KJZZ's Stories You Don't Want to Miss

A new state budget passed out of the Arizona legislature Thursday night with support from most Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Colorado River experts were in Washington D.C. Wednesday to speak with senators about the state of the region’s water crisis. A former Centennial High School student has filed a $20 million notice of claim against the Peoria Unified School District. Plus the latest Fronteras Desk, metro Phoenix, business, and science news.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating claims that Arizona State University is illegally discriminating against some students by operating surreptitious diversity, equity and inclusion programs. A state committee is directing the Arizona Auditor General to conduct special audits on student safety and child care assistance. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed a New World screwworm case in South Texas, after a more than year-long attempt to contain it in Mexico. Plus the latest business, metro Phoenix, and health news.

Extreme heat kills hundreds of Arizonans each year. But some groups are at much higher risk than others – that includes residents of manufactured homes. A member of the Deer Valley Unified School District board is under fire for giving a Nazi salute following a dispute with the board president during a public meeting on Tuesday night. The town of Superior has forged a $20-million dollar water deal with the mining company Resolution Copper. Plus the latest tribal natural resources, business, metro Phoenix and politics news.

Phoenix is planning several new investments in housing affordability and homeless services in the year ahead. A new federal proposal for sharing the Colorado River would take a new approach to managing water, forcing states to check in with each other every two years. Local officials in southern Arizona are voicing concerns about Copper World, a controversial mine proposed just south of the Tucson metro. Plus the latest education, Fronteras Desk, politics, business, and metro Phoenix news.

In an escalation of pressure on Mexico, a U.S. grand jury indictment accuses 10 Mexican political and law enforcement figures of a years-long link to organized crime. The Bureau of Land Management has opened the process for companies to bid on public lands for oil and gas drilling in Arizona for the first time since 2018. The Pima County Board of Supervisors will not remove Sheriff Chris Nanos over allegations of perjury. Plus the latest metro Phoenix, education, indigenous affairs, and water news.

Arizona is in for another very hot summer but a new weather pattern could bring heavy monsoon storms. A new plan for managing the Colorado River would mean a big difference for cities and towns in the Valley that depend on its water. On Wednesday, the Navajo Police Department responded to a crash involving a semi-truck carrying uranium ore from the Grand Canyon’s South Rim to a mill in Utah. Plus the latest business, health, metro Phoenix, and Fronteras Desk news.

Summer is coming and for the third year in a row, the city of Phoenix will operate a 24-7 heat relief site. As deportations continue under the Trump administration, many longtime residents of the U.S.—and of Arizona—find themselves adjusting to a new life. A federal judge threw out the Department of Justice’s attempt to force Arizona to turn over its voter rolls to the Trump administration. Plus the latest water, indigenous affairs, and metro Phoenix news.

The Arizona Community Foundation, Phoenix, the Desert Botanical Garden and ASU are teaming up to attract more investments in extreme heat mitigation in the Valley. Phoenix residents will soon be paying more for trash and recycling, with collection fees increasing by $14 over the next three years. The federal government has a new plan to prop up water levels in Lake Powell. Plus the latest Fronteras Desk, metro Phoenix, politics, business and tribal natural resources news.

The Colorado River is running dry, and the federal government has proposed big cuts to the amount of water that flows to Arizona. APS will no longer disconnect customers’ power when temperatures exceed 95 degrees, following a settlement with the Attorney General’s Office. Excessive marijuana consumption can be a 'nuclear bomb' to mental health. Plus the latest Fronteras Desk, education and politics news.

The latest forecasts for water in the Colorado River show a grim picture. Turning Point USA’s political arm spent months pouring money and resources into a little-known utility election in Arizona. This week, Tucson leaders heard the results of a monthslong study of what residents want to see out of a proposed city amendment to regulate data centers. Plus, the latest metro Phoenix and business news.

The city of Phoenix is hard at work setting up new technology at its Cave Creek water treatment plant. A new spiritual caregiver is stepping in known as eco-chaplains. The Navajo Nation signed an agreement with Utah that centers on advancing economic development and authentic Indigenous representation through cinema. Plus the latest education, business and Fronteras Desk news.

Phoenix leaders have approved wiping the name of Cesar Chavez from city property after a bombshell report on sexual misconduct by the late labor icon. The Mesa City Council took a vote Monday on whether to implement landing fees at Falcon Field. The Department of Justice is adding a terrorism charge to an indictment of an Arizona gun dealer accused of selling firearms to cartels. Plus, the latest business and education news, and a Tiny Desert Concert.

New sexual abuse allegations against the late civil rights leader, Cesar Chavez, are putting Arizona cities, and even the state, in the spotlight over if — or how — they plan to celebrate Cesar Chavez Day. Lately, a new source of money has been helping fuel water conservation projects. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has denied requests that it block the transfer of public land known as Oak Flat to the private mining company Resolution Copper. Plus the latest Fronteras Desk, aging, metro Phoenix and politics news.

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee heard testimony in support of a water settlement for tribes in northern Arizona. State authorities are recommending the owner of a Tempe bar raided twice last year should lose his liquor license and face prosecution on criminal charges. The Commerce Department is investigating whether Mexico’s exports of fresh winter strawberries to the U.S. violates fair trade practices. Plus, the latest metro Phoenix and politics news.

In the aftermath of a pair of fatal shootings by immigration officers in Minneapolis — and amid reports of ramped up ICE plans in Arizona — some city and county officials are mulling new policies to police federal actions locally. A major development on the California coast could make it possible for Arizona to indirectly benefit from desalinated ocean water. Mesa Public Schools will be eliminating 50 positions in May as part of a planned reduction in force. Plus the latest business, Fronteras Desk and metro Phoenix news.

Crews with the Salt River project are dumping thousands of fish into Phoenix-area canals in an effort to help keep them clean. Research has shown that the impact that created Meteor Crater in northern Arizona may have dammed the Colorado River. Thursday is one month since federal authorities raided more than a dozen sports bars and restaurants in metro Phoenix. Plus the latest education, Fronteras Desk and metro Phoenix news.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors agreed to give key election duties back to Recorder Justin Heap, who sued the board over the issue. This year, as America celebrates its 250th anniversary, Arizona is highlighting community-led events, many showcasing state history. Members of the Scottsdale Unified School District governing board are at odds over how to make necessary budget cuts. Plus the latest science, Fronteras Desk and business news.

The Colorado River is getting smaller thanks to climate change, and the states that use it are facing a deadline of this Saturday to agree on new rules about how to share water in the future. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality says it’s working with communities outside the city of Globe and the town of Star Valley on projects to address PFAS in drinking water. The Paradise Valley Unified School District has fired its superintendent. Plus the latest business, metro Phoenix, Fronteras Desk and politics news.

It’s Super Bowl week! And while the game won’t be in Arizona this year, a good share of the betting will be. Gov. Katie Hobbs says she’s cautiously optimistic that Western states are moving towards a deal on the Colorado River. Mexico and the U.S. agreed to a sixty day action plan aimed at developing trade policies for critical minerals. Plus the latest business, indigenous affairs, politics, and metro Phoenix news.

Health officials continue to urge Arizonans to take precautions against measles. Federal investigators say a southern Arizona man shot by Border Patrol agents early Tuesday could face federal charges. As Arizona’s legislative session begins, housing affordability continues to be a priority for many lawmakers. Plus the latest education, Indigenous affairs, environmental and metro Phoenix news.

Arizona has had more than 200 measles cases since August. President Trump’s administration Wednesday dropped an effort to defund schools that teach “diversity equity and inclusion.” Remittances — or the money immigrants send back to their countries of origin — dropped to Mexico in 2025. Plus the latest business and metro Phoenix news.

Maricopa County is reporting its first measles case amid the state’s ongoing outbreak. It’s still unclear how Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs and Republican lawmakers plan to pay for their dueling plans to cut taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars. Two East Valley school districts are looking to cut millions of dollars from their budgets to keep up with declines in enrollment. Plus the latest Fronteras Desk, metro Phoenix, and business news.

In the wake of Wednesday’s fatal ICE shooting in Minnesota, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is concerned about reports that the Trump administration plans to ramp up immigration enforcement activities in Phoenix. Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly are some of more than two dozen Democrats asking Trump administration officials about its diversion of federal agents to immigration work. The labor union for Arizona public school educators says voters want accountability and transparency for the state’s voucher system. Plus the latest business, metro Phoenix, tribal natural resources and politics news.

The Phoenix City Council has green lit an expansion of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company in North Phoenix. After months of discussion and public hearings, the Kyrene School District governing board has voted to close four elementary schools and two middle schools. A new women’s health hub will be among the first projects developed in Mesa’s new Palo District. Plus the latest tribal natural resources, health, politics and metro Phoenix news.

Arizona has reported more than 900 cases of whooping cough in 2025 — that’s the highest case count in more than a decade. President Donald Trump says he will put an additional tariff on Mexico if it doesn’t send over water it owes the U.S. The Scottsdale Unified School District will close and repurpose two schools due to declining enrollment and a several-million-dollar budget shortfall. Plus the latest business, politics and metro Phoenix news.

Food banks may face an increased demand in the coming years due to changes made to SNAP by the Republican tax cut and spending package passed earlier this year. The superintendent of the Paradise Valley Unified School District could soon be terminated. How will Arizona Sen. Kelly's viral video and investigation affect his political future? Plus the latest Fronteras Desk and business news.

An Arizona water agency took a historic vote Wednesday to pursue multiple water augmentation projects to boost the state's water supply —including desalination. Maricopa County could be at risk of losing nearly 1400 housing units for disabled, formerly homeless people. A Tolleson school board voted Tuesday against building a widely criticized $80 million domed football stadium. Plus the latest tribal natural resources, metro Phoenix, and science news.

With the government shutdown ended, Gov. Katie Hobbs says most Arizonans who rely on food assistance already have their benefits restored. Residents in Hermosillo are demanding answers — and accountability — after an explosion in the state capital’s busy city center killed at least 24 people. The Phoenix Union High School District will cut $20 million from its budget next school year. Plus the latest business, metro Phoenix, tribal natural resources, and politics news.

As the U.S. government shutdown ended its first month Saturday and SNAP food benefits are mired in uncertainty, folks across the country have reached out to step up and help. After President Trump shut the door to asylum seekers on his first day in office, many who once hoped to cross into the United States are now looking to Mexico for protection. The Arizona Department of Education has released a new round of letter grades for Arizona’s public schools. Plus the latest politics, metro Phoenix, and business news.