The Arizona State Fair is celebrating 140 years of fun this month! Brianda Martinez, Arizona State Fairs marketing director, gives ABC15 a sneak peek at what the fair has to offer beginning September 20.

KEY INFORMATION

NEW FOOD

Heres a taste of whats coming to the fair!

Here's what to expect:

CANDIED WATERMELON

COTTON CANDY CAKE

We have a cotton candy cake, which is kind of like a celebration for the 140 years of the Arizona State Fair. So, it's just like a multi-layered cake made entirely of fluffy cotton candy. So that's fun for the whole family you can share it with your friends, with the kids, whoever you want, explained Martinez, who added that the cake is topped off with sugar crystals.

WATERMELON TACO

GIANT MOZZARELLA STICK

PICKLE SPLIT

So, it's kind of like a banana split, but with a dill pickle; [its] cut in half, then topped with pineapple whip, sour candy spaghetti, Chamoy, and Tajin, said Martinez.

CANDIED PINEAPPLE

PUMPKIN SPICE FUNNEL CAKE

Famous PUDN

COLISEUM CONCERT SERIES

OMNIUM CIRCUS 

If you're looking for a little bit more... For the kiddos, we're thrilled to welcome the Omnium circus again. They used to be here in 2022 and they're returning for 2024....You can catch a breathtaking performance, including hand-balancing acts, aerial stunts, the acrobatics, all that. It's a fully inclusive experience. It's perfect for the whole family. Those tickets start at $25, and it also includes fair admission. So fair admission is $15. So for $10 more, you can enjoy a very fun, family-friendly activity inside the Coliseum, shared Martinez with ABC15.

GRANDSTAND SERIES

The Arizona State Fair is more than just rides and food it's a hub for family fun and it comes with tons of free, thrilling activities for everyone [that is] included with your fair admissions [like] entry to the Grandstand Series - it's packed with epic entertainment every night of the fair, said Martinez.

THE ANIMAL EXHIBITS & INTERACTIVE GAMES

DEALS TO KNOW & SAVING MONEY

Feel Good Fridays:

$3 Taste of the Fair:

Read & Ride:

Armed Forces Day:

Friends 55+:

There could be another shortage of sriracha sauce on the horizon.

The most popular maker of the sweet and spicy condiment, Huy Fong Foods, is dealing with another supply chain shortage, first reported by USA Today.

The California-based company recently told its wholesale buyers the red jalapeo chili peppers the key ingredient needed to make the hot sauce arent red enough, USA Today said, based on a letter the outlet obtained.

As a result, Huy Fong Foods will reportedly halt production until after Labor Day, which is Sept. 2.

Its unclear whether this will affect the company's other products that contain the peppers: chili garlic sauce and sambal oelek.

When asked about the sriracha production issue, Huy Fong Foods told Scripps News it had no comment.

Red jalapeos and green jalapeos, primarily sourced from Mexico, are the same pepper picked at different points of ripening. The green peppers are picked at a younger age, while the red peppers are left on the vine to mature longer.

According to PepperScale, a website that documents hot pepper varieties, the red jalapeos are spicier and sweeter than their younger counterparts. While green jalapeos are the most common chili peppers on store shelves, red ones are rarer and more expensive to grow because of the longer upkeep.

This isnt the first time Huy Fong Foods has had to stop producing its staple sriracha sauce. Last year, it blamed crop failure on a shortage.

Tesla knocked $2,000 off the prices of three of its five models in the United States late Friday, another sign of the challenges facing the electric vehicle maker led by billionaire Elon Musk.

The company cut the prices of the Model Y, a small SUV that is Tesla's most popular model and the top-selling electric vehicle in the U.S., and also of the Models X and S, its older and more expensive models. Prices for the Model 3 sedan and the Cybertruck stayed the same.

The cuts reduced the starting price for a Model Y to $42,990 and $72,990 for a Model S and $77,990 for a Model X.

The move came the day after Tesla's stock tumbled below $150 per share, eliminating all gains made over the past year. The Austin, Texas, company's stock price has dropped about 40% so far this year amid falling sales and increased competition. Discounted sticker prices are a way to try to entice more car buyers.

Musk posted early Saturday on X, the social media platform known as Twitter before he acquired and renamed it, that the cost of an entry-level Tesla was as low as $29,490 once a federal tax credit and gas savings were factored in.

Industry analysts have been waiting for Tesla to introduce a small electric vehicle that would cost around $25,000, the Model 2. Media reports this month that Musk planned to scrap the project created more uncertainty over the company's direction, although Musk called them untrue.

The price cuts ended a long workweek at Tesla, which announced Monday that it was cutting 10% of its staff globally, about 14,000 jobs. The company also said it was recalling nearly 4,000 of its 2024 Cybertrucks after discovering the accelerator pedal can get stuck, potentially causing the vehicle to accelerate unintentionally and increase the risk of a crash.

On Saturday, Musk confirmed he had postponed a planned weekend trip to India to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing "very heavy Tesla obligations." He said on X that he looked forward to rescheduling the visit for later this year.

Tesla is scheduled to announce its first-quarter earnings on Tuesday.

The company reported earlier this month that its worldwide sales fell sharply from January through March as competition increased worldwide, electric vehicle sales growth slowed, and earlier price cuts failed to lure more buyers.

It was Tesla's first year-over-year quarterly sales decline in nearly four years.

The group fighting for abortion to be on the ballot in Arizona announced Tuesday they are one step closer. Arizona for Abortion Access said they have gathered 500,000 signatures, which is beyond the number needed to get the measure on the ballot in November.

"It's very validating," said Dawn Penich, the Communications Director for the group.

She said that's well above the minimum threshold, which is around 384,000 signatures.

If they succeed, voters will be deciding on a constitutional amendment on abortion. If passed the amendment would allow access until the point of viability.

"What this measure does is return the decision-making power to the people who matter most; that's the patient themselves, their own health care provider and their own family," said Penich.

But critics like those with the group "It Goes Too Far" told ABC15 the language of the measure is too vague.

"Voters deserve to know the truth," said Cindy Dahlgren with It Goes Too Far. "They deserve to know what they will lose."

Dahlgren said she and others believe it would create uncertainty when it comes to medical safety.

"Well, unfortunately, most of the voters are not being told that under this unregulated unlimited abortion amendment, they will lose the required medical doctor and those critical common sense safety standards that are in place right now," said Dahlgren.

Dahlgren tells ABC15, that abortion is currently legal in Arizona up to 15 weeks and there are safety precautions in place.

"That's nearly four months, and we also have those safety precautions in place to protect girls and women," said Dahlgren. "And it is reckless to give all of that up."

But the future of the 15-week law, currently on the books in Arizona, remains up in the air.

ABC15 political reporter Rachel Louise Just dives into the topic of abortion and how it could play a huge role in the upcoming election:

Penich said as November inches closer, they're not slowing down. Arizona for Abortion Access plans to gather even more signatures ahead of the July deadline.

"Our goal is to collect ultimately, around double what we need," said Penich. "That's to ensure that we have turned in enough valid voter signatures to meet that requirement."

But those with "It Goes Too Far" said they are staying focused as well. Dahlgren insisted voters have been given half-truths when it comes to this measure.

"So, we are committed to ensuring that voters know that regardless of how long it takes," said Dahlgren. "We did not have our eye on July when we got into this, we have our eye on November."

Arizona for Abortion Access told ABC15 they should know by around August whether the measure will officially be on the ballot in November.

ABC15 will stay on top of this story and bring you the latest updates as they become available.

The 20th annual Rainbows Festival will be held April 1 and 2 in downtown Phoenix.

Arizonas largest annual LGBTQ+ community street fair is free, open to the public, and family and pet friendly.

Saturdays headliner for the event is renowned drag performer Lady Bunny. Sunday will feature Niki Haris, former Madonna backing vocalist, and Venus D Lite, season three's RuPauls Drag Race contestant.

Multiple performances will be featured throughout the weekend highlighting local and national talent.

Additionally, attendees can expect food trucks, activities, local businesses, and community organization engagements.

The Heritage Square Historic District will hold the event from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days.

The theme of the community street fair this year is Express Yourself!

For more information about the event click here.

The 97-year-old former secretary at a Nazi concentration camp in Poland during World War II has appealed her conviction.

On Dec. 20, Irmgard Furchner was found guilty of aiding in the murder of more than 10,000 people during the Holocaust. At the same time, she was a stenographer to an SS commander of the Nazis' Stutthof camp, the Associated Press reported.

The German court sentenced her to a two-year suspended sentence for accessory to murder in 10,505 cases and an accessory to attempted murder in five cases, the news outlet reported.

On Wednesday, the court confirmed to the Associated Press that a defense and a lawyer for a co-plaintiff both filed appeals to the Federal Court of Justice.

It wasnt immediately known if and when the federal court would listen to the case, the news outlet reported.

The Washington Post reported that Furchner was tried in juvenile court because she was 18 and 19 when she worked at the camp from June 1, 1943, to April 1, 1945.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-minute appeal from an Arizona prisoner who faces execution on Wednesday in the 1980 killings of two people, clearing the way for the states third execution this year.

Murray Hooper, 76, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at the state prison in Florence for his murder convictions in the killings of William Pat Redmond and his mother-in-law, Helen Phelps, at Redmonds home in Phoenix. Redmonds wife, Marilyn, also was shot in the head during the attack but survived and testified against Hooper at his trial.

Authorities say the killings were carried out at the behest of a man who wanted to take over Redmonds printing business.

Hoopers lawyers had asked the Supreme Court to review his claim that authorities had until recently withheld that Marilyn Redmond had failed to identify him in a photo lineup.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below.

A man convicted in the 1980 killings of two people was scheduled to die Wednesday in what would be Arizona's third execution since it started carrying out the death penalty in May after a nearly eight-year hiatus.

Murray Hooper, 76, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at the state prison in Florence for his murder convictions in the killings of William Pat Redmond and his mother-in-law, Helen Phelps.

Authorities say the killings were carried out at the behest of a man who wanted to take over Redmonds printing business.

The courts rebuffed attempts by Hoopers lawyers to postpone the execution and order fingerprint and DNA testing on evidence from the killings.

His lawyers said Hooper is innocent, that no physical evidence ties him to the killings and that testing could lead to identifying those responsible. They say Hooper was convicted before computerized fingerprint systems and DNA testing were available in criminal cases.

They also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review his claim that authorities had until recently withheld that Redmonds wife, Marilyn, who survived being shot in the head during the attack, had failed to identify him in a photo lineup. However, authorities say that claim is based on a mistake a prosecutor made in a letter to the states clemency board and now insist that no such lineup was shown to Marilyn Redmond.

She later identified Hooper in an in-person lineup and testified against him at his trial.

Authorities say Hooper and two other men forced their way into the Redmond home on Dec. 31, 1980. The three victims were bound, gagged, robbed and shot in the head.

Two other men, William Bracy and Edward McCall, were convicted in the killings but died before their death sentences could be carried out.

Authorities say Robert Cruz, who was alleged to have had ties to organized crime, hired Hooper, Bracy and McCall to kill Pat Redmond, who co-owned a printing business. They said Cruz wanted to take over the business and was unhappy that Redmond had rejected his offers to enter several printing contracts with Las Vegas hotels, according to court records. Cruz was acquitted of murder charges in both deaths in 1995.

Hoopers lawyers say Marilyn Redmonds description of the assailants changed several times before she identified their client, who said he was not in Arizona at the time. They also raised questions about the benefits received by witnesses who testified against Hooper, including favorable treatment in other criminal cases.

Arizona did not carry out the death penalty for nearly eight years after criticism that a 2014 execution was botched and because it encountered difficulty obtaining lethal injection drugs. No other executions are currently scheduled in the state.

Arizona has 111 people on death row, 22 of whom have exhausted their appeals, according to the state attorney generals office.

Pollack Cinemas in Tempe turned off its projectors and closed the doors in March 2020 after the state ordered movie theaters and other businesses to close amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The discount theater has remained closed since then, but on Friday, Dec. 10, the theater will welcome movie-goers for the first time in nearly two years to an updated and upgraded experience.

Admission remains the same: $3.50 a seat.

"I waited until I felt the timing was right for many reasons to reopen," said owner and real estate investor Michael Pollock in an interview with ABC15 on Wednesday.

All of the auditoriums have been redone, from the ceiling to the flooring, to the curtains and lighting on the walls. New leather seats have replaced the cloth seats and the sound system has been replaced.

The bathrooms have been given a face-lift with touchless toilets, towel dispensers, and soap dispensers. New carpet has been installed in the hallways leading to the theaters, track lighting has been added to the walls, and the lobby awning has been spruced up with one that resembled an Old Hollywood-esque ticket booth.

Pollack was quiet for a long time regarding the future of the theater, leading some to speculate if it would reopen. After all, several larger chains in the Valley closed locations or rebranded throughout the pandemic: Alamo is now Majestic, Look Cinemas replaced Flix Brewhouse in Chandler, Landmark replaced iPic in Scottsdale, and Touchstar Cinemas will replace Studio Movie Grill.

"We just had a lot of things that I wanted to do before we reopened. But as far as how many people have sent emails, have called, have sent letters thousands and thousands and thousands, because this was, this is an institution, having this theater here in this neighborhood," he said.

To start, the theater will show a half-dozen movies on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, including

and

That's mostly because Pollock doesn't think there are enough good movies out there yet, but he expects the studios to feel even more comfortable releasing their movies.

"I think there are still so many people that want to enjoy their experience with others and they want to enjoy the experience of the big screen because no matter how big your screen is at home, it's not the same as when you come into a movie theater," he said.

Also new to returning customers, online ticketing, and the ability to reserve seats before the show via the theater's website, www.pollacktempecinemas.com.

Pima County Sheriff's Department says it is looking into a downed aircraft.

It happened near Ryan Airfield.

The Federal Aviation Adminstration released this statement:

According to Tucson Police Air, a police helicopter assisted in the search for the overdue aircraft.

The aircraft was located. No survivors were located.

PCSD and the NTSD are continuing the investigation.

Four people, including two young kids, have been injured in a collision in Phoenix Saturday evening.

Phoenix firefighters say the crash happened at the intersection of 19th and Missouri avenues at around 5:30 p.m.

Crews say they transported two adults in their 30's, an 8-year-old and a 12-year-old to the hospital in serious condition.

Phoenix police are investigating what caused the crash.