Audio briefings that bring you important, relevant news and sports stories from across Arizona.

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For centuries, Native Americans have used talking circles to solve problems and provide healing. During the pandemic, these practices moved online and outdoors to help those in need.

(Audio by Gianluca D’Elia/Cronkite News)

Indigenous groups maintain talking circle traditions during COVID-19

Arizona’s senators are being urged to support the “Build Back Better” budget to provide funding for clean energy initiatives and jobs to address the effects of climate change as extreme heat becomes more common.

(Audio by Emma VandenEinde/Cronkite News)

Climate advocates urge Sinema, Kelly to support Biden budget plan

Temperatures in Arizona have increased 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit since the beginning of the 20th century and they are expected to continue to rise especially during the summer. A new NOAA summary on Arizona’s climate predicts “unprecedented warming” during this century.

(Audio by Alexandra Mora Medina/Cronkite News)

Climate change means drought, hot temperatures and wildfires for Arizona’s future

The Gila River Indian Community is seeking payouts from the federal
government to conserve water in Lake Mead. Plus, why a shipping-container wall along the Arizona-Mexico border is likely to be challenged in court, and airports in the state work to become more sustainable.

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Host:  Damon Fairall
Producer: Athena Ankrah
Contributors: Alexia Stanbridge, Michelle Aerin, KUNC

Gila River tribe reverses decision on conserving water

Healing through culture: Wayne Wilson is a traditional Navajo healer, one of a dwindling group who help Indigenous people heal the mind, body and soul.

(Audio by Natalie Skowlund/Cronkite News)

Healing through culture: Increasing access to Native American practices to treat mental health

There was a protest at Arizona’s Capitol on Sunday against proposed legislation that would restrict drag performances, using preferred pronouns in schools and abortion access. People of all ages were there – including high school students with Support Equality Arizona Schools. Arizona is one of eight states with bills that would censor drag performances. (Audio by Amber Victoria Singer/Cronkite News)

Protestors march at Arizona Capitol against anti-queer bills

Southern California has been divided over peacocks for decades. Peacock lovers want them to stay even if neighbors are fed up.

(Audio by /Cronkite News)

Peacock invasions ruffle feathers with homeowners

Rambunctious corgis put their paws to work at the Corgi Winter Nationals in Southern California. A hundred corgis raced for the opportunity to become the top dog. Phoenix corgi Arlo came a long way to compete at the paw-pular event and advanced to the championship race. He was the true underdog representing Phoenix, placing 9th overall and making his owners proud. 

(Audio by Ayana Hamilton/Cronkite News)

Phoenix Corgi races in corgi winter nationals

The va’aki at Pueblo Grande Museum in Phoenix is over 800 years old. Once a month, while it’s nice out, volunteers come out to sling mud at the structure to stabilize it.

(Audio by Amber Victoria Singer/Cronkite News)

Throwing mud to preserve history

Every morning, for the past three years, Ken Koshio has hiked Piestewa Peak, the third-highest peak in Phoenix, and played music at the top. The three-year anniversary of his prayer hike was also the 20th anniversary of Lori Piestewa’s death. She is the first Native American woman to die in United States military combat.

(Audio by Amber Victoria Singer/Cronkite News)

Three years of hiking at sunrise and playing music at the peak

After two members of Turning Point USA attacked ASU professor David Boyles, ASU’s LGBTQ+ community wants the university to do more to protect their safety. The Diamondbacks lose the World Series. Prescribed burns in Williams fight fire with fire.

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Host:  Deanna Pistono
Producer: Deanna Pistono 
Contributors: Kenny Rasmussen, Kiersten Edgett

Attack on queer professor by Turning Point USA

The U.S. Forest Service schedules prescribed burns to prevent and slow future wildfires in the area. (Audio by Kiersten Edgett/Cronkite News)

How the U.S. Forest Service is using prescribed burns to protect the Kaibab National Forest

Arizona has two Hawaiian outrigger canoe teams. They focus on competition as well as preserving Hawaiian culture and building community. (Audio by Kiersten Edgett/Cronkite News)

Outrigger canoe teams bring sport, community to Arizona

El Mirage residents vote against bond in Special Bond Election on Tuesday. Two local outrigger canoe teams use the ocean-based sport to keep their culture alive in the desert. The Arizona Thoroughbred Breeders Association works to preserve horse racing in the Valley.

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Host:  Kiersten Edgett
Producer: Kiersten Edgett
Contributors: Kenneth Rasmussen, Austin Hepola

El Mirage residents vote against bond during Special Bond Election

Special COVID-19 funds have been paying parents as caregivers for their children needing specialized care. An extension of that arrangement is set to expire but a new proposal would make pay for parent caregivers a permanent benefit in Arizona.

(Audio by Deanna Pistono/Cronkite News)

Arizona proposes paying parent caregivers of children with disabilities

Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy visited Arizona State University to discuss loneliness, which he identifies as the biggest national health problem. A proposal from the Arizona Healthcare Cost Containment System may permanently pay parents of minors with disabilities. Arizona State Sun Devils Athletic Director Ray Anderson has resigned from his position.

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Host: Kenny Rasmussen
Producer: Kenny Rasmussen
Contributors: Kenny Rasmussen, Deanna Pistonno, Brandon Tran, Alex Chenevey

Surgeon General’s “We Are Made To Connect” event comes to ASU

Public schools in Mesa are set to vote on whether to include weapons detectors in their schools. Local rattlesnakes may be displaced by land development. 

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Host:  Deanna Pistono
Producer: Deanna Pistono
Contributors: Kenny Rasmussen, Kiersten Edgett

Mesa public schools set to vote on weapons detectors

Governor Katie Hobbs signs a petition to put abortion rights on the 2024 ballot. New Mexico residents are taking action to raise awareness around gun violence. The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition launches a new project on native american boarding schools.

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Host:  Kiersten Edgett
Producer: Kiersten Edgett
Contributors: Deanna Pistono, Kenny Rasmussen

Gov. Katie Hobbs signs petition to add abortion rights to 2024 ballot

Phoenix’s extreme heat takes its toll on the health of its unhoused or homeless community. 

(Audio by Deanna Pistono/Cronkite News)

Heat in Phoenix affects health of unhoused or homeless community

At the unveiling of a mural to prevent gun violence and after the renewal of a public health order on guns, conversations around how to stop gun violence continue in New Mexico.

(Audio by Deanna Pistono/Cronkite News)

New Mexicans speak out against gun violence

The annual Colorado River Water Users Association meets this week, but for the first time in several years, state water policy leaders say there’s less urgency for short-term fixes and more time to focus on long-term solutions, after a wet winter and a recent conservation deal bought some breathing room. (Audio story by Alex Hager/KUNC)

Some breathing room as water managers meet to weigh Colorado River's future

The horse racing industry in Arizona is in flux as racing has been shut down while Turf Paradise track tries to secure new ownership. Trainers say their livelihood is at stake.

(Audio by Austin Hepola/Cronkite News)

Arizona's Horse Racing Industry in Flux

The snows falling in the mountains of Colorado are the first step toward recharging the Colorado River. But this winter's precipitation outlook is unclear, and how it unfolds will have an outsized impact on coming years of managing the drought-stressed river.

Winter snow could recharge the Colorado. But what if it doesn't?

In some of the country’s poorest communities, Light a Candle Foundation dispatches mobile clinics to test for and treat HIV. Community buy-in is important, but a stigma and lack of understanding about the spread of the virus can keep the community from testing.

(Audio by Albert Serna Jr./Cronkite Borderlands Project)

Dispatch from the DR: HIV testing and treatment for migrants in Dominican Bateyes

In what has been described as one of the “poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere” by the Council on Foreign Relations, there are resources readily available for people living with HIV. Even so, what people ask for and need isn’t always available to them due to lack of funding and lack of communication between different agencies.

(Audio by Albert Serna Jr./Cronkite Borderlands Project)

Dispatch from the DR: Resources for people living with HIV in Haiti may be difficult to come by

Access to care and treatment for HIV is not always difficult to get - the AIDS Healthcare Foundation provides treatment to anyone who needs it. But resources for the Dominican arm of the agency are not always plentiful and a small team works to provide care across the county.

(Audio by Albert Serna Jr./Cronkite Borderlands Project)

Dispatch from the DR: HIV care and treatment in the Dominican Republic

Federal energy officials took the unusual step of denying permits Thursday to several pumped hydropower projects proposed on the Navajo Nation, citing a new policy that gives tribes a greater voice in projects on their lands - a move welcomed by advocates.

Federal regulators deny permits for hydropower projects on Navajo Nation

The current Western megadrought is unlike any other dry period the region has experienced over the past 500 years. That’s according to a new study in which scientists looked at tree rings to track changing temperatures going back to 1553.

If trees could talk: Tree rings show recent decades warmest in 500 years

The Shoshone Generating Station is easy to overlook, but it's key to "one of the most interesting ... water rights on the Colorado River” - a deal to spend nearly $100 million for rights to the water that powers the facility and preserve it for western Colorado users.

Water and power collide in proposed $100 million Colorado River deal

Guests sleep in old buses. The toilets compost. They raise their own chickens. Welcome to the world of eco villages, which have cropped up across Arizona. (Audio story by Alexandra Watts/Cronkite News)

Listen: Living green in ecovillages

On this two-part collaborative effort, Daniel Karl and Zach Pekale talk with Joe Gagliano, author of No Grey Areas, about his role in the Arizona State basketball point-shaving scandal 25 years ago and the events that transpired afterward.

ASU Point Shaving PART ONE

KJZZ: Valley Geography

Ninety percent of the Colorado River’s water is used in the U.S., which has had dramatic effects on the landscape and people of northern Mexico.

KUNC - Final 100 miles of the Colorado highlight how badly the river is overtaxed

KJZZ: Native Americans have the most difficulty accessing clean water, report says

Hear Emilio Hoyos Hernández speak

A Super Bowl ad by the NFL that features the late Pat Tillman has divided a football community debating its intent. The statue of the former Arizona State and Cardinals defensive player at State Farm Stadium is part of a commercial celebrating the league’s 100th anniversary.

H.Brownstein(Pat Tillman W: Intro) - CN2GO

Cronkite News Update 05/08/2020

There are few grocery stores in Indian Country, so as COVID-19 leaves shelves scarce, Indigenous communities are returning to their food-growing roots.

COVID in Indian Country: Seeds of Change

A new study reveals that more than 10% of people in Maricopa County have antibodies for COVID-19,  and find out how the possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act could impact Native Americans in Arizona. And the Phoenix Suns make a major trade.

Maricopa County finds important results in COVID-19 antibody test

Cronkite News is a multiplatform news organization that covers news, business and sports from Arizona, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Cronkite News functions as a professional program based at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

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