, the IRS relayed its decision orally through a video meeting, providing no written explanation until February 15, 2024, eighteen days after the start of tax season, and only in response to a letter from the Arizona Attorney General challenging the decision,” the letter says.
Arizona taxpayers are estimated to owe $20.8 million in extra federal taxes due to the IRS’ inconsistent rationale in failing to specify the factual and legal basis for the 21 states’ rebates and payments that were deemed nontaxable in 2022, according to the representatives.
“The inconsistency and delay in communication have resulted in undue financial strain on Arizonans,” the letter says.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
by Elizabeth Troutman | Mar 9, 2024 | News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
Dr. Eugene Livar will serve as Arizona’s first Chief Heat Officer, the state Department of Health announced Wednesday. The position is part of Gov. Katie Hobbs’ Extreme Heat Preparedness Plan.
“I’m excited to take on this role and this important work to make sure Arizona is prepared as possible for this upcoming heat season and beyond,” Livar said.
Hobbs, a Democrat, has named addressing extreme heat in Arizona as one of her most important initiatives. The preparedness plan will involve several state agencies along with the Governor’s Office of Resiliency.
Arizona Republicans have criticized Hobbs for wasting government funding on paying unnecessary employees.
“If Hobbs really cared about making AZ “resilient,” she would start by helping Arizonans keep more $$ in their wallets,” the American Free Enterprise Club said on Twitter. “Instead, she’s flexing her power as governor to create a multi-million-dollar program so her political friends can do phony baloney jobs.”
Livar will oversee the implementation of the plan and work to coordinate partnerships between the state, county health departments, local municipalities, communities, the private sector, and community-based organizations, according to a news release.
“ADHS is proud to play a role in meeting this moment and working to fix a complex problem facing Arizonans and we will handle this responsibility with the care it deserves and in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Resiliency Director Maren Mahoney,” said Jennie Cunico, ADHS Cabinet Executive Officer.
The health department under Hobbs also hired a heat relief coordinator to serve as the statewide point-of-contact for county coordinators and develop training for community navigators focused on improving access to human service providers.
Livar has been part of the ADHS team since 2012. He previously served as the assistant director for public health preparedness and steered the development of the ADHS heat preparedness recommendations, which contributed to the state’s heat plan.
Former legislator and current candidate for Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Michelle Ugenti-Rita said the chief heat officer position sounds like a joke.
“This is an all time level of absurdity – a “chief heat officer,” she said. “It has to be a joke…we live in the DESERT.”
Merissa Hamilton, Republican politician and executive director of Save Arizona, said Hobbs’ agenda must be rejected.
“Democrats manufacture crises for their degrowth death cult,” she tweeted. “We must firmly reject this agenda!”
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Mar 5, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanksi |
The Tucson Border Sector continues to be one of the nation’s most active crossing zones as the weather shifts to a more favorable climate for migrants journeying to the United States.
On March 1, John R. Modlin, the Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, posted that there had been 11,800 apprehensions of illegal aliens in his region over the past week. He also noted that there were 195 federal criminal cases, 28 human smuggling cases, and 4 significant arrests during that time period.
This follows a similar report from Chief Modlin at the end of February, when he shared that there were 12,200 apprehensions over a week’s time.
Chief Modlin also revealed that Border Patrol agents had “detected, tracked, and apprehended 16 migrants dressed in camouflage in a remote area near Douglas, AZ.” This was a reminder to onlookers that, while many of the reported apprehensions are illegal aliens who essentially wait for Border Patrol to process them, there are many others who are attempting to make their way around law enforcement and into the heart of the country.
On Saturday, Fox News reporter Bill Melugin wrote that “numbers [are] slowly ticking back up at the southern border moving into March.” He added information from his sources at CBP that “there were just over 7,000 migrant encounters [Friday] led by Tucson sector with 1,800+ apprehensions.”
Although Chief Modlin provides regular updates on generic numbers at the border, including criminals and other dangerous individuals who are caught by law enforcement, much is still unknown to officials about the identities of many of the people who are apprehended. NewsNation National Correspondent Ali Bradley recently posted that the United States government does not “have access to most criminal databases – nearly 170 nationalities have been encountered at the border but if the host nation doesn’t alert the U.S. the reality is, we likely won’t know if they have any history.”
Bradley added a reminder from former Yuma Border Patrol Chief Chris Clem, who recently said, “If the fingerprints come back with no record matches, if the pictures come back with no record matches, then we’re having to do this based on what they tell us…Border Patrol agents are in the people business. So, we can kind of oftentimes smell a rat. But it’s one of those things where there is an opportunity for somebody to get through that shouldn’t.”
Arizona legislative Republicans have been hard at work this session – just as they were last year – to come up with solutions to help combat the crisis at the border and the security and humanitarian issues that are growing for communities across the state. However, most – if not all, of the Republicans’ proposals will be vetoed by Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs, who, although expressing interest in solving the issue and pointing blame at federal officials, has not been willing to sign legislation that would help the state and local law enforcement gain any more control over this very serious situation.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Corinne Murdock | Mar 4, 2024 | Economy, News
By Corinne Murdock |
There were over 800 illegal immigrant children released to sponsors in Arizona in the last fiscal year, which would result in an estimated cost of over $10 million to educate them.
This estimate comes from Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) data, in which average per-pupil spending in 2022 derived from state, local, and federal funding, adjusted for inflation, was over $11,700. The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) reported that there were 861 unaccompanied children released to sponsors in the 2023 fiscal year, which runs from October 2022 to September 2023. Altogether, that amounts to over $10 million.
Per the latest immigration data, another 368 unaccompanied children were released to sponsors from last October to December. JLBC estimated per-pupil spending last year, adjusted for inflation, to sit at about $12,000, and spending in 2024 to sit at about $11,700.
Since the 2021 fiscal year, there have been over 2,600 illegal immigrant children released to sponsors. That’s about 1,000 more in four years than the entire total for the six years spanning the 2015 fiscal year to the 2020 fiscal year (just over 1,700).
Under 2022 costs, that amounts to over $28.6 million. The estimated 2023 costs, adjusted for inflation, amounts to over $31.2 million, with a return to about $28.6 million under 2024 estimated costs.
Nationwide, there were about 113,500 illegal immigrant children released to sponsors in the last fiscal year. That’s a decline from the 2022 fiscal year, about 127,500, but remains a significant increase from all other years prior.
In the first four months of this fiscal year, there have been about 46,300 unaccompanied minors encountered along the southwest border. Border encounter data reveals that there have been over 468,180 unaccompanied minors since President Joe Biden took office.
Encounter totals for accompanied minors register far lower. There have been just over 500 encounters of accompanied minors in the first four months of this fiscal year, and over 7,800 in total since Biden took office.
These latest estimates are just a portion of total migrant children in the education system, and consist of only those reported. In 2022, there were over 90,000 students characterized as English Language Learners (ELLs) in Arizona. Using 2022 education costs, that amounts to over $1 billion.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
