Attorney John Eastman pleaded not guilty on Friday to conspiracy, fraud, and forgery charges over his role in the effort to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in Arizona to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Eastman, who devised a strategy to try to persuade Congress not to certify the election, is the first person charged in Arizona’s fake elector case to be arraigned. Outside the courthouse, the AP reports, Eastman said the charges against him should have never been filed. “I had zero communications with the electors in Arizona (and) zero involvement in any of the election litigation in Arizona or legislative hearings,” Eastman said. “And I am confident that with the laws faithfully applied, I will be fully be exonerated at the end of this process.”

Arraignments are scheduled Tuesday for 12 other people charged in the case, including nine of the 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring Trump had won Arizona. The Arizona indictment said Eastman encouraged the GOP electors to cast their votes in December 2020, unsuccessfully pressured state lawmakers to change the election’s outcome in Arizona, and told then-Vice President Mike Pence that he could reject Democratic electors in the counting of electoral votes in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump himself was not charged in the Arizona case but was referred to as an unindicted co-conspirator.

Charges have not yet been made public against Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and Trump-aligned attorney, but he was readily identifiable based on descriptions of the defendants in the indictment. No arraignment date has been scheduled for Giuliani. Arizona authorities say they have been unable to serve Giuliani with notice of the charges. Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows is scheduled to be arraigned on June 7. Arizona is the fourth state where allies of the former president have been charged with using false or unproven claims about voter fraud related to the election. Biden won Arizona by more than 10,000 votes, per the AP.

(More Election 2020 stories.)

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A new CDC report shows national drowning rates are on the rise for the first time in decades.

According to the report, over 4,500 drowning deaths occurred each year from 2020-2022, and almost 40 million U.S. adults can’t swim.

According to the CDC, drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages one to four. It’s the second leading cause of accidental death for children between five and 14. Data shows that nine out of 10 drowning deaths happen when a caregiver is supervising but not paying attention.

Ahead of summer vacation plans, the United States Swim School Association (USSSA) wants families to know how to keep their loved ones safe if their plans include a pool, beach or lake.

USSSA recommends having enough lifejackets for family and guests, ensuring lifejackets are U.S. Coast Guard approved, avoiding arm floaties, keeping toys away from the pool and having a designated ‘pool watcher’ to watch kids swimming, especially at parties.

Aside from the physical additions you can add to your pool, lake or beach activities, Executive Director Liza Zarda says the biggest line of defense from drowning is swim lessons.

“It’s so tragic because when incidents happen. I hear from families, ‘I didn’t know, I didn’t know it can happen to me,’ and a child can slip under in a matter of seconds,” Zarda said. “Swim lessons reduce the risk of drowning by 88%, and many of them do have grant and scholarship programs.”

If you’re looking for swim lessons near you, Zarda says to check out your city’s parks and recreation programs for classes.

You can also find certified swim schools near you at this link.

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Detroit Tigers (21-22) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (21-23)

When: 9:40 p.m. Friday

Where: Chase Field in Phoenix.

TV: Bally Sports Detroit. (Have Xfinity but still looking for a way to watch BSD? Here are some other options.)

Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1). (Tigers radio affiliates).

Weather report: Indoors.

Probable pitchers: Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal (5-0, 2.02 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (2-2, 5.33 ERA).

• Box score

Tigers lineup: TBD.

THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS: Every stellar pitching outing only makes Detroit Tigers’ offense more excructiating

Game notes: The Detroit Tigers cannot hit. The Detroit Tigers cannot score. The Detroit Tigers can, however, pitch. And the best of the bunch will be on the mound Friday as the team looks for some much-needed momentum.

The Tigers have now lost four straight series after falling in consecutive games to the putrid Miami Marlins while scoring zero, yes, zero runs over the final two games. Reese Olson, who’s still looking for his first win of the year despite sporting a crazy 2.09 ERA (barely below Skubal’s ERA, who already has five wins), kicked things off with another stellar performance. He held the Marlins scoreless through eight, Jason Foley got them through the ninth, but the extra base runner cost them in extra innings as they lost, 1-0.

Pain.

The next day presented a great opportunity for a bounceback. Casey Mize got off to a bad start, giving up two runs through the first two batters, but then held the Marlins scoreless the rest of the day, as did the bullpen. All the Tigers had to do was score three runs over 18 innings on Tuesday and Wednesday and they would’ve won both games. They did not score once.

Pain.

The Tigers need to hope for a return to the mean at this point, because even for a team that struggles at the plate, zero runs over 19 innings is diabolically bad.

If the Tigers’ bats spit in the face of the math and they stay ice cold, they have the best possible guy on the mound to still give them a chance to win. Skubal has been one of, if not the best pitcher in all of baseball, and compared to some of the other members of the Tigers’ pitching staff, he’s actually gotten some decent run support.

In the eight games that Skubal has started for the Tigers this year, the team averages 4.88 runs per game. If the Tigers could do that every game, they would have the sixth-best offense in baseball. When Olson pitches for the Tigers, which has also been eight times, the Tigers average 2.13 runs per game, which would easily be last in baseball.

Chalk it up to chance, small sample size or just the added confidence that the Tigers play with when Skubal is pitching, but whatever that juju is, the Tigers will need all of it as they try and snap a scoreless innings streak they seemingly can’t ditch.

After Friday night’s late showdown, the Tigers will play the Diamondbacks again on Saturday for another 9:40 p.m. start with Jack Flaherty on the mound.

TIGERS NEWSLETTER: What history tells us about Spencer Torkelson’s slow start

Live updates

For updates from and around the diamond, check it out on X.