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Jan. 24, 2021 04:08AM EST
Arizona Republicans censure Cindy McCain, Gov. Doug Ducey and Jeff Flake
Arizona Republican Party members voted on Saturday to censure prominent GOP figures Cindy McCain, Gov. Doug Ducey and former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who've all faced clashes with former President Trump, per AZCentral.
Why it matters: Although the resolution is symbolic, this move plus the re-election of Trump loyalist Kelli Ward as state GOP chair shows the strong hold the former president has on the party in Arizona, despite President Biden winning the state in the 2020 election.
Driving the news: McCain, widow of Trump nemesis Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), endorsed Biden for president last September.
- Flake is a longtime Trump critic who joined the "Republicans for Biden" group and called on Republicans in a Washington Post op-ed last September not to back the then-president in the election.
- Ducey endured tirades from Trump after he didn't overturn Biden's win in the state, per Axios' Jonathan Swan.
- AZCentral reports the governor was censured over emergency measures in response to the pandemic, which the state GOP said "restrict personal liberties and force compliance to unconstitutional edicts."
Of note: All three of those censured attended Biden's inauguration last Wednesday.
What they're saying: Ward, who's filed unsuccessful lawsuits attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, described herself as a "Trump Republican" who'll "always put America first, who believes in faith, family and freedom," AP reports.
- Ducey's political director Sara Mueller said in a statement the people behind the inconsequential resolutions "have lost whatever little moral authority they may have once had."
- McCain tweeted after the vote, "It is a high honor to be included in a group of Arizonans who have served our state and our nation so well...and who, like my late husband John, have been censured by the AZGOP. I'll wear this as a badge of honor."
Good company pic.twitter.com/1pdgVGE5Ps
β Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) January 24, 2021
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
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Mar. 01, 2021 02:31PM EST
Canceled NFL Scouting Combine puts 40-yard dashes on the backburner
Top NFL prospects would normally be gathering in Indianapolis this week for the annual Scouting Combine. But due to the pandemic, this year's event has been canceled.
What they're saying: No combine means no 40-yard dash times making headlines. Former scout and current NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah thinks that could be a glimpse of the future:
- "We're about 2β3 years away from personnel departments not caring about 40 times. The game GPS data is going to replace it. Who cares what he ran in the 40, I know exactly how fast he ran in game conditions & I have 5 years of data for context."
The big picture: Longtime Cowboys executive Gil Brandt popularized the 40-yard dash in the 1960s, sending staffers to schools with a stopwatch.
- Now, it's a made-for-TV event, with players timed using laser technology. And a combine-specific training industry has emerged to help athletes prepare for the event.
- But now that so much player-tracking data is being collected at the college and NFL level, the 40 will almost certainly lose relevancy with scouts, as Jeremiah suggests.
Yes, but: Will it ever lose relevancy with fans? Probably not.
- Getting rid of the 40 would be like getting rid of the Slam Dunk Contest at the NBA All-Star Game. It might be pointless, but it's why most viewers tune in.
- Two decades ago, there was almost no media presence at the combine. Now, thousands of credentialed media members attend, and it's apparently one of the wildest weekends of the year.
The bottom line: The 40-yard dash is an arbitrary distance; most NFL action comes within 20 yards of the line of scrimmage and players aren't sprinting in straight lines.
- But an especially fast time still drives the offseason news cycle and can also be a fun variable come draft day.
- So, even if scouts and general managers don't care about the 40, the NFL and its fans do β and thus, it's likely here to stay.
π· Watch:
- John Ross breaking the 40-yard dash record
- Tom Brady "running"
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Apr. 04, 2021 12:14PM EST
France cuts economic growth forecast as it enters third COVID lockdown
France is cutting it's GDP growth forecast to 5% from 6% as the country enters a four-week national lockdown aimed at slowing a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, Bloomberg reports.
Why it matters: The lockdown, France'sthird since the start of the pandemic, comesamid a surge in new COVID-19 cases across much of Europe that has seen some countries reimpose restrictions.
Between the lines: French President Emmanuel Macron had been hesitant to impose new restrictions following an 8.1% GDP contraction last year, per Bloomberg, but the country has seen more contagious variants of the virus have spread. Meanwhile, its vaccine rollout has been underwhelming.
- Beginning Saturday, people in France were restricted to traveling within six miles of their home, except for essential reasons. The nation has also imposed a 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, per the Guardian.
What he's saying: βClosing education establishments and 150,000 stores is essential to slow the spread of the virus, but these measures will have an impact on the French economy,β French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.
- βThis estimate is both sincere and cautious.β
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Dec. 08, 2024 06:05PM EST



