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US Supreme Court rejects Republican push to block some Arizona voters

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US Supreme Court rejects Republican push to block some Arizona voters


The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a Republican push that could have blocked more than 41,000 Arizona voters from casting ballots for president in the state that President Joe Biden, a Democrat, won by fewer than 11,000 votes four years ago.

But in a 5-4 order, the court allowed some enforcement of regulations barring people from voting if they don’t provide proof of citizenship when they register.

The justices acted on an emergency appeal filed by state and national Republicans that sought to give full effect to voting measures enacted in 2022 following Biden’s narrow win over Republican Donald Trump.

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The court did not detail its reasoning in a brief order. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch would have allowed the law to be fully enforced, while Justice Amy Coney Barrett would have joined with the court’s three liberals in fully rejecting the push, the order states.

The legal fight will continue in lower courts.

The court’s action came after a lower court blocked a requirement that called for state voter registration forms to be rejected if they are not accompanied by documents proving U.S. citizenship. A second measure, also not in effect, would have prohibited voting in presidential elections or by mail if registrants don’t prove they are U.S. citizens. Federal law requires voters to swear they are U.S. citizens under penalty of perjury but does not require proof of citizenship either to vote in federal elections in person or cast ballots by mail.

The measures were passed on party-line votes and signed into law by then-Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, amid a wave of proposals that Republicans introduced around the country after Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump, including in Arizona.

For state and local elections, voters must provide proof of citizenship when they register or have it on file with the state. Since that isn’t a requirement for federal elections for Congress or president, tens of thousands of voters who haven’t provided proof of citizenship are registered only for federal elections.

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There were 41,352 of those voters registered as of August 9 in Arizona, said Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat.

Fontes warned in a court filing that an order in favor of the state and national Republicans this close to the November election “will create chaos and confusion.”

The voters most affected would include military service members, students and Native Americans, Fontes said. About 27% of those voters are registered Democrats and 15% are Republicans. More than half, 54%, are registered independents, according to state data.

Voting rights groups and the Biden administration had sued over the Arizona laws.

Federal-only voters have been a subject of political wrangling since the Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that Arizona cannot require documentary proof of citizenship for people to vote in national elections. The state responded by creating two classes of voters: those who can vote in all races and those who can vote only in federal elections.

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One of the new laws sought to further divide voters, allowing votes in congressional elections without proof of citizenship, but denying the vote in presidential contests.

The 2022 law has drawn fierce opposition from voting rights advocates, who described the statute as an attempt to get the issue back in front of the now more-conservative Supreme Court.

Proponents say the measure is about eliminating opportunities for fraud. There is no evidence that the existence of federal-only voters has allowed noncitizens to illegally vote, but Republicans have nonetheless worked aggressively to restrict federal-only voting.

The Legislature’s own lawyers had said much of the measure was unconstitutional, directly contradicted the earlier Supreme Court decision and was likely to be thrown out in court.



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Arizona

No. 21 Arizona GymCats open Big 12 competition with 1st regular season win over ASU since 2016

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No. 21 Arizona GymCats open Big 12 competition with 1st regular season win over ASU since 2016


TEMPE—The No. 21 Arizona GymCats last defeated rival Arizona State during the regular season on Feb. 22, 2016. They also outscored the Sun Devils in the 2017 Pac-12 Championships. It’s been all ASU since then.

Those days are over. Arizona defeated ASU by almost a full point. The final score was 196.650 to 195.725, a huge gap in NCAA gymnastics. It was a huge opportunity for the program, and the GymCats seized it.

“Dual meets, it’s really hard (to win),” Arizona head coach John Court said. “We knew that to come up here in this environment…that we needed to do our best performance. We went 24 for 24, which was great. We had season highs in three of the events, which you got to play at your best on the biggest stage. And we went ESPN2 live across the country and showed our program off. That is amazing. You don’t get a lot of opportunities like that to show the A across the nation for women’s gymnastics. Get your first Big 12 win. Get a Territorial Cup point.”

ASU has not had a strong start to its season. The Devils came in ranked lower than Arizona in bars and beam, both by significant amounts. On floor exercise, ASU is ranked 25th to Arizona’s 26th. On vault, the advantage was No. 26 to No. 33. That had the Devils ranked No. 34 overall, well behind their in-state rivals.

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Arizona took the lead from the jump, going up 49.175 to 48.825 after the first rotation and never looking back. The GymCats broke 49 points on all four rotations. ASU had a 49+ on bars and beam but was below the mark on floor and vault.

Vault was a deciding factor in the meet. In the past, the GymCats often gave up several tenths on the event because they don’t perform any vaults that start from a 10.0. This year, it was an even match as ASU performed a slate of 9.95 vaults, as well.

Arizona had five vaults that scored at least 9.800. Even the low score of 9.775 is often a score the GymCats would keep. On Sunday afternoon, it was the score they dropped. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils had just two vaults break 9.800. Arizona sophomore Abigayle Martin won the event with a 9.875.

“We don’t have any 10.0 vaults so we have to be clean and we have to land,” said Arizona assistant coach Shelby Martinez. “I think knowing that we are at a disadvantage because our ceiling is lower than every other event that we do, but that’s okay. It doesn’t have to be a disadvantage to our total team score. It’s just important going in. We know what we have to do.”

Martin is one of three GymCats performing the all-around this season and has really taken to the role. She finished third of five gymnasts with a 39.325 on Sunday but gave Arizona scores it could use on all four events.

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“I love it,” Martin said. “It’s definitely been my dream since I was a kid, to come in and do everything in college. So that’s been great. I actually prefer it to last year, when I would did like two or three, because there’s no waiting. It’s just go, go, go. And I think that that’s great for me because it’s less time to think. And I’m someone who does better just kind of being relaxed and settling in and going.”

Senior Emily Mueller won the all-around for the second time this season. She did it with a career-high 39.425. The 9.775 on vault was her lowest score of the day. She went for a 9.825 or better on the other three events and won the balance beam with a career-high score of 9.925.

The beam was where Arizona put a bow on its wire-to-wire victory. The teams went into the final rotation with Arizona leading 147.375 to 147.000. After both leadoff gymnasts went 9.800, ASU ran into its first problem.

Sun Devil gymnast Sarah Clark scored 9.450. With Gianna Lenczner scoring 9.775 on the beam for Arizona, it was imperative that the Sun Devils drop that score.

Things got more difficult when Mueller put up her 9.925 in the third spot. On floor, ASU responded with a 9.775 from Halle Braaflat, its third gymnast.

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Another huge setback followed for ASU. Lilia Purler stepped out of bounds on one of her tumbling passes and ended with a 9.600. While there was still a possibility of dropping Clark’s 9.450, it meant that Purler’s score would have to count.

Things got even better for Arizona with its fourth gymnast on beam. Sophomore Tirzah Wise, who was inserted into the beam lineup for the first time in her career last week, scored a 9.900.

“When Emily went 9.95, that was big,” Court said. “Tirzah going 9.9, too. Career high, career high, back to back. It was a great way to close out the competition.”

When Kimberly Smith scored a 9.700 on floor and Martin countered with a 9.850 on beam, the meet was essentially over. Elena Deets didn’t have her best routine to anchor the beam for Arizona, but she made it mathematically impossible for ASU’s Emily White to score high enough for the Sun Devils to overtake the GymCats.

The GymCats got season highs on every event except floor exercise. Their overall score was also a season high.

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Arizona improves to 7-1 on the season and moves up to No. 20 in the rankings. While overall records are not hugely important in college gymnastics, being 1-0 in the Big 12 and landing in the top 20 nationally are important.

Conference standings determine which teams will be in the second session of the league championships at the end of the year. That session tends to get bigger scores even when routines are similar to those performed in the early session. The average of certain season scores will determine which 36 teams advance to NCAA Regionals.

“I think it means everything, and I think that this team is so invested in one another and invested in Arizona gymnastics that it just makes perfect sense,” Martin said. “Like, why not us? I think that coming into the year, we knew that this one would be a harder one. I think we have an underclassmen-dominant class. There’s 12 freshmen and sophomores, so we knew that we’d really have to bond together to come and do something like this. And it’s really great to see us come together and win.”

Lead photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics



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How to watch Iowa State men’s basketball at Arizona: TV channel, prediction

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How to watch Iowa State men’s basketball at Arizona: TV channel, prediction


Big Monday on ESPN will feature Iowa State in action against Arizona. 

The Cyclones (17-2, 7-1) made it two straight with a 76-61 victory over Arizona State this past weekend, keeping the momentum going after putting up 108 points vs. UCF.

Curtis Jones scored a career-high 33 points while Joshua Jefferson had yet another double-double. Jones averages just under 18 points per game while Jefferson sits at 13 points and eight rebounds.

Arizona (13-6, 7-1) has been on fire since Big 12 play started, reeling off nine wins in 10 games after starting the season 4-5. That includes back-to-back victories over Oklahoma State and Colorado.

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Caleb Love leads the way at 15.6 points per game with two others in double figures.

ESPN’s BPI gives the Wildcats a 58 percent chance to win.

Here are details on how to watch Iowa State’s contest at Arizona on Monday, Jan. 27:

Who: Iowa State at Arizona in men’s Big 12 Conference basketball action

When: 9:30 p.m. CT | Monday, January 27

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Where: McKale Memorial Center | Tucson, Arizona

Live Stream: Stream Iowa State at Arizona live on fuboTV (Start your free trial)

TV Channel: ESPN

Our Prediction: Iowa State 80, Arizona 74

Live Updates, Highlights: Follow the game on Iowa State on SI for live updates, in-game analysis and big-play highlights.

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Bird Droppings: Arizona Cardinals best plays of the season, QB Coach gets OC interview and more

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Bird Droppings: Arizona Cardinals best plays of the season, QB Coach gets OC interview and more


Happy Championship Sunday one and all.

The Arizona Cardinals are at home, but there is plenty of news from around the web to help us keep up with what is going on with the team, let’s get to it.

Top 10 defensive plays for the Arizona Cardinals in 2024
Baker’s fourth-down stop labeled first on list

You’ve Got Mail: Championship Weekend Awaits
Topics include backup QBs, best photos of the year, and getting more YAC

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After Year Out, BJ Ojulari Ready To Make Run At Pass Rush Again
Linebacker regains optimism after knee injury

Arizona Cardinals opponents set for 2025 schedule, including home games against Packers, Falcons, Panthers
Home schedule includes Packers, Falcons, Jaguars

Devin Fitzgerald appears in Cardinals video highlighting father Larry Fitzgerald’s huge 2008 playoff performance
Son Devin Fitzgerald makes appearance in new video

An International Opportunity For Cardinals. Maybe
Colts, among Arizona’s opponents in 2025, get Germany game

One-Time Cardinal Darren Mougey Chosen As New Jets GM
Had brief turn in Arizona as wide receiver

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Cardinals Cover 2 – The Value Of The Ball
Ep. 844 – It’s something Jonathan Gannon says all the time. And based on what we saw during the divisional round of the playoffs, the head coach is right. The ball matters. Specifically, taking the ball away and protecting the ball. Turnover margin is imp

Big Red Rage – Former Cardinals Great Bertrand Berry Helps Celebrate 700th Show
Ep. 700 – Bertrand Berry, former NFL pass rusher and five-year host of the Big Red Rage, joins Paul Calvisi and Ron Wolfley to celebrate our 700th episode. Berry recalls his time on the show and talks about his favorite moments as a member of the Cardinal

Arizona Cardinals Scores, Stats and Highlights – ESPN
Visit ESPN for Arizona Cardinals live scores, video highlights, and latest news. Find standings and the full 2024 season schedule.

Cardinals turning toward offseason to build off 2024 – ESPN
Arizona will focus on figuring out how to win more games next season after finishing 8-9 in 2024.

Cardinals’ youth movement could really pay off in 2025
The Arizona Cardinals have made a concerted effort to develop their younger players since organizational changes in 2023. Will it pay off in 2025?

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Marvin Harrison Jr. not NFL Rookie of the Year finalist
Arizona Cardinals receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was not among the five finalists for the 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

Jalon Walker falls to Cardinals in Jeremiah’s NFL mock draft
Jalon Walker, a linebacker from Georgia, fell to the Arizona Cardinals at No. 16 in NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah’s first mock draft.

Report: Bears request to interview Cardinals QB coach Israel Woolfork
The Chicago Bears have reportedly requested to interview Cardinals quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork for their offensive coordinator job.

Jets agree to terms with Broncos exec Darren Mougey as GM
The New York Jets have reportedly agreed to terms with Valley native and Denver Broncos assistant general manager Darren Mougey to be their GM.

San Francisco 49ers welcome back Robert Saleh to be DC
The Cardinals will have to face Robert Saleh’s defenses again with the 49ers as he returns to the job he had from 2017-2020.

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LB Baron Browning named free agent Cardinals can’t afford to lose
PFF believes the Cardinals can’t afford to lose linebacker Baron Browning in free agency.

Bears request interview with Israel Woolfork for vacant OC job
Cardinals OC Drew Petzing interviewed for the Bears’ HC job. Now QB coach Israel Woolfork could interview for the Bears’ OC job.



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