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Below are today’s Arizona and national stories, available for immediate republication. You can access them via The Center Square RSS feed or BLOX Content Exchange.

Report: Arizona’s arts makes major economic impact
Arizona’s arts plays an important role in the state’s economy, according to a new report. Common Sense Institute Arizona, a nonpartisan think tank, released a report showing that the arts provides $18.4 billion in total economic output. By Zachery Schmidt.

DHS agrees to reimburse Texas $7.5B for border security
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has approved reimbursing Texas $7.5 billion for costs incurred by the state's border security operations during the Biden administration's border crisis. It's the first time Texas has received such a reimbursement, thanks to a new federal law.

High diesel prices hit farmers as officials push export limits
U.S. farmers face record-high fuel expenses this year as the fall harvest kicks into gear while pressure grows on the Trump administration to impose a temporary ban on diesel exports that could bring down prices.

Trump set to host Xi for historic state visit amid trade, AI, Iran tensions
President Donald Trump is set to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House this week. Xi’s state visit to Washington, D.C. follows Trump’s visit to China in May, where the president’s visit was met with a backdrop of Chinese pageantry. Trump is expected to return the favor by hosting a state dinner.

Illegal entries remain lower, up slightly n August from July
Illegal entries were again significantly lower last month although slightly up from July’s numbers, according to the latest U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.  There were 34,428 illegal border crosser apprehensions/encounters reported nationwide last month, up from 33,788 in July, according to the data. By comparison, there were 158,893 apprehended in August 2023 and 304,073 apprehended in August 2024 during the Biden administration.

Testosterone screening for 2M troops comes with no cost estimate
The Pentagon is ordering testosterone screening for some 2 million troops without saying what it will cost, and its own clinical guidance says it does not know how many service members it will test or treat.

Panel: Congress has power to buck SCOTUS birthright citizenship ruling
As the Trump administration continues to pursue ways to quell “birth tourism,” legal scholars are probing potential actions Congress could take to rewrite the common interpretation of the 14th amendment’s citizenship clause.

U.S. DOJ issues subpoenas in investigation of Newsom’s international travel
The U.S. Attorney's Office won’t release the subpoenas related to a federal investigation into Gov. Gavin Newsom’s international travel expenses, which The Center Square tried to acquire this week.

Analysts: August numbers align with larger trend of cooling housing market
New home construction data from the month of August generally continues existing trends in the housing market, according to market analysts. Construction began on approximately 1.275 million homes and apartments in August, down 2.6% from July and 1.2% from August 2025.

Everyday Economics: The Fed is betting the economy can absorb higher rates
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates last week for the first time since 2023, lifting its target range by a quarter point to 3.75%–4.00%. The vote was unanimous. Before the meeting, I had two questions. We now have answers.

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ARIZONA AUDIT: A public hearing of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee in Phoenix on Monday morning will cover Arizona’s repeated failure to submit a required audit by the federal deadline and what this might mean for federal funding. This relates to both taxes and government accountability. By Chris Woodward.

FLOCK CAMERAS: Tempe is considering an ordinance that would prevent the Arizona city from using Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers. The Center Square looks at how much taxpayers are paying for these cameras and how much would be saved by not deploying them. By Zachery Schmidt. 

MILITARY SPOUSES: The White House is hosting a meeting to provide an update on the military spouse commission, with a focus on military quality of life. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is expected to attend. (Sarah Roderick-Fitch)

TRUMP DISTANCE: Republican congressional candidates in districts that were redrawn in the last few to favor the GOP are quietly distancing themselves from President Donald Trump amid rising costs and the president’s sinking approval numbers. (Andrew Rice)

MAINTENANCE BUDGET: The Department of War requested nearly $20 billion for facility upkeep in fiscal 2025 but funds only about 80% of its maintenance needs, short of its own 90% goal, leaving an estimated $285 billion backlog across a portfolio of more than 736,000 facilities. (Brett Rowland)

DUFFY PRESSER: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will speak to reporters about air traffic control. (Therese Boudreaux)

HEARING: The U.S. House is holding a hearing on whether it should pursue the creation of a fiscal commission to focus on deficit and debt issues. (Morgan Sweeney) 

Video should be available here once the hearing starts at 2 PM: https://youtube.com/@housebudgetgop?si=sZisnwO_OoAvYDZn

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Dave Mason
Regional Editor
[email protected]