Arizona voters rejected a referendum to build a $2.3bn mixed-use development that included a new arena for National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, the Arizona Coyotes, nixing the chance to recapture the team that spent last season playing at the 5,000-seat Gila River Arena far to the west. However, the vote marked an exception: the Athletics are demanding a similar ransom from Las Vegas and/or the adjacent state of Nevada. This included two sites for a $1.5bn stadium on the Strip and a demand for $500m from the public, although the proposed price has now fallen to $395m. Unfortunately for voters, stadium-seekers have been transitioning to mixed-use development, as exemplified by the Atlanta Braves' battery of restaurants, shops, hotels, flats and offices next to the team's new suburban stadium largely funded with public money.
The US Forest Service has reversed course on a previously stated timeframe for completing the approval on a land swap that would allow Rio Tinto to develop a copper mine in Arizona. The case pits a mining company seeking to supply a large portion of US copper demand against Indigenous groups who wish to preserve the Arizona Oak Flat campground, a site of religious importance. Although officials previously signalled that the environmental report necessary for the mine’s approval would be republished this spring, the department has yet to identify a timeframe for its completion.
Navajo leaders plan to send help to hundreds of tribal members who are waiting to get services after allegedly being recruited to illegitimate sober living homes in Arizona over recent years. The crackdown on Medicaid fraud in the state has caused the affected Native Americans to lose access to Medicaid funding or face eviction from the fraudulent sober living homes. As part of the Rainbow Bridge operation, a Phoenix operations center has been equipped with staff to assist community members who have been impacted to find treatment programs and help them reconnect with their families.
The latest episode of SCOTUS 101 discusses six recent cases, including those against Twitter and Google for allegedly aiding and abetting ISIS terrorists, and the copyright dispute over Andy Warhol's images of Prince. The show also features an interview with Judge Jennifer Perkins of the Arizona Court of Appeals and highlights famous and funny cases featuring the justices at their sassiest. SCOTUS 101 is produced by The Heritage Foundation and hosted by GianCarlo Canaparo and Zack Smith.
The US has announced that it will send more sophisticated weaponry to help Ukraine fight Russian-backed separatists. The decision to allow several nations to supply F-16 fighter jets, which will be accompanied by training for the Ukrainian pilots, was revealed by President Biden at a global summit in Japan. However, the US has yet to release details about how many planes will be sent and from which country they’ll come. There are also no details about where the aforementioned training will take place. The US had previously refused to provide this sort of assistance for over a year, due to the increased tensions that could result from it. Initially opposed to the idea, the US has a record of eventually taking the advice of allies to provide more sophisticated weaponry to Ukraine, as it once famously did when reluctantly providing Stinger missiles to the Afghans fighting the Soviets.
The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0, with Mookie Betts hitting a three-run homer, and Tony Gonsolin combining with four relievers on a two-hitter. Gonsolin, who is continuing his comeback from a spring training ankle injury, allowed just one hit and two walks in five innings. The win leaves the Dodgers with 75 home runs in the season, tied with Atlanta for most in the NL. Will Smith later added a run-scoring single after Freddie Freeman had doubled for a 5-0 lead.
The New York Yankees beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-2, with Aaron Judge hitting his 13th home run of the season in his seventh consecutive game. Judge is also only the second player to hit seven home runs in his last seven games, Emilio Bonifacio achieving the feat for the Kansas City Royals in 2013. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay overcame Milwaukee with Francisco Mejia's eighth-inning sacrifice for a 1-0 victory, while the Pittsburgh Pirates rolled over Arizona ace Zac Gallen with a 13-3 win.
Monument Valley, a Navajo Tribal Park, is a vast expanse of vibrant red sand and striking sandstone formations that reach up to the sky, some as high as 1,000 feet. Using a tour guide here is essential since tourists can only navigate a 27-kilometre loop of gravel road on their own when exploring Monument Valley. Tsé Bii’ Ndzisgaii (“Valley of the Rocks”), as it’s also called by the Navajo, sits on the Arizona-Utah state border, at the north of Navajo Nation, which encompasses essentially private land covering from 71,000 square kilometres across three states, New Mexico being the third state. Navajo guides make exploring this area far more interesting thanks to their historical and cultural context.
Canada's dependence on Californian produce is contributing to the country's food inflation and there is a risk of disruption to supply chains because of the state's ongoing water crisis, according to this analysis in The Toronto Star. Changes in climate, along with the depletion of aquifers and the slow degradation of topsoil, has made California's produce vulnerable to disruption. What was once a stable relationship now represents almost all of Canada's import business. "If California can’t produce and export with the same level of stability and predictability and costs that it’s had over the last 20 years, the implication of that is going to be higher prices and periods of disruption," says Evan Fraser, director of the Arrell Food Institute and professor of geography at the University of Guelph.
A series of polls has asked respondents in swing states whether they would vote for a Republican or Democrat if Donald Trump led the ticket versus if Ron DeSantis headed the party. The polls were conducted by Republican pollsters Public Opinion Strategies in Georgia and Arizona, and by WPA Intelligence in Oregon, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. In each state, the results showed the GOP would win more votes with DeSantis leading than with Trump. In Michigan, the difference was 14 percentage points, with DeSantis leading 47-33. In Oregon, DeSantis led by three points. The difference was smaller in the other states, with DeSantis leading by an average of four percentage points. Multiple polls have shown this trend, and combined with recent election results, paint the picture of the GOP being better off without Trump. However, it is noted the polls were conducted by pollsters that are sympathetic to DeSantis, but each survey was independent and not commissioned by the Governor.
The 2022 midterm elections in the US produced a significant turnout, with no national trend that produced swings across the board as in past elections, according to a report by the Democratic data analytics firm Catalist. The findings show that there were two elections last year, one in highly contested states such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Georgia (almost certainly to be battlegrounds in the 2024 presidential campaign), and one in states without competitive statewide contests. In contested Senate and governor elections, Democrats received a slightly larger share of the two-party vote than in 2020, with younger voters playing an important role in their success.
However, turnout among black voters fell from past midterms, prompting a debate about whether the decline suggests a growing trend detrimental to Democrats. Overall, Latino support for the party remained consistent, but Cuban Americans in Florida and Mexican Americans in Arizona, among other states in the Southwest, had conflicting voting loyalties. Suburban areas also saw higher turnouts, but Democratic support fell nationwide, apart from in the contested races in the states where presidential elections are decided, where it remained at 54%.
The report highlights the challenges Republicans face with an electorate that is producing higher turnout, which has led to Democratic successes in three straight elections, particularly as some Democratic analysts argue that in the current political era, their party has a superior election machine and stronger coalition. The report suggests the key issues for the 2024 presidential campaign will be the perception of the Republican party pushing an extreme agenda and whether the party is associated with former President Trump, who may become its nominee.
Wine writer Shana Clarke has published "150 Vineyards to Visit Before You Die" including Japan's MGVs vineyard, which Clarke describes as a laboratory-like building with precise winemaking akin to alchemy; Spain's Bodegas Vega Sicilia's Ontañón Vineyard, featuring vines dating back over 100 years; and Australia's d'Arenberg Cube, a five-storey art and education venue that aims to blur the lines between wine and attraction. The book explores lesser-known vineyards as well as famous ones in France and Italy. The vineyards were chosen to reflect Clarke's "broad story about the world of wine, which meant not just focusing on historically important vineyards, but what may come in the future".
The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 after Pavin Smith hit a go-ahead two-run homer during the seventh inning of the game. Smith's home run came off Robert Stephenson and helped the Diamondbacks come back from a 3-2 deficit to win the game. The Diamondbacks have now won six out of their last eight games. Ke’Bryan Hayes accounted for all the Pirates' scoring with a bases-loaded triple that brought home two runs. Pirates ace Mitch Keller allowed two runs and three hits while striking out eight before being removed after six innings when the Pirates had a 3-2 lead.
FBI, tribe’s police investigating fatal shooting of tribal member by US Border Patrol agents
The Toronto Star
23-05-21 20:36
The FBI and police from Tohono O’odham Nation are investigating a fatal shooting of a tribal member by US Border Patrol agents at the Tohono O’odham reservation. The agents were from the Ajo Border Patrol Station and were involved in the shooting at Meneger’s Dam, close to the border with Mexico. Tribal chairman Ned Norris Jr. said the victim was Raymond Mattia, and that Mattia had called the Border Patrol because migrants had trespassed on his land and he needed help removing them. Mattia’s family says that he went outside and was shot for no reason, according to TV station KVOA.
An Arizona vigilante group has agreed to “publicly condemn intimidation of any kind in connection with the exercise of the right to vote” in a settlement with the League of Women Voters of Arizona. The group, Clean Elections USA, monitored state ballot boxes for irregularities during the 2022 midterm elections, following a summer of voter-audit conspiracy theories from supporters of ex-president Donald Trump. The boxes were an electoral issue in the sedition conspiracies surrounding the presidential election; discredited allegations include postal workers and Democrat state authorities filling them with false votes.
The League had alleged in its lawsuit that the actions of Clean Elections USA were themselves an illegal form of voter intimidation, and demanded that the group’s supporters stay clear of ballot boxes during voting. This led to a temporary restraining order being issued from federal judge Michael Liburdi. Opposition to the order was stated by Alexander Kolodin, an attorney for Clean Elections USA and its founder Melody Jennings, citing concerns over the necessary free speech protections for the group.
The vigilante authorities of clean Elections USA typically set up their own filming equipment outside the drop boxes, taking footage of any voting irregularities and appearing to question voters on their intentions when approaching the site. Voting rights campaigners worry that surveillance of this type could continue during the 2024 presidential campaign.
NorthStar Bets has released parlay picks for May 24th's MLB games, with Los Angeles Dodgers' stars Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez among the quality candidates to have a good day. Its parlay consists of three picks: Betts over 0.5 hits (-235), Martinez over 0.5 hits (-220) and Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker over 0.5 hits (-195). If all three picks come in, the parlay pays out at odds of +215.
Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, signed a red flag bill on 20 December, making it the 21st US state to adopt such legislation. The state was prompted to act after its second mass school shooting. The measure will allow family members, police, mental health professionals, roommates and former dating partners to petition a judge to remove firearms from those they believe pose an imminent liability to themselves or others. The Associated Press has raised concerns over whether Michigan will have better success enforcing the law than other states.
Rose Zhang has become the first female golfer to win consecutive national titles and has tied the NCAA record for wins in a season after shooting 4-under 68 at the NCAA championship. Zhang also became Stanford University's all-time leading scorer, male or female, with a total of 12 wins after previously winning the U.S. Women's Amateur, the U.S. Girls' Junior and Augusta National Women's Amateur. She now heads into Tuesday's match play aiming to help Stanford to retain the top seed and win consecutive national titles.
The Donbas city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine appears to have been almost entirely destroyed, with Kiev moving its military focus to the city's outskirts after 10 months of heavy fighting. Reports say the Russians claimed victory last week and Ukraine conceded that only a few of its soldiers remained. However, there are ongoing battles for land surrounding Bakhmut including high ground taken by Russian forces over the winter months. The capture represents Russia's first major battlefield victory in Ukraine since last summer. Climate-related drought and population growth have also played their part in the tribulations of the Ukraine in recent years. Meanwhile, Arizona, California and Nevada have agreed to take less water from the drought-strained Colorado River to avoid jeopardising cities like Phoenix and Los Angeles and, particularly, some of the country’s most productive farmland.
