Nation

U.S. Senate Passes Luján-Collins Bill To Protect Native American Children Against Abuse And Neglect

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U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján

From the Office of U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wednesday, the U.S. Senate passed the Native American Child Protection Act (NACPA), legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).

The bill reauthorizes and reforms three programs that ensure Tribes have the tools needed to treat, prevent, investigate, and prosecute Native American child abuse and neglect. U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) introduced the House companion bill.

These programs were originally authorized in 1990 as part of the Indian Read More

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich Named Ranking Member Of Senate Energy And Natural Resources Committee

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U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) has been named Ranking Member for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee for the 119th Congress.

The ENR Committee plays a critical role in setting national energy policies and managing our nation’s public lands within the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service. The Committee also oversees the U.S. Department of Energy and has jurisdiction over U.S. territories and nuclear waste policy. 

“I am honored to have been chosen by my colleagues to serve as Ranking Read More

Heinrich Secures Wins For New Mexico Military Installations And National Labs In FY2025 National Defense Bill

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From the Office of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich:

          • Final bill passed by the Senate and heading to President Biden’s desk also includes historic pay raise for junior enlisted service members

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) welcomed Senate passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25). The legislation includes major wins that Heinrich secured, including investments in New Mexico’s service members, military installations, national labs, and job-creating initiatives throughout the state.

The House of Representatives Read More

Los Alamos Conducts First Critical Experiment Using High Assay Low Enriched Uranium In Decades

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Deimos team members in front of their experiment in the National Criticality Experiments Research Center. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

A research team at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) recently performed the first critical experiment with high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) TRi-structural ISOtropic (TRISO) fuel in four decades at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) in Nevada. It achieved its objective of establishing an advanced reactor testbed. 

“With companies such as Amazon and Google investing in nuclear energy to power their data centers, Read More

Los Alamos High School Graduate Evelyn Lee Inaugurated As American Institute Of Architects 2025 President

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LAHS graduate Evelyn Lee was inaugurated as the 101st American Institute of Architects (AIA) president at a ceremony Dec. 13, 2024 in Washington, D.C. AIA is comprised of some 100,000 members. Courtesy/Stacy Moses Photography 

American Institute of Architects News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced the inauguration of Evelyn M. Lee, FAIA, as its 101st president.

Lee, a 1997 graduate of Los Alamos High School, is a multi-faceted professional who uniquely blends her architectural background with a technology-driven focus. As an architect now Read More

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich Urges Senate Leadership To Help Lower Rx Costs And Save Rural Pharmacies

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U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) is urging Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to rein in damaging pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) practices that hurt patients and pharmacies.

PBMs are intermediaries that negotiate and manage prescription drug benefits on behalf of health insurance companies, self-insured employers, and government programs.

Currently, three PBMs control nearly 80 percent of the prescription drug market and operate with little oversight by federal regulators Read More

Haaland Designates 19 New National Historic Landmarks

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Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland

From the Office of Secretary of the Interior:

          • New designations recognize nationally significant sites for many historically marginalized communities across 15 states, territories and D.C.

WASHINGTON — Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland today announced the designations of 19 new National Historic Landmarks (NHLs), reflecting the importance of the sites in sharing America’s diverse history.

The new NHLs are nationally significant properties for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans, African Americans, Asian American Pacific Read More

Luján, Murphy, Smith Reintroduce Legislation Giving Labor Dept. More Tools To Enforce Mental Health Parity Laws

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From the Office of U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, along with U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) reintroduced the Parity Enforcement Act, legislation to hold insurance companies accountable and give the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) the authority to assess civil monetary penalties for violations of mental health parity requirements.

This new authority would incentivize compliance and strengthen the protections of the Mental Read More

Department Of The Interior Announces $450 Million Funding Opportunity For Community Parks

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USDI News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of the Interior has announced an estimated $450 million funding opportunity over the next five years for local communities across the United States to create new parks and trails or renovate existing parks through the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) program.  

In September, the Department announced $254 million in grants for 54 projects in 24 states, the single largest grant investment ever from the ORLP program. 

“Families and children across the country today have modern and accessible local parks thanks to investments from the Read More

Isotopes Produced At LANL Are ‘Saving Lives, Advancing Cutting-Edge Research, Keeping Nation Safe’

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Inside a shielded chamber, robotic arms are used to handle radioactive medical isotopes. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

What’s the difference between sodium-22 and sodium-23?

One is edible (sodium-23) and the other is radioactive. Such differences are the superpowers of isotopes—variants of an element that have the same number of protons but differ in the number of neutrons. Chemical properties of isotopes of the same element are generally similar, but their physical properties can vary.

Some isotopes, such as sodium-23, occur naturally, but others are created using nuclear reactors or accelerators. Read More