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AP News •

‘It hurts all of us’: Mass deportations ensnare immigrant service members, veterans and families

PHOENIX (AP) — Leading up to the 2024 presidential election, U.S. Army veteran Sae Joon Park kept in mind a warning from an immigration officer: If Donald Trump were elected, Park would likely be at risk for deportation.Park was 7 when he came to the U.S. from Seoul, South Korea. He joined the Army at 19 and received a Purple Heart after being shot in Panama. After leaving the military, he lived with PTSD, leading to addiction issues.After a 2009 arrest on a drug charge, Park was eventually orde...
Cronkite News •

WM Phoenix Open achieves new levels with sustainability

SCOTTSDALE – The WM Phoenix Open is an anomaly in golf. Unlike most tournaments, it draws large crowds that bring high energy and consume heavy amounts of alcohol. Despite the numerous people getting wasted, WM, the event’s title sponsor officially known as Waste Mangement, Inc., aims for zero waste from the tournament, encompassing everything from carpets to the cups used for serving alcohol.


For the past 13 years, UL Solutions has certified the WM Phoenix Open as a zero-waste event, meaning...
Cronkite News •

Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau, Viktor Hovland back at Phoenix Open

SCOTTSDALE — With seven previous champions in the mix, the WM Phoenix Open attracted the world’s best players when building the 2026 player field.


Notable names that returned to the People’s Open for the first time since 2023 or longer include two-time winner Brooks Koepka, official world golf rank no. 16 Viktor Hovland and Tony Finau.


Among the three, only Hovland finished under par Thursday after first round competition at TPC Scottsdale. His 2-under left him tied for 24th, while Finau w...
Cronkite News •

Stars come out for WM Phoenix Open celebrity event at TPC Scottsdale

SCOTTSDALE – In the final day of Pro-Am festivities, the stars came out for Wednesday’s practice round. While tournament regulars like Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Phelps represented Arizona at the 2026 WM Phoenix Open, fans were also greeted by new, yet familiar faces.


Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce drew the biggest gallery and wowed the crowd at the 16th hole with a tee shot that landed a few feet short of the pin. Country singer Zach Top was also popular and managed to survive his grea...
Cronkite News •

Fitzgerald, Cardinals spotlighted at Phoenix Open, reflect on LaFleur

SCOTTSDALE – Perched on a hill bordering the putting green on the first hole of the WM Phoenix Open, a collection of young spectators dressed in red and black Arizona Cardinals gear gathered near a gallery rope. The thin twisted nylon stood as the only separation between them and Redbirds royalty. 


“Larry, Larry, Larry,” they shouted, in hopes of drawing 11-time Pro Bowler Larry Fitzgerald over to their cluster nestled a few paces away. 


Smiling, Fitzgerald offered a wave, acknowledging th...
Cronkite News •

Brooks Koepka makes second start in return to PGA Tour at WM Phoenix Open

SCOTTSDALE – Family was one of the driving factors in Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour following his 3 1/2-year tenure with LIV Golf.


He brought family to the Farmers Insurance Open last week in La Jolla, Calif., and will have his wife and son on site at the WM Phoenix Open, which began play Thursday at TPC Scottsdale.


“(What I missed most was) the ability to have my family out all the time,” Koepka said. “They didn’t travel too much over the past few years.”


Koepka was among the...
Cronkite News •

Despite being paired with the world’s No. 1 ranked golfer, Scottie Scheffler, Chris Gotterup stole the show in the opening round of the 2026 WM Phoenix Open

SCOTTSDALE – After entering the 2026 WM Phoenix Open as the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler’s 2-over-par scorecard on Thursday slotted him in a position to miss his first cut since the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship, barring a turnaround effort on Friday.


Despite entering the week as the best golfer in the world rankings-wise, Scheffler did not even finish as the best in his trio. His groupmate, Chris Gotterup, headlined the leaders as he walked off the course at 8-under...
Cronkite News •

ASU's Cam Skattebo returns to Tempe for the second time since injury

PHOENIX – The last time Arizona State fans saw Cam Skattebo, he was wheeling around on a scooter at the Territorial Cup game in November.


On Sunday, he was jogging around a baseball diamond.


If his mobility is any indication, Skattebo should be ready for New York Giants training camp in July.


During his rookie season, Skattebo’s hard-nosed style of football injected life into a Giants fan base. He had 410 rushing yards and seven touchdowns from scrimmage in eight games before a season-e...
Cronkite News •

Nationwide walkout over Trump brings hundreds to Arizona Capitol

PHOENIX – Over the last year, the United States has seen protests across the country denouncing the Trump administration, its immigration policies and more. On the one-year anniversary of the president’s inauguration, protesters didn’t show any signs of letting up.


Shrouded in the shade of the State Capitol, high school students, teachers, parents, retirees and immigrants gathered in red, white and blue; inflatable blowup costumes; and colonial attire – with determination on their faces – in...
Cronkite News •

Arizona workers, volunteers find balance when working with homeless population

PHOENIX — As the sun began to peak over the horizon, the roosters tested out their newly developed crows, signaling the new day to come to everyone on the Key Campus. 


But inside the St. Vincent de Paul Phoenix Dining Room, volunteers were already hard at work scooping peanut butter into small containers, filling coffee pitchers and placing fake flower arrangements on each table, prepping the room for the soon-to-arrive visitors. Among them, CJ Chavez too helped ready the room. He sported cuf...
Cronkite News •

Arizona defense stops ASU, makes statement in Territorial Cup win

TEMPE – Arizona defensive back Treydan Stukes chuckled as he listened to fellow senior teammate Dalton Johnson talk about the Wildcats’ dominant defensive outing Friday night against Arizona State.


“We came to play,” Johnson said. “We didn’t come to watch. We’re eager to get out there, and I think the front seven and the back five are just clicking really well.” 


Teams, of course, can only field 11 players at a time, although in the 99th iteration of the Territorial Cup, it felt as if Ariz...
Cronkite News •

ASU, Sims plagued by turnovers in Territorial Cup loss to Arizona

TEMPE – A sold-out, Black Friday game at Mountain America Stadium was still running a sale deep into the night.


Five turnovers for the price of 60 minutes.


How is that profitable? Well, the Arizona Wildcats (9-3, 6-3 Big 12) found a way to cash in on a series of blunders from Arizona State (8-4, 6-3), turning the takeaways into a 23-7 Territorial Cup victory for the team from down south.


“This is horrible,” ASU coach Kenny Dillingham said bluntly. “I have to live in this city. That suck...
Cronkite News •

Charlie Kirk memorial fills State Farm Stadium, draws President Trump and huge throng of mourners

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Tara Hall walked with a smile through the busy parking lot at State Farm Stadium in Glendale – even after she was turned away from the Charlie Kirk memorial.


The trek to Phoenix had already been an ordeal. When her flight from South Carolina was delayed, she drove three hours to the Atlanta airport, barely making it onto a flight 10 minutes before the doors closed. She arrived at her hotel at 1:30 a.m., and after an hour and a half of sleep, pulled herself out of bed so she...
Cronkite News •

LGBTQ+ organizations symbolize safety at 2025 Phoenix Pride

PHOENIX — Speakers blared and rainbow flags billowed in the October heat as the 2023 Phoenix Pride parade reached its peak. When the Grand Canyon Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence neared the end of the parade route, the wind caught their 30-foot veil. 


The stitched-together pride flag and American flag rose like a curtain,creating a nearly 10-foot shield separating the thousands of paradegoers from a group of protesters wielding signs calling them God haters, thieves and fornicators.


The Sis...
Upheaval •

‘No Kings Day of Defiance’ draws millions to protest against Trump

Millions of people nationwide took to the streets on June 14, stirred by the same rallying cry: “No thrones, no crowns, no kings.” Many of those who participated in the “No Kings Day of Defiance” said they were driven to do so by President Donald Trump’s policies on immigration.
The Trump administration took 181 immigration-specific actions during his first 100 days in office, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Those policies have led to courtroom battles and on-the-ground protests lik...
Cronkite News •

Commission candidates, Arizonans upset over state’s increasing utility rates - Cronkite News

PHOENIX — Anna Cicero, a retired educator who lives in Chandler with her daughter and grandson, held her utility bill up while speaking behind a podium in the Rose Garden of the Arizona Capitol. She spoke passionately about the rising utility rates and their effects on her family.


“I can try to find cheaper eggs or just skip cholesterol,” Cicero said. “But I cannot switch to a cheaper electrical company.”


Cicero said she’s scared to check her bill every month. Two other concerned Arizonans...
Upheaval •

‘Sí se puede’: Hundreds march across California for immigrant rights

VACAVILLE, Calif. — More than 100 people gathered in a circle in the shade of Andrews Park. They were Christian faith leaders, Native American elders, toddlers, activists with decades of experience and first-time protesters, all bound by the same goal: to walk almost 40 miles in three days to advocate for immigrant rights.
The group stretched their limbs and adjusted backpacks while organizers led a safety briefing. Faith leaders offered a blessing for protection and strength. As the group stepp...
Cronkite News •

Montezuma Castle National Monument closes after government shutdown

CAMPE VERDE — Yasmeen Mustafa approached the locked gates at Montezuma Castle National Monument and let out a deep, frustrated sigh as it dawned on her that the monument – and other national parks in Arizona, too – would have closures after the government shutdown began Wednesday.


“I really have no words to describe how I’m feeling right now,” she said. “I’m so upset.”


Wednesday marked the first day of her 10-day “dream trip” throughout the Southwest. Mustafa and her family planned to visi...
Cronkite News •

Arizonans mourn Charlie Kirk at Turning Point headquarters

PHOENIX — Shane Besore drove up at 2 p.m. Wednesday to the Turning Point USA headquarters with his head down and parked in a gravel lot.


A handful of others had already arrived at the headquarters of the organization Charlie Kirk cofounded to mourn and pay their respects to the right-wing media personality who was shot and killed at an event in Utah hours earlier.


Besore walked in a solemn silence, shoulders slumped, holding a red “Make America Great Again” hat. At the entrance, he placed...
Upheaval •

Mass deportations under Trump ensnare military service members, veterans

PHOENIX – In the months leading up to the 2024 presidential election, U.S. Army veteran Sae Joon Park kept in mind a warning from an immigration officer: If Donald Trump were elected, he would likely be at risk for deportation.
Park was just 7 when he came to the U.S. from Seoul, South Korea. A green card holder, he joined the Army at 19 “to serve the country that I believed in,” he said. He received a Purple Heart after being shot twice while deployed in Panama, but after leaving the military,...
Cronkite News •

Arizona Capitol protesters speak out against Trump executive orders

PHOENIX – Protesters gathered at the Arizona Capitol on Wednesday to voice their opposition to the Trump administration and President Donald Trump’s executive orders since his inauguration Jan. 20.
The demonstration was one of a larger, nationwide grassroots movement that originated on social media. The “50501 Movement,” as it’s been dubbed, stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one day, and called on locals in each state to protest at their capitols Wednesday. People started to gather in front of...
Cronkite News •

Congressman Raúl Grijalva honored at Tucson Mass and celebration of life

TUCSON – Friends, family, Tucson community members and dignitaries honored the life of Congressman Raúl Grijalva Wednesday during a funeral Mass at St. Augustine Cathedral in Tucson followed by a celebration of life.
Grijalva was known over his 12 terms for being a progressive Democratic voice. He died March 13 at the age of 77, from complications with his cancer treatment.
The pews at Wednesday’s Mass were filled with hundreds of people. Cronkite News and other media organizations remained ou...
Cronkite News •

Arizona ICE Act makes way through Senate as advocates protest bill

PHOENIX – The Arizona Immigration, Cooperation and Enforcement Act, SB1164 has furthered divisions between advocates for stricter border security and community groups rallying for immigrant protections.
The Arizona ICE Act seeks to use each law enforcement agency in the state to aid in enforcing federal immigration law. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Warren Petersen, R-Queen Creek, and co-sponsored by Sen. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge, was first presented in January and has seen consistent opposition fr...
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