Republican Gov. Doug Ducey has signed a $100 million bipartisan wildfire relief package into law.

Much of the American West has been blasted with sweltering heat this week as a high pressure dome combines with the worst drought in modern history to launch temperatures into the triple digits. 

It’s Friday, June 18.

President Joe Biden signed a law Thursday recognizing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day. It commemorates the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas discovered slavery had ended — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was passed.

Juneteenth Black Business Expo Slated For Flagstaff, Prescott

A pair of Republican Arizona lawmakers who objected to a $1.9 billion tax cut in a $12.8 billion GOP budget deal were close Thursday to winning major concessions that would secure their support for the spending plan before the whole deal came to a halt over the tax cut’s effects on city revenue.

The changes include smaller tax cuts until actual revenue comes in above projections and a much larger paydown of state debt.

Two Arizona Congressional representatives voted against a measure Wednesday to designate Juneteenth a national holiday.

A Silver Alert remains in effect for a Jerome woman, last seen Sunday. The Jerome Police Department says the family of Caroline Denise Guth, 64, has had no contact with her since then.

Her personal vehicle was found at her home with partially unloaded groceries and Guth’s keys on the bumper. She is described as a white female, 130 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a red and blue sundress and a straw hat. Anyone with information on her whereabouts or well-being is urged to contact the Jerome PD or call 9-1-1.

President Biden has announced plans to invest an additional $1.8 billion in American Rescue Plan funding to combat COVID-19 on Native American nations.