PHOENIX — Happy Wednesday! Could today be the last time we hit 100º in Phoenix in 2025?
We're staying on top of the latest happenings from across the Valley, state, and our nation for Wednesday, October 8; here’s what you need to know as you start your day:
From Meteorologist Jorge Torres - Rain chances picking up as Priscilla’s remnants reach Arizona
Our forecast is about to take a big turn. It stays hot today with highs near 100º across the Valley, but rain chances climb tonight and stick around through the rest of the week!
Former Arizona Cardinals player seeks $1 million after wrongful detention at Sky Harbor Airport
A former Arizona Cardinals player is seeking $1 million in damages from the Cities of Phoenix and Mesa after police admitted he was not the suspect they were looking for when he was handcuffed and detained at Sky Harbor Airport in April during a homicide investigation. That, according to two notices of claim filed this week by attorney Benjamin Taylor of Taylor & Gomez.
Wesley Leasy, 53, was picking up his daughter at the airport on a Tuesday evening when police officers confronted them at gunpoint, forced them to lie on the ground, and handcuffed them. Leasy played linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals from 1995 to 1996. He runs a Scottsdale construction company and ran for state legislature in 2022.
In April, a Mesa Police Department spokesperson said there had been a shooting minutes earlier near Country Club Drive and Brown Road. At the city's Real Time Crime Center, traffic camera video near the scene showed a car that witnesses described as a white Mercedes with four doors, a sunroof, and a temporary, paper license plate.
Medical examiner says woman’s death at Avondale assisted-living facility was heat-related
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner has ruled the death of a West Valley assisted-living facility resident, who died outside in July, as heat-related.
The report says 75-year-old Linda Hughes died of environmental heat exposure as the primary cause. Contributing causes include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s/dementia, according to the report.
A police report obtained by ABC15 says Hughes had lived at Silver Birch of Avondale for about three years. One staffer told police she usually didn’t go outside, preferring to walk around inside.
Police believe Hughes entered a courtyard through a door on July 21 and was found there in the late afternoon, unresponsive. Temperatures that day reached triple digits.
About 20 Valley school districts going to voters for bonds and overrides this election
Nearly two dozen Maricopa County school districts are asking voters for bond and/or overrides this coming November election, some of which will be crucial for certain districts.
A bond typically goes towards buildings and infrastructure, like a new school or renovations, as well as buses and more. Money from overrides usually goes toward staffing, salaries, as well as extra activities and electives for students, such as music and art.
For some districts like Deer Valley Unified and Higley Unified, this November election is especially important since their overrides didn’t pass last year and they had to cut from their budget. If it doesn’t pass again, they’ll have to continue cutting millions. Other districts, like Saddle Mountain Unified, could see the same fate if their override doesn’t get approved this November.
Chandler officers receive messages of support from kindergartners
Sometimes the smallest hands deliver the biggest impact.
A kindergarten class in the East Valley took on the giant project of making more than 400 cards, one for every Chandler Police Department officer. Each one was handcrafted, filled with words of thanks and encouragement for the men and women in blue.
From crayon-colored hearts to shaky-printed "thank you’s," the cards arrived as a bundle of gratitude and a reminder of what they’re fighting for every day.
