Arizona
“Binky” is headed to Eastern Arizona College to play softball
DEMING – Bianca Valverde stood diminutive in dimension however casts a big shadow within the batter’s field throughout her highschool softball profession at Deming Excessive. Japanese Arizona School in Thatcher, AZ acknowledged this and provided the senior Girl ‘Cat a shot at enjoying on the subsequent stage.
Valverde bid farewell to the Girl ‘Cat program as a four-year varsity letter and two-time All-District 3-5A choice, second-team all-state. She was voted the staff most dear participant this season. “It’s unhappy leaving my teammates,” Valverde advised the Headlight. “We’ve been enjoying collectively since journey ball. Valverde is certainly one of six seniors that may depart the varsity program this 12 months. All of them got here up via the journey ball expertise with the Li’l Cats touring staff.
Valverde stepped into the leadoff position as a freshman and by no means let up. She led the staff every year in on-base proportion (.609 in 2022), was among the many staff leaders in hits (34 in 2022), slugging proportion, walks, stolen bases, and extra-base hits.
“I thought of this chance quite a bit. At first, I wasn’t positive this was what I needed, however now I can see it as a enjoyable expertise and a chance to proceed my schooling,” Valverde defined.
She was invited to a two-hour exercise with the EAC Gila Monsters this season and that was all of the EAC teaching employees wanted to deliver Valverde again.
The Girl ‘Cats rolled via am 11-14 total season in 2022 and had been 7-11 within the extremely aggressive District 3-5A.
The Gila Monsters had been 34-10 in ACCAC (Arizona Group School Athletic Convention) play and 43-14 total. They reached the area II semifinals the place they misplaced to Yavapai 10-5.
Valverde performs a stable left area and is taken into account by many the quintessential lead-off batter. “She makes issues occur in the best route,” mentioned former DHS Softball Coach Noel Nunez. “She is a rally starter.”
On Thursday, Valverde signed a letter of dedication to play softball at EAC. Her mother and father, DHS athletic director, assistant coach Ricky Baca, and coach Gary Galindo had been current for the signing. A boisterous crowd of Girl ‘Cat teammates and college students had been additionally current for the signing.
“It’s good to know that Bianca will likely be enjoying softball on the subsequent stage and shut sufficient for her followers and household to see her play,” mentioned Bernie Chavez, DHS Athletic/Actions Director.
EAC is a two-year college and Valverde can see a future which will embody transferring right into a four-year program in her remaining two years. She is undecided in a profession path.
“I need to thank my dad for teaching me within the yard since I used to be a younger lady and to my mother for her help and pushing to succeed and keep humble,” Valverde mentioned.
She is the daughter of Yvonne and Mike Valverde.
Invoice Armendariz will be reached at 575-546-2611 (depart a message) or biarmendariz@demingheadlight.com.
Arizona
Arizona Cardinals NFL draft picks 2024: Full list of team’s round-by-round selections
Here is a 2024 NFL draft pick-by-pick breakdown for the Arizona Cardinals:
Round 1 (No. 4 overall)
Round 1 (27, from Texans)
Round 2 (35)
Round 3 (66)
Round 3 (71, from Titans)
Round 3 (90, from Texans)
Round 4 (104)
Round 5 (138)
Round 5 (162, from Texans)
Round 6 (186, from Vikings)
Round 7 (226, from Giants)
Arizona Cardinals’ recent top draft picks
- 2023 (No. 6 overall): Paris Johnson Jr., OT, Ohio State
- 2022 (No. 55 overall): Trey McBride, TE, Colorado State
- 2021 (No. 22 overall): Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech
- 2020 (No. 29 overall): Isaiah Wilson, OT, Georgia
- 2019 (No. 19 overall): Jeffery Simmons, DT, Mississippi State
Previous drafts: 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020
Arizona
Arizona Just Indicted a Bunch of Trump Associates. Some Are Notably Missing.
A grand jury in Arizona has returned an indictment for several close associates of former President Donald Trump as well as lower-level individuals who served as false electors in Arizona during the 2020 presidential election. The Office of Attorney General Kris Mayes has charged all of them with a conspiracy under Arizona state law to overturn the popular vote in the state.
The list of indicted co-defendants includes seven national figures: Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, Mike Roman, Jenna Ellis, and Christina Bobb.
The 11 other co-defendants are all the false electors in the 2020 election. That list notably includes Kelli Ward, who served as the chair of the Arizona Republican Party during the 2020 presidential election.
Notably, like Georgia, criminal trials in Arizona can be publicly broadcast.
Some highlights follow.
The Conspicuous Absence of Donald Trump
The Arizona indictment raises a question. How is it possible that Trump’s two alter egos have been indicted but the former president—the ego in that equation—has not?
The two alter egos are Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Trump’s absence from the indicted co-defendants list is all the more puzzling since Trump is identifiable as “Unindicted Coconspirator 1” in the attorney general’s court filings. Coincidentally, on Wednesday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office testified in that state’s court that Trump, Meadows, and Giuliani are “unindicted co-conspirators” in the Michigan state prosecution of false electors.
A great deal of evidence shows that Meadows and Giuliani helped lead the multipronged efforts to overturn the election, acting on behalf of Trump.
Giuliani
The federal indictment of Trump, for example, refers to Giuliani as “Co-Conspirator 1,” including for his allegedly helping orchestrate—on behalf of Trump—the false electors scheme across the seven swing states, including Arizona. The federal indictment also states that Trump worked directly with Giuliani in pressuring Arizona state officials to overturn the popular vote, including calling the Republican Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives Rusty Bowers, in which they “made knowingly false claims of election fraud aimed at interfering with the ascertainment of and voting by Arizona’s electors.”
Meadows
The Jan. 6 House Select Committee final report has the greatest details of Meadows’ deep involvement in the false electors scheme on behalf of Trump. For Meadows, indicted in Georgia, his own court filings in that state claim—or admit—that he was acting in service of the then president.
One can only speculate as to why Trump might be excluded from but the other two men included in the Arizona indictment. One reason might have to do with direct evidence for Meadows and Giuliani that is lacking for Trump—especially as the former president acted in part through them as intermediaries and conduits. Another reason may be the exercise of “prosecutorial discretion.” Yet another could be that prosecutors submitted the question to the jury but an insufficient number of jurors approved of charging the former president. Or it could be some other reason entirely.
Tuesday’s indictment may not be the final word on whether Trump will be indicted in Arizona. Another shoe may have yet to drop. But the current situation cries out for an explanation of how Trump’s two key agents—Giuliani and Meadows—are included in the list of indicted individuals but Trump himself is not.
The Conspicuous Absence of Kenneth Chesebro
Kenneth Chesebro has properly been called “a chief architect” of the false electors scheme. He is identifiable as Co-Conspirator 5 in the federal indictment of Trump, and he has pleaded guilty in the prosecution in Fulton County, Georgia.
Chesebro has so far escaped prosecution in other states where false electors are under indictment. His protection from prosecution appears to be on the basis that he “cooperated” with those investigations. However, recent investigative reporting by CNN and others has revealed that Chesebro apparently made false statements to state prosecutors in Michigan and Nevada while feigning cooperation with their respective criminal investigations of false electors. (See also this analysis of flaws with his proffer agreement in Georgia.)
That all is now fairly well known to close observers of these cases. Why, then, the Arizona indictment excludes Chesebro is a mystery. Prosecutors in Michigan and Nevada have decided not to seek indictments of anyone at the national level and instead focused only on false electors in their states. But in Arizona that’s different, as the prosecutors have now charged several out-of-state individuals who were involved in the nationally coordinated effort to overturn the election results. But not Chesebro. Earlier reports were that Chesebro was “cooperating” with the Arizona prosecutors, and that may explain it.
The Indictment of Boris Epshteyn and Christina Bobb
Two new figures have been added to the list of Trump’s associates now under indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the presidential election: Boris Epshteyn and Christina Bobb.
In the federal indictment, it appears that Epshteyn may be unindicted “Co-Conspirator 6” (see this analysis by the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan, and Luke Broadwater). In the Fulton County indictment, previous analysis at Just Security identified Epshteyn as most likely one of the unindicted co-conspirators (“Individual 3”).
A Potential Trump Presidency and Pressure on Defendants to Flip
Criminal defendants in the Arizona 2020 election interference prosecution, as well as elsewhere, like Fulton County, Georgia, may have reasons to flip and cooperate with prosecutors due to the prospect of a Trump presidency.
A president cannot issue pardons for state crimes, and his or her control over the Department of Justice does not extend to state law enforcement authorities. The state-level prosecutions of false electors and other Trump associates—in Arizona and elsewhere—will accordingly proceed whether or not Trump wins election. But he himself has a high likelihood of being deemed immune (by the Supreme Court if it comes to that) from state and local criminal prosecutions while in office. In other words, co-defendants and co-conspirators may be left holding the bag. That dawning reality may create incentives for some of these individuals to cooperate with law enforcement authorities sooner than later.
Arizona
Former Arizona State guard Austin Nunez commits to Sun Devils
Former Arizona State guard Austin Nunez is coming back to the Sun Devils after spending one season at Ole Miss.
Nunez played a reserve role as a freshman for the Sun Devils before transferring to Ole Miss as a sophomore for the 2023-24 season.
Nunez took home Pac-12 player of the week honors on Nov. 21, 2022. The lefty scorer posted 10 points against VCU and another 15 in only 22 minutes versus Michigan.
As a freshman, he missed the Sun Devils’ final eight games of the year due to a concussion he suffered in mid-February.
He was not activated until the NCAA Tournament, but he did not return to Bobby Hurley’s rotation.
He averaged 4.5 points and 0.9 assists on 41.5% shooting in 16.3 minutes per game during his first season with the Sun Devils.
He played sparingly at Ole Miss during his sophomore season, averaging 0.7 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists over 6.7 minutes per game.
Nunez was ranked by 247Sports as a top-75 recruit in the country. He originally joined center Duke Brennan as the first two prospects in ASU’s 2022 class.
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