Nation

New Mexico One of Five States Receiving $1.7 Million in FEMA Fire Preparedness Grants

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FEMA News:

Fire departments in five states, including New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas have been awarded more than $1.69 million in preparedness grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

In New Mexico, the grant totals $84,093 and covers the cost of firefighting equipment and wellness and fitness equipment for the City of Alamogordo Fire Department.

A grant awarded in Arkansas totals $36,100 and pays for an air quality control device for a fire truck for the Gravel Ridge Fire Department. In Louisiana, the grants total $686,738 and Read More

Bandelier Hosts 3rd Naturalization Ceremony July 4

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Last year’s naturalization ceremony. Courtesy/NPS
 
BANDELIER News:
 
July 4th is traditionally the day when Americans celebrate our freedom and independence. This year, building on the success of the last two years’ events, Bandelier National Monument is proud to partner with the United States Citizenship and Naturalization Services to host a naturalization ceremony at the park.
 
Fifteen candidates from 12 countries, after working for years to fulfill their requirements, will be taking the oath and becoming the newest citizens of the United States.

Beginning

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Udall: Supreme Court Wrong to Put Corporate Interests Ahead of Women’s Health

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U.S. Sen. Tom Udall

U.S. SENATE News:

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision to protect corporate interests while rolling back women’s access to contraception:

“Today, the U.S. Supreme Court got it wrong. The Court’s ruling in Hobby Lobby is a step backward for women’s health and another disturbing decision in which the justices put corporate interests ahead of American citizens. Nearly every woman in the United States will use birth control at some point in her life. And regardless of her reasons, the decision should
Read More

Scientists Say Tall, Wide Walls Will Calm Tornado Alley

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Researchers uncover a surprising way of neutralizing tornado threat. Courtesy/wadanka.com

HSWN News:

In the United States, most devastating tornadoes occur in Tornado Alley, which is a strip of land between the Appalachian Mountains and the Rocky Mountains, including most American Midwest states.

In 2013, there were 811 confirmed tornadoes in the United States, 57 in Europe, and 3 in China. Among 811 tornadoes in the United States, most, especially the most devastating ones, occurred in Tornado Alley.

Scientists say that building three 300 meter high and 50 meter wide walls, at the cost Read More

LANL: Scientists Ignite Aluminum Water Mix

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LANL chemist Bryce Tappan ignites a small quantity of aluminum nanoparticle water mixture.  In open air, the compound burns like a Fourth of July sparkler.  Courtesy/LANL

When dry, aluminum nanoparticles look like simple dark gray dust. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

  • Combustion mechanism of aluminum nanoparticles and water published in prestigious German chemistry journal

Don’t worry, that beer can you’re holding is not going to spontaneously burst into flames, but under the right circumstances aluminum does catch fire, and the exact mechanism that governs how, has long Read More

Today Marks Anniversary of Granite Mountain Tragedy

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Staff Report

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona, which killed 19 “hotshot” firefighters. This summer, the interagency wildland fire community will mark the one-year anniversary of the Yarnell Hill Fire accident and the 20-year anniversary of the South Canyon Fire accident of July 6, 1994.

Although these accidents were separated in time by 19 years, they are bound together by several tragic commonalities. Both accidents were burnovers; both accidents resulted in multiple fatalities of highly trained, skilled, and experienced wildland firefighters; Read More

SSCI’s Cybersecurity Bill Would Chill News Reporting

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NNA News:

By RICK BLUM / The Sunshine in Government Initiative

The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2014 (CISA), released as a draft by Chairman Dianne Feinstein June 17 and soon to be considered by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, would threaten the flow of accurate news and information to the public and policymakers.

The bill would allow government agencies to collect, without a warrant or other traditional legal process, journalists’ phone and other records if the government considers the journalists or their sources threats to the security of information stored Read More

WIPP: Plans Ongoing to Evaluate All Drums in Panel 7, Room 7

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WIPP has created a mock-up of Room 7 to test various ‘reach’ tools. Courtesy/WIPP

WIPP News:

As the investigation into the cause of the Feb. 14 radiological release continues, WIPP teams are working to create a system to examine all containers in Panel 7, Room 7. To date, visual inspection of the room’s 24 rows of
waste containers has been limited to rows 15 to 24.

Workers are evaluating several different systems that would allow recovery teams to obtain video imaging, thermography, and sampling data on the waste containers in rows 1-14 – those that are the furthest back in the Read More

Udall Secures Resources for N.M. Wildfire Prevention, Border Security, FLETC in DHS Appropriations Bill

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Sen. Tom Udall

U.S. SENATE News:

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall joined the Appropriations Committee June 26 in approving a bill that provides critical Fiscal Year 2015 funding to protect New Mexico’s border, ensure our ports of entry operate smoothly and address the use of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Artesia to detain women and children in removal proceedings.

Udall also included an amendment that would help New Mexico communities prevent serious wildfires. The amendment would allow state and local governments to qualify for hazard mitigation grants – a pool of funding

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Heinrich on Immigration Reform: A Year of Inaction

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Sen. Martin Heinrich

U.S. SENATE News:

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., released the following statement June 27 calling on House Republicans to act on the Senate bipartisan immigration reform bill that passed the Senate one year ago:

“After a vigorous public debate last year, the Senate passed a common-sense proposal to reform our country’s immigration policies. The bill would modernize our immigration system to meet the needs of our economy, provide an accountable pathway to earned citizenship for the undocumented workers currently living in the shadows and dramatically Read More