Free Republic

Johnny Depp has been made an honorary member of a tribe in New Mexico, where he is playing a Native American in the film adaptation of "The Lone Ranger." Comanche Nation tribal member LaDonna Harris said Tuesday that the tribal chairman presented Depp with a proclamation at her Albuquerque home on May 16. She says the Comanche adoption tradition means she now considers Depp her son.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Police said a homeowner shot someone who broke into his home in northwest Albuquerque on Sunday morning. The homeowner frantically called 911 after the shooting. Police said the man didn't know the intruder or how he got in. "He had fired numerous rounds at the individual," Sgt. Ferris Simmons said. "The suspect was conscious when police arrived. The homeowner did say he was conscious when he was making the call and crying." ------------cut------------------- "No one ever wants to take another person's life in a situation like this. However, we expect homeowners to defend their families and defend...

The Albuquerque Public Schools superintendent is speaking out after a seven-year-old autistic boy was handcuffed at school. Maria Quesada spoke with KOB Eyewitness News 4 Monday night and said she was outraged to find her son cuffed at school. Photos showed marks left on his wrists. According to APS police documents, the boy was out of control and unplugging cords from outlets, throwing chairs and kicking a teacher and a police officer at Mary Ann Binford Elementary School. Quesada said she does not think the 4-foot tall, 50-pound boy deserved to be handcuffed. Superintendent Winston Brooks spoke Wednesday afternoon, weighing...

Declining an ambulance ride is more complicated than just saying you don’t want one, according to the Albuquerque Fire Department protocols. Patients must meet a variety of standards before they are allowed to decline ambulance transport including alertness, ability to maintain coherent thought and speech, judgment that is not clouded by alcohol or drug use, normal vital signs and a neurologic exam that includes “coordination and gait that is normal or consistent with their past medical history.” A patient also must be “able to reference time/date/place/situation.” If all the criteria are met, the patient must sign a form indicating he...

Walter White has lived a hectic life since learning he has terminal lung cancer, then deciding to apply his skills as a high school chemistry teacher to cook and sell methamphetamine so that, after he's gone, his family will be provided for. During the first three seasons of the AMC drama "Breaking Bad," Walt (played by series star Bryan Cranston) has grappled not only with cancer, but also with a Mexican drug cartel, his tormented wife, a brother-in-law who is a DEA agent, and his unstable partner in crime, Jesse Pinkman (co-star Aaron Paul), a past washout from Walter's chemistry...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A special type of government search warrant that allows authorities to search homes without informing the owner for months is becoming more common, Target 7 has learned. /snip The number of delayed-notice search warrants spiked nationally from nearly 700 in fiscal year 2007 to close to 2,000 in 2009.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A Delta Air Lines flight from Detroit to San Diego has been diverted to Albuquerque, N.M. over what authorities are calling a "potential security threat." Albuquerque International Sunport airport spokesman Daniel Jiron declined to say Sunday what the potential threat was, referring calls to the FBI. FBI spokesman Frank Fisher declined to clarify and said only that agents were investigating. Jiron says the plane is in a "remote location" at the airport. The passengers, who were taken off the plane, are being interviewed. He did not immediately know how many passengers are aboard. The flight, Delta 1706,...

9:40am UPDATE: New Mexico's Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management has activated the state's Emergency Operations Center to a Level 3 operations status because of the effects of the extreme cold in communities across New Mexico, Secretary-Designate Michael S. Duvall said in a news release. Albuquerque Public Safety Director Darren White told KOAT-TV this morning that as many as 20,000 city residents could be without gas service today. Increased demand has led to lower gas pressure around the city and the potential for loss of service, and the city was contacted early this morning and told of the potential...

A man police are calling a would-be burglar lost most of his calf muscles Monday after an Avenida Cañada homeowner shot him at close range with a 12-gauge shotgun. “(The homeowner) said he didn’t have the heart to kill him,” Española Police Lt. Christian Lopez said. “He shot him in the legs.” Joe Quintana, 28, was still in surgery at Española Hospital late Monday evening after he was shot by Joseph McNeil just before 9 a.m., Lopez said. A slug from McNeil’s shotgun tore through Quintana’s right calf muscle, which destroyed it, and went through his left calf, partially removing...

...they do not seem to consider that the main reason why such questions are still being asked of him is because 1) we elected a perfect stranger, 2) if he practices his faith no one seems to see evidence of it, 3) he attended a church for 20 years that held to aberrant theology and in which he did not pay enough attention to catch the race bating and politicization 4) he besmirches the Bible whiles praising the Qur′an and on it goes...

The President of the United States will be making a stop in Albuquerque’s South Valley Tuesday. He’ll arrive the night before spending some time visiting with veteran Andrew Cavalier at his South Valley homes backyard.

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) -- Tourists hurry inside a shop here to buy books about the famed Navajo Code Talkers, warriors who used their native language as their primary weapon. Outside, on a walk sheltered from the sun, nine of the Code Talkers sit at a table autographing the books. Each is an old man now. They wear similar caps and shirts, the scarlet and gold of the Marine Corps, and turquoise jewelry. One of these men, who signs his name as Cpl. Chester Nez, is distinguished from the others......

New Mexico authorities said a former employee shot and killed five people at a business Monday in Albuquerque before turning the gun on herself. Police said officers responded to a 911 call at 9:26 a.m. (11:26 a.m. ET) that multiple shots had been fired. When officers entered the building, they found a total of 10 people shot -- four were dead, including a woman believed to be the shooter,

The city has implemented a new policy that will screen every person who is arrested to see if the person is in the country legally.

Not only was Republican Richard J. Berry elected mayor of Albuquerque yesterday, but the G.O.P. also took control of the Albuquerque City Council, as the New Mexico Independent reports: GOP challenger Richard Berry surprised even himself Tuesday, knocking off longtime Democratic Mayor Martin Chavez and avoiding a two-man runoff while doing it. Berry, a two-term Republican state legislator, bested Chavez in convincing fashion, collecting nearly 44 percent of votes to Chavez’s 35 percent. Richard Romero received nearly 21 percent of the vote. Only provisional ballots remained to be counted early Wednesday. ... City Councilor Michael Cadigan lost a bid Tuesday...

State Rep. Richard Berry scored an impressive victory Tuesday with an outright win over three-term incumbent Martin Chávez to become Albuquerque's next mayor. "We had a message that resonated with voters in Albuquerque, and we worked hard," said Berry, a general contractor and two-term Republican state representative who campaigned as a "common-sense" business owner with conservative themes. ...Berry maintained a 5 percentage point or better lead over Chávez throughout the night and finished above the 40 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff election next month. Richard Romero, the third candidate in the race, was trailing, with about 21 percent....

Richard “RJ” Berry appears to be winning a plurality of the absentee votes posted to the Bernalillo county Web site moments ago. Berry now has 41.62 percent of the vote compared to 36.03 percent for incumbent mayor Martin Chavez and 22.18 percent for former state Pro Tem Richard Romero.

ACORN Registration Forms Found In Apartment During Drug Bust. “A search of a northeast Albuquerque apartment as part of a drug investigation led to the discovery of about a dozen voter registration forms, police said. The forms were filled out and had dates from late last month, Albuquerque police said. Authorities had not determined the authenticity of the forms. The occupant of the apartment, a Cuban national, was arrested on drug charges. He told authorities he obtained the documents while working for the Association of Communities Organized for Reform Now or ACORN.” (“Albuquerque Police Find Voter Registration Forms At...

Tea Party sets up in Rio Rancho Updated: Tuesday, 01 Sep 2009, 12:34 PM MDT Published : Tuesday, 01 Sep 2009, 12:34 PM MDT Reporter: Kaitlin McCarthy Web Producer: Todd Dukart RIO RANCHO, N.M. (KRQE) - Protestors gathered at Haynes Park in Rio Rancho starting Tuesday morning, getting ready for another stop in a national tour of protests against proposed health care reform and government spending. The Tea Party Express tour, organized by a conservative political action committee called the Our Country Deserves Better Committee, is scheduled to wrap up on Sept. 12 in Washington, D.C., where a protest march...

Thousands attend tea party protest in ABQ A vocal crowd of over a thousand people gathered near Montgomery and Louisiana Boulevard in Albuquerque Wednesday to protest the federal government's spending habits. Retired teacher Yvonne Estrada gave up her bowling night to join thousands of other New Mexicans Wednesday who turned out to voice their concerns about the economy and the federal government's spending habits. Estrada says she's worried about where America is headed. She joined a march of several hundred people along a busy Albuquerque street during rush hour. Her sign read, "I am not your ATM." Estrada says she...