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Petraeus: Al Qaida Trying to 'Come Back In' U.S. military officials said there will be no significant reduction in coalition troops in the Baghdad area as part of an effort to stop the Al Qaida offensive in northern Iraq. They said Al Qaida was trying to reenter Baghdad and reverse its losses in 2007. "Al Qaida is trying to come back in," U.S. military commander Gen. David Petraeus said. "We can feel it and see it, and what we're trying to do is rip out any roots before they can get deeply into the ground." Read More Militants Assert...

DEMING, N.M. (AP) - The police chief of a Mexican border town has requested asylum in the United States, where he told authorities his two officers have fled and he does not know their whereabouts. The Luna County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Border Patrol say Emilio Perez of Palomas came to the port of entry at Columbus late Tuesday night, requesting political asylum. The agent-in-charge of the Border Patrol station in Deming, Rick Moody, says Perez is in the protection of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Authorities have reported an increase in drug-related violence in Palomas, where at...

03/17/2008: "Eco-Terrorism On Orcas" ”I did it to punish the rich white people of Orcas Island and make them pay for the death of the whales and the depletion of the rain forests” -Mondragon Gabriel Thomas Mondragon, 29 years old, who recently arrived from New Mexico, explained to Sheriff’s Deputies that in an attempt to make the people on Orcas “suffer just like the whales and trees”, he attempted to use a tree limbing saw -on a metal pole- to cut through a 69,000 volt power line.

New Mexico Democratic officials still don't know who won the Super Tuesday presidential caucuses -- and may not for days. New Mexico is the only state of the 22 in Tuesday's primaries and caucuses without a declared winner. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., led Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois by 1,123 votes statewide Thurday, the Albuquerque Journal said, with results hinging on nearly 17,000 provisional ballots. The Democrats may start counting those Thursday. Provisional ballots are issued to voters who show up at the wrong site or have problems confirming their registration and vote by affidavit. There were problems at the...

New Mexico is cruising into the legal fight over California's "clean car" program. The state and local air-quality boards voted about midnight Tuesday to enact strict low-emission standards for new cars and trucks. But the sweeping regulations already face a legal challenge from the auto industry and four state lawmakers. Their lawsuit— filed earlier Tuesday, before the regulations had been adopted— says the state Environmental Improvement Board lacks authority to adopt the regulations. If successful, the suit could result in the pollution regulations going before the Legislature next year. "The point is not whether those emission regulations are a good...

New Mexico's political scene continues its upheaval after Sen. Pete Domenici's announcement that he plans to retire at the end of his term. Rep. Tom Udall's office confirmed to Action 7 News Political Reporter Matt Grubs this afternoon that the Northern New Mexico Democrat might run. "New Mexicans have urged Tom Udall to reconsider running for the United States Senate and he's doing just that," said Udall spokesperson Marissa Padilla. If Udall decides on a senatorial run, he would face several Democrats who have already declared their candidacy. The most-recognized name among them is Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez. Should Udall...

Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson is Playboy Magazine’s December interview, the first of the 2008 presidential hopefuls to sit down with the magazine. “Yeah, I swear. Yeah, I smoke a cigar occasionally. Yeah, I make mistakes. The American people should know who I am. I’m overweight; I’m trying to lose weight. But I’m comfortable with who I am,” Richardson says, “I don’t mope around at night worrying that I didn’t look good on Jay Leno — though I saw myself, and though I’ve lost 30 pounds I’ve got to lose more.” Richardson also pledges to run a clean campaign, “I...

 XXV BORDER GOVERNORS CONFERENCESEPTEMBER 27 & 28, 2007PUERTO PEÑASCO, SONORA JOINT DECLARATIONPREAMBLEThe Governors of the states of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas, of the United States of America, and the states of Baja California, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon, Sonora and Tamaulipas, of the United Mexican States, meeting in the City of Puerto Peñasco, Sonora on the 27th and 28th of September, 2007, having analyzed, within the framework of the XXV U.S.–Mexico Border Governors Conference, issues relating to Water, Agriculture and Livestock, Science and Technology, Logistics and International Crossings, Economic Development, Education, Energy, the Environment, Health, Border Safety, Tourism and...

GALLUP, N.M. -- Gallup police reported a bizarre set of circumstances following a recent emergency call to the home of Roman Catholic Bishop Donald Pelotte. The most recent event happened Thursday when Gallup police reported receiving an emergency call from Pelotte, 62. An incident report from the McKinley Metropolitan Dispatch Authority reported that Pelotte told operators "...gentle little people, about 3 to 4 feet tall, and wearing Halloween masks" were in the hall. The dispatch log reported that Pelotte said he hid in a closet while the people were in his home. The report said Pelotte offered conflicting information about...

Editor, We wish to respond to the recent incident involving the desecration of the Mexican national flag that was raised Friday on the south side of Scholes Hall. The incident is still being investigated, but what we do know at this point is that after a ceremony celebrating the Mexican independence day - Dieciseis de Septiembre - the flag that was raised during the celebration was subsequently taken down and, as we understand it, ripped to shreds. We understand that a suspect has been apprehended by the police, but the investigation is still ongoing at this time. We want it...

A University of New Mexico student who tore down the Mexican flag from a school flagpole said Monday he was upset because the university was flying another nation's flag without the U.S. flag. "I was livid with the situation, and it wasn't the fact that it was the Mexican flag," said Peter Lynch, a mechanical engineering student who served in the U.S. military for nearly eight years. "It was the fact that it was any foreign banner." He said he was particularly upset that it happened on Constitution Day, Sept. 17, and that university officials did nothing to rectify the...

Peter Lynch never imagined that pulling a Mexican flag from a university flagpole and ripping it apart would thrust him into the center of a nationwide argument. Lynch, a University of New Mexico student and Air Force veteran, said he was angry on Sept. 17 when he saw the Mexican flag flying without the United States flag, a violation of flag etiquette. "I was livid with the situation, and it wasn't the fact that it was the Mexican flag," said Lynch, 30. "It was the fact that it was any foreign banner." UNM police charged Lynch with misdemeanor criminal damage...

The newest defendant in the Metropolitan Courthouse construction scandal worked briefly as a consultant for the state Transportation Department on its two planned office redevelopments in Santa Fe. Michael Murphy, a construction manager, is among five defendants in the Metro Court case in Albuquerque to be linked to one or both of the DOT projects. Murphy is accused in a grand jury indictment returned Aug. 23 of using his job as construction manager to take part in a conspiracy to skim $4.2 million from the courthouse construction. He has pleaded not guilty. The Transportation Department acknowledged Murphy's consultant role on...

The state of New Mexico has issued an estimated 30,000 driver's licenses to foreign nationals, requiring them to present only one form of identification such as a card issued by the Mexican consulate. And the Richardson administration has fought tooth and nail to keep from providing a list of those licenses to state Republican Party officials who want to cross-check them against the rolls of registered voters. The GOP argument is that the licenses, which aren't distinguishable from those issued to citizens, can be used as identification to register to vote— which non-citizens are not allowed to do. So far,...

E.W. Scripps Looking for Buyer for Albuquerque Tribune CINCINNATI (AP) -- Newspaper publisher E.W. Scripps Co. said Tuesday it is seeking a buyer for The Albuquerque Tribune, an afternoon newspaper based in Albuquerque, N.M. that publishes Monday through Saturday. E.W. Scripps will shut down the newspaper if it cannot find a "qualified" buyer, but did not indicate how long it will search for a new investor or what price it was seeking for the newspaper. The Albuquerque Tribune currently has a joint operating agreement with the Albuquerque Journal, the daily morning newspaper in the city. That deal, which is scheduled...

Gov. Bill Richardson on Monday ordered the state Department of Transportation to expand an investigation to include both of its proposed redevelopments in Santa Fe. At least two defendants in the Metropolitan Courthouse construction scandal in Albuquerque have links to the DOT projects.-SNIP- Meanwhile, Santa Fe businessman Gerald Peters held a fundraiser for Richardson's presidential campaign last week in Jackson, Wyo., as a Peters company held confidential contract talks on the headquarters projects with the Transportation Department. -SNIP- Peters also was a contributor to Richardson's gubernatorial campaign fund, as was Jaguar Development and Dellaportas. Finance reports for Richardson's re-election campaign...

A Republican-led campaign is sending autodialed phone messages to thousands of voters, asking them to complain to the mayor that Albuquerque police are too lenient with undocumented immigrants. "Under Marty Chávez's leadership, the Albuquerque Police Department will no longer report criminal illegal aliens to immigration officials," the message says. "The police have been ordered to turn a blind eye to criminal illegal aliens. Even violent felons ..." But Chávez and Albuquerque Police Department Chief Ray Schultz say that's flat-out wrong. "Anyone (who is) under arrest or is under investigation can be reported to INS," Schultz said. However, he said police...

WASHINGTON— Gov. Bill Richardson finally stood out in a presidential forum Thursday night— but not the way he wanted. The New Mexico governor, participating in a Democratic forum on gay issues in Los Angeles, declared that homosexuality is "a choice" rather than biologically determined. The governor's campaign issued a clarification of his statement immediately after the forum, but it still triggered an avalanche of criticism from bloggers and pundits across the political spectrum. Melissa Etheridge, a lesbian rock star and forum panelist, prompted the governor's political fumble. "Do you think homosexuality is a choice, or is it biological?" Etheridge asked....

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Gov. Bill Richardson weighed in Friday on the Desert Rock power plant planned for the Four Corners, saying he is "gravely concerned" about the plant's effects on the environment. He said the plant would dirty the air and use scarce water and is "a step in the wrong direction." Desert Rock is a coal-powered plant planned for a piece of the Navajo reservation southwest of Farmington. It would produce power for growing Southwestern populations, specifically the Phoenix and Las Vegas, Nev., areas. The plant has been welcomed by Navajo Nation officials, both for the jobs it would bring to the...