Category Archives: Arizona

Hottest city in US saw record 645 deaths related to high temperatures in 2023

Posted on by

Number of heat-related deaths in Phoenix, Arizona was more than 50% higher than 2022, which officials say ‘can be prevented’

Public health officials in Arizona’s most populous county on Wednesday reported they confirmed a staggering 645 heat-associated deaths last year – more than 50% higher than 2022 and another consecutive annual record in arid metro Phoenix.

The numbers in the preliminary report by the Maricopa county department of public health alarmed officials in America’s hottest big metro, raising concerns about how to better protect vulnerable groups such as homeless people and older adults from the blistering summer heat.

Continue reading...

Independent senator Kyrsten Sinema will not seek re-election in Arizona

Posted on by

Sinema won in 2018 as a Democrat and was first non-Republican to win a Senate seat for Arizona since 1994

Kyrsten Sinema, the former Democrat from Arizona who is an independent in the US Senate, said on Tuesday she would not run for re-election this year.

“I love Arizona and I am so proud of what we’ve delivered,” Sinema said in a video posted to social media. “Because I choose civility, understanding, listening, working together to get stuff done, I will leave the Senate at the end of this year.”

Continue reading...

Arizona Republican says state lawmakers, not voters, should pick president

Posted on by

State senator Anthony Kern, who was a fake pro-Trump elector in 2020, says legislature should choose electors

A proposal from an Arizona lawmaker calls for the state legislature to decide on presidential electors instead of adhering to a popular vote.

The state senator Anthony Kern, a Republican, served as a fake elector in 2020, falsely asserting that Donald Trump won the state. Those involved in the fake electors schemes in several states have been charged. In Arizona, the fake electors are under investigation by the Democratic attorney general, her office has confirmed. Kern also attended the 6 January 2021 rally at the US Capitol.

Continue reading...

US woman donates kidney to man – whose wife donates to donor’s brother

Posted on by

Tale of generosity between Tony and Tracey Gonzalez from Illinois and Joely Sanders and Frank Pompa from Arizona goes viral

When Tony Gonzalez of Illinois required an organ donor to be freed from the dialysis machine keeping him alive despite his failing kidney, an Arizona woman named Joely Sanders stepped up.

Sanders’s brother, Frank Pompa, also required a new kidney after one of his had failed – and, of all people, it was Gonzalez’s wife, Tracey, who provided the crucial organ donation to free him from his dialysis machine in October.

Continue reading...

Wayward wolf gets help in finding mate after odyssey across two US states

Posted on by

A female Mexican gray wolf that was part of reintroduction efforts for the endangered species has been recaptured by officials

A match made in the wilds of New Mexico?

An endangered Mexican wolf captured last weekend after wandering hundreds of miles from Arizona to New Mexico is now being readied for a dating game of sorts as part of federal reintroduction efforts.

Continue reading...

US prisoner charged with attempted murder over stabbing of Derek Chauvin

Posted on by

John Turscak, 52, accused of stabbing Chauvin, convicted of George Floyd’s murder, 22 times in prison in Tucson, Arizona

A detainee at a federal prison was charged on Friday with attempted murder in the prison stabbing of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd.

John Turscak stabbed Chauvin 22 times in the law library at the Tucson federal correctional institution in Arizona with an improvised knife, prosecutors said. Turscak, 52, told correctional officers he would have killed Chauvin had they not responded so quickly, according to prosecutors.

Continue reading...

Arizona grandma and one-time stranger celebrate eighth Thanksgiving together

Posted on by

Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton, who met via an accidental text message, invited a second stranger to join them this year

An Arizona grandmother and the stranger to whom she accidentally texted a Thanksgiving invitation in 2016 celebrated their eighth holiday dinner together this week – and welcomed a new guest to the tradition.

Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton, whose unexpected Thanksgiving went viral nearly a decade ago, expanded their annual get-together this year by inviting another stranger into her home.

Continue reading...

Man who stormed US Capitol in face paint files paperwork for congressional run

Posted on by

Jacob Chansley, who became one of the most recognizable symbols of the insurrection, hopes to run in Arizona as a libertarian

The man who donned face paint and a horned headdress to storm the US Capitol at the 6 January insurrection has filed paperwork for a potential congressional run in Arizona as a libertarian.

Jacob Chansley, known as the “QAnon Shaman”, became one of the most recognizable symbols of the insurrection, as media showed him walking the halls of the Capitol and standing at the dais in the US Senate.

Continue reading...

Deadliest year on record as Phoenix heat fatalities rise by 50%

Posted on by

Hottest US city, buffeted by extreme temperatures, sees 579 heat-related in 2023, with large proportion among unhoused people

Heat deaths surged by 50% in Phoenix in 2023 – the deadliest year on record after extreme temperatures pummeled America’s hottest city, official figures show.

At least 579 people lost their lives to heat this year, with senior citizens accounting for one in three deaths, according to the year’s final heat surveillance report by the medical examiner’s office in Maricopa county, where Phoenix is located. Another 56 suspected heat deaths are still under investigation.

Continue reading...

Hungry javelinas plague prestigious Arizona golf course with oversized divots

Posted on by

Groundskeepers resort to covering course with chilli oil to discourage the herbivores, which are native to the south-west

With no respect for etiquette on the fairways, let alone a dress code, a group of scruffy porcine invaders has left a trail of devastation across a prestigious Arizona golf course hailed among the country’s finest.

Greenkeepers at the picturesque Seven Canyons Golf Club in Sedona have posted to social media videos of the destruction wrought by the marauding pack of javelinas, also known as collared peccaries, which has dug up large areas of the course.

Continue reading...

Republican says she won’t run for re-election because ‘DC is broken’

Posted on by

Congresswoman Debbie Lesko, from Arizona, says ‘it is hard to get anything done’

A Republican congresswoman has said she will not run for re-election next year, claiming “DC is broken”.

Debbie Lesko, from Arizona, said in a statement that traveling to Washington each month had also proven difficult.

Continue reading...

‘Extremely rare’ Jurassic-era fossils discovered in Lake Powell

Posted on by

Tritylodonts, mid-sized mammal-related herbivores, roamed the area’s deserts 200m years ago

Scientists have discovered an “extremely rare” set of fossils at Lake Powell that the National Park Service (NPS) is calling one of the most important vertebrate discoveries in the US this year.

The findings, revealed this week, include skulls and teeth from dozens of mid-sized, mammal-related herbivores called tritylodonts that once roamed the region’s vast desert. The bones lay hidden in the sandstone walls of the reservoir for roughly 180m years before a lucky discovery in March.

Continue reading...

Kari Lake, Trump ally and election denier, announces Senate bid in Arizona

Posted on by

Republican who lost state governor’s race but never conceded has challenged her defeat in court, so far unsuccessfully

Kari Lake, the Republican candidate who lost the race for Arizona governor but never conceded her loss, announced a run for US Senate in the western state Tuesday.

A former TV news anchor, Lake made her move into politics by making repeated false claims about elections. She aligned closely with former president Donald Trump and has been floated as a potential running mate for Trump, who once praised Lake for her ability to constantly bring up election fraud.

Continue reading...

Biden warns voters a second Trump presidency will threaten democracy

Posted on by

Faced with stagnant approval ratings, president ups ante in what may become a central theme of his re-election campaign

Joe Biden dramatically raised the ante in the forthcoming US presidential election campaign on Thursday with a stark and impassioned warning that American democracy is imperiled by a vengeful Donald Trump, his likely opponent next year.

Faced by stagnant approval ratings and worries about his advanced age, the US president attempted to stir his dormant supporters and animate the undecided by spelling out the dangers he insisted a second Trump presidency would pose to the US’s status as the world’s leading beacon of democratic government.

Continue reading...

Peruvian man arrested for making more than 150 bomb threats to US schools

Posted on by

Suspect, arrested in Peru, allegedly threatened schools after failing to ‘sextort’ nude photos from schoolchildren

A Peruvian man was arrested in Peru for sending more than 150 fake bomb threats to US schools, airports and a synagogue.

Eddie Manuel Núñez Santos, 33, was arrested by Peruvian officials on Tuesday in Lima, according to a press release from the justice department.

Continue reading...

Election denier Kari Lake of Arizona to announce run for US Senate seat

Posted on by

Failed far-right gubernatorial candidate is also a possible pick for Trump’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election

The far-right Trump supporter Kari Lake still refuses to accept her defeat in the 2022 race for Arizona governor but will nonetheless run for US Senate next year.

“We need to get a senator in there who is going to fight back and put America first,” the Republican told the Wall Street Journal.

Continue reading...

Phoenix sets record in hellishly hot summer – but relief is in sight

Posted on by

The Arizona capital reached 55th day above 110F this year, but forecast says that cooler temps – even rain – are on the horizon

Residents in Phoenix, Arizona, are set to experience some relief from the blistering heatwave following the city’s record of the most days at or above 110F (43.3C) this year despite reaching 112F (44.4C) on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

On Sunday, the NWS announced that temperatures in Arizona’s largest city will finally begin to retreat “closer to the seasonal normal” with highs expected to range between 102F (38.9C) and 104F (40C) between Monday and Friday. Sunday’s temperature broke the daily high record of 111F (43.9C) set in 1990.

Continue reading...

Phoenix breaks heat record as city hits 110F for the 54th consecutive day

Posted on by

Saturday’s temperature had triggered an excessive heat warning across Arizona as lows were expected to range between 80F and 86F

The temperature in Phoenix, Arizona continues to rise as the city broke its previous record of the most consecutive days at or above 110F (43C).

On Saturday afternoon, the National Weather Service announced that the temperature at Phoenix Sky Harbor international airport reached 110F, making it the 54th day this year with temperatures of at least 110F.

Continue reading...

Deadly humid heatwaves to spread rapidly as climate warms – study

Posted on by

Small rise in global temperatures would affect hundreds of millions of people and could cause a sharp rise in deaths

Life-threatening periods of high heat and humidity will spread rapidly across the world with only a small increase in global temperatures, a study has found, which could cause a sharp acceleration in the number of deaths resulting from the climate crisis.

The extremes, which can be fatal to healthy people within six hours, could affect hundreds of millions of people unused to such conditions. As a result, heat deaths could rise quickly unless serious efforts to prepare populations were undertaken urgently, the researcher said.

Continue reading...

Arizona woman accused of trying to kill husband by lacing coffee with bleach

Posted on by

A state grand jury indicted Melody Felicano Johnson in Tucson in July after her husband sent video to police

An Arizona woman tried to kill her husband – a US military member – by poisoning his coffee with bleach daily since March before her arrest, authorities allege.

Melody Felicano Johnson faces charges of attempted first-degree homicide, attempted aggravated assault, and adding poison to food or drink after her husband sent video to police of her apparently pouring bleach into his coffee pot. A state grand jury indicted her in Tucson in July.

Continue reading...