Arizona
Arizona Congress members want Native American war hero stories restored on DOD website
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Members of Arizona’s Congressional delegation are calling on the Department of Defense to bring back website articles describing two Native American heroes from Arizona.
Reps. Greg Stanton and Yassamin Nasari, both Democrats, sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to reinstate stories surrounding Pima/Akimel O’odham Marine Pfc. Ira Hayes and Hopi Army Specialist Lori Piestewa. The pair say references to Native American veterans, like the Navajo Code Talkers, have been restored but information on the two military members is still missing.
“We must never forget the sacrifices made by Native American veterans and service members throughout our nation’s history,” said Stanton and Nasari in the letter. They say the stories of Hayes and Piesetwa were removed because of the Trump administration’s ban of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “Efforts by the DOD to recognize any veteran’s selfless service to our nation have nothing to do with any type of DEI Initiative,” said Stanton and Nasari.
Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, also Democrats, sent a similar letter on Monday to Hegseth about the webpages. “To erase Pfc. Hayes’s and Specialist Piestewa’s contributions to our history is to erase American history,” they said. “DoD appears to be taking a slash and burn approach, removing web pages and only restoring them when the public holds the Department accountable. This approach is wasteful and creates unnecessary distractions from the Department’s important missions.”
Hayes was one of six Marines who raised the flag at Iwo Jima in 1945 during WWII. The event was immortalized in one of the most recognized photos in history that won a Pulitzer Prize. A simple search of his name returns zero results on the Defense Department website. However, he’s the focus of this article on the Iowa Jima victory.
Piestewa was the first female Native American soldier to be killed in action on foreign soil when her convoy was ambushed on March 23, 2003. Former Gov. Janet Napolitano renamed the mountain formerly known as Squaw Peak, near 24th Street and Glendale, as Piestewa Peak a month after she died.
Her name is only mentioned in one article about Native American women serving in the military. There was a Piestewa painting photo on the Defense Department website but the link now gives a 404 error. A photo is still up of Piestewa’s mother.
The controversy comes during the same month at least 10 articles mentioning the Navajo Code Talkers were pulled from U.S. Army and Department of Defense websites. They were reportedly replaced with several broken URLs labeled “DEI.” The Code Talkers were an indigenous group that helped the United States during World War II.
Some of the webpages were restored hours later. Defense Department officials say the Navajo Code Talker material was mistakenly erased.
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PAGE, AZ (AZFamily) — A person accused of making terroristic threats toward a northern Arizona medical facility was arrested Friday morning.
Just after 10:30 p.m., police received a report of a person calling the facility and threatening to kill staff and Native Americans, according to the Page Police Department.
Authorities said staff placed the facility on lockdown until officers identified the suspect and arrested them outside their home.
The suspect was booked on charges of disorderly conduct, threatening and intimidating, and making terroristic threats. Police have not publicly identified the person.
“The Page Police Department is grateful for and supports the medical staff’s decision to put the medical facility into lockdown until the suspect was arrested and the situation was rendered safe,” the department said in a Facebook post.
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In these four-round projections, the Arizona Cardinals don’t get a tackle until the fourth round.
We are just days away from the 2026 NFL draft, and that means some final mock drafts. What direction will the draft take the Arizona Cardinals?
Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy put together a four-round mock draft for the Cardinals. They go defense early but rebuild the offense for 2026 and moving forward, including landing their potential franchise quarterback.
Cardinals 4-round mock draft
Here are the players in the first four rounds Popejoy projects for Arizona.
- Round 1: Ohio State EDGE/LB Arvell Reese
- Round 2: Alabama QB Ty Simpson
- Round 3: Clemson WR Antonio Williams
- Round 4: Florida OT Austin Barber
What we think of the picks
The Cardinals want to trade out of the third pick and draft a tackle, so not getting a tackle until Round 4 seems unlikely, although they did meet with Barber. They do have options at right tackle for 2026 already on the roster.
Reese would be a great pick if they don’t trade back, as they badly need pass-rushing help off the edge.
Drafting Simpson seems inevitable at this point, so it has to be in a mock draft, although the feeling is they will need to go up into Round 1 again to get him.
Williams has speed and is almost six feet tall, but he does have short arms.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
Due to significant injuries to the CB position last year which includes a shoulder surgery for Terrion Arnold, the Lions CB position scored a 6/10 need on my Lions Defensive Draft Need Rankings. Thus, an early-round selection of a young, healthy prospect like Keith Abney would not come as a surprise. He enters the draft with very low medical concern level.
Here is the excerpt from my medical report on Keith Abney:
(Ages in parentheses are at start of 2026 season and are factored into the concern level. Injury info and ages based on available public information are unverified and subject to update. Games played data courtesy of sports-reference.com.)
Keith Abney, CB (21) – Arizona State
Projected round 2-3. #43 on Jeff Risdon board Feb 19.
Concern level 0/10
There is an isolated report of a hand injury but no corroborating information. Even if the hand injury is true, that’s of minimal to no long-term concern.
His availability in his final two seasons has been perfect. Overall, Abney appears to be medically clean and is at an excellent age.
He finished college with 6 INT and 21 PBU.
For more Lions coverage, follow us on X, @TheLionsWire, and give our Facebook page a like. Follow Jimmy on X, @JimmyLiaoMD
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