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Arizona House committee moves to make Pluto official state planet

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Arizona House committee moves to make Pluto official state planet


Joe Duhownik

PHOENIX (CN) — For 75 years after its discovery at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, Pluto inched around the outskirts of our solar system known to all as the ninth planet from the sun.

But when the International Astronomical Union voted to strictly define what does and doesn’t qualify as a planet, Pluto didn’t quite meet the criteria.

Despite its 2006 downgrade to dwarf planet, the icy world three billion miles away has retained its planetary status in the hearts and minds of many citizens of Arizona — the only U.S. state in which a planet has been discovered.

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That’s why state Representative Justin Wilmeth, a Republican from Phoenix, is pushing the Legislature to designate Pluto as the official planet of Arizona.

The bill he wrote to do so, House Bill 2477, just took one small step in its voyage toward law.

“There’s been some controversy recently of it being downgraded,” Wilmeth told the Arizona House Committee on Government Wednesday before the committee voted 8-1 in favor of the bill. “That’s not really the point of this bill. It’s to honor our state heritage, our state history and our strong astronomy background that we have.”

Wilmeth said he was inspired to write the bill after touring the Lowell Observatory in April. Its namesake, Arizona astronomer Percival Lowell, died in 1916 after spending more than a decade hunting for a mythical ninth planet.

Fourteen years after Lowell’s death, a 24-year-old astronomer named Clyde Tombough completed the search when he located the first of many objects in what would later be called the Kuiper Belt, a region of icy objects outside the orbit of Neptune.

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The International Astronomical Union defines planets using three criteria:

  • It is in orbit around the sun
  • It is round in shape
  • It has cleared its orbit of other debris

Pluto, which shares space with more than 100,000 other objects in the Kuiper Belt, doesn’t meet the third qualification. But that doesn’t matter to Wilmeth, who passed out “I Heart Pluto” stickers to guests at the hearing.

“In my opinion, a bunch of Europeans got mad that we made this discovery and downgraded it to a dwarf planet,” he joked to the committee.

Wilmeth wants the bill to “foster discussion and debate about a really cool part of Arizona history.”

Representatives from Lowell Observatory told the committee that the designation would also excite young students about historical and scientific discovery.

“Here’s an opportunity for a teacher to lead a discussion with the fact that Pluto is the state planet,” said Diane Phelps, who works at Lowell and wrote a children’s book about Pluto’s discovery. “[Students] will think that is oh so cool!”

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Every year, the Lowell Observatory hosts the I Heart Pluto Festival in Flagstaff to celebrate the anniversary of its discovery.

“We have a lot of character in this state,” said Kevin Schindler, the observatory’s historian. “You think of cactus, you think of Arizona. You think of Pluto, you think of Arizona.”

Schindler suggested the legislature next add “cosmos” as the sixth C to the traditional five Cs of Arizona.

Amanda Bosh, a research astronomer at Lowell who began her career studying Pluto’s atmosphere, already considers Pluto to be the state’s unofficial state planet. “So let’s make it official,” she said.

If the bill becomes law, Pluto will join a long list of other “official” symbols of Arizona. Representative Nancy Gutierrez, a Democrat from Tucson, joked that she would like Wilmeth to change the official state drink from lemonade to margarita.

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“That would be a friendly amendment to my bill,” Wilmeth replied.

Official state symbols include the bolo tie, the official state tie, and the Colt single action army revolver, the official state firearm.

Representative Steve Montenegro, a Republican from Goodyear, was the only member of the committee to vote against the bill.

“I genuinely do appreciate hearing the testimony from the individuals here,” he said. “I respect the sentiment. I want to learn a little bit more to understand it. I want to reserve that vote as we move forward.”

Montenegro hasn’t yet returned a phone call asking for an explanation of his vote.

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Wilmeth joked that Montenegro isn’t invited to the legislative field trip to the Lowell Observatory when its astronomy discovery center opens in November.

“When little kids hear about this, they will fall in love with Pluto and think, ‘If that happened here, we can do anything in this state,’” Wilmeth said. ”And in 400 years, when we have a manned mission to Pluto, there better be an Arizonan on it.”





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What Arizona Cardinals’ Budda Baker said about his future with team

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What Arizona Cardinals’ Budda Baker said about his future with team


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Arizona Cardinals Pro Bowl safety Budda Baker on Monday said he hopes to remain with the team in the future as he heads into the final year of his current contract.

He said he will let his agent handle whatever happens with another contract, and will focus on playing good football above everything else. Baker, drafted by the Cardinals in the second round in 2017, signed a four-year extension worth $59 million before the 2020 season, the salary which took effect in 2021.

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“Of course, me being here seven years, going into year eight, of course you would love to be in the football team you got drafted to,” Baker said. “I know it’s not the same GM or it’s not the same head coach, but I understand if I can continue to do my job at a high level — this is our fourth coaching staff and I’m still on the team — so it shows what type of character that I have, what type of work ethic I put onto the field. No matter who’s there, who’s coaching, I’m gonna do my job and I’m gonna be that person that other guys can look onto and ask questions to and all that other stuff as well.

“Of course I want to be a Cardinal. But at the end of the day I understand it’s a business … every year changes,” Baker added. “Most importantly, the name of the game is to win. We haven’t really done that much. I really want to win. I really want these fans to be happy and excited and come to the games and have those packed-out houses.”

Baker, 28, is a five-time Pro Bowler who played in a career low 12 games last season. He said he tore a hamstring in practice before the Week 2 game of last season and wound up missing five games before making it through the rest of the season after his return.

Baker said he played last season at about “85 or 90” percent.

“He’s another coach on the field, and in the meeting rooms,” Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said of Baker. “The most value that I see with Budda is … his perspective of ‘Hey, here’s how this has to fit with all five of us or six of us out there. This is what you need to be thinking because this is what this guy is doing. Here’s what I’m doing, here’s what I’m thinking.’”

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Arizona proposal to let local police make border-crossing arrests is set for lawmakers' final vote

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Arizona proposal to let local police make border-crossing arrests is set for lawmakers' final vote


PHOENIX — Arizona would step directly into immigration enforcement by making it a state crime to cross the Arizona-Mexico border anywhere except a port of entry, under a proposal that’s up for a final vote by lawmakers on Tuesday. If approved, voters would decide in November if the measure becomes law.

The measure, scheduled for a vote in the Arizona House, would let state and local police arrest people crossing the border without authorization. It also would empower state judges to order people convicted of the offense to go back to their home country.

The proposal is similar to a Texas law that has been put on hold by a federal appeals court while it’s being challenged. The Arizona Senate approved the proposal on a 16-13 party-line vote. If it clears the House, the proposal would bypass Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, who vetoed a similar proposal in early March, and instead get sent to the Nov. 5 ballot.

While federal law already prohibits the unauthorized entry of migrants into the U.S., proponents of the measure say it’s needed because the federal government hasn’t done enough to stop people from crossing illegally over Arizona’s vast, porous border with Mexico. They also said some people who enter Arizona without authorization commit identity theft and take advantage of public benefits.

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Opponents say the proposal would inevitably lead to racial profiling by police and saddle the state with new costs from law enforcement agencies that don’t have experience with immigration law, as well as hurt Arizona’s reputation in the business world.

Supporters of the proposed ballot measure waved off concerns about racial profiling, saying local officers would still have to develop probable cause to arrest people who enter Arizona outside ports of entry.

The backers also say the measure focuses only on the state’s border region and — unlike Arizona’s landmark 2010 immigration law — doesn’t target people throughout the state. Opponents point out the proposal doesn’t contain any geographical limitations on where it can be enforced within the state.

The ballot proposal contains other provisions that aren’t included in the Texas measure and aren’t directly related to immigration. Those include making it a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison for selling fentanyl that leads to a person’s death, and a requirement that government agencies that administer benefit programs use a federal database to verify that a noncitizen’s eligibility for benefits.

Warning about potential legal costs, opponents pointed to Arizona’s 2005 immigrant smuggling ban used by then-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to carry out 20 large-scale traffic patrols that targeted immigrants. That led to a 2013 racial profiling verdict and taxpayer-funded legal and compliance costs that now total $265 million and are expected to reach $314 million by July 2025.

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Under the current proposal, a first-time conviction of the border-crossing provision would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. State judges could order people to return to their countries of origin after completing a term of incarceration, although the courts would have the power to dismiss cases if those arrested agree to return home.

The measure would require the state corrections department to take into custody people who are charged or convicted under the measure if local or county law enforcement agencies don’t have enough space to house them.

The proposal includes exceptions for people who have been granted lawful presence status or asylum by the federal government.

The provision allowing for the arrests of border crossers in between ports would not take effect until the Texas law or similar laws from other states have been in effect for 60 days.

This isn’t the first time Republican lawmakers in Arizona have tried to criminalize migrants who aren’t authorized to be in the United States.

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When passing its 2010 immigration bill, the Arizona Legislature considered expanding the state’s trespassing law to criminalize the presence of immigrants and impose criminal penalties. But the trespassing language was removed and replaced with a requirement that officers, while enforcing other laws, question people’s immigration status if they were believed to be in the country illegally.

The questioning requirement was ultimately upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court despite the racial profiling concerns of critics, but courts barred enforcement of other sections of the law.



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Arizona State football recruiting: 3-star WR Michael Scott commits

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Arizona State football recruiting: 3-star WR Michael Scott commits


Michael Scott, a three-star athlete from Dallastown Area High School in Pennsylvania, has committed to Arizona State football, he announced Monday.

The 5-foot-8, 155-pound receiver is ranked as a top-30 recruit in Pennsylvania’s 2025 class, according to 247 Sports composite. He chose ASU over finalists Kansas State and James Madison.

As a junior at Dallastown Area High School, he had shining moments in all three phases of offense: passing, running and receiving.

Scott caught 33 passes for 493 yards and five touchdowns.

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In 10 games, he completed 11 of 18 pass attempts for 170 yards and one touchdown, leading the team in passer rating (110.9). He added 40 carries, which he took for 307 yards and four touchdowns.

Scott also played a big role in special teams between kicking and punting as well as returning kicks and punts.

He kicked off 45 times, leading to eight touchbacks. All 13 of his punts pinned his opponent inside its own 20. His longest kick return on the season went for 85 yards.

Scott follows fellow three-star receiver Cory Butler to ASU. Butler, out of Centennial High School in Corona, California, committed on Sunday.

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