Free Republic

The Obama administration will announce the establishment of regional hubs focused on mitigating climate change on Wednesday. The hubs are the first-ever regional centers that will focus solely on risk adaptation and climate change solutions at seven locations across the country. "On the heels of passage of the farm bill, the administration will take executive action to help farmers, ranchers and rural communities combat climate change and adapt to extreme weather and other damage it causes," a White House official said in an email ahead of Wednesday's announcement. Dubbed "climate hubs," the new centers will address issues like increasing risks...

Old Mexico Lives On Feb 1st 2014 On February 2nd 1848, following a short and one-sided war, Mexico agreed to cede more than half its territory to the United States. An area covering most of present-day Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, plus parts of several other states, was handed over to gringolandia. The rebellious state of Tejas, which had declared its independence from Mexico in 1836, was recognised as American soil too. But a century and a half later, communities have proved more durable than borders. (snip)

(snip) The story unfolds: Traveling by commercial airlines from Albuquerque, NM to LasVegas,NV, (Police Chief) Harger was asked by TSA to show his credentials. Minutes later a man flashed a badge claiming to be a federal agent (agency unknown) also demanding to see Harger’s credentials. (snip) The following morning, Harger was informed by Sheriff Douglas C. Wood of Sandoval County, New Mexico, that Harger was to dismantle the Jamez Springs Police Department. (be sure to click through and read the whole thing)

Jacob Williams, convicted in 2008 of driving drunk when he killed a motorcyclist and left a woman paralyzed, now faces an identical set of charges for allegedly killing another motorcyclist – who happens to be the brother of the judge that sentenced Williams to prison in the earlier case. Williams, 27, of Bosque in Valencia County, was charged Monday with driving drunk after his pickup veered over a center line, killing Daniel Sanchez, 51, and seriously injuring his 11-year-old daughter, Magen Sanchez. Sanchez’s brother, state District Court Judge William Sanchez of Los Lunas, presided in an April 2008 case in...

You might not expect a child with Down syndrome to grow up and become a small-business owner — but that’s exactly what Tim Harris did. From the time he was 14 years old, his parents say, Harris was determined to own a restaurant. His dream came true several years ago when his father helped him get it off the ground. Today, “Tim’s Place” is thriving in the business of “breakfast, lunch and hugs.” The “Tim’s Place” website offers a famous quote from Walt Disney to explain the driving force behind his dream: “If you can dream it, you can do...

The facts 1. There are 21 US Senate seats held by Democrats in the 2014 election. 2. There are nine US Senate seats held by Democrats in the 2016 election. This is likely to be 10 due to a special election in HI in 2014. 3. Republicans need to pick up six senate seats to have a majority. The Analysis The failures of ObamaCare and broken promises by Democrat senators create a target rich environment in 2014. This is a year Republicans have to do well. Winning a majority in the senate by only one seat or maintaining the status...

A former New Mexico state police officer who fired shots at a minivan during a chaotic traffic stop last year had no idea the vehicle was full of children and his "heart sank" when he finally realized it, he told ABC News in an exclusive interview. Elias Montoya, 53, was terminated in December after he fired three shots at the vehicle carrying a mother and her five children ranging in ages from 6 and 16. Montoya fired the shots after a routine traffic stop evolved into an intense encounter that included a high-speed chase. "My heart sank when they finally...

Dash-cam video released Thursday shows a State Police officer running toward and alongside the car driven by Jeanette Anaya and firing multiple times into the Honda sedan as he screams expletives and for the occupants to get their hands up. Anaya’s car did back into officer Oliver Wilson’s cruiser, apparently narrowly missing Wilson himself, but the video shows that the Honda was moving away from Wilson as most of his 16 shots were fired. Anaya, 39, was hit and killed by two of Wilson’s shots, following a vehicle chase that started when Wilson tried to pull her over for a...

We’re from the government and we’re here to help. One in seven Obamacare navigators in New Mexico is listed in the FBI’s crime information database.But these “experts” are here to serve you.New Mexico Watchdog reported: An investigation by the National Review, one of the leading conservative media outlets in the country, reports that one in seven navigators in New Mexico hired to help consumers work their way through the Affordable Care Act appeared on the FBI’s National Crime Information Center database.But an official with the state’s Affordable Care Act Implementation Projects emphasizes that while a person’s name may turn up on the FBI database, it does not mean they pose any risk to...

Suspect was taken to two hospitals and subjected to anal probes over suspicion of hiding drugs ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A city and county in southern New Mexico have settled a lawsuit filed by a man taken to two hospitals and subjected to anal probes over suspicion of hiding drugs, the man's lawyer said Monday. According to attorneys for David Eckert, Hidalgo County and the city of Deming recently settled their portion of a lawsuit for a total of $1.6 million. The lawsuit, filed against police and sheriff's officials in Deming and Hidalgo County, which borders Mexico, alleges Deming police sought...

New Mexico lawmakers want to lower the bar for high school graduates. The state already has one of the lowest graduation rates in the country. The new plan establishes two kinds of diplomas—the current diploma of “excellence,” and a “general” one. …

For years, American students have consistently ranked poorly compared to most developed nations. And according to a recently released study, the U.S. education system remains mediocre, receiving a C− grade, for the third year in a row. Click here to see the states with the best school systemsClick here to see the states with the worst school systemsEducation news and research publication Education Week released its 18th annual survey of the status of education in all 50 states. The K-12 Achievement Index is one indicator in Education Week’s “Quality Counts” report that measures key education outcomes and provides ranks and...

<p>ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) - Police say there has been a shooting at a Roswell middle school in New Mexico.</p>

City, county settle NM 'anal probe' lawsuit ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A city and county in southern New Mexico have settled a lawsuit filed by man taken to two hospitals and forced to have anal probes over suspicion of hiding drugs. Attorney for David Eckert said Monday that Hidalgo County and the city of Deming recently settled their portion of a lawsuit for a total $1.6 million. The lawsuit, filed against police and sheriff's officials in Deming and Hidalgo County, which borders Mexico, alleges Deming police sought a search warrant for Eckert because they thought he appeared to be clenching his...

State law provides a fundamental right to a terminally ill, competent patient to choose a physician’s aid in getting prescription medications that will allow a peaceful death, a state judge ruled Monday in a seminal case. Second Judicial District Judge Nan Nash said Drs. Katherine Morris and Aroop Mangalik, both oncologists at the University of New Mexico Hospital, could not be prosecuted under the state’s Assisted Suicide Statute, which is defined as the act of “deliberately aiding another in the taking of his own life.” The practice recognizes that the patient is dying from his or her underlying disease and...

CIA official's John Rizzo's revelations in new book, Company Man: Thirty Years of Controversy and Crisis in the CIA, establish beyond peradventure of doubt that the Plame case was a hoax, stirred up by her husband and Patrick Fitzgerald. See these excerpts from the book:

When this case first appeared, at the height of the first exposure of  the Fast and Furious scandal, it was highlighted as an example of smuggling to the Mexican cartels that was *not* a part of the operation.    It might or might not be significant that the BATFE agent quoted in the article is William Newell, who had a significant role in Fast and Furious, and whose testimony before congress became infamous. Now, one of the victims of the prosecution is able to tell a bit of his story.   He was never allowed bail from the time he was...

SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico became the latest state to legalize gay marriage Thursday as its highest court declared it is unconstitutional to deny marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. Justice Edward L. Chavez said in a ruling that none of New Mexico's marriage statutes specifically prohibits same-gender marriages, but the state's laws as a whole have prevented gay and lesbian couples from marrying. The justices said same-sex couples are a discrete group that has been subjected to a history of discrimination and violence....

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's highest court has legalized same-sex marriage, declaring it is unconstitutional to deny a marriage license to gay and lesbian couples. The state Supreme Court issued its ruling Thursday. New Mexico joins 16 states and the District of Columbia in allowing gay marriage. Eight of the state's 33 counties have started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples since August, when a county clerk in southern New Mexico independently decided to allow the unions.

The New Mexico and Texas chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union are suing border officers and a hospital after they allegedly subjected a U.S. citizen to numerous invasive body cavity searches without a warrant. Included in the lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in West Texas are four U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and the University Medical Center of El Paso, among others. The lawsuit alleges CBP officers frisked and strip-searched a 54-year-old woman and then delivered her in handcuffs to the hospital, where doctors observed a bowel movement and performed invasive rectal and vaginal probes, among...