Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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SANTA FE — Republican lawmakers proposed Thursday to significantly revamp New Mexico's governmental finance system by relying more on taxing people and businesses on what they consume and spend rather than the income they earn. Rep. Tom Taylor and Sen. Bill Sharer, both of Farmington, outlined their proposal Thursday but conceded it's a work-in-progress and not fully clear how the tax burdens of individuals and businesses will change. "It may overtax some areas and we need to understand all of that before we cast this t...
SANTA FE — As other states move to provide driver's licenses to immigrants unlawfully in the country, New Mexico has renewed a battle over a proposal by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez to stop granting licenses to illegal immigrants. A House committee on Tuesday shelved the governor's proposal but the issue isn't likely to go away in the Legislature. The Labor and Human Resources Committee voted 5-4 along party lines to keep the measure bottled up in the panel — a possible way for majority Democrats to try to delay act...
WASHINGTON — Plans to base unarmed American surveillance drones in the African nation of Niger highlight the Obama administration's growing concern about extremist influences in the volatile region. They also raise tough questions about how to contain al-Qaida and other militant groups without committing U.S. ground forces in yet another war. In the short run, a drone base would enable the U.S. to give France more intelligence on the militants that French troops are fighting in neighboring Mali. Over time it could extend t... Full story
ATLANTA — Commemorative events for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. slid seamlessly into celebrations of the swearing-in Monday of the nation's first black president, with many Americans moved by the reminder of how far the country has come since the 1960s. "This is the dream that Dr. King talked about in his speech. We see history in the making," said Joyce Oliver, who observed King Day by visiting the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., built on the site of the old Lorraine Motel, where King was assassinated i... Full story
SANTA FE — As the New Mexico Legislature returned to work Tuesday, Republican Gov. Susana Martinez used her State of the State address to press lawmakers to focus on boosting New Mexico's struggling economy. Martinez spoke to a joint session of the House and Senate after lawmakers convened for a 60-day session, taking the opportunity to say that diversifying New Mexico's economy was needed to protect the state from a federal government that she called "dysfunctional." Economic and budget issues were possible common ground f...
WASHINGTON — Air Force leaders will cut flying hours by nearly 20 percent and prepare for a possible end to all noncombat or noncritical flights from late July through September if Congress can't agree on a budget and billions of dollars in automatic cuts are triggered. In an Air Force internal memo obtained by The Associated Press, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley laid out broad but grim steps the service will be taking in coming days and weeks to enforce a civilian hiring freeze, cancel air show appearances and f... Full story
WASHINGTON — Air Force leaders will cut flying hours by nearly 20 percent and prepare for a possible end to all noncombat or noncritical flights from late July through September if Congress can't agree on a budget and billions of dollars in automatic cuts are triggered. In an Air Force internal memo obtained by The Associated Press, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley laid out broad but grim steps the service will be taking in coming days and weeks to enforce a civilian hiring freeze, cancel air show appearances and f... Full story
HONOLULU — President Barack Obama signed a $633 billion defense bill for next year despite serious concerns about the limits Congress imposed on his handling of terror suspects and lawmakers' unwillingness to back the cost-saving retirement of aging ships and aircraft. Obama had threatened to veto the measure because of a number of concerns, but relented because he couldn't pick and choose specific sections. However, in a statement, the president spelled out his concerns about restrictions on his ability to carry out his c...
WASHINGTON — Racing the clock, the White House reached a New Year's Eve accord with Senate Republicans late Monday to neutralize across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts in government programs due to take effect at midnight, according to administration and Senate Democratic officials. Under the deal, taxes would remain steady for the middle class and rise at incomes over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples — levels higher than President Barack Obama had campaigned for in his successful drive for a sec...
ALBUQUERQUE — A troubled New Mexico peanut butter plant that had its licensed yanked after being linked to a widespread salmonella outbreak reached a deal Friday to resume some operations the day after Christmas under the watchful eye of federal regulators. A consent decree filed in federal court says Sunland Inc., the nation's largest organic peanut butter producer, can reopen if it hires an independent expert to develop a sanitation plan, which then must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Conditions at the p... Full story
ALBUQUERQUE — The New Mexico peanut butter company that was shuttered after a salmonella outbreak will reopen its peanut processing facility on Tuesday and hopes to be making peanut butter again by the end of the year, officials said. Sunland Inc. spokeswoman Katalin Coburn said officials are eager to begin working on this year's crop, which is about 98 percent harvested. "We have lots of peanuts in the barn, so it's time to start shelling," she said Monday. "Starting (Tuesday) I think we are beginning with one regular s... Full story
Democrats strengthened their hold on the Senate but failed Tuesday to recapture the majority in the House of Representatives they lost two years ago. President Barack Obama, in his freshly authorized second term, will face the same divided Congress in 2013 that has bedeviled efforts to enact his major legislation. "Now that the election is over, it's time to put politics aside and work together to find solutions," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who may have a slightly bigger working majority — but not as b...
President Pro Tem Tim Jennings of Roswell has lost his Senate seat after 34 years. He was the highest-profile Democratic target of a ferocious campaign by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and her political allies. The other top Senate Democrat with a bull's-eye on his back, Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, fended off his GOP opponent Tuesday, according to unofficial results. Jennings lost his District 32 seat to GOP newcomer Cliff Pirtle, according to complete but unofficial election returns giving Pirtle 52 percent of the...
WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania has turned out to be safe for the Democrats after all. The state's 20 electoral votes are going to President Barack Obama. Pennsylvania had been considered to be in Obama's column for much of the campaign. But in recent days, as polls appeared to narrow, Mitt Romney's campaign saw an opportunity. There was a late advertising blitz for Romney, and the candidate added visits to Pennsylvania Sunday and again on Election Day. Voters in Indiana have rejected one of the two Republican Senate candidates w...
WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania has turned out to be safe for the Democrats after all. The state's 20 electoral votes are going to President Barack Obama. Pennsylvania had been considered to be in Obama's column for much of the campaign. But in recent days, as polls appeared to narrow, Mitt Romney's campaign saw an opportunity. There was a late advertising blitz for Romney, and the candidate added visits to Pennsylvania Sunday and again on Election Day. Voters in Indiana have rejected one of the two Republican Senate candidates w...
ALBUQUERQUE — Elections officials in Sandoval County are preparing for a long night. With hundreds of people lined up outside Rio Rancho City Hall just before polls were closing, officials say it will be hours before they process all the voters and get their ballots tallied. Sandoval County Clerk Sally B. Padilla told the AP that results from voting at poll sites Tuesday will be delayed until midnight because of long lines. Early votes were being released at 7 p.m. and absentee results were expected at 9 p... Full story
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama won re-election Tuesday night despite a fierce challenge from Republican Mitt Romney, prevailing in the face of a weak economy and high unemployment that encumbered his first term and crimped the middle class dreams of millions. "This happened because of you. Thank you" Obama tweeted to supporters as he secured four more years in the White House. The president sealed his victory in Ohio, Iowa, New Hampshire and Colorado, four of the nine battleground states where the two rivals and their a... Full story
ALBUQUERQUE — The state that produced the peanut butter at the center of a growing national recall on Friday said it has identified its first victim of the salmonella outbreak, a 5-year-old girl from the eastern New Mexico county where the peanuts are grown and processed. The New Mexico Health Department said it confirmed the girl from Roosevelt County had been sickened by the same bacteria that had been found in Trader Joe's Valencia Creamy Peanut Butter and the Sunland Inc. plant where it was produced. To date, most cases h... Full story
ALBUQUERQUE — A convicted child killer who escaped from a New Mexico prison and was recently captured in Mexico had become an assassin for the hyper-violent Zetas cartel, authorities said Friday. New Mexico Ninth Judicial District Attorney Matt Chandler told reporters at a conference of governors of U.S. and Mexico border states in Albuquerque that Edward Salas was known to authorities as a "sicario" — a name commonly used to describe a cartel-hired hit man. But it was unclear just how many assassinations —if any — he migh...
Alamogordo 34, Hobbs 14 Aztec 57, Del Norte 17 Capitan 54, NMMI 0 Carlsbad 59, Rio Grande 6 Carrizozo 52, Floyd 2 Centennial High School 30, Hatch Valley 23 Cleveland 49, Highland 6 Clint Mountain View, Texas 28, Chaparral 7 Cobre 41, Zuni 8 Deming 14, Silver 12 EP Cathedral, Texas 21, Santa Teresa 18 Escalante 42, Clayton 28 Eunice 26, Tucumcari 14 Farmington 21, St. Pius 13 Gateway Christian 66, Melrose 14 Goddard 51, Clovis 21 Hagerman 54, Mescalero Apache 0 Kirtland Central 28, Gallup 20 Laguna-Acoma 35, West Las Vegas 20... Full story
U.S. banks have been buffeted by more than a week of powerful cyberattacks, but the mystery surrounding their perpetrators lingers. One expert said Friday that he was suspicious of claims of responsibility purportedly made by Islamists angry at an anti-Muslim movie made in the United States, explaining that the widely-circulated Internet postings might have been an attempt to deflect attention from the true culprit. "In the intelligence world, we call that a 'false flag,"' said Mike Smith, whose Web security company Akamai... Full story
ALBUQUERQUE — A peanut butter plant in Portales has been shut down since Saturday after an outbreak of salmonella was linked to the facility. The Sunland, Inc., plant is being scrubbed top to bottom and tests are being done to see if the bacteria is on the peanut butter-making equipment. Sunland officials say the rest of their processing facilities continue to operate. Trader Joe's Valencia Creamy Peanut Butter with Sea Salt made at the plant is suspected in the salmonella outbreak. Twelve of the 29 people who are sick all a...
A Sunland peanut silo. Sunland Inc. is recalling 76 types of peanut butter after one product was linked to a Salmonella outbreak. WASHINGTON — A New Mexico-based company is recalling 76 types of peanut butter and almond butter after one of its products was linked to a salmonella outbreak at Trader Joe's groceries. Sunland Inc. recalled the products under multiple brand names after the Food and Drug Administration and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention l...
ALBUQUERQUE — Drought-stricken New Mexico is anxiously awaiting the leftovers of storms that have drenched Las Vegas and other cities in the West. The National Weather Service in Albuquerque says the upper level system moving in from the West is expected to collide Wednesday with a cold front moving down through the heart of the state. The combination will likely result in some of the most significant rainfall parched areas of northern New Mexico have seen all year. Forecaster David Craft describes it as "a unique setup" w...
ALBUQUERQUE — A federal judge has sentenced a former national guardsman to 10 years in prison for child sexual exploitation. U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales announced Tuesday that 44-year-old Jeffrey Neal Jackson was sentenced following his guilty plea in April to a two-count indictment charging him with coercion and enticement of a minor. Authorities say Jackson was a National Guard military recruiter and stationed in Lubbock, Texas, when he was arrested in November. Prosecutors say Jackson admitted to that he responded t... Full story
