Medicare Advantage plans for seniors dodged a major financial bullet as government officials gave them a reprieve for returning hundreds of millions of dollars or more in government overpayments — some dating back a decade or more. Read more»

Scientists are finding in an ongoing study that despite the haze from far-off blazes, enough indirect sunlight was available to fuel the nation’s burgeoning solar panel industry in 2020 - good news as the U.S. government is seeking to quickly ramp up solar energy production. Read more»

After both Intuit and H&R Block left the Free File program, the future of the program is unclear, and it’s still difficult to find truly free tax filing options. The IRS created a tool to help you find this year’s Free File options as it looks into creating a public filing system. Read more»

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer says his priorities will include a heavy focus on the handling of classified documents, the origins of the COVID-19 virus, and what he described as possible “influence peddling” by Hunter Biden. Read more»

The San Carlos Apache Tribe is set to receive more than $166,000 in funding to help it address contaminated brownfield sites that threaten environmental and public health of the tribe. Read more»

With a possible recession on the horizon and amid great economic uncertainty, the state of Arizona will have quite a bit of extra cash in its general fund this year — but that excess will quickly dwindle in the next few years with current spending. Read more»

The city of Tucson received 15,000 pre-applications for housing and Section 8 voucher waitlists in January. About 2,000 residents will be randomly approved to move ahead with full applications this year, with the first to be notified by Feb. 15. Read more»

The EPA denied the requests of six coal plants - including the Salt River Project’s Coronado Generating Station - to keep dumping toxic ash into unlined or inadequately lined pits, signaling the agency’s commitment to enforce the 2015 federal coal ash rules. Read more»

A decision on the legality of DACA - when it eventually goes to the U.S. Supreme Court - is not expected to be issued until 2024, and while Congress appears unlikely to take action, participants in the program are left uncertain if they will be protected from deportation. Read more»

A proposal in the Arizona House to target predators who were able to plead felony offenses down to a misdemeanor and increase the punishments for sexual offenders could put teenagers in prison for having intimate relationships with their peers. Read more»

Medication abortion has become more common since the Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion this summer - but in federal courts and state legislatures, abortion opponents are trying to limit the use of abortion-inducing pills. Read more»

One state lawmaker wants Arizona police departments to focus on increased policing and deterrence programs to combat what he said is an out-of-control surge in violent crime, but critics say that his recommendations will only lead to increased incarceration for low-level crimes. Read more»

Nearly 80 Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to the White House expressing their “great concern” that the Biden administration is walking back on its promise to restore migrants’ access to asylum and condemned the administration’s expansion of Title 42. Read more»

The PCC Governing Board will discuss the next in a long line of action steps required to get right with the Higher Learning Commission, which put the college on probation in 2013. Plus, OV wants bigger parks, and more in local government meetings this week. Read more»

A federal judge on Friday preliminarily declined to block members of the group Clean Elections USA from gathering within sight of ballot drop boxes following complaints that armed and masked members intimidated potential voters during the 2022 election. Read more»