PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A Maricopa County Superior Court judge temporarily blocked on Monday some rules for ballot-drop locations that supporters said helped protect voters from intimidation.

This all centers around Democrat Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ Election Procedure Manual that debuted in December 2023.

Judge Jennifer Ryan-Touhill said the manual’s harassment rules expanded on the criminal law, which Fontes isn’t allowed to do.

She also said voter intimidation is already illegal and that the rules were too broad and restricted free speech.

The judge pointed to items in the manual like cracking down on “unspecified ‘disruptive’ behavior,” “unspecified ‘aggressive’ behavior,” somebody raising their voice, using offensive language and questioning voters or poll workers in a “harassing manner,” the ruling stated.

The rules were also for those outside the 75-foot election boundary, which she said hindered free speech.

Fontes is likely to appeal.

Complaints were made during Arizona’s 2022 election season that people wearing masks and carrying guns were intimidating voters who bring ballots to drop boxes in Arizona.

The manual said election officials may restrict activities that interfere with access to ballot drop-off locations.

In a footnote, the manual gave examples of voter intimidation or harassment, including intentionally following someone delivering ballots to a drop box.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The Arizona Cardinals are coming off two consecutive 4-13 seasons. It’s hard to believe things could get much worse inside that stadium yet here we are looking at one of the most off-putting culinary concoctions any stadium concession stand has ever considered: the cotton candy burrito.

According to the tiny sign there the cotton candy burrito contains ice cream and candy wrapped in cotton candy and a look inside confirms as much. It’s sugar wrapped in sugar and the combination of ice cream, Arizona heat and cotton candy seems like a recipe for disaster without even considering the health concerns. If there’s really any structural integrity to this thing then it’s must be like stuffing the contents of a trick-or-treat bag into a football, which by the way sounds like something that would incredibly easy to throw.

What are we even doing here? This is the exact kind of thing that deserves Dr. Ian Malcolm’s scorn. The Arizona Cardinals’s concessions operator were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.

What’s worse is that these aren’t even new. You can learn how to make one in this YouTube video from 2018. Or you might have seen one at this ice cream shop in Las Vegas, which is “home to the cotton candy burrito.”

Maybe the Cardinals won’t be so bad this year. Maybe they’ll improve. Whatever happens on the field, at least fans will be able to go home with that familiar feeling of regret.

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — It’s a First Alert weather day across Arizona for the threat of severe weather, mainly this afternoon and evening.

A weather disturbance from Mexico is moving into Arizona this morning, possibly providing additional lift and instability today for storm development. Storms will move to the west, which means storms that develop this afternoon on the Mogollon Rim have a chance of moving into the Valley.

Any storms that develop today have the potential to be very strong. Damaging winds and heavy rain are a possibility. Gusty winds of 40 to 50 miles per hour could be associated with any outflows as well, which could lead to areas of blowing dust. A Blowing Dust Advisory is in effect for the deserts of the state, including the Valley, from 5 to 8 p.m.

Rain chances are in the forecast tomorrow, but depend largely on what happens today. Drier air is forecast to arrive starting Thursday, which will cut storm chances down a bit heading toward the end of the week and into the weekend.

Look for a high of 111 degrees today but just 106 degrees tomorrow. An Excessive Heat Warning remains in effect today in the Lower Colorado River Valley, and a High Pollution Advisory is in effect for the Valley metro area.

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