New Mexico news

• Updated: Divorce granted to Mississippi same-sex couple after 2 years

  01-12-2015 23:59
  
  JACKSON, Miss. — Two years after their divorce filing got entangled in Mississippi’s efforts to prevent same-sex marriage, a judge Tuesday dissolved the legal union of Lauren Czekala-Chatham and Dana Ann Melancon. Czekala-Chatham and her lawyer, Carey Varnado, said the end came in Water Valley, 50 miles south of DeSoto County, where the pair filed […]
  
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• Divorce granted to Mississippi same-sex couple after appeals

  01-12-2015 23:59
  
  JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi state court has granted the first divorce to a same-sex couple, after appeals and a wait of more than two years. Lauren Czekala-Chatham (chik-AH’-luh CHAT’-uhm) and her lawyer said DeSoto County Chancery Judge Mitchell Lundy Jr. ended her marriage to Dana Ann Melancon (muh-LAHN’-sahn) on Tuesday. The move comes a […]
  
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• Updated: Facebook CEO, now a father, will give away most of his money

  01-12-2015 23:58
  
  SAN FRANCISCO — Talk about birth announcements: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife said they’ll devote nearly all their wealth — roughly $45 billion — to good works in celebration of their new baby daughter, Max. Zuckerberg’s wife, Priscilla Chan, gave birth to a 7-pound, 8-ounce daughter last week. But the couple didn’t put […]
  
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• Updated: Jury still has no verdict in ex-coal CEO Blankenship trial

  01-12-2015 23:52
  
  CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A federal judge told a jury Tuesday to keep trying to reach a verdict in the trial of ex-Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, even after jurors said they were deadlocked, and she told them they can return a partial verdict if they agree on a portion of the charges. At midday, jurors […]
  
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• Jurors still has no verdict in ex-coal CEO Blankenship trial

  01-12-2015 23:52
  
  CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A federal judge told a jury Tuesday to keep trying to reach a verdict in the trial of ex-Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, even after jurors said they were deadlocked, and she told them they can return a partial verdict if they agree on a portion of the charges. At midday, jurors […]
  
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• The Latest on Freddie Gray: Jury to be seated Wednesday

  01-12-2015 23:46
  
  BALTIMORE — The latest on the trial of a police officer accused in the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who suffered a spinal injury in the back of a transport van (all times local): 5:30 p.m. A court spokeswoman says a jury will be seated Wednesday for the manslaughter trial of a […]
  
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• Coroner: Remains from Kansas are from a juvenile

  01-12-2015 23:46
  
  KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Human remains found at a Kansas barn are those of a juvenile, but tests to determine if the remains belong to a missing 7-year-old boy could take weeks, a coroner said Tuesday. Police found the remains after investigating a domestic disturbance, when they were notified that the boy — whom authorities […]
  
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• Man questioned in murder of Montana mother and son who stumbled into fortune

  01-12-2015 23:19
  
  Police in rural Montana are questioning a man previously convicted of aggravated kidnapping in connection with the murder of an elderly woman and her son who disappeared just 10 days after they came into possession of a bar of gold worth almost half a million dollars. The bodies of Beverly and Greg Giannonatti were found […]
  
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• Gov. proposes ‘rapid workforce development fund’

  01-12-2015 23:17
  
  Gov. Susana Martinez announced a new legislative initiative on Tuesday to create a $1.25 million rapid workforce development fund for companies to quickly find trained employees in specialized areas. The money, which Martinez will request in the legislative session that starts in January, would finance training for workers in targeted fields to help new companies […]
  
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• Judge rules teacher evaluation lawsuits will be tried separately

  01-12-2015 23:08
  
  A Santa Fe District Court judge rejected today an attempt by the Public Education Department to have two separate lawsuits challenging the PED’s teacher evaluation system consolidated into one. However, Judge Francis Mathew did rule that depositions and other types of evidence gathering in the two lawsuits should be combined to improve efficiency. The lawsuits […]
  
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• First flu-related deaths in New Mexico in 2015-16

  01-12-2015 22:59
  
  SANTA FE — The New Mexico Department of Health has announced the first flu-related deaths of the 2015-16 season. Health officials say a 67-year-old man in Dona Ana County and a 69-year-old man in San Miguel County have died from influenza. Their names weren’t released Tuesday. Health officials say flu activity typically peaks between December […]
  
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• Obama says parts of climate deal must be legally binding

  01-12-2015 22:51
  
  PARIS — President Barack Obama said Tuesday that parts of the global warming deal being negotiated in Paris should be legally binding on the participating countries, setting up a potential fight with Republicans at home. Obama’s stand won praise at the U.N. climate conference from those who want a strong agreement to reduce greenhouse gas […]
  
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• Reports show NAU shooting victims under influence of alcohol

  01-12-2015 22:49
  
  FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Legal experts say results of toxicology tests on the victims and suspect in a shooting at Northern Arizona University could bolster claims of self-defense. Results released this week show the victims had alcohol, drugs or both in their systems but the suspect did not. The victims’ blood-alcohol levels exceeded what’s considered legal […]
  
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• Updated: Chicago mayor fires police chief in wake of video release

  01-12-2015 22:30
  
  CHICAGO — Rahm Emanuel sought for months to keep the public from seeing a video that shows a white police officer shooting a black teenager 16 times. Now, a week after the video’s release, the Chicago mayor has fired the police superintendent, created a task force for police accountability and expanded the use of body […]
  
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• Lawyer: Boy taken by dad in 2002 has visited mom in Alabama

  01-12-2015 21:55
  
  CLEVELAND — A boy who was taken from his Alabama home by his father in 2002 and raised in Ohio under a new identity recently reconnected with his mother in Alabama, the father’s attorney said Tuesday after his client pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and other charges. Attorney Ralph DeFranco said Julian Hernandez visited his […]
  
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• Canadian smuggler with turtles in pants pleads guilty in US

  01-12-2015 21:55
  
  ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A Canadian man caught at a border crossing with 51 turtles tapped to his body pleaded guilty Tuesday to smuggling or attempting to smuggle more than 1,000 of the reptiles out of southeastern Michigan. Kai Xu, 27, would order turtles online and travel to the U.S. to pick them up and […]
  
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• Syria’s al-Qaida branch releases captive Lebanese soldiers

  01-12-2015 21:54
  
  BEIRUT — Al-Qaida’s affiliate in Syria released more than a dozen Lebanese soldiers and police it has held for more than a year on Tuesday as part of a Qatar-brokered deal in which Lebanon freed at least 11 prisoners, including a former wife of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The release caps Lebanon’s lengthy […]
  
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• German Cabinet OKs military mission against IS in Syria

  01-12-2015 21:54
  
  BERLIN — The German Cabinet approved plans Tuesday to commit up to 1,200 soldiers to support the international coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Syria. The mandate still requires parliamentary clearance but Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing coalition has a huge majority and its approval looks assured. Senior lawmakers from her conservative bloc expected a […]
  
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• Morrissey wins annual ‘Literary Review Bad Sex’ award

  01-12-2015 21:53
  
  LONDON — Maybe he should have stuck to writing songs — former Smiths frontman and lyricist Morrissey has won the annual award for the poorest quality writing about sex. The award that writers don’t want to get was given on Tuesday at a gala ceremony in central London. The prize was given for Morrissey’s first […]
  
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• Copper bears see more pain as prices trade at lowest since 2009

  01-12-2015 21:53
  
  (c) 2015, Bloomberg News. NEW YORK — Hedge funds are betting there’s more pain in store for copper, even with prices trading at the lowest in six years. Money managers are holding the biggest net-short position in the metal since August. Futures are trading near the lowest since 2009 as economic growth slows to the […]
  
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• ABQ man pleads to armed robbery of pharmacy

  01-12-2015 21:41
  
  Eddie Gallegos, 39, of Albuquerque, pleaded guilty Tuesday federal court to theft of Oxycodone, OxyC ...
  
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• Lawmaker: Planned Parenthood ‘the real culprit’ for violence

  01-12-2015 21:35
  
  DENVER — A Republican state lawmaker in the Denver suburbs says that Planned Parenthood is “the real culprit” for violence. The remark came Monday in a Facebook posting by Rep. JoAnn Windholz. The lawmaker says that “violence is never the answer, but we must start pointing out who is the real culprit.” Windholz says that […]
  
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• Judge: Public defender isn’t supplying adequate defense for former Santa Fe luxury home builder

  01-12-2015 20:30
  
  Special master to be appointed in case against Santa Fe home developer
  
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• Ex-con can use his own shovels to dig for evidence of harvesting body parts at state pen, judge rules

  01-12-2015 20:30
  
  A district judge is allowing a former inmate a little more time and his own shovels to dig for evidence of alleged abuse and organ harvesting of dead inmates at the Penitentiary of New Mexico. On Monday, Judge Sarah Singleton modified a previous ruling, saying that Samuel Chavez can take up to two shovels and […]
  
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• Tumbleweed snowman goes up, holiday season can begin

  01-12-2015 20:04
  
  The AMAFCA tumbleweed snowman is now up and standing near Interstate 40 and University Boulevard. For many Albuquerque citizens, the tumbleweed snowman signals the official start of the holiday season. “It’s the official start of the Christmas season,” said Julie Chavez, who watched the the tumbleweed snowman go up with her family.
  
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• Boxing/MMA: Maldonado re-ups with Golden Boy

  01-12-2015 19:56
  
    Albuquerque boxer Fidel Maldonado Jr. has re-signed with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, his father said. Fidel Maldonado Sr., who trains and manages his son, also said former co-manager Cameron Dunkin is no longer part of the team. Maldonado Jr. (20-3, 17 knockouts) has been under contract to Golden Boy since 2011.  […]
  
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• Santa Fe police: Thieves stole $1 million in jewelry in Plaza store heist

  01-12-2015 19:46
  
  SANTA FE — The Santa Fe Police Department is looking for a trio of thieves who took over $1 million worth of merchandise from a Plaza jewelry store during a popular holiday celebration. According to Lt. Michele Williams, three suspects — two males and a female — went into Diva Diamonds & Jewels on East […]
  
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• Woman gets probation in brutal rape case

  01-12-2015 19:31
  
  SANTA FE — A woman who was nearby when a brutal rape of a Pojoque Valley High School senior took place on prom night last year was sentenced Monday in District Court for her role in the crime. Kayla Coriz — 19 when the incident took place on April 27, 2014 — was sentenced to […]
  
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• Woman gets probation in brutal prom night rape case

  01-12-2015 19:31
  
  SANTA FE — A woman who was nearby when a brutal rape of a Pojoque Valley High School senior took place on prom night last year was sentenced Monday in District Court for her role in the crime. Kayla Coriz — 19 when the incident took place on April 27, 2014 — was sentenced to […]
  
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• House considers requiring search warrant to get old emails

  01-12-2015 19:17
  
  WASHINGTON — Investigators would need a search warrant to get people’s old emails under a bill considered Tuesday by a House panel looking to update a nearly 30-year-old federal law to reflect today’s communications. The Email Privacy Act, co-authored by Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kan., and Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., has broad bipartisan support and would […]
  
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• Shop and stroll across ABQ this week

  01-12-2015 19:12
  
  Nob Hill's annual event among four shop and strolls planned around ABQ
  
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• Cybersecurity bills would add secrecy to public records laws

  01-12-2015 19:08
  
  WASHINGTON — A proposed law meant to encourage companies to share information about cyberthreats with the U.S. government includes measures that could significantly limit what details, if any, the public can review about the program through federal and state public records laws. The legislation — already passed in both houses of Congress but not yet […]
  
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• UnitedHealth CEO terms ACA exchange growth a ‘bad decision’

  01-12-2015 18:56
  
  UnitedHealth CEO Stephen Hemsley offered a mea culpa Tuesday for his company’s decision to dive deeper into the Affordable Care Act’s public insurance exchanges, a move that ultimately forced the nation’s largest health insurer to cut its earnings forecast. Hemsley told investors that the insurer should have learned more about the still-new business, and expanding […]
  
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• The Latest: Jury says it’s deadlocked in ex-coal CEO trial

  01-12-2015 18:23
  
  CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The latest in the federal trial of Don Blankenship, former CEO of Massey Energy. All times local: Noon: The jury in the trial of ex-Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship says it is deadlocked, but the judge responded with instructions that jurors could reach a partial verdict in the case. Jurors sent U.S. […]
  
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• Texas attorney general back in court over fraud indictment

  01-12-2015 18:14
  
  McKINNEY, Texas — Prosecutors say Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is not entitled to records from the secret grand jury proceedings that led to his felony indictments on securities fraud charges. Paxton appeared Tuesday in court in McKinney for the second time since being indicted in July on charges of defrauding wealthy investors in a […]
  
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• Mother, daughter found after getting stranded in desert

  01-12-2015 18:14
  
  GOODYEAR, Ariz. — A mother and her 11-year-daughter were rescued after getting stranded in the desert on the Phoenix area’s southwestern fringe for several hours overnight. Goodyear police say the woman called 911 late Monday night to report that she had driven into a ditch at the end of a road and gotten stuck in […]
  
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• Puerto Rico’s governor issues ‘distress call’ to Congress

  01-12-2015 18:02
  
  WASHINGTON — Puerto Rico’s governor is issuing a “distress call” to Congress to help his heavily indebted government while signaling he will reroute money to make a Tuesday bond payment. Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla asked Congress to create a legal framework that would give the territory the authority to restructure its liabilities. He said after […]
  
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• Group says only half of female inmates paroled on time

  01-12-2015 17:53
  
  SANTA FE — An advocacy group is calling for lawmakers to reevaluate parole policies, saying only half of female inmates in New Mexico are paroled on time. The Santa Fe News Mexico reports (http://goo.gl/b4j8bJ ) that officials with the New Mexico Women’s Justice Project met with legislators on the Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee on […]
  
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• Report: Drug maker was focused on profits, not patients

  01-12-2015 17:30
  
  WASHINGTON — The makers of a breakthrough drug for hepatitis C put profits before patients in pricing the $1,000 pill that cures the liver-wasting disease, Senate investigators said Tuesday. A bipartisan report from the Senate Finance Committee concluded that California-based Gilead Sciences was focused on maximizing revenue even as the company’s own analysis showed a […]
  
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• Updated: Defense chief: US expanding special operations force in Iraq

  01-12-2015 17:08
  
  WASHINGTON — The U.S. is expanding its special operations force in Iraq and Syria to help fight Islamic State militants, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Tuesday. The additional troops will help Iraqi and Kurdish forces battling IS. Carter told the House Armed Services Committee that over time, these special operators will be able to conduct […]
  
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• Maine woman tapes free coats to light poles for the needy

  01-12-2015 17:08
  
  PORTLAND, Maine — A woman in Portland, Maine, is starting a campaign to encourage people to tape free coats to light poles to help the needy this winter. Gabby Kaper taped several jackets with notes on them in downtown Portland. WCSH-TV (http://on.wcsh6.com/1Xv0tKO ) reports that the notes read: “I am not lost! Please take me […]
  
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• Defense chief: US expanding special operations force in Iraq

  01-12-2015 17:08
  
  WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Ash Carter says the U.S. is expanding the U.S. special operations force in Iraq to help Iraqi and Kurdish forces fight Islamic State militants. Carter told the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that over time, these special operators will be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture […]
  
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• Bush’s agency joins lawsuit alleging federal land overreach

  01-12-2015 17:08
  
  AUSTIN, Texas — Land Commissioner George P. Bush and his little-known but powerful agency, Texas’ General Land Office, joined a lawsuit Tuesday suing the federal government for what the suit calls an unconstitutional seizure of land. Filed last month by seven landowning families, the lawsuit accuses the federal Bureau of Land Management of a “blatant […]
  
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• Feds want New Mexico to repay $16M in bonus payments

  01-12-2015 17:06
  
  Investigators are recommending that New Mexico repay the federal government nearly $16 million they say the state shouldn’t have received under a health insurance program for low-income children. The recommendation comes from the U.S. Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General following a review of enrollment over a five-year period beginning in fiscal year […]
  
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• Century-old altar from France gets restoration in Hobbs

  01-12-2015 17:05
  
  HOBBS — A newly-restored, century old black walnut altar imported from France is helping reshape St. Helena’s Catholic Church in Hobbs. The Hobbs News-Sun reports (http://goo.gl/NtVwdY) that Hobbs artist Lawrence Wilcox has been working to restore the altar for three months. It is the focal point of the remodeled chapel to the left of the […]
  
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• Husband, wife found dead at their Amarillo office

  01-12-2015 17:04
  
  AMARILLO, Texas — Amarillo police say a husband and wife have been found shot to death at their media office. Police say no suspects were being sought following the deaths of 22-year-olds David and Kendal Gisch. Autopsies were ordered. The bodies were discovered Monday morning at GischMedia, a web design company. Police did not immediately […]
  
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• Another New Mexico early child ed proposal get new push

  01-12-2015 17:04
  
  Democrats and a coalition of 40 groups say they will push — again — for legislation that would tap into New Mexico’s permanent land fund to expand childhood education. The coalition is scheduled Tuesday to announce new efforts to get the proposal passed during the 30-day legislation session, which begins in January. Under the proposal, […]
  
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• Woman gets 30 years in prison in foster child’s death

  01-12-2015 17:03
  
  GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — A woman who has pleaded guilty in connection to the death of a foster baby she was caring for has been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison. The Grand Junction Dailey Sentinel reports (http://bit.ly/1Qb3QAI ) that 21-year-old Sydney White was sentenced on Monday to 30 years, plus a consecutive […]
  
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• Texas trooper accused of propositioning woman driver for sex

  01-12-2015 17:03
  
  SAN ANTONIO — A Texas trooper has been arrested after being accused of stopping a driver for speeding and offering her $300 to have sex with him. Bexar (bayr) County magistrate records show Department of Public Safety Trooper Christopher Champion was freed Tuesday after being charged with soliciting prostitution and official oppression. Online jail records […]
  
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• Curry County inmates, jail admin unhappy with price hike

  01-12-2015 17:02
  
  Some Curry County jail inmates are unhappy about price hikes at the jail’s commissary. Jail Administrator Sandra Stewart is joining them in protest. Stewart said she recently learned that Trinity Services Group — which contracts with the jail for commissary items that include snacks, toiletries, writing supplies, clothing, etc. — has closed its Albuquerque distribution […]
  
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