Good Tuesday morning!
We're staying on top of the latest happenings from across the Valley, state, and our nation for Tuesday, May 6, 2025; here’s what you need to know as you start your day:
From Meteorologist Jorge Torres - More chances for rain today
Showers and thunderstorms have been moving through parts of the Valley since Sunday, and we're not done just yet! There's still a chance for more rain today.
Temperatures stay unseasonably cool, with highs only in the 70s and lows in the 60s.
See Kidcaster Colton's forecast:
3-year-old girl dies after being shot in Surprise neighborhood last week
A community is mourning after a 3-year-old girl died after she was shot by her father in a Surprise neighborhood last week.
Just after 6:30 p.m., officers were called to a neighborhood near 184th Avenue and Bell Road for reports of a man acting erratically.
Police officials say the man, 48-year-old Dariusz Modrzejewski, called 9-1-1 and made threatening statements about harming his family.
Surprise police and SWAT team members arrived at the home and set up a perimeter around the area.
Family uses AI to create video for deadly Chandler road rage victim's own impact statement
Christopher Pelkey was killed in a road rage incident in Chandler in 2021, but last month, artificial intelligence brought him back to life during his killer’s sentencing hearing.
It was the first time in Arizona judicial history — and possibly nationwide — that AI has been used to create a deceased victim’s own impact statement.
Pelkey’s sister and brother-in-law used the technology to recreate his image and voice likeness to “talk” to the courtroom about his life and the day he met Gabriel Paul Horcasitas, who shot him during a confrontation near Gilbert and Germann roads.
“In another life, we probably could have been friends,” the AI creation of the 37-year-old Army veteran said, addressing Horcasitas. “I believe in forgiveness…”
Child care funding likely to be big battle in state budget talks
As the Arizona Capitol gears up for budget talks, clear lines of division between the Republican-led Legislature and Gov. Katie Hobbs are emerging.
State Rep. David Livingston, who is leading budget negotiations, told ABC15 he doesn’t expect any new, ongoing spending.
“I think if we do pay raises, maybe some transportation and DPS raises, that could be about it,” he said.
Pay raises for Department of Public Safety workers and corrections officers are one area of agreement; Gov. Katie Hobbs put pay raises in the budget plan she released in January.
Hobbs has since said her budget priorities include funding for border security, child care, and housing affordability.
Mesa Public Schools embracing smaller campuses despite declining enrollment
As public school districts continue to try and figure out how to deal with declining enrollment, the state’s largest district, Mesa Public Schools, is taking a different approach with its smaller campuses.
In the 5th grade class at Lehi Elementary, about 45 students are being taught by three staff members, two teachers and a teaching assistant. In the portable out back behind the main building, there are two walls that can open up with a sliding door or wood panels.
On Monday morning, students learned math together in the middle portion of the portable with the student teacher at the front, educating students while a teacher walks around and keeps an eye on the kids.
Students learn together for a portion of the day but then split and move into their main classrooms with their assigned teacher to work at a smaller scale.
