Kim Kardashian

With Election Day approaching, Arizona's gubernatorial contest is drawing scrutiny beyond the wave of attack ads funded by both campaigns, as voters weigh where Gov. Katie Hobbs and challenger Andy Biggs actually stand on major policy issues. The race is among several closely watched state contests factoring into broader election forecasting.

Separately, President Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to let immigration authorities resume deporting immigrants to "third" countries rather than their countries of origin, a policy that had been blocked amid legal challenges. A ruling would have significant implications for immigration enforcement nationwide and could shape ongoing debates over executive authority on deportation policy. Other local Arizona items in the day's briefing included rental affordability rankings, a new reality TV production based in Scottsdale, and notable real estate sales in the Phoenix area.

Tyrone Noling, 54, has spent 30 years on Ohio's death row for the 1990 killings of Bearnhardt and Cora Hartig, an elderly Portage County couple, a crime he maintains he did not commit. He received a rare clemency hearing before the Ohio Parole Board, the first for an Ohio death row inmate since 2020, made possible even though he has no scheduled execution date. With backing from the Ohio Innocence Project, Noling presented recanted witness testimony, reversed positions from the trial sheriff and a juror, and evidence pointing to Dan Wilson, an already-executed killer, as a possible alternate suspect. No physical evidence or murder weapon ever tied Noling to the crime.

The case has drawn attention from true-crime media and celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Hilarie Burton, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Noling seeks outright release and has said he would reject a commutation to life without parole. The parole board will send its recommendation within six business days to Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican who has called for abolishing the death penalty, and who holds final authority over the decision.