Nation

Udall Addresses Employment Non-Discrimination Act

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U.S. Sen. Tom Udall

U.S. Senate News:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Tom Udall Monday issued the following statement after the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) cleared an important procedural step in the U.S. Senate, winning a bipartisan filibuster-proof 61 votes for the first time in history and moving a significant step closer to passage:

“Today the Senate has taken an important step toward protecting LGBT Americans from workplace discrimination. Clearing this procedural hurdle with a bipartisan vote shows the progress we’ve made in the Senate and in our country.”

“I Read More

Rising Temperatures Challenge Salt Lake City’s Water Supply

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Dell Creek in Parley’s Canyon, is a source of water for Salt Lake City. A new study shows how climate change is likely to affect the various creeks and streams.Photo by Patrick Nelson/ SLC DPU

CIRES News:

WASHINGTON, DC—In an example of the challenges water-strapped western cities will face in a warming world, new research shows that every degree fahrenheit of warming in the Salt Lake City region could mean a 1.8 to 6.5 percent drop in the annual flow of streams that provide water to the city.

By midcentury, warming western temperatures may mean that some of the creeks and streams that help slake Salt Read More

Luján Salutes Native American Heritage Month

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U.S. CONGRESSIONAL News:

SANTA FE – U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico’s Third District and Co-Vice Chair of the Congressional Native American Caucus released the following statement today on Native American Heritage Month, which is celebrated during November.

“Native American Heritage Month is a time to look back at the many contributions of the First Americans, while also looking forward to ways we can build a brighter future for tribal communities.

“As home to one of the richest indigenous tribal populations in the United States, New Mexico is proud of the Read More

Udall, Heinrich Back End To Dragnet Collection Of Phone Data

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U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich are backing legislation that seeks to restore Americans’ privacy rights by ending the government’s dragnet collection of phone records and requiring greater oversight, transparency, and accountability with respect to domestic surveillance authorities. 

“In 2001, I voted against the Patriot Act because I believed it was hastily written and had the power to undermine the constitutional rights of our citizens. Unfortunately we now know Read More

IRS Warns of Pervasive Telephone Scam

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IRS News:

PHOENIX – The Internal Revenue Service today warned consumers about a sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, throughout the country. Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting.

“This scam has hit taxpayers in nearly every state in the country. We want to educate taxpayers Read More

Heinrich: FISA Improvements Act Doesn’t Go Far Enough To Protect American Privacy Rights

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U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing Thursday, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., was one of four senators to vote against the FISA Improvements Act citing that the bill did not go far enough in curbing the bulk collection of law-abiding Americans’ private records:

“This bill falls short of implementing necessary reforms to balance the government’s need to keep our nation safe with protecting our civil liberties. Collecting the daily telephone activity Read More

NMC/LANL Researcher Receives NSF Award

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Photo credit: Astronomy North, Yellowknife, Canada

NM CONSORTIUM News:

  • NMC/LANL researcher engages social media to forecast and track space weather.

The New Mexico Consortium (NMC) has announced that the aurora monitoring project, Aurorasaurus, has been awarded support by the Integrated NSF Support Promoting Interdisciplinary Research and Education (INSPIRE) program. Aurorasaurus.org provides a real-time Google map of auroral visibility from multiple sources: user contributions, filtered social media Tweets, weather, and auroral oval predictions from the NOAA Read More

Bandelier Volunteer George Best Gives Back

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George Best. Photo by Kirsten Laskey

By KIRSTEN LASKEY

George Best may be retired but he still has a job. Every Monday, he dons a uniform and heads to Bandelier National Monument to work as a volunteer.

Best, 93, provides assistance to the staff at the visitor center, which includes answering questions and greeting visitors as they disembark the shuttle buses. Additionally, Best said he walks the trails to answer questions as well as point out archeological features. He added he also keeps an eye out for anyone who needs help.

Best has a lot of history with Bandelier; he first traveled to the park Read More

Los Alamos Police Collect 353 Pounds of Pills

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Pill image. Courtesy/DEA

LAPD News:

Los Alamos Det. Sgt. Oliver Morris reported that the Los Alamos Police Department collected 353 pounds of prescription drugs at Saturday’s “National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day” events in Los Alamos and White Rock.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the United Stated participated in the United States Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA’s) seventh national event that gives the American public an opportunity to discard unwanted, unused and expired prescription drugs from medicine cabinets, bedside tables and kitchen Read More

Udall, Heinrich, Coalition of Senators Call for Extension of Open Enrollment

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U.S. SENATE news:
  • As technical glitches persist, Senators urge HHS Secretary to push back health insurance exchange enrollment deadline
 
WASHINGTON – As Americans continue to experience technical difficulties with federal and state health insurance enrollment, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich called on U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to extend the open enrollment period to give Americans more time to obtain health insurance coverage.
 
“As long as these substantial technology glitches persist, we are losing valuable time to
Read More