Arizona
Vance downplays bad blood with McCain family at Arizona rally – Washington Examiner
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) downplayed the long-running feud between former President Donald Trump and the McCain family, arguing the late Sen. John McCain would not endorse Vice President Kamala Harris like his son did this week.
Speaking to voters in Arizona, where the McCains are a household name, Vance acknowledged Trump’s turbulent relationship with McCain, a centrist Republican who died of brain cancer in 2018. But he claimed the two “didn’t let their personal grievances get in the way of serving the country.”
“I do not believe for a second that if John McCain were alive today, and he sees what’s going on at the American southern border, that he would support Kamala Harris and all the destruction that she’s brought,” Vance said in Phoenix on Thursday.
“I really don’t believe that,” he added.
Jimmy McCain, the youngest son of the late Arizona senator, told CNN that he decided to join the Democratic Party and endorse Harris over an incident at Arlington National Cemetery last month in which a Trump campaign official got into an altercation with cemetery staff.
But the bad blood extends back much further. In 2015, Trump famously doubted that John McCain, a naval officer in the Vietnam War, was a hero since he was captured behind enemy lines.
Their relationship soured again in 2017 when John McCain cast the deciding Republican vote against the “skinny” repeal of Obamacare in the Senate.
The McCain family name still has currency in Arizona, particularly with a segment of independent voters who identified with the senator’s “maverick” streak. Republican Kari Lake antagonized those voters, bragging that she “drove a stake through the heart of the McCain machine,” before losing her run for Arizona governor in 2022.
But Vance dismissed Jimmy McCain’s endorsement as a distraction from the policy differences separating Trump and Harris. He and Trump are betting immigration will drive the outcome in a border state where Harris lags narrowly in public polling.
“I mean, look, who cares what somebody’s family thinks about a presidential race? I care about what these people care about the presidential race,” Vance said of the audience before pivoting to Harris’s running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), whose brother and distant relatives made known their support for Trump this week.
“I don’t know if anybody noticed, but pretty much every single member of Tim Walz’s family came out and endorsed Donald Trump,” Vance said. “Is that a bigger story than what John McCain’s son said? I think so.”
Walz’s brother, who made the comment on Facebook, has since said he does not want to be involved in the presidential race.
Trump has other critics in the McCain family. Meghan McCain, the daughter of John McCain and a onetime co-host on The View, called herself a “proud member of the Republican Party” but said on Tuesday that she would not vote for Trump or Harris in November.
She has previously called Trump a “piece of s***” for disrespecting her father.
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Vance visited Phoenix as part of a larger swing through Arizona. One day earlier, he campaigned with Lake, who is now the Republican nominee for Senate, at a church in Mesa.
Lake has since softened her stance on John McCain and attempted, unsuccessfully, to mend fences with his family.
Arizona
Deadspin | Arizona rolls past No. 25 Baylor for 7th straight win
Henri Veesaar’s 19 points led a balanced scoring effort to lead Arizona to its seventh straight win, 81-70 over No. 25 Baylor on Tuesday night in Tucson, Ariz.
Arizona (11-5, 5-0 Big 12) took advantage of short-handed Baylor (11-5, 3-2) for most of the game, building a 27-point lead in the second half.
The Bears battled back, making eight consecutive made field goals to cut the lead to 71-62 with 2:52 left, but they did not get closer.
Baylor, which cracked the AP Top 25 on Monday after winning six of its previous seven games, played mostly with a six-player rotation because Jalen Celestine and Langston Love missed their fourth straight game with ankle injuries.
Duke transfer Jeremy Roach, who finished with 13 points, picked up his fourth foul with 16:59 left and Arizona ahead 46-25.
Norchad Ormier also played in foul trouble throughout and committed four fouls. He finished with nine points.
Jaden Bradley had 13 points, five rebounds and six assists for Arizona.
KJ Lewis finished with 11 points and seven assists.
All top eight players in Arizona’s rotation scored, including Anthony Dell’Orso, who produced all nine of his points in the first half when Arizona built a 42-19 lead at the break.
Robert Wright led Baylor with 16 points off the bench and VJ Edgecombe had 14.
Arizona fell behind when Omier made a layup 14 seconds in but the Wildcats did not trail thereafter.
Omier exited briefly after he was called for his second foul with 18:54 remaining in the first half.
Arizona built an 11-4 lead before Omier made the Bears’ second field goal of the game, a 3-pointer with 13:36 left in the half.
The Wildcats took control of the half following a 12-0 run that put them ahead 37-15 with 2:25 remaining until halftime.
Caleb Love made his first shot with 3:32 left and banked in a 3-pointer to culminate the 12-0 run.
Baylor shot 69 percent from the field in the second half, including 5 of 11 from 3-point range after starting 1 of 9 from beyond the arc.
Arizona shot 53.7 percent from the field for the game, tallying 21 assists on its 29 made field goals.
–Field Level Media
Arizona
Report: Cardinals Met With Hula Bowl OL
ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals have met with another Hula Bowl prospect, according to Ryan Fowler.
After previously having meetings with Wisconsin LB Jaheim Thomas and Illinois EDGE Seth Coleman, Arizona also has met with North Dakota State OL Mason Miller.
Miller just finished his fifth season at North Dakota State and does not have any official stats recorded for 2024 on his bio from the school, though he did start at multiple spots in 2023:
“Started all 15 games for the Bison, the first three at right tackle before moving to left guard for the remainder of the season…Blocked for an offense that ranked fourth in the FCS averaging 237.3 rushing yards per game and led the nation in rushing yards (3,560), rushing touchdowns (47) and offensive touchdowns (69)…The Bison also ranked second nationally in passing efficiency, completion percentage and red zone scoring.”
Versatility is certainly a tool that’s coveted by the Cardinals, especially along the offensive line. Miller having experience both inside and outside will only be a positive for him at the next level.
Arizona’s offensive line could look a lot different at the start of next year. Besides left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. and center Hjlate Froholdt, all three spots are up for grabs for Week 1 of the 2025 season.
Starting left guard Evan Brown is set to hit free agency while the Cardinals may not be sold on either Isaiah Adams or Trystan Colon at right guard, both of whom split time throughout the year. Right tackle Jonah Williams suffered a season-ending injury and his status to open 2025 is very much in question while backup swing tackle Kelvin Beachum could retire.
Arizona
Arizona State friendship bench connects generations to ease loneliness
PHOENIX (AZFamily)—In a world of technology and social media, we’ve never been more connected to others. However, recent studies have shown that we’ve also never been more lonely.
According to a recent report from the Department of Health and Human Services, about half of U.S. adults reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness.
However, a new initiative at Arizona State University is working to change that through its friendship bench, and that is Something Good.
The bench is meant to encourage younger and older folks just to sit and talk to one another about anything.
One of the participants is ASU alumna Pencie Culiver, who sits on the bench every Tuesday with a sign that says, “I’m all ears.”
She invited anyone to sit with her, whether for a few minutes or half an hour.
“I have really had some interesting questions, people sit down for half an hour, other people two minutes, so a big variety,” said Culiver. “I believe that I have heard most of anything, it also has taught me, kids really are lonely and they don’t have somebody to divulge things they don’t even want to divulge to their roommate or their classmate and also the complications of education we did not have when we went to ASU a long, long time ago.”
The ASU Friendship Bench Program started this past fall semester with about a dozen residents of Mirabella, a university-based retirement community located on the college campus.
Thank you to Culiver, ASU and all the participants for connecting with others and making the world a little less lonely.
Know of someone or an organization doing something good in your community? Nominate them for our segment here!
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