The Biden administration’s decision this week to withdraw thousands of acres of federal public lands from development came as a welcome surprise to residents of Placitas, Bernalillo and local communities who have advocated White House or congressional action to protect the historic Buffalo Tract area from mining. The administration’s announcement was important enough to earn […]
Congress & Federal Gov.
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., New Mexico
Oil and gas companies must pay more to drill on federal lands under new Biden administration rule
By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Oil and gas companies will have to pay more to drill on federal lands and satisfy stronger requirements to clean up old or abandoned wells under a final rule issued Friday by the Biden administration. The Interior Department’s rule raises royalty rates for oil drilling by more […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., crime-courts
Biden admin will require thousands more gun dealers to run background checks on buyers
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands more firearms dealers across the United States will have to run background checks on buyers at gun shows or other places outside brick-and-mortar stores, according to a Biden administration rule that will soon go into effect. The rule aims to close a […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., State News
Senator co-sponsors legislation to protect NM communities from “forever chemicals”
U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich announced today that he has co-sponsored new legislation called the Healthy H2O Act to protect New Mexico communities from dangerous contaminants like PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.” This directly follows the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s announcement of the first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standard that will reduce Americans’ […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., New Mexico, Syndicated
U.S. Senate spending panel calls for extending pay boost for Forest Service firefighters
JACOB FISCHLER /Source New Mexico Members of a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee said at a hearing Wednesday they were focused on keeping pay for wildland firefighters at the higher level set in a 2021 law and urged Forest Service Chief Randy Moore to focus on ways to maintain a healthy timber industry. Senate Interior-Environment Subcommittee Chair […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., State News
Biden administration sets first-ever limits on ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water
By MICHAEL PHILLIS Associated Press The Biden administration on Wednesday finalized strict limits on certain so-called “forever chemicals” in drinking water that will require utilities to reduce them to the lowest level they can be reliably measured. Officials say this will reduce exposure for 100 million people and help prevent thousands of illnesses, including cancers. […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Featured, State News
Feds Seize Legal Weed at NM Checkpoints
By Josh Lee / The Paper. New Mexico’s cannabis businesses are already facing plenty of challenges as they navigate through a market fraught with oversaturation, overtaxation and growing pains in general. Now they have to deal with the federal government stealing their inventory. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents over the past two months, […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., National
Trump suggests he’d support a national ban on abortions around 15 weeks of pregnancy
By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press, NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that he’d support a national ban on abortions around 15 weeks of pregnancy, voicing for the first time support for a specific limit on the procedure. The Republican former president has taken credit for striking down a federally guaranteed right to abortion by […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., National
Trump casts immigrants as “poisoning the blood” of America
By WILL WEISSERT and JILL COLVIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The video shared by former President Donald Trump features horror movie music and footage of migrants purportedly entering the U.S. from countries including Cameroon, Afghanistan and China. Shots of men with tattoos and videos of violent crime are set against close-ups of people waving and wrapping […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., National
Heinrich, other Dem. Senators push Biden for plan to recognize non-militarized Palestinian state
New Mexico’s senior U.S. Senator, Martin Heinrich, joined 18 of his fellow senators to publicly call for the U.S. to establish a framework to recognize a non-militarized Palestinian state. Nineteen senators, all Democrats, authored a letter to President Joe Biden this week calling for a “bold, public framework” to recognize a Palestinian state as a […]