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AM Roundup: Tempe PD policy change, Savannah Guthrie's new plea, tracking storms

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Tempe police change body camera policy after ABC15 investigation
Savannah Guthrie releases new video nearly six months into search for mother Nancy Guthrie
How affordability issues are shaping Arizona governor's race
Ahwatukee judge reaching people outside the courtroom as an author

PHOENIX — Happy Tuesday! It's going to be the coolest day of the week, but it's still brutally hot! Make sure to take plenty of breaks and stay hydrated if you have to be outside.

We're staying on top of the latest happenings from across the Valley, state, and our nation for Tuesday, July 28; here’s what you need to know as you start your day:


From Meteorologist Jorge Torres - Hot and humid Tuesday

Parts of the Valley are waking up to scattered showers and thunderstorms this morning! Watch for slick roads on your drive in. Rain clears out by midday, but it stays hot and humid with a high of 109º. Lows tonight only drop into the lower 90s.

Extreme Heat Warnings have also been extended until Sunday for the Valley.


Tempe changes body camera policy after ABC15 report into officers recording mostly-naked woman

The Tempe Police Department has changed its body-worn camera policy after an ABC15 investigation exposed how officers removed their cameras and used them as makeshift surveillance cameras to record a mostly naked woman handcuffed to a hospital bed.

The policy change now explicitly prohibits officers from removing their body cameras and using them as stationary recording devices.

The updated policy states: "Officers shall not remove, reposition, or affix the BWC to any object or location other than their person for the purpose of recording an event, person, interview, arrestee, or other law enforcement activity."

The previous policy only addressed where on an officer's body the camera should be worn.

The incident at the center of the investigation happened in December 2022 inside the Tempe St. Luke's Emergency Room, where two officers set their body cameras in the corner of a room and recorded an in-custody woman’s exposed body for approximately three hours.

Tempe police change body camera policy after ABC15 investigation

Savannah Guthrie releases new video nearly six months into search for mother Nancy Guthrie

'Today' show host Savannah Guthrie released a new video on social media on Monday pleading for information about her missing mother, Nancy Guthrie, who disappeared from her Arizona home nearly six months ago.

“We are in a nightmare that will not end,” Savannah Guthrie said in her video, begging anyone with information to “make the right choice” and come forward.

She continued: “I truly believe it’s never too late to do the right thing.”

Nancy Guthrie, 84, disappeared in February after FBI investigators said she was kidnapped from her home in Pima County. Footage from a doorbell camera showed a masked man with a gun tampering with the camera near the time of her disappearance.

Guthrie and her family received multiple anonymous messages after the kidnapping. Several news outlets, including Scripps News Group’s Tucson station KGUN, also received ransom notes, some demanding bitcoin.

Savannah Guthrie releases new video nearly six months into search for mother Nancy Guthrie

How affordability issues are shaping Arizona governor's race

The two major candidates for Arizona governor agree there’s a clear distinction between them. And both blame the other for the state’s affordability crisis.

Gov. Katie Hobbs told Democratic volunteers in Scottsdale on Friday that a lot is at stake in the Nov. 3 election.

“I've spent my career fighting for working families, families trying to afford a home, put food on the table, build a better life,” she said. “And Andy Biggs has spent his career fighting for the well-connected and the special interests who leave everyday Arizonans behind.”

Biggs agrees the state has an affordability crisis. But he told ABC15 news partner KTAR News on Monday that he blames Hobbs.

“Somehow, as affordability goes, we've dropped from one of the most affordable to one of the least affordable,” he said during "The Mike Broomhead Show."

How affordability issues are shaping Arizona governor's race

Ahwatukee judge reaching people outside the courtroom as an author

For years, Judge Sharron Sauls has helped Valley families navigate some of life's toughest moments. Now she's helping people in a very different way.

The Ahwatukee judge has become a published author with five books ranging from children's stories about self-confidence to novels inspired by real-life challenges.

Her first book centered on a domestic violence survivor who becomes a judge. Her latest is a romance novel. In between came children's books promoting self-acceptance and journals designed to encourage gratitude and personal growth.

Perhaps most surprising? Every book began the same way, as a note typed into her cell phone.

Ahwatukee judge reaching people outside the courtroom as an author

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