Albuquerque news

• Woman arrested in connection with mailbox thefts

  20-01-2016 23:59 via krqe.com
  
  ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – Bernalillo County deputies have arrested a woman suspected in a rash of mailbox thefts over the past six months.
  Erica Ochoa, 32, is accused of getting her hands on master keys to cluster mailboxes and stealing debit or credit cards. She would then cash the checks.
  According to a criminal complaint, Ochoa is part of a bigger crime ring. Authorities listened to hundreds of recorded phone calls from inmates at Metropolitan Detention Center who talked about her involvemen
  
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• Updated: Feds: no volunteer docs needed at Holloman immigrant shelter

  20-01-2016 23:58
  
  An Albuquerque pediatrician called the Journal this week to find out if he and other colleagues could donate their time to serve Central American immigrant kids who may soon be housed at Holloman Air Force Base. The answer is no, according to Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Andrea Helling. The agency is providing […]
  
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• Woman fatally shot at Albuquerque motel

  20-01-2016 23:52
  
  Albuquerque police are searching for a suspect in the deadly shooting of a woman at a motel on Osuna Road near I-25 Wednesday.
  
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• US: 2015 was Earth’s hottest by a wide margin

  20-01-2016 23:50 via krqe.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Last year wasn’t just the Earth’s hottest year on record — it left a century of high temperature marks in the dust.
  The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and NASA announced Wednesday that 2015 was by far the hottest year in 136 years of record keeping. For the most part, scientists at the agencies and elsewhere blamed man-made global warming, with a boost from El Nino.
  NOAA said 2015’s temperature was 58.62 degrees Fahrenheit (14.79 degre
  
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• Arizona woman pleads guilty in fatal crash in New Mexico

  20-01-2016 23:42 via krqe.com
  
  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – An Arizona woman has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and assault charges in a car accident last year in New Mexico.
  Prosecutors say 40-year-old Miranda Rentz of Red Valley entered her plea Wednesday in a federal court in Albuquerque.
  Rentz was arrested in January 2015 and indicted the following month.
  Prosecutors say Rentz was driving under the influence of alcohol in New Mexico’s San Juan County on Jan. 17, 2015.
  They say her car collided head-on
  
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• Santa Fe minimum wage hits $10.91

  20-01-2016 23:41
  
  Santa Fe’s local minimum wage will go up to $10.91 an hour as of March 1. The “living wage” rate is now $10.84. It can go up each year, based on inflation in a federal consumer price index for urban and clerical workers in the Western states. The CPI increase for 2015 was 0.68 percent, […]
  
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• Santa Fe’s ‘living wage’ goes to $10.91/hour on March 1

  20-01-2016 23:38
  
  Santa Fe’s local minimum wage will go up to $10.91 an hour as of March 1. The “living wage” rate is now $10.84. It can go up each year, based on inflation in a federal consumer price index for urban and clerical workers in the Western states. The CPI increase for 2015 was 0.68 percent, […]
  
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• Lawyers for Gallup Diocese say they will submit settlement

  20-01-2016 23:30
  
  Attorneys for a New Mexico diocese say they plan to submit a proposed settlement plan next month for a bankruptcy case that has lasted two years.
  
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• Updated: City contracts with tech firm to boost on-line entrepreneurship

  20-01-2016 23:17
  
  Local startups, entrepreneurs and web developers can get free access to web app hosting services from Albuquerque-based Seed Worthy, thanks to a new $225,000 contract with the city to open its technology to the local startup community. Seed Worthy’s platform, called Bowtie, allows software developers to plug a new product in and immediately turn it […]
  
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• Senate Democrats block Syrian refugee bill from advancing

  20-01-2016 22:48 via krqe.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a bill that would crack down on Syrian and Iraqi refugees coming to the U.S. as the debate turned into a referendum on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his policies.
  Senate Democrats sought to force election-year votes as Trump — who holds a commanding lead in national polls for the Republican presidential nomination — has called for barring Muslims from coming to the United States. Republicans wanted sim
  
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• Updated: Prosecutor: Cosby wants special treatment, case should go on

  20-01-2016 22:45
  
  NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Prosecutors pursuing sex-assault charges against Bill Cosby say he wants special treatment in trying to have the case thrown out even before the first evidence hearing. In a response to Cosby’s motion to dismiss the case, suburban Philadelphia prosecutors alleged that Cosby may have been “committing similar crimes for decades and getting […]
  
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• Roswell police release 2015 crime stats

  20-01-2016 22:45 via krqe.com
  
  ROSWELL, N.M. (KRQE) – Roswell police released their yearly crime statistics on Wednesday.
  While crime is down overall, there has been a rise is some violent crimes. The biggest drop was seen in property crimes such as forgery and fraud. Violent crimes, including burglary, rape and vehicle theft, dropped overall about 13 percent.
  But the number of homicides stayed the same year to year at 8-percent. Robbery and assault were up 6 to 8 percent.
  Officers pointed out that one of the recorded h
  
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• Critics decry bill allowing businesses to refuse to serve gays

  20-01-2016 22:43
  
  Legislation allowing businesses to refuse to serve gay and transgender New Mexicans was denounced today as blatant discrimination masquerading as religious freedom. House Minority Leader Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, called the bill introduced by two House Republicans “hateful” and “the last gasps of the failing opposition” to the movement for equality for the LGBT community. “To […]
  
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• Utah man faces insurance fraud charges after 23 car crashes

  20-01-2016 22:35
  
  SALT LAKE CITY — Utah officials say a man accused of getting himself into almost two dozen car crashes to collect insurance money has been charged with fraud. Navid Monjazeb was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with 12 counts of insurance fraud. Authorities say he collected over $55,000 from insurance carriers over five years. Armand […]
  
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• Path to reform for Oscars starts with studios, academy

  20-01-2016 22:34
  
  NEW YORK — Change at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, where membership is for life, does not come easily. As Spike Lee said on Tuesday, its 6,000-plus membership can’t be changed “hocus pocus, presto chango” overnight. Efforts have been made. Since becoming the academy’s first African-American president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs has worked […]
  
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• NM’s Creative Startups wins Kauffman grant

  20-01-2016 22:27
  
  Albuquerque-based Creative Startups won a $190,000 grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to help expand the business accelerator nationally and internationally. Kauffman, a Missouri-based foundation that supports entrepreneurship programs and initiatives, recently launched a new grant program to assist creative industries, said Creative Startups co-founder Alice Loy. “The grant will help us evaluate what […]
  
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• Updated: State warns of health insurance problems

  20-01-2016 22:02
  
  Some consumers and agents are complaining that new health insurance or financial assistance has been cancelled, the state Office of Superintendent of Insurance said Wednesday.
  
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• Updated: Oil prices tumble, but stocks trim losses after big slump

  20-01-2016 21:59
  
  NEW YORK — U.S. stocks recovered much of an early plunge Wednesday, but the price of oil still suffered its worst one-day drop since September. Energy companies were pummeled as the latest fall in the price of oil threatened more damage to an industry that has already been stricken with bankruptcies, layoffs and other cutbacks. […]
  
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• Electronic privacy bill gets bipartisan backing

  20-01-2016 21:31
  
  A proposal that would require law enforcement officers to obtain a warrant or wiretap before accessing New Mexicans electronic devices was touted today as a pro-privacy measure that’s needed to keep up with technological advances. The bill, which has been drafted but not formally introduced yet, has bipartisan backing. Its sponsors are Sen. Peter Wirth, […]
  
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• Obama to take in Detroit auto show as industry flourishes

  20-01-2016 21:13
  
  DETROIT — President Barack Obama will take a victory lap Wednesday in Detroit with a tour of the North American International Auto Show. The tour gives Obama the chance to highlight the industry’s remarkable turnaround over the past seven years and to remind the public that his administration came to the industry’s rescue at a […]
  
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• Is that credit card with the annual fee really worth it?

  20-01-2016 21:11
  
  NEW YORK — The biggest months for adding and dropping credit cards are December and January, so now’s the time to make sure that $95 annual fee is really worth it. Chances are, it’s not. “Generally, for the average credit card holder, it is not likely they are going to use a card with a […]
  
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• Stocks plunge along with price of oil

  20-01-2016 20:34 via krqe.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Another plunge in the price of crude oil sent stocks sharply lower on Wednesday, bringing the market to its lowest level in nearly two years.
  Energy companies were pummeled as the price of crude oil sank 7 percent, threatening more damage to an industry that has already been stricken with bankruptcies, layoffs and other cutbacks.
  The price of U.S. crude fell below $27 a barrel amid a global glut in oil supplies that seems to be getting worse. That’s the lowest price s
  
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• Lawmakers expected to debate REAL ID bill

  20-01-2016 20:06 via krqe.com
  
  SANTA FE (KRQE) – New Mexico lawmakers better get to work on fixing the driver’s license issue. Wednesday the Department of Defense said it will no longer accept New Mexico licenses at any base nationwide.
  Kirtland and White Sands are already refusing to accept the licenses, but now so will Canon and Holloman Air Force bases.
  Lawmakers are expected to begin debate on a bill that would fix the problem Thursday.
  There is talk of a compromise that would give illegal immigrants one licen
  
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• Woman killed in morning shooting at motel

  20-01-2016 19:51
  
  Police are investigating a deadly shooting at the Studio 6 on Osuna Road.
  
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• Venice steps up security for Carnival celebrations

  20-01-2016 19:34
  
  ROME — Venice is boosting security for its upcoming Carnival festival after the crime spree against hundreds of women that hit Germany during New Year’s Eve revelry. The pre-Lenten festival known locally as Carnevale, which begins Jan. 23 and runs through Feb. 9, sees tourists in masks and costumes throng Venice’s car-free streets. The new […]
  
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• KOB Eyewitness News 4 Today talks 'junk sleep'

  20-01-2016 19:34
  
  You've heard about junk food – but what about "junk sleep"? Even if you think you're getting enough sleep—or almost enough sleep—you may be getting a lot less than you really need.
  
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• Mos Def charged with breaking South Africa’s immigration law

  20-01-2016 19:33
  
  JOHANNESBURG — An American rapper has found out the hard way that a “world passport” isn’t accepted in South Africa. Mos Def must appear in court for allegedly breaking South Africa’s immigration laws, an official said Wednesday. The rapper and actor was charged with using a false identity, using an unrecognized travel document and helping […]
  
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• AP FACT CHECK: Benghazi movie misstates some facts

  20-01-2016 19:33
  
  WASHINGTON — Michael Bay’s new film, “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi,” tells the story of the deadly Sept. 11, 2012, attacks in Libya through the heroics of the private security contractors assigned to protect Americans. The movie, like the book it is based on, focuses on events in Benghazi during the 13-hour siege, […]
  
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• Man indicted in New Year's Eve murder over beer pong game

  20-01-2016 19:29
  
  A Bernalillo County grand jury has indicted a man on murder charges in the deadly shooting of a young man during a party on New Year's Eve.
  
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• New Mexico rescue worker discovers fallen climber is ex-wife

  20-01-2016 19:25 via krqe.com
  
  SANTA FE (AP) – A New Mexico rescue team worker received a shock when he discovered the climber’s body he was searching for belonged to his ex-wife.
  The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Scott Hicks was volunteering with the Santa Fe County Fire Department technical rescue team Monday afternoon when they were sent to look for the body of a 59-year-old female. The woman had been climbing in Diablo Canyon and had fallen 175 feet to her death.
  Upon arriving at the canyon, Hicks discover
  
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• New Mexico Tech will have new president by February’s end

  20-01-2016 19:24
  
  The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology has narrowed its search for its next president from 30 to five candidates, and will have its new leader by the end of February. The Socorro-based university has been searching for a replacement since current president Dan Lopez said in 2015 he planned to retire June 30, […]
  
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• Ferguson school district trial ends, but ruling months away

  20-01-2016 19:20
  
  ST. LOUIS — The federal trial is over in a lawsuit alleging racial bias in the way school board members are elected in a district that includes Ferguson, but a ruling is still months away. The trial in the American Civil Liberties Union’s lawsuit against the Ferguson-Florissant School District concluded Tuesday. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch […]
  
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• Nearly all 400K birds at Indiana farms with bird flu killed

  20-01-2016 19:12
  
  INDIANAPOLIS — Animal health officials responding to a bird flu outbreak in southwest Indiana say crews have nearly finished killing more than 400,000 birds ordered euthanized at the 10 affected commercial poultry farms. Indiana State Board of Animal Health spokeswoman Denise Derrer says about 13,000 turkeys remaining at two farms were expected to be killed […]
  
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• The Latest: Trial involving polygamous towns opens

  20-01-2016 19:04
  
  PHOENIX — The latest on a trial marking one of the federal government’s boldest efforts to crack down on polygamous towns on the Arizona-Utah border (all times local) 10 a.m. The federal government has opened a trial involving two polygamous towns in Arizona and Utah by portraying them as a corrupt operation still beholden to […]
  
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• HHS offering event for small businesses

  20-01-2016 19:00
  
  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization will hold its 2016 Small Business Community Outreach Event Feb. 11 at Central New Mexico Community College’s Smith Brasher Hall. The event focuses on educating small business owners on how to identify and pursue contract opportunities with the Department of […]
  
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• Most of Detroit’s public schools close amid teacher sick-out

  20-01-2016 18:59
  
  DETROIT — Most of Detroit’s public schools closed for the day on Wednesday due to teacher absences, as disgruntled educators stepped up efforts to protest the governor’s plans for the district, its ramshackle finances and dilapidated buildings. The massive sick-out was timed to coincide with a planned visit to the city by President Barack Obama, […]
  
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• 2 Texas school cafeteria workers fired over food taken home

  20-01-2016 18:59
  
  ODESSA, Texas — Two cafeteria workers at a West Texas elementary school have been fired after violating guidelines and allegedly taking home some leftover fruit. The Ector County Independent School District employees were fired Tuesday. District spokesman Mike Adkins says the workers acknowledged taking some food home last week. Both were assigned to Murry Fly […]
  
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• Earth’s temperature depends on where you put thermometer

  20-01-2016 18:58
  
  WASHINGTON — When it comes to measuring global warming, it’s all about altitude. Temperature readings taken close to Earth’s surface — about 6 feet off the ground — show a slightly warmer planet than measurements taken from on high by satellites in orbit. And that discrepancy has given ammunition to climate-change doubters. Government agencies and […]
  
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• Bomb squad investigates package at Cruces court

  20-01-2016 18:56
  
  Authorities are investigating a suspicious package found at the 3rd Judicial District Court in Las Cruces, according to the Las Cruces Police Department. Spokesman Dan Trujillo said the courthouse was evacuated shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday after a call came in about a suspicious package. The Dona Ana County Sheriff’s bomb squad is investigating, he said. The […]
  
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• Event explores careers for women in oil and gas

  20-01-2016 18:52
  
  The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association and the New Mexico Energy Forum of the American Petroleum Institute are hosting a “Women in Power” event at the University of New Mexico on Jan. 27 to bring together female college students and influential leaders in the oil and gas industry to explore employment opportunities for women. […]
  
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• Lupita Nyong’o says Oscar nominations ‘disappointing’

  20-01-2016 18:44
  
  NEW YORK — Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o says she’s “disappointed” by “the lack on inclusion” in this year’s Oscar nominations. In a statement posted late Tuesday night on Instagram, Nyong’o said she was joining in “calling for change in expanding the stories that are told and recognition of the people who tell them.” Following […]
  
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• Texas police dog fatally shot, suspected gunman sought

  20-01-2016 18:33
  
  LINDALE, Texas — Authorities are seeking a gunman suspected of fatally shooting a police dog following an East Texas traffic stop. The Smith County Sheriff’s Office in Tyler says the search continued Wednesday for 35-year-old Michael Paul Koch (KAHCH) of Grand Saline (gran suh-LEEN’). He’s considered armed and dangerous. A vehicle with Koch and two […]
  
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• Department of Defense announces New Mexico ID restrictions

  20-01-2016 18:33 via krqe.com
  
  SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – The U.S. Department of Defense says it will no longer accept New Mexico driver’s licenses at its installations nationwide.
  Defense Department officials announced Wednesday that driver’s licenses from New Mexico – along with those from Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri and Washington state – can’t be used as proof of identity to enter its bases.
  The move comes after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security declined to give New Mexico an extens
  
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• UK judge due to say whether Russia behind Litvinenko killing

  20-01-2016 18:32
  
  LONDON — One day in 2006, a former KGB agent who claimed to know dark Kremlin secrets had tea with two Russian men at a London hotel. Three weeks later, he died of radioactive poisoning — after making a deathbed claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered his killing. Moscow has always denied involvement, […]
  
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• The Latest: Serbia, Croatia place limits on migrants

  20-01-2016 18:32
  
  VIENNA — The latest news on the influx of asylum-seekers and other migrants in Europe. All times local: 5:55 p.m. Officials from Serbia and Croatia say that only refugees who wish to seek asylum in Austria or Germany will be allowed to enter the two countries and continue their journey toward Western Europe. The officials […]
  
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• Eastbound I-40 reopens after fatal crash

  20-01-2016 18:20 via krqe.com
  
  ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – Eastbound I-40 is now open following a fatal crash.
  According to the the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, one person died in the two-vehicle crash.
  The identity of the person killed in the crash has not been released.
  
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• Senate panel approves bill to make school lunches tastier

  20-01-2016 16:51 via krqe.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — School meals could become a bit tastier under legislation approved by a Senate committee.
  The Senate Agriculture Committee approved a bill Wednesday designed to help schools that say the Obama administration’s healthier school meal rules are too restrictive.
  Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas and Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan introduced the bill after reaching an agreement to ease requirements for whole grains and delay an upcoming deadline to cut
  
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• Man sentenced in crash that killed UNM students

  20-01-2016 16:50
  
  Everyone in the courtroom expected Joshua Leal to learn his fate on Tuesday, but his attorney surprised everyone by saying that Leal's no contest plea should be withdrawn and the sentencing postponed because the 22-year-old suffers from a series of mental illnesses.
  
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• Police investigate fatal northeast Albuquerque shooting

  20-01-2016 16:41 via krqe.com
  
  ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – Police are investigating a shooting in northeast Albuquerque.
  Police say officers are currently at the Studio 4 in the 4400 block of Osuna NE.
  Albuquerque Police say a woman was found with a gunshot wound. She died from her injuries.
  At this time police say they have one person in custody for questioning.
  KRQE News 13 will provide updates as they become available.
  
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• NOAA, NASA: 2015 was hottest on Earth by a wide margin

  20-01-2016 16:34 via krqe.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Last year wasn’t just the Earth’s hottest year on record — it left a century of high temperature marks in the dust.
  The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and NASA say 2015 was by far the hottest year in 136 years of record keeping.
  NOAA says 2015’s temperature was 58.62 degrees Fahrenheit (14.79 degrees Celsius), passing 2014 by a record margin of 0.29 degrees. That’s 1.62 degrees above the 20th-century average. NASA, which measures
  
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