Good Wednesday morning, Arizona!
We're staying on top of the latest happenings from across the Valley, state, and our nation for Wednesday, April 8; here’s what you need to know as you start your day:
From Meteorologist Jorge Torres - Temperatures are soaring across Arizona
High pressure is back, and temperatures are heating up! Phoenix is back in the 90s today and will stay there for the rest of the week as temperatures run around 10 degrees above normal.
US, Iran agree to two-week ceasefire that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday the U.S. would suspend its attacks against Iran for two weeks if Iran agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz.
"Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks," Trump wrote on social media.
The message came less than two hours before President Trump’s deadline for Iran to reach an agreement or face widespread destruction.
"We received a 10-point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate," President Trump continued. "Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two-week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated."
Iran's Supreme National Security Council accepted the terms of the agreement shortly afterward. It said Iran would begin additional negotiations with the U.S. in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Friday.
"It is emphasized that this does not signify the termination of the war," the body said in its statement. "Our hands remain upon the trigger, and should the slightest error be committed by the enemy, it shall be met with full force."
In exclusive sit‑down, Tempe Tavern lawyer says bar is being ‘targeted’
Tempe Tavern is pushing back against an effort by Arizona liquor regulators to permanently revoke the bar’s liquor license, with its attorney calling the state’s allegations fabricated and retaliatory.
The Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control (DLLC) has accused the bar of more than 11 categories of violations, including endangerment and failing to protect patrons. A report obtained by ABC15 last month also alleges the bar allowed a “pay‑to‑enter” scheme and did not verify that IDs matched the people presenting them.
DLLC investigators recommended permanent revocation after two enforcement operations at the bar last year, in April and November, during which hundreds of underage individuals were cited.
Tempe Tavern’s attorney, Timothy La Sota, said the bar is being unfairly targeted. “I think it’s obvious we’re being targeted and retaliated against,” he said.
La Sota disputes the state’s claims that the bar failed to properly check IDs. “I think the notion that we’re the only place that someone underage would attempt to get in is just not accurate,” he said.
He also argues that underage patrons have an incentive to mislead investigators, telling ABC15 that getting caught with a fake ID can bring stiff penalties. “A lot of these people think their best bet is to just say, ‘I don’t have a fake ID, I just paid to enter,’” La Sota said. “But we will be able to show that every single person was accounted for and carded.”
American journalist Shelly Kittleson has been released week after kidnapping in Iraq, Rubio says
American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped from a Baghdad street corner last week, was released Tuesday, U.S. and Iraqi officials said.
The development came after the powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah said in a statement that it had decided to free Kittleson, who was abducted on March 31. Its condition was that Kittleson must “leave the country immediately” upon her release.
Two officials within the militia, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, told The Associated Press that in exchange for freeing Kittleson, several members of the group who had previously been detained by Iraqi authorities would be released.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Kittleson's release in a statement early Tuesday. He said on X, “We are relieved that this American is now freed and are working to support her safe departure from Iraq.”
Rubio thanked Iraqi authorities, as well as the FBI and U.S. Defense Department and other U.S. agencies for their work toward securing Kittleson’s release.
Community demands answers after man dies in Mesa police custody
A community is demanding answers after 52-year-old Eric Wayne Baker died while in Mesa Police custody Saturday night.
A witness video shared with ABC15 shows officers taking Baker to the ground inside the Buena Apartments on University around 8:30 p.m. The clip, recorded on a bystander's phone and reviewed by ABC15, shows Baker’s face bloodied and captures him repeatedly saying he couldn't breathe. Mesa police say officers arrested Baker for riding a bicycle without a working headlight and that paramedics attempted lifesaving measures, but Baker died before reaching the emergency room.
“We were in shock,” Baker’s daughter, Charlee Baker, told ABC15 on Tuesday. “I think it was brutal. I think that it was unfair.”
Charlee said she learned of her father’s death on Easter morning and described the family’s pain, adding through tears: “I want to get justice for my dad. That’s it. Those are my next steps.”
