Arizona
US airstrikes on Yemen: Here’s what Arizona’s members of Congress are saying
US lead airstrikes target sites used by Houthi rebels in Yemen
U.S. and British militaries attacked sites in Yemen associated with rebels who have been attacking shipping vessels in the Red Sea.
The U.S. and U.K. airstrikes on more than a dozen sites in Yemen used by the Iranian-backed Houthis have split Arizona’s congressional delegation.
More than 60 targets at 16 sites in Yemen were hit Thursday by U.S. airstrikes, which President Joe Biden said were meant to show the Houthis that the group’s attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea wouldn’t be tolerated by the United States and its allies.
The strikes killed at least five people and wounded six, the Houthis said.
Since November, the Houthis have targeted ships in the Red Sea in what they say is a response to Israel’s bombardments of Gaza against Hamas. However, the targets have frequently been ships and vessels with no clear links to Israel. The attacks have blocked shipping in the Red Sea, which is a key route for global trade and energy shipments.
The response from Arizona’s congressional delegation to the U.S. and U.K. airstrikes has been mixed.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., spoke out on X, formally known as Twitter, in support of the airstrikes.
Kelly called the U.S. military’s actions “necessary.” Additionally, he called the group an “Iranian proxy group” and said that their attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea “endanger U.S. personnel and our allies and have global implications.”
Kelly also spoke on CNN on Friday to continue to defend the president’s actions. In addition to saying that he hopes the Houthis “get the message,” he spoke about his recent trip to the Middle East and the regional turmoil.
Gallego echoed Kelly’s comments as he also cited the military’s actions as “necessary.”
“The U.S. has dealt with this aggression for far too long, and it is in our nation’s interests to maintain the free flow of commerce,” Gallego said. “Terrorism has no safe harbor anywhere.”
Middle East turmoil: Sen. Mark Kelly concerned about civilian deaths and unguided munitions in Israel-Hamas war
Others expressed concern about increasing tensions in the Middle East and potentially even war. On Friday, in response to the airstrikes, Yemen’s Houthi rebels vowed retaliation. With Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, the airstrikes have led to increased concern about a wider conflict in the region.
Yemen, where the Houthis are based, is at the southern end of the Red Sea. Israel is at the northern tip of the sea in the Middle East. Jordan and Saudi Arabia separate the two countries.
US, UK strike Houthi in Yemen
The U.S. and British militaries have bombed more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.
Fox – LA
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., condemned Biden’s actions in Yemen on X, saying that the airstrikes “blatantly violate Article 1 of our Constitution.” That section of the Constitution grants Congress the sole power to declare war.
“He can’t unilaterally pull us into another war,” Biggs said. “Why does he want so many wars?”
Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., has yet to release an official statement and his office didn’t respond to a request for comment. But he boosted the statements of other congressional colleagues who expressed concern on X about the airstrikes.
Grijalva reposted a message from Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., that called for the White House to work with Congress before “continuing these airstrikes in Yemen.”
In reference to Congress’ power to declare war, Pocan said, “The United States cannot risk getting entangled into another decades-long conflict without Congressional authorization.”
Similarly, Grijalva shared a post from Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., who called for a cease-fire “to prevent deadly, costly, catastrophic escalation of violence in the region.”
In terms of gaining congressional approval that many have suggested was necessary, Kelly told CNN that he didn’t “agree with his colleagues” that approval from Congress was needed.
“We had U.S. personnel that were at risk and our allies were at risk as well,” Kelly said Friday.
The rest of Arizona’s congressional delegation has not spoken publicly on the U.S. airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
More about the escalation: A visual guide to the retaliatory US airstrikes against Houthis in Yemen
Reach reporter Morgan Fischer at morgan.fischer@gannett.com or on X, formally known as Twitter, @morgfisch.
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – The focus on safety on school buses is reaching new heights following a crash on Interstate 10 Tuesday that injured dozens of kids and staff.
However, local safety administrators are pumping the brakes on concerns over school bus safety in southern Arizona.
“A school bus is the safest means of transportation for our students and passengers,” said Teresa Ramirez, the southern Arizona board member for the Transportation Administrators of Arizona.
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Statistically, it is safer for children to travel on a bus than a car, with an average of six student deaths per year to 2,000 in a car, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
However, to analyze what safety standards are in place for buses in southern Arizona, administrators have to look at each district individually.
“Every district has the opportunity to design a fleet that is specifically for the needs of that district,” Ramirez said.
A district like the Tucson Unified, which has the largest number of bus users in southern Arizona, requires larger buses.
It can be limiting for safety features like seatbelts compared to smaller districts in rural communities that can use smaller buses or caravans with seatbelts to transport students.
But one common thread between all these buses is the design of the seats which do protect the children.
“We have the panels that are extremely high where it protects our students from lunging forward. We have the anti-air brakes in most of our busses,” Ramirez said.
The large seat cushions or panels are familiar to anyone who rode a bus growing up as the length of the seat provides a cushion to brace any impact from a potential crash.
“In the event of having to stop quickly, really what they do is prevent a student to going over a seat,” Ramirez said.
While Arizona saw more than a 50% decrease in bus crashes from 2012 to 2022, according to data from the ADOT, many still question if the cushions are enough in a high-speed crash.
“Seat belts are independently different due to what district you’re at and what your necessity is,” Ramirez said.
In 2018, the NTSB recommended that every state require seatbelts on buses, but Arizona has not implemented it.
That means it’s up to the individual districts to implement what they see fit.
“Typically, districts get together and talk about what is needed or necessary in their own district and what they have come across,” Ramirez said.
TUSD just received a new fleet of buses, and 13 News reached out to see if there are different safety features like seatbelts on those buses but we have not received a response yet.
Be sure to subscribe to the 13 News YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@13newskold
Copyright 2025 13 News. All rights reserved.
For most of this past season Arizona religiously used an 8-man rotation with the occasional foray deeper into the bench. When a ninth player was needed it was usually Conrad Martinez, including a couple times during the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments.
But by and large, minutes were hard to come by for Martinez during his two seasons with the Wildcats. A bigger role is more likely elsewhere.
Martinez has entered the NCAA transfer portal, according to Wildcat Authority’s Jason Scheer, the fourth UA scholarship player to do so since the season ended last week.
The 6-foot sophomore guard from Spain appeared in 41 games in two seasons for Arizona, scoring 53 points with 32 assists and 13 steals. He averaged five minutes in 22 games in 2024-25, scoring 1.6 points per game while making 66.7 percent of his shots (including 5 of 10 from 3) and 87.5 percent of his limited free throw attempts.
Martinez scored a career-high nine points against Central Michigan in December, when he logged a career-best 20 minutes of floor time. Most of his appearances came in the final minutes of blowouts, though in the Big 12 Tournament semifinal and final he entered late in the first half, the same in the Sweet 16 loss against Duke when early foul trouble for Jaden Bradley kept him on the bench.
Playing the final 6:07 of the first half, Martinez had a steal and also hit a corner 3 that tied the game at 32.
He joins guard KJ Lewis and centers Emmanuel Stephen and Henri Veesaar in the portal from Arizona. The Wildcats currently have five scholarship players on the roster but that includes freshman Carter Bryant, who is expected to declare for the 2025 NBA Draft.
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