Arizona

JD Vance, in Day 2 of Arizona swing, set to talk about border security at Phoenix stop

Published

6 months ago

September 5, 2024

JD Vance, in Day 2 of Arizona swing, set to talk about border security at Phoenix stop

U.S. Sen. JD Vance will spend another day campaigning in Arizona on Thursday with an event planned for the Arizona Biltmore in central Phoenix.

Vance, R-Ohio, is set to deliver afternoon remarks at the time-honored resort where over the years every president from Herbert Hoover to George W. Bush has stayed.

Vance, tapped in July as the running mate of former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is expected to focus on immigration and border security, as he did Wednesday at a rally at Generation Church in east Mesa.

A written statement from the Trump-Vance campaign announcing the Biltmore stop focused on border-related issues such as drug trafficking that it blamed on the policies of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee. The campaign again used the term “border czar” for Harris even though that was never an official title for her role in immigration policy during President Joe Biden’s administration.

“With immigration ranking among the top concerns for voters, it is time to secure the border and protect Arizonans from the dire consequences of Border Czar Harris’ failed policies,” the campaign said in the written statement. “President Donald J. Trump and Senator JD Vance are the only candidates willing to put Americans first, and Arizonans will send a clear message when they elect them in November.”

In an appearance Tuesday on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a Harris ally, defended her record and condemned Trump for torpedoing a bipartisan border-security bill that had been negotiated in the Senate. Trump didn’t want to give Biden an election-year legislative victory.

“I mean, when you look at what she stands for, the bipartisan border security bill that we negotiated with Republicans in the United States Senate, we could have gotten that passed and across the finish line if it wasn’t for Donald Trump,” Kelly said. “So Kamala Harris has stood for border security. She wants to get something done on this issue.”

Kelly noted that the right-leaning Border Patrol union was backing the bipartisan legislation.

“They did, and the reason they did is it was going to be more Border Patrol pay, money to hire more Border Patrol agents, more money to buy fentanyl detection machines,” he said.

Arizona is a crucial battleground state in the 2024 presidential election. Four years ago, Biden narrowly carried the state over Trump and became the first Democrat to do so since President Bill Clinton won Arizona in 1996. Before Clinton, no Democrat had carried Arizona since President Harry Truman in 1948.

Vance is on his second swing through Arizona since becoming the Republican vice presidential nominee. He previously headlined a rally in Glendale and visited the U.S.-Mexico border in Cochise County.

On that trip, Vance said Trump would finish building his signature border wall that began construction during his first administration, reimplement the Remain in Mexico policy and expand deportations.

“If people can come into this country and they know they’re never going to be deported, you effectively have an open border. That’s what Kamala Harris promised. That’s what Kamala Harris did, and Donald Trump and I promise to do exactly the opposite,” Vance said during his Aug. 1 border stop.

Here’s what the candidates say: Immigration is a top election issue in the Trump vs. Harris race

Dan Nowicki is The Arizona Republic’s national politics editor. Follow him on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @dannowicki.

Stephanie Murray is a Republic national political reporter. Follow her on X @stephanie_murr.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: JD Vance in Phoenix: Trump running mate to speak at Arizona Biltmore

Source link

Click to comment

Arizona

Arizona basketball March Madness prediction: How far will Wildcats go in NCAA Tournament?

Published

41 minutes ago

March 16, 2025

Press Room

Arizona basketball March Madness prediction: How far will Wildcats go in NCAA Tournament?

The NCAA Tournament bracket is set. How hard is the Arizona Wildcats’ potential road to the Final Four?

Here’s a look at Arizona’s possible opponents in each round of March Madness and our prediction for how far Tommy Lloyd’s team will advance in the bracket.

Last season, Arizona advanced to the Sweet 16 as a No. 2 seed, beating No. 15 Long Beach State 85-65 in the first round and No. 7 seed Dayton 78-68 in the second round before falling to No. 6 seed Clemson, 77-72.

The Wildcats haven’t made the Elite Eight since 2015. They haven’t made the Final Four since they lost to Duke in the 2001 National Championship game.

Could they end those skids in the 2025 NCAA Tournament?

Watch Arizona vs Akron on Sling TV

Arizona’s first-round NCAA Tournament opponent

Tommy Lloyd’s team is the No. 4 seed in the East Region of March Madness and will face No. 13 seed Akron in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Seattle, looking to begin a long NCAA Tournament run.

Arizona’s first-round March Madness opponent, Akron, advanced to the NCAA Tournament by winning the MAC Conference Tournament.

It went 28-6 overall in the regular this season and 17-1 in conference play.

Arizona’s potential second-round March Madness opponents

The winner of the Arizona vs Akron game will face the winner of the No. 5 Oregon vs No. 12 Liberty game in the second round on Sunday, with the winner of that game advancing to the Sweet 16.

Arizona’s potential Sweet 16 opponents

Arizona would likely face No. 1 seed Duke, No. 8 seed Mississippi State or No. 9 seed Baylor in the Sweet 16, if it were to win its first two games in March Madness.

Arizona’s potential Elite 8 opponents

If Arizona were to win its first three games, the Wildcats would face the winner of the other half of the NCAA bracket for the East Region in the regional semifinal, with No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 6 BYU and No. 7 St. Mary’s being the highest seeds on that side of the bracket.

Arizona’s potential Final Four opponents

The winner of the East Region faces the winner of the Midwest Region in the Final Four. If Arizona were to somehow make it that far, the highest seeds in the Midwest Region include No. 1 seed Houston, No. 2 seed Tennessee, No. 3 seed Kentucky and No. 4 seed Purdue.

Arizona’s potential National Championship game opponents

The winner of the Midwest Region vs East Region national semifinal would face the winner of the South Region vs West Region national semifinal in the NCAA title game. Arizona’s possible opponents in that game, should it somehow make a run in the tournament and advance that far?

Auburn is the top seed in the South, with Michigan State the No. 2 seed, Iowa State the third seed and Texas A&M the fourth seed. The West Region’s Top 4 seeds are No. 1 Florida, No. 2 St. Johns, No. 3 Texas Tech and No. 4 Maryland.

Arizona Wildcats NCAA Tournament March Madness prediction

We wrote about Arizona’s “potential” opponents in the March Madness bracket, but how far will the Wildcats actually advance in the NCAA Tournament?

We predicted an 85-78 win for Arizona over Akron in our first-round March Madness game prediction. As for the second round? We think the Wildcats can get past Oregon (or Liberty) to make their second straight Sweet 16 appearance under Tommy Lloyd.

But we don’t foresee Arizona getting to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2015 in this tournament. Duke will be too much for the Wildcats in that round, even if Cooper Flagg isn’t 100%.

Prediction: Arizona Wildcats lose in Sweet 16 of NCAA Tournament

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

Source link

Arizona

MOST ACCURATE FORECAST: High pressure builds in warming up Arizona

Published

12 hours ago

March 16, 2025

Press Room

MOST ACCURATE FORECAST: High pressure builds in warming up Arizona

PHOENIX — After days of busy weather across the state, we are drying out and warming up as high pressure builds in.

Tonight will still be chilly with lows in the Valley in the 40s, and the high country in the teens to 30s. Clear skies will stick around overnight into Sunday.

We will begin to feel our warm-up Sunday with abundant sunshine. Highs in the Valley will be around the mid 70s then into the 80s by Monday. Meanwhile, the high country is looking to warm up into the 50s and 60s.

As Tuesday rolls around, another storm is tracking toward the state. Trends on this system have become drier, but winds look breezy. A few rain and snow showers will be possible across the high country on Tuesday, with winds gusting up to 40 mph at times. Accumulations look minimal for now.

In Phoenix, we will miss out on rain with this next system as it tracks too far north, but we will feel a drop in the temperature and winds will gust to 20 mph on Tuesday.

Then, we warm up from there. We’ll see 80s back in the Phoenix metro by the end of next week.

Arizona

TCU Baseball Suffers Record Setting Loss to Arizona State

Published

23 hours ago

March 15, 2025

Press Room

TCU Baseball Suffers Record Setting Loss to Arizona State

26. 512. 3/15 BB vs ASU. 9. 466. Final

The ball was flying on a windy Saturday afternoon. There were 38 total hits and 35 runs scored. Unfortunately for TCU, Arizona State was responsible for the majority of the offense, as they dominated from start to finish in a 26-9 win.

Mason Brassfield got the start for the Horned Frogs and it ended pretty quickly. On the first batter of the game, Kyle Walker hit a solo shot to left field to open up the scoring. The Sun Devils tacked on three more runs to make it 4-0 through one. Brassfield went one inning giving up seven hits and six runs.

The Sun Devils’ offensive clinic continued in the second inning off Mason Bixby. A six-run second inning highlighted by a three-run blast from Isaiah Jackson made it 10-0. He went 4-6 with two homers and six RBIs. Arizona State continued to pour on while TCU had no response.

Jack Martinez was terrific for Arizona State. He threw 5.2 shutout innings while surrendering just two hits and struck out seven hitters. Through seven innings, ASU scored a run in each inning and led 24-0. It left a stunned look on the entire TCU dugout, and it took until the eighth inning for the bats to wake up.

The Frogs sent 12 hitters to the plate and scored seven runs as Jack Arthur poked a single to left field to break up the shutout. Sawyer Strosnider, Jack Bell, and Brody Green each had RBI hits.

The 28 hits surrendered by TCU pitching are the most in school history, and the 26 runs tied a school record. To add insult to injury, the Frogs committed four errors, which led to eight unearned runs. It was a tough day at the ballpark for TCU and a loss they’ll need to shake off immediately. The Horned Frogs drop to 14-5 while ASU goes to 13-6.

On a positive note, Strosnider continues to swing a hot bat and extended his hit streak to eight games. Chase Brunson also extended his hitting streak to 13 games. Despite all that, the Horned Frogs still have an opportunity to win the series on Sunday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN+.