UR MAG

(The Center Square) - The Arizona state House Government Committee passed a bill mandating the Arizona Department of Child Safety and the state court system prioritize kinship placements when a child is taken into the state's custody.

On Thursday afternoon, committee members voted 4-2 for House Bill 2035, with one representative voting "present."

HB 2035adds extended family members to the list of people whom children may be placed with in DCS's cases.

The bill would also require the DCS to assume that placing children with an extended family member or a person with a significant relationship is in their best interests.

HB 2035 mandates that at preliminary protective hearings, the state family court system must presume placing children with extended family or with people with whom they have significant relationships is in the children's best interest.

The bill defines an extended family member as "an adult person who has a connection to a child by marriage to a biological family member of the child."

Rep. Lisa Fink, R-Peoria, who is HB 2035's sponsor, said children do better when placed in kinship care.

Fink said her bill is "seeking to codify into law what's already DCS policy."

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Children deal with less trauma when placed with "familiar caregivers," as well as have reduced anxiety and behavioral problems due to maintaining "existing attachment bonds," she noted.

Compared to non-relative foster care, children in kinship care have lower rates of depression, anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Fink noted, adding that they have better academic outcomes, too.

The state senator explained when kids go missing from state care, the lowest percentage comes from kinship care.

Even though this is the current DCS policy, Fink said the policy was not being followed as well as it should be.

Dianne Post, an Arizona attorney, spoke in favor of the bill because of the "overrepresentation of African Americans in the DCS system."

Astudyfrom the Common Sense Institute Arizona showed African Americans represent 20.2% of all children in DCS care, which is behind Hispanics (32.8%) and whites (32.4%).

She claimed African American culture, like Native American culture, "has an extended system, which is not recognized by the agency or by the courts."

A child is "better off in foster care with a family member or a kin than with an unknown foster family," she told the House committee.

By Jana Winter and Andrew Goudsward

WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The FBI plans to make it easier for existing employees to become agents, removing two long-standing steps in vetting applicants as the bureau faces a staffing crunch under President Donald Trump's ‌administration, according to two people familiar with the move.

FBI Director Kash Patel is expected to eliminate a requirement that support staff ‌already working in the FBI who apply to become special agents sit for an interview and complete a writing assessment.

Instead, existing employees who pass a written exam through ​an online portal will be able to go directly to the FBI academy in Quantico, Virginia for new agent training, according to Jeff Crocker, a retired FBI supervisory special agent and another person briefed on the changes, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.

Crocker and the other person said the moves would lower the FBI's recruiting standards, given that they will eliminate vetting steps during which applicants are assessed on ‌their life experiences, public speaking abilities and critical ⁠thinking skills. The applicants are questioned by a panel of three agents who undergo training on how to screen candidates, according to Crocker, who vetted special agent applicants during his more than 20-year career in the ⁠FBI.

The previously unreported changes have not yet been announced widely within the FBI, said this person and Crocker.

An FBI spokesperson, Ben Williamson, did not dispute the process would be changed but denied that the bureau is "lowering standards or removing qualifications in any way." Williamson said existing personnel will still need a recommendation ​from ​an FBI division leader and pass the "rigorous training program at Quantico" to become ​special agents.

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"What we are doing is streamlining the process ‌to remove duplicative, bureaucratic steps to the application system for onboard employees," Williamson said in a statement.

The changes do not apply to all applicants seeking to become special agents, only those who have already been hired for administrative roles within the FBI. Recruiting existing staff is one common way the FBI hires new agents, though the bureau also seeks out U.S. military veterans, state and local law enforcement officers and others from high-pressure fields.

The FBI, considered the most elite law enforcement agency in the U.S., has traditionally set stringent standards for agents who conduct investigations ‌into a wide variety of federal crimes.

Patel has sought to reshape the FBI to ​focus on Trump's agenda, referring to agents as "cops" and placing a greater emphasis on ​countering violent crime and aiding the Trump administration's immigration enforcement ​operations. The comparison has rankled some former FBI officials and agents who view the FBI's traditional investigative focus ‌on national security threats and complex frauds as distinct from ​traditional police work.

Patel has internally set ​a goal of hiring 700 new special agents this year, out of a total agent work force that typically hovers around 10,000. The panel interview often screens out a significant number of applicants, according to one of the sources.

Crocker told Reuters that the new, ​scaled-down process allowing FBI staff to become special ‌agents would not be adequate.

"The consequences of allowing such individuals lacking the impressive and necessary resumes to become FBI agents ​simply by passing a web-based test will be both seismic and generationally harmful to the republic," Crocker said.

(Reporting by ​Jana Winter and Andrew Goudsward. Editing by Craig Timberg and David Gregorio)

By Tarek Amara

TUNIS, Feb 19 (Reuters) - A Tunisian court on Thursday sentenced lawmaker Ahmed Saidani to eight months in ‌prison over social media posts mocking President Kais Saied, ‌a ruling that opponents say signals an intensifying crackdown on critics.

Once a supporter ​of Saied's policies against political opponents, Saidani has become a vocal critic, accusing the president of seeking to monopolise all decision-making while leaving others to bear the blame for problems.

The member of parliament ‌was jailed on charges ⁠of insulting others through communication networks, a judicial official said.

Saidani was arrested this month after he mocked ⁠the president in a Facebook post, describing him as the "supreme commander of sewage and rainwater drainage".

"This is a violation of the law ​and an ​attack on institutions. How can ​parliament hold the executive authority ‌to account if it carries out an unlawful arrest over critical views", Bilel Mechri, a colleague of Saidani, told Reuters.

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Saidani was elected as a lawmaker at the end of 2022 in a parliamentary election with very low voter turnout, following Saied's dissolution of ‌the previous parliament and dismissal of ​the government in 2021.

Saied has since ​ruled by decree, moves ​the opposition has described as a coup.

Most opposition leaders, ‌some journalists and critics of ​Saied have been ​imprisoned since he seized control of most powers.

Human rights groups say Saied has cemented his one‑man rule and turned Tunisia ​into an "open‑air prison" ‌in an effort to suppress his opponents.

Saied says he ​is enforcing the law and seeking to "cleanse" the country.

(Reporting by ​Tarek Amara;Editing by Alison Williams)

Ahead of the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, Field Level Media draft analysts ranked the top prospects at every position.

There is only one quarterback -- Indiana's Fernando Mendoza, the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner who helped the Hoosiers claim the national title -- worthy of a first-round grade.

But quarterbacks rise as the draft closes in and reality hits the teams without a certifiable QB at the center of their plans.

Which one -- or two? -- could rise in 2026?

Quarterbacks are on the road to the draft with the NFL Scouting Combine next week, arriving in Indianapolis on Wednesday and Thursday for medical evaluations. They'll conduct media sessions on Friday and be on the field Saturday for position drills, agility tests and the 40-yard dash.

Pro days often take precedent at this position. Indiana's Fernando Mendoza plans to hold off on throwing until the on-campus workout and pro day in Bloomington on April 1.

1. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana

Tall, well-built pocket passer with quick release and rapid, high-level processing speed. Wins with excellent anticipation, accuracy and ball placement.

2. Ty Simpson, Alabama

Well-rounded with adequate arm strength, accuracy, even as a one-year starter who battled inconsistency and ended the season hurt (ribs).

3. Taylen Green, Arkansas

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If he runs a 4.5 and would consider changing positions, there will be some interest. Green might prefer to utilize his genetic lottery-winning trains -- exceptional size and speed -- to give QB a try. He's the very definition of boom-or-bust.

4-T. Carson Beck, Miami

Wins with accuracy and ball placement and is tough as a blitz-beating pocket passer. Arm strength isn't elite.

4-T. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU

NFL bloodlines and ties with current Saints offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier. He's a known commodity to pro teams and two-year starter in the SEC. But injuries led to sloppy mechanics and poor production last season, when he wound up sharing the QB1 role. Earned back some points with a strong Senior Bowl, but the final grade depends almost entirely on which team is doing the math.

5. Cade Klubnik, Clemson

With footwork and athletic tools, Klubnik is a pro system QB candidate because of his accuracy on short and intermediate throws. His height, top-end arm talent and deep ball accuracy limit his ceiling.

--Finding a wildcard at quarterback has forever been a front-office mission in the NFL. This year's mid-round find could come from North Dakota State. Cole Payton, a pocket passer who thrived in the FCS with an attack mentality, can also move if the system calls for mobility or RPO-based action. Trust he will be opening eyes during QB throwing sessions at Lucas Oil Stadium. The southpaw stuck with NDSU despite hearing from Nebraska and other FBS programs late in his senior season and it has begun paying off. He got a lot of attention in Mobile at the Senior Bowl for his timing and arm talent.

--Field Level Media

Charlie Baker is still very much on board with the NCAA tournament expanding in the near future.

The NCAA president reiterated his support for a plan to expand the annual basketball tournament in the near future, something he's long been in favor of. What that looks like, or when it happens, remains to be seen.

"We're still talking to the various players in this one," he said on Thursday,via ESPN. "I said all along that I think there are some very good reasons to expand the tournament.

"So, I would like to see it expand."

The NCAA tournament men's field currently sits at 68 teams, with the last expansion coming back in 2011. That brought in the "First Four" round, which cuts the field from 68 to 64 for the first round. The women's NCAA tournament officially expanded to 68 teams in 2021, too. That marked the most notable expansion in the tournament since it doubled in size from 32 in 1985.

But expanding the tournament further is an idea that has been thrown around in recent years. The NCAA basketball selection committeesmet last summer and learned that expansion, if approved, would likely start during the 2026-27 campaign. That would likely expand the field to either 72 or 76 teams. It's unclear if the women's tournament would expand at the same time.

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Baker insisted Thursday that he wasn't worried about how the NCAA would fund the expanded tournament. The biggest challenge has long been simply a logistical one with the basketball calendar. Several major men's conference tournaments run right up to the selection show — the Big Ten championship game ends moments before that show starts and teams are announced — and the NCAA tournament ends the week that the Masters starts. That doesn't leave much time for added games.

There wereseveral notable teams that were just barely left out of the tournament last season, including both Indiana and West Virginia. An expanded field almost certainly would have meant they would have been included.

"From my point of view, the more teams we can get into the tournament and make it work logistically and mathematically, the better," Baker said. "It gives more kids the opportunity to experience that."

But of course, expanding the field wouldn't eliminate the snub conversation. It would just push it back by four, or eight, spots.

Regardless, the NCAA seems set on expanding the tournament in the future. Whether that happens in 2027, or a few years down the road, remains to be seen.