ABC15 Arizona in Phoenix Latest Headlines | April 22, morning

Añadido: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Latest headlines from ABC 15 are sponsored by Lerner and Rowe Injury [music] Attorneys. One call, that's all.

[00:00:07]Happy Wednesday. I'm Jordan Bonke with your top stories from the ABC 15 Arizona newsroom. A big heads-up for folks in Flagstaff. High winds in the area could increase the wildfire threat. So, APS is announcing that it can temporarily shut off power in high-risk fire communities.

[00:00:22]So, communities can monitor the APS outage map for potential times.

[00:00:26]Residents are asked to disconnect appliances. Keep your refrigerator and your freezers closed. The warmer weather impacting one East Valley farm, that's Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek. They lost half of their peach crops this season.

[00:00:39]Owner Mark Schnepf, he tells us that this is the second worst season he's experienced in his decades of farming in Queen Creek with 50% of the crop not coming in. So, the Schnepf Schnepf says that the peaches are in need of what's called chill hours, about 200 to 300 hours per year, but they didn't get that this season with the warm weather.

[00:01:00]Kind of a sad thing because uh the demand is huge for peaches. We love growing them. Uh they're chemical-free, and we're just not going to be able to meet the demand this year like we uh try to do every year.

[00:01:11]He also tells ABC 15 the peaches ripened the earliest he's seen, so 2 weeks earlier than normal because of the heat.

[00:01:18]And in today's Operation Safe Roads report, the town of Gilbert advocating [music] for bicyclist safety launching a new study. Town leaders say that it's looking to build more connected bike networks. So, the goal is to link existing paths and prevent crashes. And a recent plan from the town found that safety is a top concern for the community. 70% of people said that they would bike more if there was more space between cars and bikes. One local cyclist says safety comes down to just awareness.

[00:01:47]I think education would be really important to get people educated, not only the cyclists to know how to use the bike lanes, but also the drivers that they can better understand the bike lanes as well.

[00:01:58]So, the town says that the study kicks off this summer. It'll focus on connecting neighbors neighbors to schools, parks, and businesses.

[00:02:07]A lot of us hand it out without second thought. I'm talking about our phone number, whether it's to stores, restaurants, or delivery apps. But what you may not realize is that that little string of digits is actually tied to more information that scammers and data brokers would love to get their hands on.

[00:02:27]Lunch outdoors on a nice spring day?

[00:02:29]Server may ask for your phone number to text a receipt or sign you up for rewards. I'm okay with it.

[00:02:35]>> Avery Hargrove and Rachel Hoffman regularly share theirs.

[00:02:39]>> I don't really see like it's be a problem. But Ellie Briscoe isn't so sure.

[00:02:44]>> know what they're doing with your phone number necessarily. Digital privacy expert Ron Zayas says most people are quick to dish out their digits even in line at the grocery store. Would you do that with your credit card number? Would you do that with your social security number? He says your phone number may be sold to data brokers who want your number because it's easy to track and link to other information. Your social media, your politics, your religion, your your health care. So, that's why people want it. Phone numbers also appeal to scammers. You will respond to a text usually about 3 to 400 times faster than you will to an email.

[00:03:21]Scammers use immediacy and urgency to get you to do stupid things. Instead of your number, try giving your email.

[00:03:28]Zayas says most companies have a second option or use a service that sets you up with an unidentified number like the company Surfshark. It forwards everything to your main number, so you don't have to get a different phone.

[00:03:40]Jeff Fackler says he's happy to give his Gmail address, but never his phone number.

[00:03:44]>> I feel that that's mostly private, so I want to try to keep that to myself cuz I know that the businesses are just using that information to make money off of me. That way you avoid unwanted calls and texts.

[00:03:55]>> And then all of a sudden you get spam calls. And you don't waste your money.

[00:03:58]John Metery, Scripps News Group.

[00:04:01]Checking your most accurate forecast on this Wednesday. I'm meteorologist What the forecast temperatures starting off around 70° here in the valley at 8:00 this morning. By midday, we're already in the lower 80s and high staying in the 80s this afternoon with breezy conditions here in the valley. Notice how temperatures will stay close to where they should be for late April, anywhere from the low to mid-80s in Cave Creek and Anthem to the mid and upper 80s elsewhere from Deer Valley to Scottsdale, Tempe, and as yet to our Chandler and Gilbert forecasting highs here in the upper 80s. Northern Arizona will keep highs in areas like Flagstaff in the low to mid-60s, same in Heber and Low, upper 60s and lower 70s from Prescott to Payson and Sedona with mid to upper 80s across the lower deserts.

[00:04:38]But the winds will crank up quite a bit in Northern Arizona today as wind advisories take effect at 8:00 this morning. Gusts of 45 mph are possible.

[00:04:46]7-day forecast showing those highs in the valley staying in the upper 80s and lower 90s through at least the early part of the weekend. In the high country, windy today in Flagstaff and again this weekend with a chance of rain cranking up on Saturday with highs in the 50s and lows below freezing. For the latest headlines, weather, and traffic, you can always head to abc15.com or download the always free ABC 15 mobile app. Have a great day.