Nation

New Mexico Rep. Liz Thomson To Serve As National Conference Of State Legislatures Officer

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Rep. Elizabeth Thomson

HOUSE DEMOCRATS News:

SANTA FE — Rep. Elizabeth “Liz” Thomson (D-Albuquerque) has been chosen to serve as Vice Chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Standing Committee on Health and Human Services. 

As vice chair, Rep. Thomson will help develop NCSL’s policy positions on key federal issues of interest to state legislatures, including Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program. 

“I am honored and excited to expand my career in public service with this new role,” Rep. Thomson Read More

FBI: Leader Of Oath Keepers, 10 Other Individuals Indicted For Seditious Conspiracy, Other Offenses Related To U.S. Capitol Breach

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Elmer Stewart Rhodes III

FBI News:

A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment Wednesday, which was unsealed today, charging 11 defendants with seditious conspiracy and other charges for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

According to court documents, Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, 56, of Granbury, Texas, who is the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers; and Edward Vallejo, 63, of Phoenix, Read More

US Department Of The Interior Extends Abandoned Mine Land Program Through 2034

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Deputy Assistant Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis

DOI News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of the Interior (DOI) has announced that the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) is extending the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund program through 2034 and making other changes to the program, as directed by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

This extension, through an interim final rule, will provide for continued funding to states and Tribes for reclaiming hazardous abandoned mines, replacing polluted water supplies, and reducing legacy pollution in coalfield communities. Read More

Bandelier Waiving Entrance Fees On MLK Day Jan. 17​

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BANDELIER News:

In honor of the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Bandelier National Monument will waive entrance fees for everyone Monday, Jan. 17, as the first fee-free day of the year.

Commemorated on the third Monday of January every year, it also is a day of service when hundreds of volunteers participate in service projects at parks across the country.

This is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities.

Campground fees still apply on all fee-free days. Bandelier National Monument normally charges Read More

Heinrich, Luján, Stansbury Welcome Over $1 Million To Support Health, Well-Being Trainings For Health Care Professionals At UNM Health Sciences

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Congressional Delegation News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) are welcoming over $1 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support the Health and Public Safety Workforce Resiliency Training Program at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center.

“For nearly two grueling years, New Mexico health care workers have shown up day after day to care for our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Heinrich said. “But this battle takes a toll. That’s Read More

Heinrich, Luján, Leger Fernández Welcome Almost $600,000 To Support Rio Arriba County Efforts To Improve Community Safety, Lives Of Young People

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U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) are welcoming $582,810 from the U.S. Department of Justice to enable Rio Arriba County’s Health and Human Services Department to expand and enhance the existing Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program.

The LEAD program is a pre-booking diversion program developed to address low-level drug and prostitution crimes. The program allows law enforcement officers to redirect low-level offenders engaged in drug or prostitution Read More

National Science Foundation Funds New Project To Coordinate Research Across Disciplines & Countries

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Principal Investigator Kasantha Moodley

NSF News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $300,000 to the Network on the Digital Economy and the Environment (nDEE) — an initiative of the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and the Yale School of the Environment—and the University of California Berkeley to support research to better understand the energy and environmental (E&E) impacts of digital technologies.

The two-year grant, supported by NSF’s Directorate for Engineering and Directorate for Computer Information Science and Engineering, is designed Read More

National Wildlife Federation: Proposed Chaco Canyon Protections Will Safeguard Sacred Indigenous Sites

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NWF News:

SANTA FE — A proposed buffer zone around Chaco Culture National Historical Park will ban oil and gas development that threatens wildlife, sacred Indigenous sites, clean air and drinking water.

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) applauds the Biden Administration for listening to local communities about the withdrawal of oil and gas leasing on federal lands around Chaco Canyon, as well as pledging to engage in further meaningful Tribal consultation before taking action.

“Chaco Canyon tells the story of the rich history, culture, spirituality, and resilience of Indigenous Read More

NIST: Proposed Updates To Steel Building Standard Could Enhance Earthquake Resilience

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Researchers fasten 48 steel columns of varying dimensions into a hydraulic system called a shake table that thrusts one end of each column back and forth, replicating the shaking motions of an earthquake. Courtesy/UC San Diego

NIST News:

Since the mid-1990s, a type of steel column that commonly features slender cross-sectional elements has become more prevalent in buildings along the West Coast of the United States and in other seismically active regions.

Although these columns have complied with modern design standards, our understanding of how they would perform during an earthquake Read More

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich Works To Guarantee Tribal Health Authorities Access To Strategic National Stockpile

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U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) is part of a bicameral group of lawmakers that introduced the Tribal Medical Supplies Stockpile Access Act.

This legislation guarantees that the Indian Health Service (IHS), Tribal health authorities, and urban Indian organizations have access to the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), a federal repository of drugs and medical supplies that can be tapped if a public health emergency could exhaust local supplies.

Currently, IHS and Tribal health authorities’ access to the SNS is limited and not guaranteed in the SNS Read More