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Costs, criticisms mount over temporary border barrier along Arizona-Mexico border

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Costs, criticisms mount over temporary border barrier along Arizona-Mexico border


PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — When the plan to put in delivery containers as a short lived answer to gaps within the border fence alongside the Arizona-Mexico border was introduced, the worth tag was roughly $6 million. However the contract for the boundaries exhibits the ultimate price might be much more. Gov. Doug Ducey introduced the plan to barricade gaps of the border wall close to Yuma on Aug. 12. He mentioned “Arizona has had sufficient” ready on the federal authorities to behave. In late July, the Biden Administration introduced it will be filling in gaps alongside the border close to Yuma, however Ducey mentioned the state has waited lengthy sufficient. “Arizonans can’t wait any longer for the federal authorities to ship on their delayed guarantees,” Ducey mentioned in a press release.

“We’re finished ready for the federal authorities to take motion,” Tim Roemer, director for the Arizona Division of Homeland Safety, mentioned. The state signed the contract with Florida-based AshBritt in Could, however regardless of being categorised as an emergency contract, work didn’t start on the gaps till mid-August. By Sunday night time, a part of the newly-constructed barrier had fallen, as captured in a photograph from Univision Reporter Claudia Ramos on the border. Ramos mentioned she was informed by contractors that the boundaries had been blown over from extreme climate, however the Governor’s Workplace claims the containers had been tipped over by people.

“It tells us how little thought went into this,” Andy Gordon, a former counselor for the U.S. Division of Homeland Safety, mentioned. Gordon, who was with DHS throughout the Obama Administration engaged on the border fence venture, mentioned the transfer by Arizona was a political stunt. He contends creating an efficient barrier between the U.S. and Mexico is extra sophisticated than dropping delivery containers into place. “The explanation, many of the barrier on the border is a fence is so you may see, via it, since you wish to see what’s happening, on the opposite facet,” Gordon mentioned. “Tactically, it truly most likely makes this example extra harmful relatively than much less harmful.”

The contract with the state and AshBritt exhibits every 40-foot delivery container prices $6,750, not together with set up. Arizona’s Household discovered the same-sized delivery containers on the market on-line for half that worth, most round $3,000. Whereas Ducey’s workplace informed us the venture price $6 million, the overall contract expense is $13 million.

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Gordon mentioned if Arizona’s momentary plan conflicts with the feds’ plan to seal the gaps within the border, it might make issues worse. “I anticipate the federal authorities to demand the removing and make the state pay for it. So the 13 million bucks is just not the tip of the expenditure,” Gordon mentioned. Arizona’s Household discovered that the associated fee for the overall contract might additionally purchase 130,000 new textbooks or 3.4 million college lunches for Arizona college students.



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Arizona

Trio of former Arizona men’s basketball players hoping to lead home countries into Paris Olympics

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Trio of former Arizona men’s basketball players hoping to lead home countries into Paris Olympics


Steve Kerr is the head coach of Team USA’s men’s basketball team for the 2024 Summer Olympics next month in Paris, and he won’t be the only UA alum vying for gold in the sport.

Ex-Wildcats Josh Green (Australia) and Dusan Ristic (Serbia) are competing for spots with their countries’ respective national teams, who have already qualified for the Olympics, while three other former UA standouts are set to compete with their home nations in qualifying tournaments this week.

Deandre Ayton is trying to lead Bahamas to its first Olympics, while Nico Mannion (Italy) and Azuolas Tubelis (Lithuania) are looking to get their countries their 14th and eighth Olympic bid, respectively.

Ayton, the former No. 1 NBA Draft pick who was Pac-12 Player and Freshman of the year in 2018 with the Wildcats, is coming off his sixth NBA season and first with the Portland Trail Blazers. Bahamas is playing in the qualifying tourney in Valencia, Spain, facing Poland on Wednesday and Finland on Thursday in group play.

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Mannion, a 2nd-round pick of Golden State in 2020, appeared in 30 games with the Warriors as a rookie after his one season at the UA. The 23-year-old then went overseas, playing for Virtus Bologna in the Italian League for two seasons before spending 2023-24 with teams in Spain and Italy.

Italy was fifth in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and has won silver twice, in Athens (2004) and Moscow (1980). It is playing in the qualifying tourney in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where it will face Bahrain on Tuesday and Puerto Rico on Thursday.

Tubelis, who played for the Wildcats from 2020-23, just completed his first professional season by being named MVP of the Lithuanian Basketball League with Neptunas Klaipeda. Lithuania is looking to get back to the Olympics for the first time since 2016 in Brazil, where it placed seventh.

Lithuania, which is in the Puerto Rico qualifying tourney and faces Mexico on Tuesday and Ivory Coast on Wednesday, won three consecutive bronze medals in 1992 (Barcelona), 1996 (Atlanta) and 2000 (Sydney).

The winner of each of four qualifying tournaments will join the eight teams already assured a spot in Paris for the Olympic competition.

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Green is one of 22 players on Australia’s Olympic training roster, which will be cut down in the next few weeks. He was part of the squad in Tokyo that won bronze, which qualified Green for the UA’s Ring of Honor.

A 1st-round pick of the Dallas Mavericks in 2021, Green started 33 games this past season with Dallas and played in all 22 games during the Mavs’ run to the NBA Finals.

Ristic, who is one of 16 players fighting for a spot on the Serbian National team, has played the past six seasons in Europe since winning a school-record 118 games with Arizona from 2014-18. This past season he split time between a pair of Spanish pro clubs, and recently got married.

Serbia, in the Olympics for only the second time, took silver in 2016.



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Fantasy football outlook: Arizona Cardinals WR preview

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Fantasy football outlook: Arizona Cardinals WR preview


Few teams have experienced the turnover among its receivers as the Cardinals. In the last two years, they’ve parted ways with DeAndre Hopkins, Zach Ertz, Brown and Moore. There are more questions than answers as to how the pecking order will play out behind Harrison.

Harrison is likely to land at the back end of the WR1 fantasy picks in a 12-team league – anyone who gets him as a WR2 will be lighting up a draft night victory cigar. He’s that good.

As for the rest of this crew? The incumbent No. 1 receiver coming in is tight end Trey McBride. In the eight games Murray played when he came back last season, he completed 53 passes to McBride. He became Arizona’s version of Travis Kelce and, when a tight end has been a team’s leading receiver, that has historically been problematic for wide receivers other than the lead dog.

Wilson is worthy of WR5/No. 6 consideration, because he’s clearly the WR2 option in an offense with a dynamic quarterback. Wilson will be taken late enough that he won’t be counted on as a must-start but instead a role player with upside to grow. Dortch is merely a deep best-ball flier because of his history with Murray.

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Jones and Pascal don’t have any fantasy value, barring injuries to those in front of them.



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AriZona Iced Tea remains committed to 99-cent price

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AriZona Iced Tea remains committed to 99-cent price


(KTLA) — AriZona Iced Tea will keep its 99-cent price tag for the “foreseeable future,” Don Vultaggio, brand chairman and founder, said in a recent interview with “Today.”

“We’re successful, we’re debt free, we own everything,” he said. “Why have people who are having a hard time paying their rent pay more for their drink?” Vultaggio said during the interview.

Vultaggio described keeping the prices of the popular drink low as his way of giving back.

He isn’t alone in this way of thinking either.

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Gary Millerchip, Costco’s CFO and executive vice president, announced in May that the $1.50 hot dog combo will be safe from price increases.

Lynsi Snyder, the president of the beloved In-N-Out Burger chain, also said she fought to keep prices down in California after the state’s new fast-food minimum wage law took effect on April 1, raising the base rate from $16 to $20 per hour.

“I was sitting in VP meetings going toe-to-toe saying, ‘We can’t raise the prices that much, we can’t,’” Snyder told “Today” during another interview.

Snyder added that she felt “an obligation to look out for our customers” and said that, unlike competitors, In-N-Out wasn’t quick to raise prices.

However, some companies, especially in California, have decided to raise prices or lay off staff as business costs continue to increase.

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As for Vultaggio, he didn’t dismiss the possibility of a price increase one day, but as for now, the 99-cent price is here to stay.

“I don’t know about never, [but] not in the foreseeable future,” Vultaggio told Today. “We’re going to fight as hard as we can for consumers, because consumers are my friends.”



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