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Charles Barkley blimp returns to Phoenix skies

The Charles Barkley blimp is back as Final Four week begins.

News

Keep an eye on the sky for a rare migratory sighting: The 128-foot Charles Barkley blimp is back in Phoenix for the first time in two years.Why it matters: We&#x27;ve missed Soar Charles (also called: Charles Flightly, The Up Chuck, Air Chuck One and The Ugly Chuckling).

Phoenix unveils new South Mountain Activity Complex

After more than two years of work, Phoenix unveiled the South Mountain Activity Complex.

If you&#x27;re looking for a scenic event space, a spot for a family picnic or a good place to start a hike, the new South Mountain Activity Complex may be the place for you.State of play: After more than two years of work, the city of Phoenix unveiled the new activity center, off Central Avenue near the South Mountain Visitor Center.

Krav Mama: A self-defense class designed for new moms

A Tempe instructor created a postpartum workout where moms train with their babies.

<figure><img alt="A gif of a woman holding a baby and kicking a heavy bag in a gym." height="600" id="671d5f45-200d-469c-8060-0a3462c8e142" src="https://images.axios.com/ZstKyMUT41Amr56A_Usmnb3bB_w=/2026/03/26/1774548998563.gif" width="800"/><figcaption>Jessica and her daughter test out Krav Mama. Photo: Courtesy of EVKM Self Defense &amp; Fitness</figcaption></figure>Tempe Krav Maga instructor and new mom Sara Ullenbruch-Zarezadeh has developed a postpartum version of the popular Israeli self-defense training. <ul><li>She&#x27;s calling it Krav Mama.</li></ul>Why it matters: Protecting yourself looks different when you have a baby in your arms or a tot by your side.

How Trump's mail voting order could affect Arizona voters

Arizona officials will challenge a Trump order affecting how mail ballots are sent.

Arizona is again in the crosshairs of President Trump&#x27;s mission to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="nationalize elections" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/08/save-america-act-trump-nationalize-elections" data-vars-content-id="107a3dd6-dff7-455f-895f-cff4673c604c" data-vars-headline="How Trump&#x27;s mail voting order could affect Arizona voters" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/08/save-america-act-trump-nationalize-elections" target="_self">nationalize elections</a> and limit voting by mail.Why it matters: The vast majority of Arizonans cast mail ballots, and critics say Trump&#x27;s latest move would disenfranchise some of those voters ahead of a crucial November election in the battleground state.

How Pope Francis impacted Arizona's Catholic and immigrant communities

Pope Francis made migrant rights a key issue throughout his pontificate.

Pope Francis, who <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="died Monday at age 88" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/04/21/pope-francis-dies-easter-monday-vatican" data-vars-content-id="cb131ba3-d42e-4b0d-beef-73cf1dfe0b7c" data-vars-headline="How Pope Francis impacted Arizona&#x27;s Catholic and immigrant communities" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/04/21/pope-francis-dies-easter-monday-vatican" target="_self">died Monday at age 88</a>, had a significant impact on Arizona&#x27;s Catholic and immigrant communities.The big picture: Francis, an Argentinian who became the first pope from the Americas when he was elected in 2013, pushed for a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="more inclusive Catholic Church" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/12/18/pope-francis-same-sex-blessing" data-vars-content-id="cb131ba3-d42e-4b0d-beef-73cf1dfe0b7c" data-vars-headline="How Pope Francis impacted Arizona&#x27;s Catholic and immigrant communities" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/12/18/pope-francis-same-sex-blessing" target="_self">more inclusive Catholic Church</a>, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="dignity for the poor" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/13/pope-francis-poor-homeless-people" data-vars-content-id="cb131ba3-d42e-4b0d-beef-73cf1dfe0b7c" data-vars-headline="How Pope Francis impacted Arizona&#x27;s Catholic and immigrant communities" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/13/pope-francis-poor-homeless-people" target="_self">dignity for the poor</a> and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="mercy for migrants" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2018/06/20/pope-francis-trump-administration-family-separation-border-policy-populism" data-vars-content-id="cb131ba3-d42e-4b0d-beef-73cf1dfe0b7c" data-vars-headline="How Pope Francis impacted Arizona&#x27;s Catholic and immigrant communities" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2018/06/20/pope-francis-trump-administration-family-separation-border-policy-populism" target="_self">mercy for migrants</a>.

Religious affiliation is shifting in Arizona

Fewer Arizonans are observing Christian traditions compared to decades ago.

As Lent continues and Easter approaches, fewer Arizonans are observing the Christian traditions compared to decades ago, according to new data from the Pew Research Center.The big picture: &quot;This is a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="broad-based social change" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/03/05/religion-americans-spiritual-survey" data-vars-content-id="77cbd368-ce16-4a62-821d-587fc73f0f4b" data-vars-headline="Religious affiliation is shifting in Arizona" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/03/05/religion-americans-spiritual-survey" target="_self">broad-based social change</a>,&quot; Alan Cooperman, the director of religion research at the nonpartisan think tank, told Axios.

Trump sends warning to ASU about on-campus antisemitism

The Department of Education warned ASU could lose federal funding.

Arizona State University is one of <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="several dozen universities" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/03/10/harvard-yale-universities-funding-cuts" data-vars-content-id="57aba8f0-09ae-44a0-b5fc-9580490757a2" data-vars-headline="Trump sends warning to ASU about on-campus antisemitism" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/03/10/harvard-yale-universities-funding-cuts" target="_self">several dozen universities</a> accused by the Trump administration of allowing antisemitic harassment and discrimination to run rampant on campus.Why it matters: President Trump and his allies have long criticized universities for what they&#x27;ve called <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="&quot;wokeness&quot; and &quot;left-wing indoctrination,&quot;" data-vars-click-url="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-promised-to-end-wokeness-in-education-he-has-promised-to-use-federal-funds-as-leverage" data-vars-content-id="57aba8f0-09ae-44a0-b5fc-9580490757a2" data-vars-headline="Trump sends warning to ASU about on-campus antisemitism" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-promised-to-end-wokeness-in-education-he-has-promised-to-use-federal-funds-as-leverage" target="_blank">&quot;wokeness&quot; and &quot;left-wing indoctrination,&quot;</a> and now Trump is threatening to pull federal funding from schools that don&#x27;t rein in progressive activity on campus, including limiting <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="pro-Palestinian protests" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/03/10/trump-mahmoud-khalil-arrest-deportation" data-vars-content-id="57aba8f0-09ae-44a0-b5fc-9580490757a2" data-vars-headline="Trump sends warning to ASU about on-campus antisemitism" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/03/10/trump-mahmoud-khalil-arrest-deportation" target="_self">pro-Palestinian protests</a>.

Arizona Episcopal churches see surge of interest after D.C. bishop's viral sermon

The negative response has been far outweighed by support, an Arizona bishop told Axios.

After President Trump and his supporters <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="railed against a Washington, D.C. Episcopal bishop&#x27;s sermon" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/01/22/trump-immigration-religious-leaders-episcopal-catholic-churches" data-vars-content-id="d028e281-c5ec-4828-8981-fcc093740c38" data-vars-headline="Arizona Episcopal churches see surge of interest after D.C. bishop&#x27;s viral sermon" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/01/22/trump-immigration-religious-leaders-episcopal-catholic-churches" target="_self">railed against a Washington, D.C. Episcopal bishop&#x27;s sermon</a> during his inaugural prayer service, local Episcopal churches saw a wave of support and membership interest.The big picture: While some Arizona parishioners shared Trump&#x27;s view of the sermon, the negative response has been far outweighed by support, the Right Rev. Jennifer A. Reddall, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona, told Axios.

Most Arizonans don't go to church or religious services

The rest of the country isn't much better.

Time for a confession: More than half of Arizonans never or rarely attend church or religious services.The big picture: The rest of the country isn&#x27;t much better. The national average sits at 49%, per a new analysis of Household Pulse Survey data taken between February and March 2024.

Synagogues are few and far between in much of the Valley

The Valley's more isolated synagogues serve congregants from wide swaths of the metro area.

Synagogues are few and far between in wide swaths of the Valley, leaving Jews in much of the Phoenix area with limited options and long drives if they want to attend services.The big picture: Most of the Valley&#x27;s synagogues are clustered in Scottsdale and neighboring areas of north Phoenix.

Buildings from Valley's early synagogues still stand

Some historic synagogues became home to schools, churches and even a pawn shop.

As the Valley&#x27;s population spread outward from its roots in central and downtown Phoenix, much of the Jewish community moved as well. Now, the places where its most prominent synagogues once stood are filled with others.Flashback: The first synagogue in the Valley was Tempe Beth Israel, located just to the east of Burton Barr Central Library.<ul><li>The synagogue opened in 1921 in what was then the outskirts of Phoenix, said Lawrence Bell, executive director of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society.</li><li>Beth Israel moved to 10th Avenue and Osborn Road in 1949, and the original building became home to the Valley&#x27;s first Chinese Christian Church.</li><li>In 1981, the building was sold to a Spanish-language Baptist church, and since 2002 it&#x27;s been home to the Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center, which houses the historical society.</li></ul><figure><img alt="A gray building with a domed section at one end. " height="3024" id="5bd3d13f-14b3-4661-9c2f-8597690fed6e" src="https://images.axios.com/GzPSRMPOf-UDzTtBWhlfK1z6eLQ=/2023/09/14/1694726967092.jpg" width="4032"/><figcaption>Phoenix College Preparatory Academy, the former home of Temple Beth Israel. Photo: Jeremy Duda/Axios</figcaption></figure>State of play: Temple Beth Israel moved north to Shea Boulevard in 1997, and the Osborn Road location became Phoenix College Preparatory Academy, which occupies the space today.Another of Phoenix&#x27;s original synagogues was Temple Beth El at Fillmore and Fourth streets, which formed in 1930 after the congregation split from Beth Israel, Bell said.<ul><li>In 1950, the congregation opened a synagogue at 3rd Avenue and McDowell Road, but moved to its current location on Glendale and 11th avenues in 1967.</li><li>Today, the McDowell Road building is <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="home to SuperPawn" data-vars-click-url="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-history/2018/03/29/phoenix-pawn-shop-former-synagogue-secrets/439183002/" data-vars-content-id="db38c112-a7f4-4ba2-b514-8b44d2ca2393" data-vars-headline="Buildings from Valley&#x27;s early synagogues still stand" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-history/2018/03/29/phoenix-pawn-shop-former-synagogue-secrets/439183002/" target="_blank">home to SuperPawn</a>.</li></ul>Meanwhile, the area&#x27;s first orthodox congregation, Beth Hebrew, was founded around 1950, and its <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="original building" data-vars-click-url="https://kjzz.org/content/193536/phoenix-developer-saves-historic-beth-hebrew-synagogue-wrecking-ball" data-vars-content-id="db38c112-a7f4-4ba2-b514-8b44d2ca2393" data-vars-headline="Buildings from Valley&#x27;s early synagogues still stand" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://kjzz.org/content/193536/phoenix-developer-saves-historic-beth-hebrew-synagogue-wrecking-ball" target="_blank">original building</a> opened in 1955 at Portland and Third streets.<ul><li>The Valley&#x27;s first synagogue outside of central Phoenix was Temple Beth Sholom in Mesa, which Bell said opened around 1949.</li></ul>Context: When Beth Israel opened in 1921, there were only about 120 Jews in the area, Bell told Axios Phoenix.<ul><li>Today, there are about 90,000, he added.</li></ul><figure><img alt="A staircase with a railing in the middle leading to double glass doors and flanked by concrete barriers." height="3024" id="5d89cc54-a1e1-4182-871a-2a15043b29cb" src="https://images.axios.com/7-mk708vgQEHDLWv5xge0MrzXTs=/2023/09/14/1694727043810.jpg" width="4032"/><figcaption>SuperPawn on McDowell Road, which was the original building for Temple Beth El. Photo: Jeremy Duda/Axios</figcaption></figure>Yes, but: Central Phoenix long ago ceased to be the center of the Valley&#x27;s Jewish community, which spread toward the suburbs with much of the rest of the area&#x27;s population, and gravitated toward Scottsdale as they achieved socioeconomic success, Bell said.<ul><li>Rabbi Jeremy Schneider of Temple Kol Ami said his synagogue broke off from Temple Beth Israel in the late 1980s amid a debate on whether the congregation should join that northern migration.</li></ul>By the numbers: Details on each city&#x27;s Jewish population are hard to come by, but a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="2021 study from Brandeis University" data-vars-click-url="https://ajpp.brandeis.edu/documents/2020/azjewishelectorate.pdf" data-vars-content-id="db38c112-a7f4-4ba2-b514-8b44d2ca2393" data-vars-headline="Buildings from Valley&#x27;s early synagogues still stand" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://ajpp.brandeis.edu/documents/2020/azjewishelectorate.pdf" target="_blank">2021 study from Brandeis University</a> broke it down by congressional district.<ul><li>The old 6th Congressional District, which included Scottsdale and north Phoenix during the debate that ended in 2022, had a Jewish population of about 40,000, while no other district had over 15,000.</li></ul>Between the lines: While the reform Jewish community has largely shifted to Scottsdale and adjoining areas, there&#x27;s still a thriving conservative and orthodox community around Glendale Avenue and Seventh Street.<ul><li>Bell noted that because orthodox Jews can&#x27;t drive on Shabbat, they must live near their places of worship, which makes relocation more difficult.</li></ul>

Axios Salt Lake City

Lawsuit against Mormon church moves forward in sexual abuse case

Salt Lake City

Map showing universities under investigation by the Education Department for alleged antisemitism as of March 11, 2025. Orange dots indicate locations across the United States, with higher concentrations on the East Coast and in California.

Religion

Lawsuit against Mormon church moves forward in sexual abuse case

How Pope Francis impacted Arizona's Catholic and immigrant communities

Religious affiliation is shifting in Arizona

Trump sends warning to ASU about on-campus antisemitism

Arizona Episcopal churches see surge of interest after D.C. bishop's viral sermon