Investigations
COVID-19 is surging in Arizona schools, but parents are left in the dark
As COVID-19 infections surge in Arizona schools, sickening thousands of students and staff and forcing thousands more into quarantine, parents — and the public at large — have been left without a comprehensive picture of where Arizona students and educators are contracting the virus. A patchwork of outbreak and quarantine notifications from school districts has […]
Cyber Ninjas leader ignored records contradicting his false claim
Speaking before several thousand supporters at a “Rally to Protect Our Elections” in downtown Phoenix, former President Donald Trump recited a litany of alleged findings from the Arizona Senate’s self-styled election audit, including a debunked claim that 74,000 mail-in ballots were counted despite no record of them being sent to voters. “There’s no record of […]
Students at whiter, wealthier schools have more access to federal disability protections
When two police officers found Dante Butzberger sitting in a walk-in closet at his family’s Scottsdale home, the 14-year-old refused to leave. Dyslexia and ADHD had made his time in eighth grade so miserable that not even the police could convince him to attend school.
A Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act opened the floodgates for new restrictions
It hadn’t even been a day since the U.S. Supreme Court dismantled one of the pillars of voting rights in America, and North Carolina lawmakers weren’t wasting any time.
‘I just don’t trust the system any more’: Voters on edge as election nears
WASHINGTON — Widespread anxiety and confusion around voting, compounded by the pandemic that has spread to millions of Americans, including President Donald Trump.
In the absence of national regulations, how vulnerable is our voting infrastructure?
There is no evidence, despite partisan claims to the contrary, that mail-in ballots are rife with voting fraud — but there are parts of the election system that security researchers say are at far greater risk for malicious activity.
Arizona has deep QAnon ties, including its politicians
Ethan Watkins was deeply troubled by the responses he was getting in his late-night text exchange last month as he pressed his friend on QAnon, the dangerous conspiracy theory that has been linked to violent acts across the nation. Do you believe, Watkins asked, that there’s a secretive cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophile Democrats who are […]
Arizona National Guard used surveillance plane to deter protests
The Arizona Air National Guard flew a surveillance airplane over Black Lives Matter protests in June to aid Phoenix police in deterring peaceful demonstrations, according to a report by the U.S. Air Force’s inspector general.
Experts: Latino youth ‘invisible’ in juvenile justice data
Today, the Latino and Hispanic population is the largest ethnic or racial minority group in the country, according to the U.S. Census. Yet, experts say their presence in the juvenile justice system is severely underreported.
Microschools on the rise in Arizona, with COVID providing added boost
By the time he was in fifth grade, Emily McIntosh’s son, Mo, had cycled through several schools, and nothing had worked.
Which Arizona businesses got paycheck protection loans?
More than 81,000 emergency loans worth as much as $13 billion were made to Arizona small businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program aimed at saving a reported 680,000 jobs, according to data released July 7 by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Arizona’s first Capitol monument was to Confederate troops. Why?
The Arizona Department of Administration is looking into what kind of process may be needed to remove a monument to Confederate soldiers at the state Capitol, but state law leaves the decision up to the agency’s director, and, by inference, his boss, Gov. Doug Ducey.