Good Thursday morning, Arizona!
We're staying on top of the latest happenings from across the Valley, state, and our nation for Thursday, April 2; here’s what you need to know as you start your day:
From Meteorologist Jorge Torres - Cool-down across Arizona to wrap up the week
It's a partly cloudy and breezy Thursday in the Valley. Highs reach the upper 80s, still five degrees above average for early April. Overnight lows dip into the mid 60s.
Peoria school district won't release new investigation of Liberty H.S. wrestling hazing claims
The Peoria Unified School District refuses to release details and documents from its latest investigation of a wrestling coach and allegations of sexualized hazing among his athletes.
Former students and their parents went public in August 2025 with allegations of hazing and sexual misconduct among wrestlers at Liberty High School.
The wrestling families accused PUSD of failing to complete a thorough and transparent investigation in 2024 after initial reports and videos surfaced.
While administrators reopened the investigation, the school district put Liberty's head wrestling coach, Eric Brenton, on administrative leave.
Supporters attended school board meetings and wrote emails to urge the district to reinstate Brenton. The board approved his return to teaching and coaching in January. In February, Liberty's wrestling team placed third in the state tournament.
When ABC15 followed up this week to request the final investigative report, a district spokeswoman replied in an email that no documents will be released.
Investigation continues two months after Nancy Guthrie's disappearance
Wednesday marks two months since Nancy Guthrie was reported missing from her home in the Catalina Foothills near Tucson.
During the early morning hours of February 1, 2026, the mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie was reportedly abducted from her home while she slept.
In the days following her abduction, multiple media outlets, including Scripps News Tucson, received a note containing a ransom demand for Guthrie's return.
One person was arrested for allegedly making an impostor ransom demand as well.
Very few clues came to light early in the investigation, but what seemed like a huge break in the case came on February 9, when the FBI released new surveillance video and photos from a doorbell camera at her home. The images showed a man wearing a mask trying to enter the home. He eventually grabbed what appeared to be some plants to cover the camera.
The Pima County Sheriff's Office detained two people in connection with the investigation, one in Rio Rico and the other a few miles from Guthrie's home.
The first man was detained on February 9 in Rio Rico. ABC15 spoke exclusively with the man, Carlos Palazuelos, shortly after he was released from custody, and he continued to call on the Pima County Sheriff's Office to clear his name after he said people would take pictures of him and follow him after that night.
Just a few nights later, on February 14, a second person was questioned in connection with Guthrie's disappearance. This person was also cleared.
Since then, tips in Guthrie's case started to slow.
Artemis II astronauts lift off for historic mission around the moon
NASA on Wednesday launched Artemis II, a mission that will take four astronauts in a lap around the moon, farther from Earth than any humans before them.
Liftoff proceeded according to plan, NASA says. The rocket's first stage performed as expected and its booster engines and core stage separated on schedule.
The spacecraft is now in orbit around Earth, ready to enter its trajectory toward the moon. It will take several days for the mission to reach lunar orbit.
“We have a beautiful moonrise," mission Commander Reid Wiseman told ground control following the launch. "We’re headed right at it."
The crew includes astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
The mission has several key objectives, according to Lakiesha Hawkins, acting deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.
How Arizona voters could help speed up election results
Arizona mail voters have a few new options in 2026 that could make election results faster.
A new state law that took effect this year gives mail voters ways to skip the lengthy signature verification process, which adds to the processing time for mail ballots.
Voters who visit a voter center on Election Day to drop off their mail ballots – the so-called “late earlies” – can choose to tabulate their ballot just like an Election Day voter.
In the video player above, ABC15’s Manuelita Beck explains how the new option works.
Here are some key election days for the 2026 Arizona primary:
- June 22: Deadline to register to vote
- June 24: Early voting begins
- July 10: Last day to ask for a replacement ballot by mail
- July 14: Last day to return your ballot by mail
- July 21: Election Day
Maricopa County voters can check their registration status and other voter information at BeBallotReady.Vote.
