The 2020 Census - particularly challenging with the COVID-19 pandemic and a heated political climate - may have missed more than 1.6 million Americans, about 48,000 of them in Arizona, with the undercount disproportionately falling on minority groups. Read more»

Arguing that Texas’ near-total ban on abortion defies the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, the Biden Justice Department on Monday urged the high court to lift an order that allowed enforcement of the law to continue. Read more»

Major health systems, clinics and private practices pivoted swiftly to telemedicine when the pandemic forced the nation to shelter in place and patients could no longer safely venture into health care settings, but video services were not equally prepared for the titanic influx in users. Read more»

A new effort by the U.S. Census Bureau to protect people’s privacy could make it harder for the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission to draw districts primarily composed of people of color that will withstand litigation under the Voting Rights Act. Read more»

Transit agencies and cities around the country are considering scrapping or reducing fares after the pandemic highlighted transit inequities, as the majority of those who continued to ride buses and trains were lower-income essential workers, often people of color. Read more»

The United States is slowly emerging from the COVID-19 economic recession; unemployment has dropped by more than half, people are spending more money, and families are paying off their credit card debt again - yet these milestones mask an uncomfortable truth: The economic recovery is mostly benefiting white families. Read more»

Democratic and Republican members of the House Administration Committee stuck largely to their talking points during a hearing on the effect that voter ID laws, proof-of-citizenship requirements and lack of language assistance have on elections, with one side saying the changes protect and the other side saying they restrict voting. Read more»

In at least 22 states, federal unemployment assistance is being retracted by Republican governors who plan to end the pandemic-related benefits as early as June, yet economists say cutting off federal aid affects people’s livelihoods—especially for people of color and residents of rural areas saddled with slow job growth, lackluster transportation options and limited opportunities. Read more»

Hospitals across the country have reported more hospitalizations and deaths of Black and Latino patients than of whites, and lower-income communities with patients who didn’t speak much, or any, English had a 35% greater chance of death. Read more»

Voting rights advocates and Arizona Democrats on Wednesday denounced a bill that would remove voters from the Permanent Early Voting List, calling it an attempt to disenfranchise up to 150,000 voters, particularly those of color. Read more»

A bill that could remove tens of thousands of voters from the state’s Permanent Early Voting List is one step closer to Gov. Doug Ducey’s desk after a day of partisan rancor and procedural maneuvers in the Arizona House of Representatives. Read more»

In 2019, a Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed the unemployment rate was lower for veterans than for nonveterans. But the financial outlook for vets has drastically changed since then, with unemployment jumping to 5.5% in January 2021, from 3.5% in January 2020. And, according to data and interviews, women and minority veterans often have a tougher time getting a job. Read more»

Cancer screenings in the U.S. have plunged since the start of the pandemic almost a year ago, prompting health advocates to increase calls for the public to stop postponing these potentially life-saving procedures. Fear of getting COVID-19 at screening centers and job losses that have affected insurance coverage are among the factors driving this dangerous trend. Read more»

A group representing Arizonan educators, students and community allies delivered a letter to Gov. Ducey at the Capitol on Tuesday calling for funding online learning at all schools to give districts time to retrofit their campuses to be safe gathering venues. Read more»

Leaders of about 20 minority advocacy organizations met with President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team in a closed-door meeting Wednesday in what advocates said they hope was one of many meetings to come. Read more»