Albuquerque news

• New Mexico high school principal fired for comments about Navajo’s and gays

  24-03-2016 23:52 via krqe.com
  
  CROWNPOINT, N.M. (KRQE)– The Crownpoint High School principal has been fired following a secret recording of him making nasty comments about Navajo’s and gays.
  The person recording says that principal, Dr. J.D. Reed, was talking with employees of Crownpoint High School about the people in Ramah and members of the Gallup Mckinley School Board.
  The recording quickly sparked outrage and demands for his firing.
  At one point in the conversation Reed said white people are discriminated aga
  
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• UNM Student: Smelly trees are a distraction

  24-03-2016 23:31 via krqe.com
  
  ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – A University of New Mexico student claims a cluster of trees on campus are stinking up the place and he wants them gone. The University said the trees aren’t going anywhere.
  “It is very, very strong,” said UNM student Lorenzo Anzalone.
  “It’s hard to describe,” said UNM student Katy Lee.
  But once someone smells it, they likely won’t forget it.
  “It just comes inside your nose like that’s all you can breathe and y
  
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• Lawsuit accuses Mormon Church of failing to protect Navajos

  24-03-2016 23:25 via krqe.com
  
  FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) – Two Navajo siblings are suing the Mormon Church, alleging they were sexually abused during their time in a church program that placed them with foster families in Utah.
  The lawsuit seeks written apologies, unspecified damages, changes in church policy and the creation of a task force to help address cultural or social harm to Navajos. It was filed Tuesday in Navajo Nation court.
  Representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not immediately r
  
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• Man tries to apologize his way out of his 9th DWI arrest

  24-03-2016 23:19 via krqe.com
  
  FARMINGTON, N.M. (KRQE) – Video shows a man trying to apologize his way out of his 9th DWI arrest in Farmington.
  Ronald Smith was arrested at the beginning of March, after crashing into a tree.
  State Police Officer: “How you doing?”Federal Officer: “He was saying he was drunk just now.”State Policer Officer: “Well, we can see that.”
  The officers say he crashed his SUV moments before they arrived.
  State Police Officer: “I can smell alcohol on your b
  
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• Updated: California: Chemical warning may scare poor from canned food

  24-03-2016 23:05
  
  SAN FRANCISCO — California plans to delay state-required warnings on metal cans lined with the chemical BPA, arguing too-specific warnings could scare stores and shoppers in poor neighborhoods away from some of the only fruits and vegetables available — canned ones, officials said Thursday. Instead, the state on May 11 will require stores to post […]
  
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• Tempe firefighter credited with saving flag at Phoenix fire

  24-03-2016 23:03
  
  TEMPE, Ariz. — A Tempe firefighter is being publicity shy after being photographed saving an American flag from a fire outside a Phoenix recycling center. Captain/medic Nick Ells was among 150 by firefighters who battled the wind-driven fire for hours Tuesday. A photograph circulated later on social media showed a firefighter still in his gear […]
  
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• State Police offers new driving safety class to incoming officers

  24-03-2016 23:03 via krqe.com
  
  ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – State Police said on average one of their patrol cars is damaged every day, from officers getting into crashes or getting crashed into.
  On Thursday, 17 new officers got their very own State Police car. But they didn’t get the keys before Fleet Operations Sergeant, Richard Williamson checked them off.
  “Today’s training is to remind the officers of the things they may have learned in the academy but could’ve forgotten,” said Sgt. Willia
  
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• Sanders fighting perceptions he can’t overcome Clinton edge

  24-03-2016 23:02
  
  WASHINGTON — Bernie Sanders may be drawing thousands of people to his rallies and raising millions of dollars online, but increasingly he’s also having to make the case that his campaign isn’t a lost cause. Sanders is favored over Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in this weekend’s contests in Washington state, Hawaii and Alaska. The Vermont […]
  
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• Indiana governor signs fetal defects abortion ban into law

  24-03-2016 23:02
  
  INDIANAPOLIS — Republican Gov. Mike Pence signed a bill into law Thursday making Indiana the second state to ban abortions because of fetal genetic abnormalities such as Down syndrome. Pence signed the measure just hours ahead of his deadline to take action on the proposal approved by the Republican-dominated Legislature two weeks ago, the governor’s […]
  
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• State initiative nets dozens of DWI fugitive arrests

  24-03-2016 23:01 via krqe.com
  
  ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – Some of New Mexico’s most wanted DWI fugitives have been captured. The arrests stem from an initiative the state began last year.
  State police were able to track down and arrest eight of the top 10 DWI fugitives who violated their probation or parole and were on the run.
  The governor says many of them have multiple arrests for drunk driving, some of which caused injuries or death.
  Another 48 DWI fugitives were also arrested. The state announced there were 122 DWI
  
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• Seamless Medical gets boost with community health centers

  24-03-2016 22:41
  
  Preferred vendor status from national purchasing group opens doors
  
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• Updated: Popular UNM statues defaced, again

  24-03-2016 22:32
  
  One or more vandals appear to have defaced several bronze statues in the middle of one the University of New Mexico’s busiest walkways between late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, say UNM officials. “Modern Art” by Betty Sabo is an art exhibit that features several bronze human sculptures near the Student Union Building. One […]
  
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• Moriarty warehouse converted to officer-training site

  24-03-2016 22:27
  
  A former cigarette manufacturing plant in Moriarty is getting a new life as an active shooter training facility for law enforcement and military officers. Inside the metal warehouse in Moriarty’s Industrial Park, Global Training Initiatives, Inc. is outfitting its training facilities by replicating rooms of a meth house, apartment or business. The 25,000-square-foot warehouse was […]
  
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• Shadowy hacking industry may be helping FBI crack an iPhone

  24-03-2016 22:14
  
  NEW YORK — Turns out there’s a shadowy global industry devoted to breaking into smartphones and extracting their information. But you’ve probably never heard of it unless you’re a worried parent, a betrayed spouse — or a federal law enforcement agency. Now one of those hacking businesses may well be helping the FBI try to […]
  
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• Updated: Garry Shandling, comic, ‘Larry Sanders Show’ creator, dies

  24-03-2016 22:13
  
  LOS ANGELES — Garry Shandling, who as an actor and comedian masterminded a brand of self-inflicted phony docudrama with “The Larry Sanders Show,” has died. Los Angeles Police officer Tony Im said Shandling died Thursday in Los Angeles of an undisclosed cause. He was 66. Im said fire officials were dispatched to Shandling’s Los Angeles […]
  
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• New Mexico governor shuns work email account

  24-03-2016 22:08
  
  SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez seldom uses her state email account to conduct official business and keeps half of those messages under seal, according to a review of public records by The Associated Press. The governor’s office released three emails and withheld three others in response to a request for emails […]
  
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• Texas officer accused in teen’s death resigns

  24-03-2016 22:05
  
  FARMERS BRANCH, Texas — A suburban Dallas police officer who shot and killed a teenage burglary suspect and wounded another boy while off duty has resigned from his department. Farmers Branch Police Chief Sid Fuller said that Officer Ken Johnson submitted his resignation on Thursday. Fuller accepted the resignation, which took effect immediately. Johnson is […]
  
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• Garry Shandling, comic, ‘Larry Sanders Show’ creator, dies

  24-03-2016 21:58 via krqe.com
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Garry Shandling, who as an actor and comedian pioneered a pretend brand of self-focused docudrama with “The Larry Sanders Show,” has died.
  Los Angeles Police officer Tony Im said Shandling died Thursday in Los Angeles of an undisclosed cause. He was 66.
  Im said officers were dispatched to Shandling’s home Thursday for a reported medical emergency. Shandling was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
  Im did not have any details on when
  
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• NCAA Tournament Predictions: Miami vs. Villanova

  24-03-2016 21:56 via krqe.com
  
  We’re down to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, and what a first weekend it was. We had monumental upsets, half-court buzzer-beaters, crazy collapses, Cinderella stories and redemption runs (who had Syracuse vs. Gonzaga in the Midwest?)
  We can’t wait until it starts up again on Thursday, but until then, we’re previewing all of the games in the regional semifinals:
  3. Miami (FL)
  First round: Def. 14 Buffalo, 79-72
  Second round: Def. 11 Wichita State, 65-57
  The Hurricanes esca
  
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• Officials: Fire burning on Isleta Pueblo

  24-03-2016 21:42 via krqe.com
  
  ISLETA PUEBLO, N.M. (KRQE) – Officials say there is a fire burning on Isleta Pueblo.
  Bernalillo County crews were temporarily placed on standby to assist with the fire if needed but they have since been relieved.
  Details about the fire have not been released.
  KRQE News 13 will provide more information as it becomes available.
   
  
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• Report: Longstanding US decline in TB cases has stalled

  24-03-2016 21:23 via krqe.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time in more than two decades, the rate of newly diagnosed tuberculosis cases is not dropping, U.S. health officials said Thursday.
  The number of new cases actually rose a little last year, the first of increase since 1992.
  Officials said they’re not sure why it’s leveled off.
  “It’s always concerning when we see progress stall, especially when there are proven interventions to prevent a disease,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of
  
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• Shop owner not guilty in 2nd of 3 assault cases

  24-03-2016 21:12
  
  A former Albuquerque magic shop owner accused in three cases of sexual assault has been found not guilty in the second case.
  
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• Texas Planned Parenthood chapter joins lawsuit over videos

  24-03-2016 21:07
  
  AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas Planned Parenthood chapter has joined a previously filed federal lawsuit, alleging criminal misconduct by anti-abortion activists who made undercover videos accusing the organization of illegally selling fetal tissue. Houston-based Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast announced Thursday that it would become part of a civil suit filed in January in San Francisco […]
  
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• Moody’s reaffirms New Mexico credit rating

  24-03-2016 21:06
  
  SANTA FE, N.M. — A credit ratings agency is reaffirming a top grade for New Mexico general obligation bonds as the state grapples with declining revenues from the oil and natural gas industry. The New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration on Thursday announced the triple-A bond rating from Moody’s Investor Services. Moody’s says the […]
  
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• Trump: Echoes of George Wallace?

  24-03-2016 21:04
  
  ATLANTA — One presidential candidate pledged to “Stand up for America.” Two generations later, another promises to “Make America Great Again.” Their common denominator: convincing certain Americans that their version of the United States is under threat. Donald Trump, leader for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, has never said he’s following the playbook of Alabama […]
  
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• State Police investigate fatal crash outside of Pecos

  24-03-2016 21:03 via krqe.com
  
  PECOS, N.M. (KRQE) – State Police responded to the scene of a deadly crash on Tuesday just outside of Pecos. The incident occurred at about 12:45 p.m. on I-25.
  Police say 26-year-old Desiree Castillo was driving northbound when she lost control. They say her vehicle rolled over several times.
  Castillo was fatally injured and pronounced dead at the scene.
  Her passenger, 29-year-old Carlos Castillo sustained injures and was treated at the scene.
  No word yet on what might have caused the
  
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• Train collides with tanker in Minnesota; town evacuated

  24-03-2016 20:52
  
  CALLAWAY, Minn. — Authorities have evacuated a small town in northwestern Minnesota after a freight train collided with a propane truck that caught fire. Sgt. Jesse Grabow with the Minnesota State Patrol says the crash happened around 12:25 p.m. Thursday in Callaway. Grabow says crews are trying to put out the burning tanker. He says […]
  
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• Woman arrested for DUI after driving to ‘Coffee with a Cop’

  24-03-2016 20:44
  
  GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A Montana woman who police said was stumbling and smelled of alcohol was arrested after driving to a cafe hosting a “Coffee with a Cop” event. Great Falls Lt. Doug Mahlum says 66-year-old Charlene Kranitz walked by more than a dozen uniformed officers in Schulte’s Coffeehouse on Wednesday to get to […]
  
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• Victim families mark 1 year since doomed Germanwings flight

  24-03-2016 20:42
  
  LE VERNET, France — In a solemn day of remembrance, grieving families gathered in a French Alpine village to pay homage to loved ones a year after the co-pilot of a Germanwings plane flew the passenger jet into a mountainside, killing all 150 people aboard. Hundreds of people attended Thursday’s commemoration that began with a […]
  
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• Police chief: Mistreatment of public won’t be tolerated

  24-03-2016 20:42 via krqe.com
  
  LAS CRUCES (AP) – A New Mexico police chief says the mistreatment of the public will not be tolerated and that the force has made changes in the wake of a case in which a high school intern was sexually assaulted during a ride-along.
  Las Cruces Police Chief Jaime Montoya says he’s confident the training and mentoring employees are receiving are steps in the right direction.
  Montoya’s comments come after attorneys announced Wednesday that a $3 million settlement had been reached
  
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• Man painted gold arrested in California freeway hit-and-run

  24-03-2016 20:42
  
  RICHMOND, Calif. — Authorities say a man covered in gold spray paint was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in the San Francisco Bay Area after he allegedly hit three cars on a freeway and then led police on a brief chase. The San Francisco Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/1Un51RJ) that the chase on Interstate 80 in […]
  
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• Updated: Official: Bogus lawsuit filed in name of Giffords’ shooter

  24-03-2016 20:30
  
  TUCSON, Ariz. — A lawsuit filed in the name of the man who shot former U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords is bogus, an official said Thursday. The case was filed last week in federal court in Phoenix under Jared Lee Loughner’s name. It was similar to a recent bogus lawsuit claiming to be from an Uber […]
  
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• Colo. mandatory snow tire bill dies in Senate committee

  24-03-2016 20:30
  
  DENVER — A bill intended to cut the number of I-70 mountain closures during winter storms by requiring that passenger vehicles have snow-ready tires or chains has died. Colorado’s Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-2 on party lines Thursday. Similar bills have been killed in recent years. Democrats Kerry Donovan of Vail and Nancy Todd […]
  
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• No charges over killing of ax-wielding Texas student

  24-03-2016 20:29
  
  DENTON, Texas — A University of North Texas police officer will not face charges in the fatal shooting of student who was armed with an ax. Prosecutors on Thursday said a Denton County grand jury declined to indict Cpl. Stephen Bean in the Dec. 13 death of 21-year-old Ryan McMillan. Police say the officer felt […]
  
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• Attorney wants Planned Parenthood shooter in mental hospital

  24-03-2016 20:29
  
  COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A defense attorney for a man who acknowledges killing three people at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic asked a judge Thursday to commit his client to a psychiatric hospital for treatment but did not reveal whether a mental health exam found him competent to continue with his criminal case. Judge Gilbert […]
  
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• Updated: New analysis: ‘Obamacare’ coverage costs rising

  24-03-2016 20:28
  
  WASHINGTON — A government study released Thursday forecasts that the health care coverage costs of the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature legislative legacy, are going up. The measure still, on balance, more than pays for itself. The Congressional Budget Office analysis says the health care law will cost $1.34 trillion over the coming […]
  
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• Former magic shop owner cleared in second molestation trial

  24-03-2016 20:22
  
  A onetime Nob Hill magic shop owner who allegedly used his business to lure boys was cleared Thursda ...
  
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• Kirk Ellis joins Santa Fe Independent Film Festival advisory board

  24-03-2016 19:53
  
  The Santa Fe Independent Film Festival is pleased to announce award-winning screenwriter and producer Kirk Ellis has joined the festival’s advisory board. “It is both an honor and a pleasure,” Ellis said. “Jacques and Liesette Paisner and their team have created a must-attend event in a remarkably short time, and put Santa Fe indelibly on […]
  
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• Police program targeting repeat DWI offenders on the run nets dozens

  24-03-2016 19:05
  
  Gov. Susana Martinez said Thursday that a program started in 2015 to arrest repeat drunken driving convicts on the run from probation or parole is leading to arrests. Martinez said the program has led to the arrests of 55 fugitives, including eight from the list of the state’s top 10 most wanted DWI absconders. Yesterday, […]
  
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• 4 Navajo Nation men sentenced to prison in 2014 killing

  24-03-2016 18:21
  
  PHOENIX — Four Navajo Nation men face prison terms ranging from 10 to 17¾ years after being sentenced on their guilty pleas to second-degree murder in the 2014 killing of a man on the tribe’s reservation during a robbery. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 24-year-old Zachrey Brown and 22-year-olds Shawn Lewis Dale, Travis Roy Gaddy […]
  
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• The Latest: Wildfire smoke blows hundreds of miles away

  24-03-2016 18:14
  
  KIOWA, Kan. — The Latest on a wildfire in Kansas and Oklahoma (all times local): 11:35 a.m. Smoke from the wildfires burning in Oklahoma and Kansas has traveled hundreds of miles. The National Weather Service says the smoke has been detected as far away as Springfield, Missouri, about 290 miles to the east, and in […]
  
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• Coke discloses more of its funding on health efforts

  24-03-2016 18:12
  
  NEW YORK — Coke said Thursday that it spent more on health research and partnerships than it previously disclosed as part of its push to be more transparent. The world’s biggest beverage company first disclosed its spending on health-related efforts after coming under fire for its funding of the Global Energy Balance Network, a group […]
  
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• Syrian forces enter IS-held Palmyra; intense clashes with IS

  24-03-2016 18:09
  
  DAMASCUS, Syria — Backed by Russian airstrikes, Syrian government forces on Thursday pushed into the ancient town of Palmyra that has been held by the Islamic State group since May, state TV reported, as an Iraqi military spokesman announced the start of a long-awaited military operation to recapture the northern city of Mosul from IS […]
  
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• Updated: Obama dances tango in Argentina, comes under criticism

  24-03-2016 18:08
  
  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Dancing the tango, relaxing with family in picturesque Patagonia, catching a baseball game with Cuba’s Raul Castro — it’s been an unusual week for President Barack Obama. His tour of Latin America left him on the periphery as the world grappled with terrorism and other problems. Republican critics faulted Obama for […]
  
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• Hobbs oil firm to pay $1.5 million in wages, damages

  24-03-2016 18:08
  
  A Hobbs-based company has agreed to pay $1.5 million in back wages and damages to 241 oil-well service workers, according to the U.s. Department of Labor. The agency accused Nova Mud Inc., and two related companies — Nova Hardbanding LLC and Nova Sand LLC — of paying the employees fixed semi-monthly salaries, without regard to […]
  
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• Mexican convicted in El Paso in nearly $3M IRS refunds scam

  24-03-2016 17:56 via krqe.com
  
  EL PASO, Texas (AP) – A Mexican woman faces more than 120 years in a U.S. prison for running a nearly $3 million IRS refunds scam involving stolen identities.
  Elizabeth “Betty” Garcia de Nieto of Chihuahua, Mexico, was convicted Wednesday in El Paso. Garcia remains in custody pending sentencing for conspiracy to defraud the U.S., mail fraud, plus aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft.
  Investigators say Garcia since 2010 used stolen identities to creature fraudulent U.S.
  
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• ‘Obamacare’ foe tries to save expanded Medicaid in Arkansas

  24-03-2016 17:22
  
  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Two years after winning office by promising to fight President Barack Obama’s policies, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has become the leading rescuer of a key element of the president’s health care law in his state. The Republican governor is urging GOP lawmakers to keep Arkansas’ hybrid Medicaid expansion and is warning […]
  
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• Experts: Belgium often comes up short in preventing attacks

  24-03-2016 17:21
  
  BRUSSELS — Belgium has come up short in its efforts to prevent extremist attacks time and again, experts say — failing to coordinate intelligence, investigate suspects and control its borders. No country has a perfect record, but Belgium’s is especially bad. On Tuesday, suicide bombers linked to the Islamic State group detonated their explosives at […]
  
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• Colo. police officer cleared in accidental shooting

  24-03-2016 17:21
  
  DENVER — An Aurora police officer who slipped and accidently shot a car theft suspect during a foot chase has been cleared of any wrongdoing. Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey ruled that Officer David Musgrave did not intentionally shoot Christopher Padilla and the officer committed no crime. The officer was part of a team pursuing […]
  
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• New: Bookworks to host Stephen King at the Kiva

  24-03-2016 17:06
  
  Albuquerque landed on the short list for Stephen King’s “End of Watch Tour.” Bookworks will host the legendary author at 7 p.m. June 16 at the Kiva Auditorium. For the Bookworks Albuquerque event, each ticket will admit one person and include an “End of Watch” hardcover. Tickets will be on sale at 9 a.m. Saturday, […]
  
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