Dispute Over Hatch Chile Labeling Heats Up—Morgan Lee of The Associated Press
A federal appeals court is siding with an association of green chile producers in the Hatch Valley of southern New Mexico in a dispute over what food can be fairly labeled with the renowned Hatch name.
The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ruled in favor of the Hatch Green Chile Association and allied food distributor El Encanto in their efforts to subpoena records that may indicate whether a rival's products contain Hatch chiles as marketing suggests.
The subpoenas could influence the outcome of a related dispute before a federal trademark board over efforts by the Hatch Chile Co. to trademark the term "Hatch" for its exclusive use.
Hatch Chile Association board member Preston Mitchell applauded the decision by a three-judge panel as a step toward reserving the Hatch name for chiles that are certifiably from the Hatch Valley
San Miguel County Pays Out $38,000 To Email Scam—Associated Press, Las Vegas Optic
San Miguel County is out $38,000 after a sophisticated email scam persuaded the county finance supervisor to transfer the funds to an outside account.
The Las Vegas Optic reports that New Mexico State Police is working to figure out who is behind the email, which made it appear that Les Montoya instructed finance supervisor Melinda Gonzales to transfer the money to pay a consultant.
The false email appeared to have been sent from Montoya's iPhone.
Montoya says that if policies and procedures had been followed, the money would not have been transferred.
Similar scams were sent to multiple counties and school districts in the state. Employees from San Miguel County, Zuni Public Schools and Deming Public Schools initiated transfers to the scammers totaling over $100,000, though the schools were able to stop the process.
Trump's 'Mexican' Label Against Judge Brings Up Slur History—Russell Contreras of The Associated Press
Presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump calling a U.S.-born federal judge as a "Mexican" is bringing up the term's history as a slur in the U.S.
The term "Mexican" describes a nationality for a people of a country south of the U.S. But scholars say it also has been used as an epithet against U.S.-born Latinos, to dehumanize them and dismiss them as foreign.
Trump recently used the word "Mexican" to describe U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel. Curiel is an American of Mexican origin, which Trump contends has prevented Curiel from being an objective judge of a lawsuit involving Trump's real estate business education venture.
Trump's remarks drew strong condemnation from Latino activists and Republicans.
California State University, Fullerton professor Alexandro Jose Gradilla says the word 'Mexican' is often a stand-in for one of many closely related slurs targeting Mexican-Americans.
Obama tours caves at Carlsbad Caverns National Park—Darlene Superville of The Associated Press
President Barack Obama and his family are exploring the limestone caves at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico.
Obama is visiting the caverns Friday to draw public attention to America's national parks as the system nears its 100th birthday in August.
Obama, his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha rode an elevator nearly 800 feet down into a cave known as the "Big Room," where a park ranger led them on a tour.
Obama says it was "cool" and "spectacular."
The family plans to visit Yosemite National Park in California on Saturday.
The vacation gives Obama an opportunity to highlight his record on preserving open spaces, boost tourism at national parks and call attention to challenges facing the parks over the next 100 years.