News New Mexico

Holder Says U.S. Probing Leaks of Afghan Documents

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (left) said the Justice Department was investigating the source of the leaking of secret U.S. military reports on Afghanistan to the WikiLeaks website. “The Justice Department is working with the Department of Defense with regard to an investigation concerning who the source of those leaks might be,” said Holder, who spoke at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo today. “Whether there will be any criminal charges brought depends on how the investigation goes.”
WikiLeaks published more than 91,000 secret military reports from Afghanistan which cover the period from about 2004 up to a change in war strategy initiated by President Barack Obama last year. The U.S. and Pakistan have dismissed portions of the documents that indicate the American military suspects Pakistan’s main intelligence agency of secretly aiding the Taliban and other Islamic extremists battling the U.S. in Afghanistan. Read more:

Yachting Anyone? - (In Rhode Island)

Senator John F. Kerry announced yesterday that he will voluntarily pay $500,000 to Massachusetts tax collectors on his luxury yacht, a pledge made hours after state officials had begun inquiring into whether he had attempted to evade the payment by docking the boat in Rhode Island. The state Department of Revenue had just started looking into Kerry’s use of the $7 million sloop and into reports that it had been spotted repeatedly in Massachusetts since it was registered in March. Officials could have subpoenaed the ship’s log to see where the yacht had been, according to a Department of Revenue official who declined to be identified by name because tax cases by law are confidential. Read more:

Rangel Seeks to Avert Hearing in Ethics Case

U.S. House Democratic leaders are trying to broker an agreement with New York Representative Charles Rangel in which the former Ways and Means Committee chairman would accept a penalty for ethics violations without undergoing a trial, a Democratic aide said. Two Democrats in the House leadership, Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, have talked with Rangel about a possible settlement, the aide said today. Resignation hasn’t been discussed, according to the aide. Rangel’s spokesman, Emile Milne, declined to comment. Read more:

Poll Shows Barela on the Lead

From NMPolitics.net - If you had asked me over the weekend where the 1st Congressional District race stood, I would have told you Democratic incumbent Martin Heinrich was probably leading Republican challenger Jon Barela by about 10 points. So I was as shocked as anyone when KOB-TV released its new SurveyUSA poll Monday evening that shows Barela leading by six points. The poll has Barela leading 51 percent to 45 percent. It was conducted Thursday-Sunday, surveyed 559 likely voters and has a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points. Barela led among all age groups and among men, Anglos and independents. Read more here:

Rep. Mary Helen Garcia to Appear on NewsNM

New Mexico House of Representatives member Mary Helen Garcia will appear as a guest on News New Mexico Tuesday morning July 27th at 8:30am. Tuesday's show will deal almost exclusively with education issues affecting Las Cruces, Dona Ana County, the State of New Mexico, and the United States. Mrs. Garcia enjoyed a lengthy career as an educator and also served as a school principal before being elected to the state legislature. Garcia is unopposed in November.

Michelle Rhee - Making an Impact

One-quarter of the 4,000-member teaching force in D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) could be kicked out of their classrooms by the end of the next school year if they fail to measure up to a new evaluation tool that plays a major role in President Obama's education-reform plan.

The national school-reform spotlight is again shining on D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and, as with her other efforts, teachers are again on edge. This time, the issue is how she grades teachers. One-quarter of the 4,000-member teaching force in D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) could be kicked out of their classrooms by the end of the next school year if they fail to measure up to a new evaluation tool that plays a major role in President Obama's education-reform plan. Read more here:

Obama Children Don't Attend Public Schools in D.C.

Continuing a tradition among Washington's power elite, President-elect Barack Obama and his wife have decided to send their kids to Sidwell Friends School. Michelle Obama confirmed yesterday that Malia and Sasha, the incoming first daughters, will enroll at the pricey private school when the family moves into the White House in January. Although Mrs. Obama has said that public schools were under consideration and consulted with D.C. school officials, the decision narrowed this week after she and the girls visited Sidwell and the private Georgetown Day School. Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, visited classes and met with students while their mother talked with administration officials and parents. Mrs. Obama also visited both schools last week when she came to Washington with her husband to tour the White House and meet with President and Mrs. Bush. Read more here:

Anthony Casino Proposal Returns

From the Las Cruces Sun-News LAS CRUCES - A proposal by the Jemez Pueblo of northern New Mexico to build a $60 million, off-reservation casino and hotel in Anthony, N.M., is back on the table. A group of pueblo officials and representatives of Santa Fe art dealer Gerald Peters, the developer who's partnering with the tribe, met with trustees of the newly seated Anthony governing body last Wednesday. Read more here:

Martinez Candidacy Drawing National Attention

Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez may be the “most frightening” candidate in the nation for Democrats in 2010, writes Molly Ball on Slate.com. In addition, the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza has added the New Mexico gubernatorial race to the list of contests that are most likely to result in a party switch this fall. Read more here:

Speaker Lujan Vulnerable?

From the archive of NMPolitics.net - Many say House Speaker Ben Luján’s near-loss in last week’s Democratic primary should be a warning to all incumbents that no one is safe this election year. I disagree. I’m convinced that voter anger is strong, but I’m not convinced that it’s motivating the masses to reject all incumbents, regardless of their records. What Luján’s near-loss does show is that his power is continuing to fade away. Don’t count him out – the man who holds the second-most powerful position in state government is a skilled politician who holds a lot of cards and undoubtedly still has a few tricks up his sleeves. Read the rest of Heath Haussamen's column here:

News New Mexico heard persistent rumors prior to the last session of the New Mexico legislature that Dona Ana County's own House member Joseph Cervantes (right) may well be in line for Speaker of the House when the long often torutous and controversial reign of Ben Lujan finally comes to an end. Cervantes is a seasoned legislature and would make an excellent successor according to many sources we rely on.

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