Albuquerque City Council Oks Police Agreement – The Associated Press
The Albuquerque City Council has endorsed an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department aimed at overhauling the troubled police department of New Mexico's most populous city amid accusations of excessive force.
The council approved the plan on an 8-0 vote during a special meeting Thursday evening. City officials are to sign it next week.
City and department officials last month announced the agreement to overhaul Albuquerque's police department, which calls for new training and protocols for investigating officer shootings.
It also calls for the agency to dismantle some units, including the troubled Repeat Offender Project unit. Federal officials said the unit had morphed into a separate tactical operation with little supervision.
A federal monitor will be chosen to keep tabs on whether the department is following the agreement.
Republican Majority To Elect House Leadership - The Associated Press
State House Republicans are scrambling for leadership positions in the wake of their historic win in the election, gaining a majority for the first time in generations.
GOP members meet over the weekend to select their leadership slate for the upcoming legislative session.
Rep. Don Tripp of Socorro says he's interested in becoming speaker of the House, which is the most powerful position in the Legislature. Tripp has served in the House since 1999.
The GOP will nominate one of its members to become speaker. However, the top leadership post won't become final until a vote in January by all 70 members — Republicans and Democrats.
The GOP gained enough seats in Tuesday's election to take control of the House for the first time in 60 years.
Space Tourism Pilot's Survival Hailed As A Miracle But Not Unique - The Associated Press
The survival of a test pilot who safely parachuted from a spacecraft that disintegrated over the Mojave Desert is being hailed as a miracle.
Virgin Galactic chief executive George Whitesides said this week that it was amazing Peter Siebold was in relatively good shape after last week's disaster.
Siebold was piloting SpaceShipTwo last Friday. Co-pilot Michael Alsbury, 39, was killed.
Siebold is flight operations director at Scaled Composites, which built the aircraft.The crash was a setback for Virgin's quest to fly space tourists to altitudes more than 62 miles above Earth for a few moments of weightlessness at a price of $250,000 each
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. Preliminary results show a system to slow the space plane's descent deployed too soon.
New Report Details UNM Women's Soccer Hazing - The Associated Press
A new report into the New Mexico women's soccer team hazing scandal says players were forced to perform "inappropriate gestures" with frozen hot dogs and kiss the buttocks of upperclassmen.
The University of New Mexico's internal investigation released Thursday said the practice was part of an ongoing tradition and the authors expressed concern.
In August, two players hospitalized from excessive alcohol consumption as part of a hazing episode. New Mexico later suspended women's soccer coach Kit Vela for a week without pay and suspended 22 players for one game.
New Mexico athletic director Paul Krebs says there was nothing new in the report and school officials had already addressed the allegations.
The report says the hazing episode lasted more than two hours.
Awesome Birds Migrate To New Mexico But Don't Feed Them - The Associated Press & KOB
Sandhill Cranes are migrating to central New Mexico and officials are warning residents not to feed the majestic birds.
KOB-TV reports that Albuquerque Open Space Superintendent Matt Schmader is cautioning residents not to especially feed the cranes corn, which can be destructive to the animals. He says the birds enjoy worms, insects and a wide range of grain.
Schmader says the cranes come all the way from the Arctic Circle, Alaska and Northern Canada, and fly 5,000 miles into the Rio Grande Valley every late fall and winter.
The cranes travel around the Rio Grande Valley during the day, and don't stay in one place for too long.
Officials say this is a natural defense to evade coyotes and other predators.
Ex-Inmate Wants To Search Closed New Mexican Prison - The Associated Press
A former New Mexico prison inmate is seeking a court order allowing him to search a now-closed state penitentiary to search and dig for evidence of mistreatment of prisoners.
Samuel P. Chavez's Oct. 23 filing in state District Court said he's seeking proof for his claim that the state conducted medical experiments on prisoners, tortured them and sold their organs and blood.
Chavez's filing said he buried evidence at the prison south of Santa Fe, where he served time on a murder conviction in a 1988 Las Cruces killing. He was released from prison in January 2012 and his parole expired in January.
Corrections Department spokeswoman Alex Tomlin says there's nothing to indicate that Chavez's allegations are true.
A judge has not scheduled a hearing on Chavez's motion.
Ex-New Mexico Deputy In Deputy Killing Indicted - The Associated Press
A former northern New Mexico sheriff's deputy accused of killing a fellow deputy during an alcohol-fueled argument has been indicted.
A grand jury in Las Cruces indicted former Santa Fe County Sheriff's Deputy Tai Chan on first-degree murder for the death of Deputy Jeremy Martin.
Authorities say Chan fatally shot Martin at a Las Cruces hotel last month after they drank at a nightspot and got into a heated argument. Police say they were staying at the hotel after dropping off a prisoner in Arizona.
Chan pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance.
Albuquerque District Releases Info On Former Chief - The Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal
New information shows an attorney was hired to look into accusations of intimidation and retaliation involving former Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Winston Brooks before he resigned.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the district this week released a new document on the mysterious departure of Brooks after a public records request from the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government.
The document, a prepared statement that board President AnaleeMaestas read to board members over the phone in July, revealed plans to hire attorney Agnes Padilla to investigate the allegations.
Brooks resigned Aug. 15 after the board agreed to buy out the last two years of his contract for $350,000.
Both sides declined to elaborate on his resignation.
Police: New Mexico's Walker Accused Of Assault - The Associated Press
The captain of the University of New Mexico women's basketball team has been suspended from the team indefinitely after being arrested and accused of assaulting her boyfriend.
According to a criminal complaint, 22-year-old Ebony Walker threw a knife at her boyfriend after they argued at her apartment Tuesday night.
Albuquerque police say she was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault on a household member and domestic violence.
A neighbor told officers she saw Walker chase her boyfriend through the apartment complex's parking lot and throw a knife which didn't hit him.
Lobos coach Yvonne Sanchez announced Walker's suspension yesterday and says she will at least sit out Sunday's exhibition game at home against Eastern New Mexico.
Sampling Detects Contamination At Nuke Repository - The Associated Press
Officials at the nation's only underground nuclear waste repository say a pair of air samplers detected low levels of radioactive contamination after workers restarted one of the fans at the facility in southeastern New Mexico.
They confirmed Thursday the contamination was well below levels that would affect worker health or the environment.
The fan was restarted in October as part of the lengthy process of bringing the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant back online after a canister of waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory leaked inside a storage room.
That radiological release in February contaminated 22 workers and forced the plant's closure.
Officials had expected some residual contamination in the adjacent ductwork and the interior workings of the fan since it was running for two months following the incident.
Ex-Inmate Wants To Search Closed New Mexico Prison - The Associated Press
A former New Mexico prison inmate is seeking a court order allowing him to search a now-closed state penitentiary to search and dig for evidence of mistreatment of prisoners.
Samuel P. Chavez's Oct. 23 filing in state District Court said he's seeking proof for his claim that the state conducted medical experiments on prisoners, tortured them and sold their organs and blood.
Chavez's filing said he buried evidence at the prison south of Santa Fe, where he served time on a murder conviction in a 1988 Las Cruces killing. He was released from prison in January 2012 and his parole expired in January.
Corrections Department spokeswoman Alex Tomlin says there's nothing to indicate that Chavez's allegations are true.
A judge has not scheduled a hearing on Chavez's motion.
Deming Doctor Pleads Guilty To Federal Drug Charge - The Associated Press and Deming Headlight
A Deming doctor has pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge for ordering an unapproved chemotherapy drug from a Canadian supplier and providing it to patients.
Dr. Mohamed Basel Aswad pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Cruces to a charge of unlawful introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce.
The Deming Headlight reports that a plea agreement calls for Aswad to be sentenced to three years of probation and to pay $1.3 million of restitution. He'll also be required to forfeit $750,000.
Aswad said his actions were unintentional.
According to court filings, Aswad is a board-certified oncologist who has maintained a medical practice in Deming since 2007, where he treats cancer patients.
Study: Amtrak Shift Would Cause New Mexico Losses - The Associated Press
A new state-commissioned report concludes New Mexico would suffer economic losses of about $3 million annually if Amtrak halted passenger service along its current route and shifted it to another rail line.
State officials outlined the study Thursday to a legislative panel looking at whether New Mexico should pay part of the costs of keeping Amtrak's Southwest Chief on its route through the northeastern part of the state.
Amtrak has suggested that New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas share maintenance costs with it and Burlington Northern Santa Fe, which owns the track.
Transportation Secretary Tom Church told lawmakers that Gov. Susana Martinez's administration hasn't agreed on any proposal about the Amtrak route.
The study estimated economic losses from fewer visitors to the state if the rail route is changed.
Chimpanzee At New Mexico Zoo Gives Birth To Twins - The Associated Press
A chimpanzee at a New Mexico zoo has given birth to twins.
Keepers arriving at ABQBioPark in Albuquerque on Tuesday found 38-year-old Elaine with two healthy babies. The zoo didn't specify the twins' gender.
Staff at the zoo knew Elaine was pregnant and suspected she was carrying more than one baby. She had gotten larger, and the chimp believed to be the father previously sired twins and triplets.
Female chimpanzees usually give birth to a single baby.
Keepers say the mother has enjoyed nestling with her infants against the exhibit's glass walls, where it is extra warm.
The zoo's last chimp baby, Kianga, was born in 2007.