Many Arizonans will get tax breaks, while data centers will temporarily pay more under an $18.3 billion budget negotiated by Gov. Hobbs and Republican lawmakers.

The big picture: No one gets everything they want in a divided government — the budget spends less than the Democratic governor proposed but more than the GOP legislative majority wanted.

💰 Trump tax cuts: Republicans got the inclusion of the full federal tax cuts from President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a top priority and a major point of contention with Hobbs this session.

• The $1.45 billion cuts will eliminate taxes on tips and overtime pay, increase the standard deduction and implement a new child care deduction, an enhanced child tax credit and property tax relief for disabled veterans.
• That means people who filed their taxes using federal changes won't have to refile later this year.

🏭 Data centers: A sales tax exemption for data centers will be halted for three years, saving the state $57 million through 2029.

• Hobbs wanted an outright repeal, but she and legislative Democrats touted the moratorium as a win.

⚕️🛒 Arizonans on Medicaid and federal nutrition assistance programs will face increased eligibility verification, as mandated by the "big beautiful bill."

• Yes, but: Those provisions expire after one year.
• Democrats said they were able to preserve health care coverage for 40,000 people.

✂️ Republicans pushed for across-the-board 5% cuts to most state agencies this year.

• The final compromise was 2.5%, with exemptions for the state Medicaid program, corrections, Department of Child Safety, Department of Economic Security and several other agencies.

🏫 Hobbs had hoped to negotiate with Republicans to put renewal of the K-12 funding program known as Proposition 123 on the ballot, but that wasn't included in the budget deal.

What's next: Lawmakers are expected to take their final votes on the budget Thursday and to hear their final bills Friday.

• Once that's done, they can adjourn sine die and end their work for the year.

Read more

The votes are in, and Phoenix's George and Dragon English Pub made the cut on USA Today's list of the country's best soccer bars.

Why it matters: The FIFA World Cup starts today, and if you can't watch in person, catching a big game at a great soccer bar is the next best thing.

State of play: The George and Dragon is No. 6 on USA Today's top 10 list.

• The pub will open early for World Cup matches and air all games.
• It's first come, first serve, so the owner recommends arriving at least two hours early if you want to watch the U.S., England, Mexico or Scotland.

There are also plenty of other places to watch the tournament:

⚽ Phoenix Rising: Our pro soccer team is hosting watch parties around the Valley for several games, starting with Friday's matchup between the U.S. and Paraguay, 6pm at The Hot Chick.

⚽ O.H.S.O. Brewery: The local brewery will host World Cup watch parties at six locations across the Phoenix area.

⚽ Pedal Haus Brewery: Catch the action at the Phoenix, Chandler, Mesa and Tempe locations.

⚽ Tempe Marketplace: Watch the U.S. team's opening matchup on the big screen with a mobile bar, games and giveaways. RSVP to make sure you get a spot.

Head to the pub

Let's say you've got a rooting interest in the World Cup but tune into soccer only every four years.

• Here's a refresher on the rules of the game.

🏟️ The group stage: There are 12 groups of four teams, decided by the World Cup draw. Each team plays the other three teams in their group.

• A win gets you 3 points, a tie 1 point and a loss no points.
• The top two point getters from each group advance to the first single-elimination knockout round. Additionally, the top eight teams from among the third-place teams in each group advance.

🥊 Knockout rounds: This year's expanded format means there will be a round of 32 for the first time. The winners of those games will advance to the round of 16. That round is followed by the quarterfinals, the semifinals and then the final.

• The losers of the semifinal round play each other in the third-place game.

Red cards, penalty kicks and more

👀 Deer Valley Unified School District board member Kimberly Fisher refused calls to resign after she made a Nazi salute during a meeting in protest of a colleague she accused of acting like a dictator. (12 News)

🚗 Waymo bought the former Chrysler proving grounds in Surprise, paying $220 million for the nearly 5,500-acre testing site. (AZcentral)

🏠 The owner of the historic Louis Emerson House in downtown Phoenix is fighting the Arizona Board of Regents' attempt to seize the building through eminent domain so it can be razed to make way for the new ASU Health headquarters. (Phoenix New Times)

🐟 San Carlos Lake east of Globe is closed to visitors after its entire fish population died, which the San Carlos Recreation and Wildlife Department attributed to drought conditions and water releases from a dam. (Guardian)

Greetings from Tucson!

When Jeremy found the source of this bizarre "Box of Arizona" desert display — a rattlesnake, toad, tarantula, centipede, scorpion and an "armful of cactus" living together in a box with rocks, sand, and a thimble of water — one thought filled my head:

• Cocktail inspo!

I placed this culinary feat in the deft hands of bartender Ricky Varela at the historic Owls Club.

• He produced this beautiful, aperetif-wildfire of spice, bitterness, citrus, botanicals and yes, a bit of venom.

Without further ado, here are the flavors of Pima County's newest cocktail: The Sonoran Deathmatch.

• La Venenosa Puntas raicilla
• Cynar artichoke amaro
• Fernet Branca
• Juerte distillate of pulque
• Ming River Sichuan Bailie
• Campari
• Orange bitters
• A couple of drops of saline
• A squeeze of orange

How it works: Shake with ice, add an edible flower and sip at sunset.