NEW: More than 1,300 ballots went undelivered in the Navajo County, located in the northeastern quadrant of the state, during last week's primary. That’s not ideal, but it might also be normal. Read my analysis in my newsletter: vbnewsletters.votebeat.org/p/navajo-cou...

Navajo County and the case of the undelivered ballots 🕵️

More than 1,300 ballots went undelivered in the county, located in the northeastern quadrant of the state. That’s not ideal, but it might also be normal.

vbnewsletters.votebeat.org

ICYMI: Reporter @molboha.bsky.social appeared on AZ PBS last week to discuss her latest story on the state's yearslong, multimillion-dollar effort to get more students to continue their education after high school—only to see enrollment decline: youtu.be/PrfFwL5zyNI?...

Arizona Horizon | July 14, 2026 | Full episode

YouTube video by AZPBS Now

youtu.be

Listen to (or read) the full interview here: www.kjzz.org/the-show/202...

Despite millions in investment, fewer AZ high school grads are enrolling in college, trade school

A decade ago, Arizona leaders set a goal designed to boost our state’s future by boosting our state’s students post high-school graduation. By 2030, 70% of the state’s graduates would continue their e...

kjzz.org

Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting@azcir.org · 4w ago

AZ has spent years and millions of dollars trying to get more students to continue their education after high school. So why are fewer students enrolling? Tune in to @kjzzphoenix.bsky.social's The Show this AM at 9 to hear AZCIR's @molboha.bsky.social discuss her latest investigation: www.kjzz.org

AZ has spent years and millions of dollars trying to get more students to continue their education after high school. So why are fewer students enrolling? Tune in to @kjzzphoenix.bsky.social's The Show this AM at 9 to hear AZCIR's @molboha.bsky.social discuss her latest investigation: www.kjzz.org

KJZZ

KJZZ is an award-winning, listener-supported public radio station. Listen to KJZZ in the Phoenix area at 91.5 FM and HD, on our mobile app or stream it at kjzz.org.

kjzz.org

NEW: Mohave County is set to debut ballot paper with added security features in Arizona's July primary—despite questions about how well it will work. Read the first story in our new editorial partnership with @votebeat.org: azcir.org/news/2026/07...

Arizona county to use ballot paper born of longstanding election mistrust

Mohave County will debut new ballot paper with added security measures in July primary. Leaders in the county are betting the new paper will perform well, despite mixed test results—and that other cou...

azcir.org

NEW: AZ has spent at least $166 million since 2017 trying to get more high school grads to continue their education. Instead, the state's postsecondary enrollment rate has fallen—and ed leaders say AZ lacks the sustained funding and coordination needed to reverse the trend. azcir.org/news/2026/07...

Arizona’s push to boost postsecondary enrollment falls short

Arizona’s postsecondary enrollment rate has declined despite a decade of initiatives and millions of dollars invested.

azcir.org

ICYMI: A federal monitoring program was intended to protect those with schizophrenia from a rare blood disorder. Instead, patients throughout the U.S. lost access to antipsychotic medication clozapine, sometimes with fatal consequences. azcir.org/news/2026/06...

Treatment Interrupted: How federal rules kept schizophrenia medication out of reach

Clozapine is widely considered the most effective treatment for patients with severe schizophrenia. But across the U.S., people were repeatedly denied access to it because of a federal monitoring syst...

azcir.org

A federal monitoring program was intended to protect those with schizophrenia from a rare blood disorder. Instead, patients lost access to their antipsychotic medication, sometimes with fatal consequences. Here’s what happened when families fought back. azcir.org/news/2026/06...

Treatment Interrupted: How federal rules kept schizophrenia medication out of reach

Clozapine is widely considered the most effective treatment for patients with severe schizophrenia. But across the U.S., people were repeatedly denied access to it because of a federal monitoring syst...

azcir.org

ICYMI: AZ’s three public universities quietly dismantled DEI programs over the past year, following threats from the federal government to cut funds. When AZCIR asked what changed and how, officials declined interviews, records requests and ignored detailed questions. azcir.org/news/2026/04...

ICYMI: Arizona universities haven't been transparent about what they've changed to comply with federal guidance about DEI. To one professor at UA, decisions being made behind closed doors sends the message that "this isn’t your university anymore. This isn’t a community."

Arizona’s three public universities quietly dismantled DEI programs over the past year, following threats from the federal government to cut funding. When AZCIR asked what changed and how, officials declined interviews, denied records requests and ignored detailed questions. tinyurl.com/55yn7ku2

ICYMI: “The idea that we are a place where everybody has to carry their papers is not American,” said Annie Lai, immigrant rights attorney. “That’s not the kind of country that I think a lot of people think we should be.” Our latest, via @allymarkovich.bsky.social azcir.org/news/2026/03...

Border Patrol now targeting legal immigrants for 'carry your papers' law

Border Patrol in southern Arizona cited more than 100 people for not carrying their immigration documents in 2025 as part of Trump administration efforts to revive decades-old immigration laws.

azcir.org

“This is a move to turn the clock back to a narrower version of who belongs in America” Our latest, via @allymarkovich.bsky.social azcir.org/news/2026/03...

Border Patrol now targeting legal immigrants for 'carry your papers' law

Border Patrol in southern Arizona cited more than 100 people for not carrying their immigration documents in 2025 as part of Trump administration efforts to revive decades-old immigration laws.

azcir.org

Federal agents in southwest Arizona are now ticketing legal immigrants for not carrying their documents under a 1952 law that’s been rarely enforced for decades. Among those cited are a Canadian green card holder walking to breakfast and an international student at a truck stop.

Border Patrol now targeting legal immigrants for 'carry your papers' law

Border Patrol in southern Arizona cited more than 100 people for not carrying their immigration documents in 2025 as part of Trump administration efforts to revive decades-old immigration laws.

azcir.org

ICYMI: Nearly three years after AZ Medicaid officials publicly acknowledged a massive fraud scandal targeting Native Americans, the fraud continues and Indigenous residents are still getting exploited by bad actors: azcir.org/news/2026/02...

Medicaid fraud targeting Indigenous communities continues despite AHCCCS reforms

Though Arizona’s Medicaid agency says behavioral health fraud has stabilized since 2023, questionable sober living homes continue to recruit Native Americans.

azcir.org

NEW: Arizona says the worst of its Medicaid behavioral health fraud crisis is over. But nearly 3 years later, questionable sober living homes are still recruiting Indigenous community members, AZCIR's @jasminedemers.bsky.social has found. azcir.org/news/2026/02...

Medicaid fraud targeting Indigenous communities continues despite AHCCCS reforms

Though Arizona’s Medicaid agency says behavioral health fraud has stabilized since 2023, questionable sober living homes continue to recruit Native Americans.

azcir.org

ICYMI: Republican lawmakers are advancing a new wave of legislation targeting abortion in Arizona, even after a judge struck down several existing restrictions and affirmed voters’ 2024 decision to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. azcir.org/news/2026/02...

Despite court ruling, Arizona GOP moves abortion legislation forward

Republican lawmakers are advancing a new wave of legislation targeting abortion in Arizona, even after a judge struck down several existing restrictions and affirmed voters’ 2024 decision to enshrine ...

azcir.org

NEW: A Maricopa County judge recently struck down several AZ abortion restrictions as unconstitutional. But more than a dozen new bills with implications for abortion access remain in play at the Capitol. From medication abortion to fetal personhood, here’s a closer look: azcir.org/news/2026/02...

Despite court ruling, Arizona GOP moves abortion legislation forward

Republican lawmakers are advancing a new wave of legislation targeting abortion in Arizona, even after a judge struck down several existing restrictions and affirmed voters’ 2024 decision to enshrine ...

azcir.org

Welcome to all of our new followers! We're grateful you're here. If you want to be the first to know about our latest investigations, or get insider background about how our reporters do what they do, sign up for our free, semi-regular newsletter. azcir.org/newsletter/

AZCIR Newsletter | Sign up. Get engaged.

Get AZCIR's latest investigations and updates delivered straight into your inbox.

azcir.org

Amid rumors of increased ICE enforcement in AZ, I want to hear from students and staff at colleges and universities about the vibe on campus and what, if anything, schools are saying about potential ICE visits. Read my latest update and reach out: mailchi.mp/azcir.org/ic...

We wish it weren’t necessary to say that the federal government’s arrest of journalists for reporting on a public event violates the First Amendment’s protection for freedom of the press.

Last week, AZCIR reporter @allymarkovich.bsky.social joined @kjzz.org to discuss her reporting from Ukraine — and how drone technology tested there is reshaping surveillance and enforcement along the U.S.–Mexico border. Listen to the full interview here: www.kjzz.org/the-show/202...

This Arizona reporter found that drones used in Ukraine are now monitoring U.S.-Mexico border

Alexandra Markovich was born in Ukraine — the country is still entangled in a hard-fought war against Russia, one of the world’s premier military powers. But, she never imagined there would be much ov...

kjzz.org

There are still several slots available for this essential training. It's free to attend, and increasingly important in today's reporting landscape. DM if want to hear more, registration link below (deadline 1/15), for training on 1/26.

Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting@azcir.org · 8mo ago

We're thrilled to co-host the first 2025 IWMF Newsroom Safety Across America Initiative in Phoenix next month. The safety and security training is free for all freelance and staff reporters. Sign up here: t.co/FUwdg4oRm0 (registration deadline is 1/15/26).

We traveled to the Ukraine-Slovakia border with @azcir.org's @allymarkovich.bsky.social to document how the Ukrainian border guard uses surveillance drones to ensure no one is exiting the country to avoid the draft. www.youtube.com/watch?v=srcK...

Ukraine’s ‘battle-tested’ drones are accelerating militarization along the U.S.-Mexico

YouTube video by 100 Days in Appalachia

youtube.com

ICYMI: Prop. 139 won majority support in every Arizona district, enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution. Instead of adjusting course, GOP lawmakers pushed new abortion restrictions, reporter @adriana-navarro.bsky.social found—with more coming this session: azcir.org?p=35084

Despite broad support for abortion access in their Arizona districts, GOP lawmakers push new restrictions

Voters in 2024 passed Proposition 139, a constitutional amendment guaranteeing Arizonans the right to abortion, with nearly 62% support statewide. An AZCIR analysis shows Republican lawmakers responde...

azcir.org

Here it is! My first story with @azcir.org. When I saw AZ lawmakers had introduced laws that would restrict abortion access, I wondered if their actions reflected how their districts voted for Prop. 139. I found it didn't: Each LD voted in favor of the right to abortion care.

Despite broad support for abortion access in their Arizona districts, GOP lawmakers push new restrictions

Voters in 2024 passed Proposition 139, a constitutional amendment guaranteeing Arizonans the right to abortion, with nearly 62% support statewide. An AZCIR analysis shows Republican lawmakers responde...

azcir.org

NEW: Prop. 139 won majority support in every Arizona district, enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution. Instead of adjusting course, GOP lawmakers pushed new abortion restrictions, reporter Adriana Navarro found—with more coming this session: azcir.org?p=35084

Despite broad support for abortion access in their Arizona districts, GOP lawmakers push new restrictions

Voters in 2024 passed Proposition 139, a constitutional amendment guaranteeing Arizonans the right to abortion, with nearly 62% support statewide. An AZCIR analysis shows Republican lawmakers responde...

azcir.org

3 years after AZ voters approved in-state tuition for undocumented students through Prop 308, it’s unclear how many have actually benefited. The state had no centralized system to oversee the law's rollout or ensure consistent implementation, AZCIR found. Read our latest: azcir.org/news/2026/01...

Arizona voters approved in-state tuition for undocumented students. The state left implementation to chance

After Arizona voters approved a 2022 ballot initiative granting in-state tuition to undocumented students, the state put no centralized system in place to track participation or ensure consistent impl...

azcir.org

It's the last day of our Newsmatch campaign, and we need your help to trigger matching funds by raising another $2,500. Will you help us get there? All donations are double-matched, and new monthly recurring gifts are double-matched at their 12-month value! azcir.fundjournalism.org/newsmatch-20...

We're thrilled to co-host the first 2025 IWMF Newsroom Safety Across America Initiative in Phoenix next month. The safety and security training is free for all freelance and staff reporters. Sign up here: t.co/FUwdg4oRm0 (registration deadline is 1/15/26).