Latest news with #Arizonans
Yahoo
a day ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Could a California rocket launch be visible in Arizona? Where to See SpaceX Falcon 9
The first SpaceX rocket to launch in June from California could soon be streaking through the skies, and Arizonans just might have a chance to see it. The commercial spaceflight company's Falcon 9 rocket, which got off the ground six times in May from Southern California, is due to make its next orbital delivery of Starlink satellites as early as Tuesday, June 3. Liftoff, as usual, will take place from the Vandenberg Space Force Base. The two-stage 230-foot-tall rocket, one of the world's most active, has become crucial in regularly deploying batches of internet-beaming Starlink satellites into what's called low-Earth orbit — an altitude that allows for things like satellites to circle Earth fairly quickly. But it's important to keep in mind that rocket launches can be — and often are — scrubbed or delayed due to any number of factors, including poor weather conditions or unexpected issues with spacecraft. Check back with azcentral for any updates on the impending rocket launch. Because of the launch site's proximity, Arizona residents across a large swath of the state may be able to witness the rocket soaring overhead. Here's what to know about the launch, as well as when and where to watch it: A SpaceX rocket could get off the ground as early as Tuesday, June 3, with backup opportunities available Wednesday, June 4, according to a Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory. Multiple online websites that track rocket launch schedules suggest the launch window lasts from 4:50 to 8:50 p.m. PT. Neither Vandenberg Space Force Base nor SpaceX has officially confirmed the launch. The launch, using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to deliver the Starlink satellites, will take place from Launch Complex 4E from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Following the delivery and deployment of the satellites, the Falcon 9 rocket's booster will aim to land on a SpaceX drone ship, nicknamed "Of Course I Still Love You," in the Pacific Ocean. This allows for SpaceX personnel to recover the booster so it can be reused in future spaceflights. SpaceX will provide a livestream of the launch on its website beginning about five minutes before liftoff, along with updates on social media site X. Because of Arizona's proximity to the launch site, there's a good chance people there can see the spacecraft streak across the sky, especially at night or very early morning. Here's a list of some possible viewing locations compiled by The Arizona Republic, a USA TODAY Network publication. Dobbins Lookout, South Mountain, 10919 S. Central Ave., Phoenix, Arizona Papago Park, 625 N. Galvin Parkway, Phoenix, Arizona Fountain Hills, a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, which in 2018 was designated a Dark Sky Community with little light pollution Superstition Mountains, located 40 miles from metro Phoenix in Arizona Cave Creek, a town in Maricopa County about 30 miles north of Fountain Hills, Arizona Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, 3400 Sky Harbor Blvd., Arizona, which has a parking garage that is popular for plane-watching Black Canyon City, an unincorporated community in Yavapai County, Arizona Any mountain park in Arizona , 14805 W. Vineyard Ave., Goodyear, Arizona , 2600 N. Watson Road, Buckeye, Arizona , 20304 W. White Tank Mountain Road, Waddell, Arizona , 6533 W. Phillips Road, Queen Creek, Arizona Monument Hill, a 150-foot slope on 115th Avenue, in Arizona Space Exploration Technologies Corp., more widely known as SpaceX, is an astronautics company owned and co-founded by Elon Musk, the world's richest man. The commercial spaceflight company is contracted with NASA and the Department of Defense to use many of its spacecraft to help launch government missions. SpaceX also conducts many of its own rocket launches — most using its two-stage Falcon 9 rocket — including for private crewed missions and to deliver communication satellites to orbit. Owned by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, Starlink is a constellation of more than 6,700 satellites that provide internet service to customers around the world. SpaceX, a commercial spaceflight company, has spent more than six years delivering the satellites to orbit with a regular cadence of rocket launches from Florida and California. While most satellite internet services operate from single geostationary satellites orbiting Earth at about 22,236 miles, Starlink is a constellation of thousands of satellites that operate from a low-Earth orbit, about 341 miles up. That allows Starlink's satellites to have lower latency and data time between user and the satellite, improving performance of things like streaming, online gaming and video calls. Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: California rocket launch: SpaceX Falcon 9 could be seen in Arizona
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The First Amendment's 5 freedoms to be focus of Arizona Republic reporter's work
The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights, written at the dawn of our republic to guard against government overreach. Two famous presidents put them into perspective in letters to each other. "A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth," Thomas Jefferson said in 1787, in correspondence with James Madison. "Among the advocates for the Constitution, there are some who wish for further guards to public liberty and individual rights," Madison wrote back in 1788. First Amendment issues are in the national spotlight now, and The Arizona Republic and are going to shine a spotlight on all five of its freedoms, each of which protects the individual. Taylor Seely, who has covered Phoenix and several other local cities with skill and passion in her almost eight years with The Republic, is now our First Amendment reporter. She will work to highlight and explain issues related to the First Amendment and examine the impact on Arizonans and their daily lives, countering disinformation with facts, and producing compelling journalism on what can seem like abstract concepts. She'll reach out to the community, too, helping to foster First Amendment conversations. "First Amendment rights affect your daily life, whether you realize it or not. It's my job to show you how. Ultimately, I want to help people be more attuned and sensitive to their rights — to make them more aware of what the First Amendment guarantees to everyone in this country and when those rights are being infringed," Seely said. She joins four other First Amendment reporters in the USA TODAY Network, at The Indianapolis Star, The Tallahassee Democrat, The Tennessean in Nashville and USA TODAY. These positions are made possible by support from the Freedom Forum's Local Press Initiative and Journalism Funding Partners, a nonprofit that works to increase the depth, diversity and sustainability of local journalism. The First Amendment protects freedom of religious belief, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and freedom to petition the government to set right what you consider its wrongs. The founders' concerns sound very modern almost 240 years later. They wanted to ensure checks and balances on the power of each branch of government. Madison worried about the tyranny of the majority and how to protect the rights of those with different views. "I need people to be my eyes and ears on the ground. I need you to keep me up to date with what you're noticing and questioning," Seely said. "What's keeping you up at night? Email, call or text me, and help me defend the public's right to know. I'll be sure to sound the alarm if your freedoms are being threatened." Look for Seely's work on First Amendment issues beginning June 2 on in the print Arizona Republic and on our social platforms, including Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X and Threads. You, too, can play a vital role in supporting local journalism that you and your community can trust. News alerts in your inbox: Don't miss the important news of the day. Sign up for azcentral newsletter alerts to be in the know. Over the course of a year, The Republic staff covers the big news events in depth but also reports on compelling topics rarely covered by other journalists. We provide essential information for our readers to live their best lives, with information on dining and entertainment, travel and sports. Please consider signing up for an subscription. If you have a subscription, please consider renewing it. Kathy Tulumello is the news director of The Arizona Republic. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Republic reporter Taylor Seely to focus on First Amendment
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Reader Q&A: What's up with Arizona's special gasoline blends and are they worth the cost?
This is part of a monthly series answering readers' climate-related questions and highlighting Arizona's unsung climate leaders. The stories aim to help connect and inspire Arizonans who care about protecting a livable climate and may be struggling to find hope in that effort. You can ask a question or nominate an unsung Arizona climate leader by filling out this form at or by emailing climate reporter Joan Meiners at The price of gasoline is a frequent hot topic of conversation around the water cooler, er, gas pump. It also comes up like clockwork every four years during the run-up to the presidential election when it is, incorrectly, used to blame or praise candidates for their economic approach (turns out gasoline prices have very little to do with short-term domestic policies and are largely out of any sitting president's control, according to energy analysts). In Arizona, gasoline tends to be a bit more expensive than the national average, as my colleague Russ Wiles reported recently in advance of Memorial Day weekend travel. One reason could be that a state law requires the summertime use of a special blend designed to help control ozone and other air pollutants that peak during hot months in metro Phoenix, which consistently ranks among the regions with the worst air quality in the country. After Wiles' story was published, he received questions from readers about whether that requirement is still in place and, if so, whether it's worth the added cost. More: What to expect with Arizona gas prices as Memorial Day, summer travel season nears "Russ, unfortunately, you didn't mention the exotic blend of gasoline only Arizona is required to use to supposedly lower the ozone levels, which costs tons more than similar blends that could supposedly have the same effect on pollution and are cheaper," one reader wrote. "You didn't mention the special blend that is required by the consent order locally signed," another reader pointed out. "Is it no longer in effect?" Arizona's cleaner-burning gasoline blend was not the focus of Wiles' story last month. But since burning fossil fuels like gasoline for transportation is a top contributor to the emission of greenhouse gases causing the climate to warm and destabilize, and because ozone is an indirect part of that larger equation, it is the focus of this story — part of our monthly series answering reader's climate-related questions or highlighting a local climate leader. (Submit your question here: AZ climate leader: These 'great old broads' are serious about science, wolves and reversing climate change The most basic difference with cleaner-burning gasoline is the addition of oxygen-containing compounds, or oxygenates, that help gasoline burn more completely in fuel tanks and not evaporate from vehicles. This makes for better fuel efficiency (with some minor mpg tradeoffs) while minimizing toxins that end up in the air. CBG blends also reduce the amount of benzene, a known human carcinogen, by half and the amount of sulfur, which facilitates better emissions controls on vehicles, by up to 80%. And they typically cut back on the use of other smog-forming hydrocarbons once thought to improve vehicle performance. Extensive testing with millions of miles driven on CBG blends since 1996, however, has shown no negative effects on vehicles or in other types of gasoline-burning engines. The fuel types can be used interchangeably without any modifications. The estimated effect is a 15% reduction in smog for a 5- to 15-cent per gallon cost increase. (These stats are for California, which has a slightly different blend. Arizona officials declined to comment for The Arizona Republic on how the local CBG blend differs or might affect prices.) It's tough to translate that added cost at the pump into health care savings related to air pollution's links to higher incidences of asthma, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke and more. But since children can be especially vulnerable to air pollutants, the value of reducing them now can pay dividends for society further into the future, with incoming generations that are able to be more productive in the workforce and less reliant on the health care system. More: Reader Q&A: How can I protect my kids from climate pollution and advocate for clean air? Jeremy Martin, a chemist who directs fuels policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists' Clean Transportation Program, said it's important to look at vehicles and fuels as an interconnected system shifting with gasoline markets and vehicle efficiency improvements, and also with societal health outcomes and concerns. "One important piece of context is that federal fuel regulations have been changing as well," Martin said. "Vehicle regulations and fuel regulations go hand in hand, and together they result in reduced air pollution and reduced health impacts from that pollution." The American Lung Association reported in 2025 that Arizona ranked fourth in the number of unhealthy ozone days and that 84% of Arizonans live in communities with unhealthy air. Another AZ climate leader: Rhonda Bannard believes women are the changemakers for climate action and Mother Earth Arizona's struggle with unhealthy air goes back decades, and so does its history of trying to contain it using cleaner-burning gasoline, one of several tools in the air quality arsenal. It all started in 1997, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency extended its reformulated gasoline program to the Phoenix area to bring it into compliance with air quality regulations established by the Clean Air Act. Then-Gov. Fife Symington supported this solution and asked in January 1997 that the EPA require refiners to supply local retailers with the reformulated gasoline blend by June. But in September of that year, Symington resigned from office over bank fraud convictions that were eventually overturned. His successor, Gov. Jane Dee Hull, requested an exemption from the EPA program just one week later. Although Phoenix was still considered a "serious ozone non-attainment area," the EPA granted this removal as of June 1998, one year after it had started, because Arizona had developed its own clean fuel program to reduce emissions of particulates and volatile organic compounds that contribute to ozone formation. The specifics of that state program have shifted and been revised over the years, with some efforts to increase its benefits for air quality and other introduced legislation, including in the current legislative session, aimed at expanding what types of fuel can be considered clean enough or loosening regulations. Vince Wolpert, who manages CBG compliance for the Arizona Department of Agriculture, said the current supply is sourced from refineries in California, New Mexico and Texas and brought into the state primarily by two pipelines, one from California and the other from New Mexico. "As for how the Department of Agriculture became involved, the Office of Weights and Measures already regulated fuel quality and quantity," Wolpert said. "Therefore, the state legislature tasked our agency as the enforcement agency for the CBG program." Read our climate series: The latest from Joan Meiners at azcentral: climate coverage from Arizona and the Southwest Beyond the cost-saving benefits of slowing destructive atmospheric warming by reducing tailpipe emissions that increase greenhouse gas concentrations and worsen storms, the climate issue becomes involved in gasoline pricing when demand for CBG intersects with Arizona's growing electric vehicle industry. "Of course, our best bet would be to invest more in transit and electric vehicles to make a difference for our air," said Sandy Bahr, director of the Grand Canyon chapter of the Sierra Club. Since 2022, Arizona has become an "EV battery manufacturing powerhouse," with several large new facilities incentivized by clean energy tax credits tied to former President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. Hundreds of millions of investment dollars and thousands of jobs have flowed to the state as a result. But the Trump administration's budget proposal currently under consideration by the U.S. Senate would repeal most of those funds, as well as a program offering average Americans up to $7,500 back on electric vehicle purchases. Advocates say this would devastate Arizona's clean energy economy and have hazardous consequences for energy access, air quality and health. Some analysts further predict that a slowing of the American electric vehicle industry — one that forces more people into internal combustion vehicles despite globally increasing market demand for EVs — could put more pressure on gasoline supply chains, causing a greater increase in prices at the pump than any version of a cleaner-burning fuel program. Joan Meiners is the climate news and storytelling reporter at The Arizona Republic and Her award-winning work has also appeared in Discover Magazine, National Geographic, ProPublica and the Washington Post Magazine. Before becoming a journalist, she completed a doctorate in ecology. Follow Joan on Twitter at @beecycles, on Bluesky @ or email her at This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Do Arizona's fuel blends help air quality or reduce greenhouses gases?
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Reader Q&A: What's up with Arizona's special gasoline blends and are they worth the cost?
This is part of a monthly series answering readers' climate-related questions and highlighting Arizona's unsung climate leaders. The stories aim to help connect and inspire Arizonans who care about protecting a livable climate and may be struggling to find hope in that effort. You can ask a question or nominate an unsung Arizona climate leader by filling out this form at or by emailing climate reporter Joan Meiners at The price of gasoline is a frequent hot topic of conversation around the water cooler, er, gas pump. It also comes up like clockwork every four years during the run-up to the presidential election when it is, incorrectly, used to blame or praise candidates for their economic approach (turns out gasoline prices have very little to do with short-term domestic policies and are largely out of any sitting president's control, according to energy analysts). In Arizona, gasoline tends to be a bit more expensive than the national average, as my colleague Russ Wiles reported recently in advance of Memorial Day weekend travel. One reason could be that a state law requires the summertime use of a special blend designed to help control ozone and other air pollutants that peak during hot months in metro Phoenix, which consistently ranks among the regions with the worst air quality in the country. After Wiles' story was published, he received questions from readers about whether that requirement is still in place and, if so, whether it's worth the added cost. More: What to expect with Arizona gas prices as Memorial Day, summer travel season nears "Russ, unfortunately, you didn't mention the exotic blend of gasoline only Arizona is required to use to supposedly lower the ozone levels, which costs tons more than similar blends that could supposedly have the same effect on pollution and are cheaper," one reader wrote. "You didn't mention the special blend that is required by the consent order locally signed," another reader pointed out. "Is it no longer in effect?" Arizona's cleaner-burning gasoline blend was not the focus of Wiles' story last month. But since burning fossil fuels like gasoline for transportation is a top contributor to the emission of greenhouse gases causing the climate to warm and destabilize, and because ozone is an indirect part of that larger equation, it is the focus of this story — part of our monthly series answering reader's climate-related questions or highlighting a local climate leader. (Submit your question here: AZ climate leader: These 'great old broads' are serious about science, wolves and reversing climate change The most basic difference with cleaner-burning gasoline is the addition of oxygen-containing compounds, or oxygenates, that help gasoline burn more completely in fuel tanks and not evaporate from vehicles. This makes for better fuel efficiency (with some minor mpg tradeoffs) while minimizing toxins that end up in the air. CBG blends also reduce the amount of benzene, a known human carcinogen, by half and the amount of sulfur, which facilitates better emissions controls on vehicles, by up to 80%. And they typically cut back on the use of other smog-forming hydrocarbons once thought to improve vehicle performance. Extensive testing with millions of miles driven on CBG blends since 1996, however, has shown no negative effects on vehicles or in other types of gasoline-burning engines. The fuel types can be used interchangeably without any modifications. The estimated effect is a 15% reduction in smog for a 5- to 15-cent per gallon cost increase. (These stats are for California, which has a slightly different blend. Arizona officials declined to comment for The Arizona Republic on how the local CBG blend differs or might affect prices.) It's tough to translate that added cost at the pump into health care savings related to air pollution's links to higher incidences of asthma, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke and more. But since children can be especially vulnerable to air pollutants, the value of reducing them now can pay dividends for society further into the future, with incoming generations that are able to be more productive in the workforce and less reliant on the health care system. More: Reader Q&A: How can I protect my kids from climate pollution and advocate for clean air? Jeremy Martin, a chemist who directs fuels policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists' Clean Transportation Program, said it's important to look at vehicles and fuels as an interconnected system shifting with gasoline markets and vehicle efficiency improvements, and also with societal health outcomes and concerns. "One important piece of context is that federal fuel regulations have been changing as well," Martin said. "Vehicle regulations and fuel regulations go hand in hand, and together they result in reduced air pollution and reduced health impacts from that pollution." The American Lung Association reported in 2025 that Arizona ranked fourth in the number of unhealthy ozone days and that 84% of Arizonans live in communities with unhealthy air. Another AZ climate leader: Rhonda Bannard believes women are the changemakers for climate action and Mother Earth Arizona's struggle with unhealthy air goes back decades, and so does its history of trying to contain it using cleaner-burning gasoline, one of several tools in the air quality arsenal. It all started in 1997, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency extended its reformulated gasoline program to the Phoenix area to bring it into compliance with air quality regulations established by the Clean Air Act. Then-Gov. Fife Symington supported this solution and asked in January 1997 that the EPA require refiners to supply local retailers with the reformulated gasoline blend by June. But in September of that year, Symington resigned from office over bank fraud convictions that were eventually overturned. His successor, Gov. Jane Dee Hull, requested an exemption from the EPA program just one week later. Although Phoenix was still considered a "serious ozone non-attainment area," the EPA granted this removal as of June 1998, one year after it had started, because Arizona had developed its own clean fuel program to reduce emissions of particulates and volatile organic compounds that contribute to ozone formation. The specifics of that state program have shifted and been revised over the years, with some efforts to increase its benefits for air quality and other introduced legislation, including in the current legislative session, aimed at expanding what types of fuel can be considered clean enough or loosening regulations. Vince Wolpert, who manages CBG compliance for the Arizona Department of Agriculture, said the current supply is sourced from refineries in California, New Mexico and Texas and brought into the state primarily by two pipelines, one from California and the other from New Mexico. "As for how the Department of Agriculture became involved, the Office of Weights and Measures already regulated fuel quality and quantity," Wolpert said. "Therefore, the state legislature tasked our agency as the enforcement agency for the CBG program." Read our climate series: The latest from Joan Meiners at azcentral: climate coverage from Arizona and the Southwest Beyond the cost-saving benefits of slowing destructive atmospheric warming by reducing tailpipe emissions that increase greenhouse gas concentrations and worsen storms, the climate issue becomes involved in gasoline pricing when demand for CBG intersects with Arizona's growing electric vehicle industry. "Of course, our best bet would be to invest more in transit and electric vehicles to make a difference for our air," said Sandy Bahr, director of the Grand Canyon chapter of the Sierra Club. Since 2022, Arizona has become an "EV battery manufacturing powerhouse," with several large new facilities incentivized by clean energy tax credits tied to former President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. Hundreds of millions of investment dollars and thousands of jobs have flowed to the state as a result. But the Trump administration's budget proposal currently under consideration by the U.S. Senate would repeal most of those funds, as well as a program offering average Americans up to $7,500 back on electric vehicle purchases. Advocates say this would devastate Arizona's clean energy economy and have hazardous consequences for energy access, air quality and health. Some analysts further predict that a slowing of the American electric vehicle industry — one that forces more people into internal combustion vehicles despite globally increasing market demand for EVs — could put more pressure on gasoline supply chains, causing a greater increase in prices at the pump than any version of a cleaner-burning fuel program. Joan Meiners is the climate news and storytelling reporter at The Arizona Republic and Her award-winning work has also appeared in Discover Magazine, National Geographic, ProPublica and the Washington Post Magazine. Before becoming a journalist, she completed a doctorate in ecology. Follow Joan on Twitter at @beecycles, on Bluesky @ or email her at This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Do Arizona's fuel blends help air quality or reduce greenhouses gases?
USA Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Dems can make all the demands they want on ICE arrests. They won't get answers.
Dems can make all the demands they want on ICE arrests. They won't get answers. | Opinion There is nothing Democrats in Congress can do to stop the Trump administration's amoral actions unless Republicans decide to honor their oaths and help them. Show Caption Hide Caption Marco Rubio defends immigration actions to lawmakers Secretary of State Marco Rubio was grilled by lawmakers over his implementation of immigration policies. I'm picturing a giggling young aide skipping into Kristi Noem's office at the Department of Homeland Security and excitedly saying, "Would you like to see something really funny, Madam Secretary?' Then, I see them handing over the letter sent to Noem on May 28 from Arizona's Democratic congressional delegation. Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, along with Reps. Greg Stanton and Yassamin Ansari, want to know why Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in plainclothes and masks were outside immigration court in Phoenix scooping up individuals who were following all the rules and reporting for asylum hearings before a judge. A press release accompanying the letter the group sent to Noem said the two senators and two representatives 'demand answers from DHS and ICE.' That would be the part that had Noem and her merry band of MAGA acolytes rolling in the aisles. Opinion: Trump deports man with no convictions but pardons criminals. What due process? Demand. Oooooooooooo, scary. NOT. Pointing out cruelties and flaws won't get them fixed All the parties involved in this little exchange know that the only thing the Democrats can do is make noise. Arizona's congressional members say in their letter that "targeting immigrants without a criminal record who are following the law by showing up for their scheduled immigration hearing has only created chaos and does not make our communities safer.' That is true. They say: "These tactics make our immigration system less efficient and fair and discourage individuals from appearing for future hearings.' Opinion: Trump's administration is off the rails because it's unqualified to do the job Also true. They say that the operation is taking "law enforcement away from drug trafficking and human trafficking cases to target noncriminal immigrants," and that "serious criminals may be allowed to continue roaming the streets at large ‒ making Arizonans less safe.' Again, right on the money. And again in response ‒ giggles. A very funny thing, although not in a HAHA way. Not at all. I'd guess Noem found it especially humorous because on the very day the Democratic lawmakers sent their letter to her, there were reports that ICE agents had resumed the practice of hauling off immigrants who showed up for court. KJZZ quoted a man who said he saw ICE agents taking people into custody: "They took this lady and her child. The child couldn't be more than 3 or 4 years old.' An ICE spokesperson declined to confirm the arrest or that the agency had resumed operations. Of course they wouldn't confirm it. Just as Noem won't be in any particular hurry to answer the Arizona Democrats' letter, if she responds at all. She knows there is nothing Democrats in Congress can do to stop the Trump administration's amoral actions unless Republicans decide to honor their oaths and help them. And Republicans would rather have mothers and children hauled off by masked men with guns than risk angering Dear Leader. Funny, isn't it? Although, not in a haha way. Not at all. EJ Montini is a columnist at the Arizona Republic, where this column originally appeared. Reach him at
