PHOENIX — We made it to Friday! The heat today and into the weekend is dangerous, so be safe if you need to be outside!
We're staying on top of the latest happenings from across the Valley, state, and our nation for Friday, July 24; here’s what you need to know as you start your day:
From Meteorologist Jorge Torres - Extreme Heat Warning in the Valley through Monday
The hottest days of 2026 are on the way to the Valley. Today we're calling for a record-tying high of 116º in Phoenix. Tonight we only drop to the mid-90s. Saturday gets even hotter with a high of 117º.
Where to find heat relief in the Valley in 2026: cooling centers, hydration stations and more
Maryvale High stabbing suspect offered plea deal
The teenager charged with murdering his Maryvale High School classmate last year has been offered a plea deal.
According to a hearing in court on Wednesday, prosecutors offered now-17-year-old Chris Aguilar a deal to reduce his first-degree murder charge to second-degree murder. Aguilar is accused of stabbing 16-year-old Michael Montoya II inside a Maryvale High School classroom in August of 2025.
If he accepts the deal, he will face between 20 and 25 years in prison instead of potentially facing life in prison.
In court on Wednesday, Montoya’s family spoke out, emotional and pushed for a life sentence.
“My son was only 16 years old. We have to live a life sentence since the day he left, while Chris still gets to breathe, gets to talk to his mom,” Montoya’s mother, Graciela Lopez, said in court. Lopez is also suing the Phoenix Union High School District and filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
New audio analysis challenges key claim by Phoenix cops in surgeon's shooting
An international team of forensic audio experts has reviewed body camera footage from the night a Valley trauma surgeon was shot from behind by Phoenix police and says the video does not support officers' claims that the doctor fired in their direction.
The findings come from Earshot, self-described as "the world's first non-profit organization using sound in the defense of human and environmental rights."
ABC15 asked Earshot to analyze body camera video from the three officers present during a chaotic 2022 shooting that led to the controversial prosecution of surgeon Dr. Kris Johnson, whose case is being condemned by outside policing and legal experts.
Earshot wrote, in part, “Based on our previous audio ballistic analysis of bullets fired towards a camera, we would expect to hear the distinct sound of a bullet 'whizzing by’… We do not hear such sounds in the officers' body cameras, suggesting the gunshots were not fired in the officers' direction.”
The organization also said, based on its previous investigations, the sound of a bullet flying past a camera is audible up to 20 meters, or 60 feet, away.
Tempe strip mall demolition underway in preparation for affordable housing development
Demolition is underway in Tempe as crews prepare to bring hundreds of affordable apartments and a grocery store to the area.
Dorsey Station will occupy several acres at 1320 E. Apache Blvd. and 1412 S. Dorsey Lane, replacing the Pollack Apache Center.
Tempe City Council unanimously passed an ordinance for the development overlay for the project — a 400-unit development that is 90% affordable — last year.
It’s the city’s latest effort to bring affordable housing and healthy food back to the transit corridor, which is located along the light rail route.
The city bought the land for about $10.7 million in late 2021 after Food City closed. The city will maintain ownership through a partnership with the developer.
Peoria middle schoolers prepare for new year on high school campus
Some seventh and eighth graders are about to start a new journey in Peoria Unified. These students spent nearly a week in their new high school ahead of the first day of school.
Incoming eighth grader Jayden said he’s excited, but also feels it’s “a little weird” with middle schoolers heading to a high school campus.
“Eighth graders are used to being the hierarchy of their grade. Now we're stuck with a bunch of high schoolers,” he said.
Nearly 400 seventh and eighth graders will be attending Cactus High in August. Peoria Unified reconfigured the high school to 7th through 12th grade as it closed two elementary school campuses due to declining enrollment and needed to offset costs.
The high school will go from a little more than 1,000 students last year to more than 1,500 in the 2026-27 school year.
