World

LANL: Atmospheric Pressure Changes Could Be Driving Mars’ Elusive Methane Pulses

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New simulations are helping inform the Curiosity rover’s ongoing sampling campaign. Courtesy/NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

LANL News:

New research shows that atmospheric pressure fluctuations that pull gases up from underground could be responsible for releasing subsurface methane into Mars’ atmosphere; knowing when and where to look for methane can help the Curiosity rover search for signs of life.

“Understanding Mars’ methane variations has been highlighted by NASA’s Curiosity team as the next key step towards figuring out where it comes from,” John Ortiz said, a graduate student at Los Read More

FBI: Mexican National, Namiquipa Police Chief Carlos Arturo Quintana Pleads Guilty To Federal Drug Trafficking Charge

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, announced Thursday that Carlos Arturo Quintana pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute 100 kilograms and more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of marijuana, intending and knowing that said controlled substance would be unlawfully imported into the United States.

Quintana, 41, of Namiquipa, Chihuahua, Mexico, will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled. Read More

Luján, Colleagues Introduce Bill To Strengthen Border Security To Stop Flow Of Fentanyl

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U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) introduced legislation to reduce the flow of fentanyl by providing much-needed resources to secure the Southwest border.

The Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act increases staffing capacity and technology to detect illicit drugs and other contraband being smuggled through ports of entry along the border. The bill targets the most common way that fentanyl is coming into the United States: through ports of entry along the Southwest border.

“The flow of fentanyl into New Mexico Read More

Martin Luther King Jr. Honored Today For Non-Violent Quest For Peace And Justice

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Martin Luther King Jr.
Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day – a national holiday honoring the life of a man awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 “for his non-violent struggle for civil rights for the Afro-American population”.

Martin Luther (Jan. 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin. His grandfather began the family’s long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, serving from 1914 to 1931; his father then served, and from 1960 until his death Martin Luther acted as co-pastor. Read More

Military Order Of The World Wars To Host Robert Hull On ‘Spy Recruiting: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly’

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Robert Hull

MOWW News:

At this month’s meeting of Military Order Of The World Wars (MOWW),  Robert Hull will speak on “Spy Recruiting: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly”. He will talk about the Agent Recruitment Cycle, the effect of the John Walker spy ring on establishing the Personnel Security Research Center (PERSEREC), and his own personal experience in the late 1960s with a Soviet agent when he was an intelligence analyst working in the Middle East.

Hull served as a Cold-War Era intelligence operations/analyst for the US Air Force covering the Czechoslovakian Prague Spring, Sputnik launches, Read More

Senators Heinrich, Luján Support Amendment To Maintain Congressional Oversight On Foreign Military Assistance

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SENATE News: 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) in announcing an amendment to maintain the congressional notification requirement for all U.S. assistance to foreign militaries.

Specifically, the amendment would strike a provision in the proposed national security supplemental funding bill that waives oversight requirements for U.S. funding for Israel under the Foreign Military Financing Program. If passed, the amendment would preserve the congressional notification process for Israel, just Read More

READOUT: Heinrich Meets With War Refugees, Emphasizes Need For Additional Aid To Ukraine

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

FARMINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) met with Ukrainian families living in Farmington who fled their country following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“In New Mexico, we know that how we treat refugees and asylum seekers shows the world our true American values. Today’s visit conveyed just how seriously New Mexicans take that commitment,” Heinrich said. “I’m so grateful to those here in Farmington for their unwavering support for these families who have fled unthinkable violence in their home country of Ukraine. The bravery Read More

Liddie’s Traditional New Mexican Dishes: Sangria

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How to make sangria. Video by Liddie Martinez

By LIDDIE MARTINEZ
Española Valley

This October my husband Rick and I embarked on a fantastic adventure to Spain. I had been there before but he had not and since he is not enamored with big cities, we designed our trip to skirt the mediterranean sea from the Straights of Gibraltar to Barcelona concentrating on the small, historic communities along the coast. In Cadiz and Jerez we were fortunate to see the dancing Andalusian Horses perform and to get a personal tour of the Valdespino Bodega specializing in Spain’s world renowned Pedro Ximenez Sherry. Read More

Santa Fe World Affairs Forum Hosts Lunch Talk/Discussion With Dan Turk On Challenges In Madagascar

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SFWAF News:

SANAT FE—Santa Fe World Affairs Forum (SFWAF) to host a lunch talk/discussion with Dan Turk on the environmental, food security and democracy challenges in Madagascar.

Turk has spent nearly 30 years working in Madagascar—an island nation off the coast of East Africa—that has some of the greatest biodiversity in the world but also one of the highest levels of poverty.

Once covered mostly in forests, Madagascar has few pockets of native trees remaining, one of which is in the Ranomafana National Park where Turk did his doctoral research.

Part of that research resulted in the Ranomafana Read More

Op-Ed: Electric Vehicles Not Quite The Panacea…

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By DOUG REILLY
Los Alamos

We hear much these days about electric vehicles, EVs, locally, nationally, and internationally. Various countries and governments are issuing rules to switch to EVs quickly. Our governor has ruled state vehicles will be electric by 2035. The Los Alamos Daily Post has printed numerous articles on the subject, both pro and con. Many people and organizations claim EVs are pollution free and a big step in meeting climate change.

The US Energy Information Agency says at least 63% of our electricity comes from fossil fuels. The International Energy Agency says it’s Read More