Nation

Leaders To Convene In Washington For ‘State Of America’s Counties Summit Jan. 14

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NACo News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Association of Counties (NACo) and the National Council of County Association Executives (NCCAE) will host a policy summit Jan. 14 on the state of America’s counties. The summit will include a state of the counties address from NACo President and Wise County, Texas Judge J.D. Clark, as well as exploration of new data on county leadership and a series of policy panel discussions. 

The data review will include key takeaways from a recent NACo member survey, in cluding identifying top issues for counties and breaking down geographic patterns. Read More

Luján, Wyden, Markey Urge Apple And Google To Remove X And Grok From App Stores Following Grok Generating Illegal Sexual Images At Scale

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STATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. —  In Case You Missed It: In response to X Corp’s Grok AI tool being used to generate nonconsensual sexualized images of women and children at scale in recent days, U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) urged Apple and Google to immediately remove the X and Grok apps from their app stores until the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Elon Musk, addresses these disturbing and likely illegal activities.

NBC News: In an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Ed Markey of Read More

Luján, Cortez Masto, Grassley, Push To Protect Americans’ Personal Information From China, Other Foreign Adversaries

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U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) reintroduced the Internet Application Integrity and Disclosure (App ID) Act to help protect Americans online. This legislation would require operators of websites and mobile applications to disclose if their applications have been developed, are controlled, or store data within adversarial countries, such as China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.

“The internet plays an essential role in our daily lives, and with its rapid growth comes a responsibility Read More

Heinrich Delivers Floor Speech On Future Of Permitting Reform Of Clean Energy Projects

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U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, speaks on the Senate floor about the future of permitting reform, Jan. 7, 2026. Courtesy photo

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, delivered remarks on the Senate floor on how the Trump administration’s actions to cancel and stall energy projects are killing jobs, skyrocketing electric bills, and threatening permitting reform.

The speech comes as Donald Trump Read More

Op-Ed: Present Scale Of Electrification Unprecedented

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By RICK NEBEL
Los Alamos

This letter is a comment on two of the op-ed pieces that appeared in last week’s Los Alamos Daily Post: Robert Gibson’s article (link) and Paul Gessing’s article (link). Mr. Gibson pointed out that electrification is nothing new. However, the present scale of it is unprecedented. Mr. Gessing pointed this out in his article. He congratulated the governor for getting commitments to bring 3 new AI data centers to New Mexico.

The interesting part is that just 1 of those data centers consumes about 7 GW. I don’t have firm numbers on this, but the present total consumption Read More

Scenes Of Peaceful Protest Organized Primarily With The Message To ‘Keep ICE Out’ Of Los Alamos

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The scene today of a peaceful protest organized primarily with the message to ‘keep ICE out’ of Los Alamos, which drew some 130 people to Ashley Pond Park and along Trinity Drive. Photo by Judy McKenzie

Another scene of the protest today primarily expressing anti-ICE sentiments along Trinity Drive. Photo by Judy McKenzie

Another scene of the protest today primarily expressing anti-ICE sentiments along Trinity Drive. Photo by Judy McKenzie

Another scene of the protest today primarily expressing anti-ICE sentiments along Trinity Drive. Photo by Judy McKenzie

Another scene of the protest Read More

Unauthorized Drone Flights Prohibited In Los Alamos National Laboratory Restricted Airspace – Including Additional No Drone Zone

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Map of FAA restricted airspace above Los Alamos National Laboratory (R-5101) and additional No Drone Zone (in red). Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Since 2018, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), in collaboration with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has operated a system to counter all unauthorized unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) over its restricted airspace and an additional FAA designated “No Drone Zone”.

Recent unauthorized drone flights have been detected in this restricted airspace. The popularity of drones and Read More

Lunch With A Leader To Feature Former Diplomat Anne Galer

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Former Foreign Service Officer Anne Galer

LWVLA News:

The League of Women Voters of Los Alamos (LWVLA) community event, Lunch with a Leader, will be on Zoom on Jan. 15. This month’s speaker is Anne Galer, a former career US diplomat. As a Foreign Service Officer, Galer lived and worked in East and Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Middle East and represented the United States in several United Nations organizations. She specialized in international economics and finance.

Coming to New Mexico, Galer became interested in adobe preservation, earning an Adobe Construction Certificate from Northern Read More

United States Air Force Thunderbirds Arrive At Spaceport America To Prepare For 2026 Performance Season

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The USAF Thunderbirds aircraft and personnel arrived at Spaceport America Thursday to begin their winter training session. Courtesy/Allan Turk II

SPACEPORT AMERICA News:

LAS CRUCES — For the fifth time in as many years, the United States Air Force (USAF) Air Demonstration Squadron Thunderbirds have touched down at Spaceport America.

There, the team members will engage in an extensive training period leading up to their 2026 performances.

Throughout much of January, the Thunderbirds, comprised of roughly 70 team members (12 of whom are officers) serving in dozens of Air Force job specialties, Read More

DEA Releases 2026 Aggregate Production Quotas

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Cheri Oz
DEA Assist. Administrator of Diversion Control 

DEA News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration released the established aggregate production quotas (APQ) for schedule I and II controlled substances and assessment of annual needs (AAN) for the list I chemicals ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine for 2026.

“DEA is committed to ensuring that patients can access the prescription medications that they need to stay healthy,” DEA Assistant Administrator of Diversion Control Cheri Oz said. “DEA takes seriously its responsibility Read More