Phoenix, Arizona

A new report from real estate data firm NestCash finds Hampden County ranks second among Massachusetts counties for foreclosure risk, with Springfield a particular hotspot: 109 foreclosure petitions were filed there from July to December 2025, more than triple the statewide rate. Dukes County, driven by seasonal vacation properties, ranks first. Hampden's mortgage delinquency rate and unemployment rate (5.6%) are also among the state's highest. Springfield's housing director says rates remain low by national standards and are not comparable to the 2008 crash, since homeowners today generally retain equity. The city also has the state's highest eviction filing rate, which officials link to low median household income.

Civil rights leader and labor organizer Dolores Huerta died Wednesday at age 96. Co-founder of the United Farm Workers union, Huerta coined the rallying cry "Sí, se puede!" during a 1972 Phoenix protest against an anti-labor law and spent decades advocating for farmworkers, women, and civil rights, including later campaigns against SB1070 and for the Equal Rights Amendment.

Arizona officials across parties and government, including Gov. Katie Hobbs, Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, Reps. Yassamin Ansari, Greg Stanton and Adelita Grijalva, Attorney General Kris Mayes, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, and Councilmember Betty Guardado, praised her lasting influence on the state and nation. A candlelight vigil was held outside Phoenix City Hall in her honor.

A new HighGround poll shows Democrats ahead in Arizona's top statewide races one week before Election Day. Gov. Katie Hobbs leads Republican Andy Biggs, Democrat Adrian Fontes leads Republican Alexander Kolodin for secretary of state, and Democrat Kris Mayes leads Republican Warren Petersen for attorney general. The results are notable in a state where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by roughly 300,000 voters.

Leading GOP candidates have embraced or been endorsed by President Donald Trump, which helped in primaries but appears to be a drag in the general election as Trump's approval rating has slipped. Analysts note undecided voters remain limited, though races could still tighten before polls close.

A Casa Grande, Arizona man, Rene Ortiz, 56, has been sentenced to 38 months in prison for threatening to kill Donald Trump and Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential race. A federal jury convicted Ortiz in June on two counts of threatening successors to the presidency and one count of threatening former presidents. Prosecutors said Ortiz left notes at federal courthouses in Phoenix and Tucson describing plans to shoot the "newly elected" or "incoming" president with an M-16A2 rifle, including one referencing the January 20, 2025 inauguration. Ortiz, who also filed a lawsuit seeking to replace both candidates on the ballot, was arrested days before the inauguration.