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This election, one of President Donald Trump’s most influential advocates is 26-year-old Charlie Kirk, who has developed a unique bond with the first family. The conservative star dines with the president at Mar-a-Lago and rang in the new year there. During each of the last two winters, he used the club to hold a formal fundraiser for his nonprofit, Turning Point USA, that featured Donald Trump Jr.

At a Turning Point event in June, the president, addressing the crowd, said, “Let us also show our appreciation to my good friend, Charlie. I’ll tell you, Charlie is some piece of work who is mobilizing a new generation of pro-American student activists.” On a Turning Point webpage soliciting donations, Trump Jr., a close friend of Kirk’s, is quoted as saying, “I’m convinced that the work by Turning Point USA and Charlie Kirk will win back the future of America.”

The tax-exempt charity says its mission is to educate “students about the importance of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and capitalism.” As its profile has risen, its revenue has ballooned, reaching $28 million, a sevenfold increase in four years.

Arizona lawmakers and advocates were unsparing Monday in their praise of the late Rep. John Lewis, using words like hero, giant and legend for the man one described as “living, breathing history.”

The Georgia Democrat, who played a leading role in the civil rights movement from the 1960s until now, died Friday of pancreatic cancer, according to a statement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said Lewis was “revered and beloved” in Congress.

Tributes poured in from across the country and from Arizona, where some officials recalling crossing paths with Lewis and others said they were inspired by his example.

“What do you say when somebody who is living, breathing history leaves? My first thought was who’s going to carry on the legacy?” asked Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans. She said that even though this “freedom rider” has died, someone needs to pick up the torch from Lewis.

Some lawmakers couldn’t say anything: After tweeting Friday that he was “heartbroken,” Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Phoenix, said there would be “no official quote coming from me or my office right now about the passing about John Lewis. This just hurts too much.”

Heartbroken was a common refrain among Arizona lawmakers, almost all of whom had something to say about Lewis, 80.

Lewis was born Feb. 21, 1940, in Alabama, the son of sharecroppers, according to his congressional bio. While finishing his last year at Fisk University in 1961, he volunteered to be a Freedom Rider, Blacks and whites who rode through the South to protest segregation by crossing the color line in whites-only facilities.

From 1963 to 1966, he was chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He led the 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, that became known as the “Bloody Sunday” march after police attacked the marchers, fracturing Lewis’ skull in the process.

He was elected to Congress in 1986 and continued serving, even after announcing in December that he was being treated for stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

We are mourning the unexpected loss of the Grevy's zebra foal born on July 4th. Preliminary exam results show the foal likely died from a spinal injury. Our hearts go out to our animal care staff and community, as we know the foal was already very loved.https://t.co/HtZgQXhNay

— Reid Park Zoo (@ReidParkZoo) July 21, 2020

PHOENIX – The federal government is currently not accepting new applications for protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, despite a federal court’s order Friday that it resume doing so.

A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson said Monday that “Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice are reviewing the court decision, and USCIS has no further comment at this time.”

The order Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Paul Grimm in Maryland came almost a month after the Supreme Court overturned the Trump administration’s plan to eliminate DACA. The Obama-era program deferred deportation for undocumented immigrants who were brought to this country as children, and granted them work, driving and other privileges.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona climbed past 148,000 as of Tuesday, July 21, after the state reported 3,500 new cases this morning, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Pima County had seen 13,848 of the state's 148,683 confirmed cases.

A total of 2,918 people have died after contracting the virus, including 391 in Pima County.

Maricopa County had 98,988 of the state's cases.

Hospitals remain under pressure, although they report in slight decrease in the number of Arizonans hospitalized with COVID-19-related symptoms. The report shows that 3,041 COVID patients were hospitalized yesterday in the state, down from a peak of 3,517 on July 13 and the lowest number hospitalized since July 2, when 3,013 people were hospitalized.

A total of 1,203 people visited ERs yesterday with COVID symptoms. The number of ER visits hadn’t hadn’t dipped that low since June 29, when 1,077 people with COVID symptoms visited ERs. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.

A total of 865 COVID-19 patients were in ICU beds yesterday. That’s the lowest it’s been since July 8, when 861 COVID-19 patients were in ICU. The number in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13.

Citing a drop in the total number of cases on a week-to-week basis, Gov. Doug Ducey said last week that mask-wearing and steps to reduce the interaction of people in large groups had resulted in some positive signs regarding the spread of the virus.

But Ducey warned the state still had a long road ahead in the fight against COVID-19.

"I want people to get their heads around this," Ducey said. "There's no end in sight today."

Figures from Pima County show that on a week-by-week basis, cases here may have also peaked in the week ending June 27, with new cases reaching 2,300 in that seven-day period. Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry noted that the two subsequent weeks could still be adjusted upwards, but during the week ending July 4, 2,092 cases were reported. However, Huckelberry noted that the week ending July 4, the county saw a peak of 37 deaths, up from 18 the previous week.

While coronavirus cases may be on a slight downward trend in the state, Ducey urged Arizonans to stay vigilant by staying at home and wearing masks while practicing social distancing when out in public to continue the fight against the virus.

"There will be no victory laps," said Ducey, who praised measures set by local authorities to require masks were helping to reduce spread, but once again stopped short of a statewide mandate.

Arizona Senate Democrats released a joint statement following Ducey's press conference urging him to enact a statewide mask mandate, implement more contact tracing and provide more PPE for hospitals and schools.

"We are disappointed again that the Governor refuses to take stronger actions to curb the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus," the lawmakers wrote. "More aggressive action is needed now to safely open schools in the future no matter what date is picked. Senate Democrats again urge the Governor to take swift and preventative action. Time is not an ally. Act now, Governor to curtail the spread. Lives, not just livelihoods, are at stake."

The looming question this week: Is it safe to reopen Arizona’s schools and universities next week? Ducey said at last week’s press conference that he was in conversations with school leaders and university presidents about the best way to move forward with the school year. Many school officials are anticipating an announcement this week from Ducey regarding a further delay in starting the school year.

For more Claytoonz, click here.

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Last August, Adam Durand, legislative director for Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson, fired off an email on behalf of an important state manufacturer that was waging a frustrating fight for relief from President Donald Trump’s China tariffs.

“I wanted to let you know that the executive team with Polaris is meeting with Chairman Peterson this afternoon,” he wrote to Haley Dorval, an assistant to the chief of staff at the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. “It would be greatly helpful if I could talk to someone by early afternoon about the status of this issue.”

Durand’s boss had pressured USTR all year about tariffs that were costing the company millions of dollars every month. Polaris, which imports parts for its off-road vehicles and motor boats, was working every Washington angle to win tariff exemptions. An administration-backed trade bill, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, was coming up for a vote and Polaris CEO Scott Wine told investors last summer that he was “trying to leverage votes for USMCA to help us get tariff relief.”

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Click here to read their biggest stories as soon as they’re published.

The economic and health crisis brought on by the pandemic has struck Black Americans especially hard: from their prevalence among workers in essential high-risk fields, to their disproportionate share of deaths, to extensive job losses. But the racial disparities didn’t begin with the virus. National unemployment numbers that now seem unprecedented for workers as a whole have been a daily reality for many Black communities for decades. See how different groups have experienced unemployment in the graphics below. (For the full interactive graphic, click here.)

PHOENIX – Arizona is one of 18 states in the coronavirus “red zone” that should take stricter action to curb the rapid spread of COVID-19, according to an internal White House report unveiled Thursday.

The document, first reported by the Washington-based nonprofit Center for Public Integrity, categorizes states as being in the red zone if they exceeded 100 new cases per 100,000 residents last week and had more than 10% positive tests for the virus. Arizona topped both categories, with 349 new cases per 100,000 residents and a 20% positive test rate, according to the document.

The report came the same day Gov. Doug Ducey said the state’s COVID-19 numbers were headed in the right direction, even as he warned state residents that the virus is here to stay and urged people to wear masks, socially distance and take other measures to curb its spread.

The report also came one day before Arizona recorded 91 new deaths, to top 2,500 for the first time, and added 3,910 new cases.

Calls seeking comment from Ducey’s office and the Arizona Department of Health Services seeking comment on the White House report were not immediately returned Friday.

But the executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association said it is important that people see the numbers in the report. Will Humble said that the percentage of positive tests, in particular, gives a clearer picture of the situation.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona climbed past 145,000 as of Monday, July 20, after the state reported 1,559 new cases this morning, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Pima County had seen 13,994 of the state's 145,183 confirmed cases.

A total of 2,784 people have died after contracting the virus, including 382 in Pima County.

Maricopa County has 96,711 of the state's cases.

Hospitals remain under pressure, although they report in slight decrease in the number of Arizonans hospitalized with COVID-19-related symptoms. The report shows that 3,084 COVID patients were hospitalized yesterday in the state, down from a peak of 3,517 on Monday, July 13.


A total of 1,357 people visited ERs yesterday with COVID-like symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.

A total of 886 COVID-19 patients were in ICU beds yesterday. That number peaked at 970 on July 13.

Gov. Doug Ducey said last week that mask-wearing and steps to reduce the interaction of people in large groups had resulted in some positive signs regarding the spread of the virus. He cited a slight drop in the percentage of people visiting emergency rooms exhibiting COVID-like illness in the last week, as well as a drop in the total number of cases on a week-to-week basis.

But Ducey warned the state still had a long road ahead in the fight against the deadly virus.

"I want people to get their heads around this," Ducey said. "There's no end in sight today."

Figures from Pima County show that on a week-by-week basis, cases here may have also peaked in the week ending June 27, with new cases reaching 2,300. Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry noted that the two subsequent weeks could still be adjusted upwards, but during the week ending July 4, 2,092 cases were reported. However, Huckelberry noted that the week ending July 4, the county saw a peak of 37 deaths, up from 18 the previous week.

While coronavirus cases may be on a slight downward trend in the state, Ducey urged Arizonans to stay vigilant by staying at home and wearing masks while practicing social distancing when out in public to continue the fight against the virus.

"There will be no victory laps," said Ducey, who praised measures set by local authorities to require masks were helping reduce spread, but once again stopped short of a statewide mandate.