Ex-campaign Manager Sentenced In Email Case – The Associated Press
A federal judge has sentenced a former campaign manager for Gov. Susana Martinez to nine months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for stealing the governor's email and lying about it.
U.S. District Judge William P. Johnson sentenced Jamie Estrada on Wednesday. He had pleaded guilty in June to charges of unlawful interception of electronic communication and lying to FBI agents.
Estrada's family cried when the sentence was read.
Prosecutors say Estrada provided the hijacked email to the governor's political opponents.
Messages sent by Martinez, her aides and supporters never went to intended recipients on 2010 gubernatorial campaign email accounts. Instead they were directed to a computer account controlled by Estrada.
The sentencing comes as Martinez, a Republican, is running for re-election against Democratic challenger and New Mexico Attorney General Gary King.
Decision Looms In Navajo Nation Language Case – The Associated Press
A Navajo presidential candidate is back in court Thursday to find out whether he can continue on the campaign trail.
Richie Nez of the tribe's Office of Hearings and Appeals is expected to rule in a case challenging Chris Deschene's ability to speak Navajo.
Tribal law requires that presidential hopefuls speak fluent Navajo and understand the language said to have been handed down by deities.
Deschene has made learning Navajo a focus of his campaign. But his critics want him disqualified, saying he lied when he attested to speaking the language fluently.
Deschene submitted to a deposition in Navajo earlier this week but declined to take a fluency test designed by the tribe's education department.
The hearing comes less than a month before the Nov. 4 general election.
Navajo Nation Council Delegate Resigns – The Associated Press
A Navajo Nation council delegate has resigned after pleading guilty last month to conspiracy to commit bribery.
Prosecutors had accused David Tom of funneling $95,000 in tribal funds to his wife and children.
He originally faced 13 counts, including bribery, conspiracy and filing false vouchers.
Johnny Naize resigned as council speaker and lawmaker after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery on Sept. 30, the same day as Tom.
Tom resigned Wednesday in a written notice to the tribe's elections office.
He had served on the council since 2003.
Appointment of a person to fill the vacancy will be at the discretion of the speaker or speaker pro tem of the council, in accordance with Navajo Nation law.
Pilots Unveil Plans To Break Long-distance Record - Associated Press
An international team led by two veteran pilots has set its sights on breaking a pair of major long-distance records when it launches its helium-filled balloon from Japan in early 2015.
Albuquerque pilot Troy Bradley and his partner, Russian pilot Leonid Tiukhtyaev, detailed their plans during a news conference Wednesday in Albuquerque.
They're aiming for the shores of North America, an attempt that will put them on course to break a distance record of 5,208 miles that has stood for more than three decades.
They're also looking to break the flight-duration record set in 1978 when Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman made the first trans-Atlantic balloon flight.
The announcement by Bradley and Tiukhtyaev comes as hundreds of pilots and thousands of spectators gather in Albuquerque for the annual international balloon fiesta.
Taos Ski Valley Plans To Open Its Season Nov. 27 - The Associated Press
Taos Ski Valley plans to open its season on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27.
The ski area in northern New Mexico says it expects to initially operate on a limited schedule, with lifts open Thursday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Seven-day-a-week operations are scheduled to start on Dec. 11.
New this season will be a chairlift to provide skiers with access to Kachina Peak at about 12,450 feet. Also opening is new hike-to terrain that will provide 35 acres of tree skiing that can be reached from the West Basin Ridge.
The ski area, which is about 19 miles from the community of Taos, also is renovating its base area and will have a new location where skiers are dropped off from parking lot shuttles.
Arizona: Mexican Wolf Proposal Would Be 'Disaster' - The Associated Press
Arizona wildlife managers say a proposal that would change the way the federal government handles Mexican gray wolves in the American Southwest would result in "a disaster" for the states involved.
The Arizona Game and Fish Commission's concerns are outlined in a letter sent to ranching groups in the region.
The groups have voiced concerns about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service meeting with state officials in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah to discuss amending the wolf rule. They say the agency isn't being transparent.
The Fish and Wildlife Service says it has a responsibility to confer with state agencies and other stakeholders.
Arizona managers say they'll continue negotiating changes to the proposal to protect state interests. They say the current proposal fails to cap the number of wolves allowed in the Southwest.