Free Republic

PHOENIX – The federal government could give Americans $4,000 apiece to take a vacation if U.S. Sen. Martha McSally’s proposal takes off. McSally (R-Ariz.) introduced the bill, the American TRIP Act, on Monday, the day before President Donald Trump visits Yuma and Phoenix. The legislation is meant to act as an incentive to travel domestically. Couples would start at $8,000 in vacation tax credits and receive $500 for each child who is a dependent. Credits would apply for 2020, 2021 and 2022. “It will also encourage Americans to safely get out of their homes and discover or rediscover Arizona along...

PHOENIX — Coronavirus pandemic or not, an investment advisory company is leaving the cultural unrest in Seattle and moving its headquarters to Phoenix’s Camelback Corridor. ” … The unrest that has taken place in the city of Seattle … there is really is not a downtown business community today,” Smead Capital Management, President and CEO Cole Smead told KTAR News 92.3 FM. Smead said that although taxes in Seattle are lower, candidate recruitment is harder and the cost of living within the city is more expensive than Phoenix. “We’re hearing rumors of 40-story buildings that will be only 20-percent occupied...

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo is actively talking to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont about mapping out mandatory quarantine “guidelines” for individuals traveling into the tristate area from Florida and other states seeing spikes in COVID-19 cases. Cuomo said the trio is “seriously considering” implementing a 14-day isolation for Floridians and that could be extended to travelers coming from Texas, Arizona and at least 20 other states. “The virus is up and more people are getting sick and now our fear in New York is those people are going to travel to New York and...

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Several more people were arrested after the Scottsdale Police Department says they took part in riots and looting on May 30th. Scottsdale Police say they have made a total of 34 arrests related to the looting. Angelo Brady II, 24, was arrested for trespassing after police discovered his involvement through a video he had posted online. Madison Mateevici-Dailey, 18, was arrested for stolen property and trafficking stolen property. Ariana Burrell, 24, was arrested for stolen property charges as well. Tyree Eubanks, 35, was arrested for stolen property, trafficking stolen property and weapons violation. Police released mugshots on...

216 miles completed, 339 miles under construction, 183 miles under pre-construction. (738 Total)

President Trump is expected to sign an expansion of immigration restrictions in the coming days in response to the economic downturn from the coronavirus pandemic -- an order that will reportedly suspend a number of guest worker programs. Trump signed an order in April suspending some forms of immigration, citing “the impact of foreign workers on the United States labor market, particularly in an environment of high domestic unemployment and depressed demand for labor” as a reason for the restriction, as well as pressures on health care and other factors. That order suspended, for 60 days, green cards for immigrants...

President Donald Trump is coming to Arizona for a visit Tuesday, June 23. The White House confirmed on Friday, June 19, that Trump would be in Yuma to survey the border wall and mark the completion of the first 200 miles of the border wall system. Before his tour of the wall, Trump will participate in a roundtable discussion with community and elected leaders on border security. Joining the President in Yuma will be Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf, Acting Deputy DHS Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, CBP Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan, and other officials. Following his Yuma visit, President Trump will...

Whether it’s true or not, if you say the “wrong” thing about Islam, you’re guilty -- even if you’re merely quoting what Muslims themselves say. Consider the recent case of Professor Nicholas Damask, chairman of the Department of Political Science at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona. Last month, after one of his students, Muhammad Sabra, found -- and shared on social media -- quiz questions which Muhammad felt were in “distaste of Islam,” the professor received a plethora of online death threats to himself and his family and criticism from his college. Matters eventually turned around in Damask’s favor; his...

The United States may be at a crucial point in the coronavirus pandemic, with cases rising again and officials deciding whether to stay the course on reopening. At least 19 states have seen new cases go up in the last two weeks and six states on Tuesday reported record increases, CBS News' Manuel Bojorquez reports. Florida reported 2,783 new cases. Texas reported 2,622, and Arizona reported a one-day jump of 2,392 new cases. Oklahoma, Oregon and Nevada also reported their highest single-day spikes in cases yet. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dismissed concerns Tuesday that reopenings are driving his state's record-breaking...

The health “experts” and the media propagating viral panic porn think people like us don’t understand arithmetic. They think they can manipulate headline stories warning of increased cases of COVID-19 in order to push more lockdowns, ignoring all the ways that more cases are being discovered, while the percentage of positive tests, new hospitalizations and deaths, and the lethality of the virus are all waning significantly. “Arizona’s COVID-19 spread is ‘alarming’ and action is needed, experts warn,” read the title of an Arizona Republic article..... ...As is always the case, there is a grain of truth that is hugely distorted...

Dare to Fly by Senator Martha McSally is a book about life’s lessons told through her own experiences. Even though unfathomable crimes have been committed against her, she has persevered emotionally and physically. The senator has not let her tragedies define who she is, but her triumphs. A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Martha McSally served 26 years in the Air Force, retiring as full colonel. She is the first female fighter pilot to fly in combat and the first to command a fighter squadron in combat in United States history. She deployed six times to the...

We learned recently that Marian Steelman (Azishot - FR member since January 2009) passed away in November. "Marian Steelman was born on September 19, 1947 and passed away on November 16, 2019 and is under the care of Mariposa Gardens Memorial Park and Funeral Care."DignityMemorial.com Prayers for her family and friends. Godspeed.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is suing the Arizona secretary of state and a gaggle of county officials over a rule in the state that automatically rejects mail-in ballots without signatures, whereas voters whose mail-in ballot signatures do not match their voter registration are given five days to remedy the situation. The Democrats' suit, which raises alarm over not all absentee ballots being "treated equally," is just the latest move in a larger effort to expand and protect absentee voting ahead of the November general election. That campaign has rankled Republicans, who say that allowing more absentee voting than necessary...

Arizona State University revoked a job offer from its incoming journalism school dean after students and faculty accused her of "microaggressions," including a tweet that called some police officers "good." Sonya Forte Duhé was due to take over as dean of ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication on July 1, but her offer was revoked on Monday after former students lodged complaints about comments they perceived as rude. Duhé was also criticized for her #BlackOutTuesday post that called some police officers good, in light of the George Floyd protests. In a since-deleted tweet, Duhé wrote, "for the...

The movement to “defund the police” is gaining momentum among Democrats as retaliation for police brutality. This unrealistic idea was once solely existent on the outskirts of the Democratic Party, among the fringe, far-left, but is not the first of its kind. A substantial amount of Democrats favor abolishing Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) in order to prevent a crackdown on illegal immigration, while also villifying border patrol for enforcing the law of the land. The idea of abolishing or cutting funding to ICE would not resonate with voters in battleground states, as it represents a public safety issue, especially...

In January, hundreds of people gathered on a small bridge spanning the San Pedro River to protest the pending construction of a border barrier across the riverbed. Since then, the project has moved ahead. Cottonwood trees have been cleared and construction crews are setting up... After months with no new details on the project design, last week the agency said the barrier across the San Pedro River will consist of a bridge with gates, and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

PHOENIX - A platform for black mothers to unite was on display in Phoenix with the support of the mayor and police chief Saturday afternoon as the push for racial equality and policy reform continues. About a hundred people showed up to the event, but more importantly a majority of the crowd, mainly mothers, showcased a powerful moment between women standing up against racism. “We want our children to be free just like your children are free ... to be who they were birthed here to be and that is our right, that is our human right," said Janelle Wood,...

Tucked amid the snow-capped peaks hovering ominously over the heather green and red parched landscape, just shy of four hours northeast of the Phoenix metro area, resides the largest cannabis greenhouse in the U.S. Weighing in at a behemoth 40-acres under glass, the team at Copperstate Farms (Snowflake, AZ) is perpetually harvesting proof that high-quality, premium cannabis can and is being produced at scale, under glass, in a commercial greenhouse.

President Donald Trump is expected to visit the border fence near Yuma next week. The Washington Post reports Trump is expected to attend a ceremony in the Yuma Sector on an as yet unannounced day to mark the completion of the barrier’s 200th mile. That is according to officials who were not authorized to describe the plans.

A Republican group that opposes President Trump’s re-election is running a scathing new TV commercial on Monday that targets the president over his comments and record on race relations. The spot from the Lincoln Project – which comes amid a wave of racial protests and violence – is titled "Flag of Treason" and highlights people carrying and waving Confederate flags at Trump rallies and other political events. The group says they’re spending a half-million dollars to run the ad on broadcast and cable television this week in the key general election battleground states of Arizona, North Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin,...