National News

13 - 12:21am

The Boy Scouts of America will get no reprieve from controversy after a contentious vote to accept openly gay boys as Scouts. Dismayed conservatives are already looking at alternative youth groups as they predict a mass exodus from the BSA. Gay-rights supporters vowed Friday to maintain pressure on the Scouts to end the still-in-place ban on gay adults serving as leaders.

Trucker bumps 1-5 bridge, sees horror behind him 05/25/13 - 12:21am

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — The trucker was hauling a load of drilling equipment when his load bumped against the steel framework over an Interstate 5 bridge. He looked in his rearview mirror and watched in horror as the span collapsed into the water behind him. Two vehicles fell into the icy Skagit River. Amazingly, nobody was killed. The three people who fell into the water escaped with only minor injuries.

Across the nation 05/25/13 - 12:20am

PHOENIX A federal judge ruled Friday the office of America’s self-proclaimed toughest sheriff systematically singled out Latinos in its trademark immigration patrols, marking the first finding by a court that the agency racially profiles people. The 142-page decision by U.S. District Judge Murray Snow in Phoenix backs up allegations that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s critics have made for years that his officers violate the constitutional rights of Latinos in relying on race in their immigration enforcement.

Obama's drone rules leave unanswered questions 05/25/13 - 12:17am

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama left plenty of ambiguity in new policy guidelines he says will restrict how and when the U.S. can launch targeted drone strikes, leaving himself significant power over how and when the weapons can be deployed. National security experts say it’s imperative to leave some room in the guidelines, given the evolving fight against terrorism. But civil rights advocates argue too little has been revealed about the program to ensure its legality, even as the president takes steps to remove some of the secrecy.

New Mexico agencies encourage visitors to know fire restrictions 05/25/13 - 12:32am

Public land managers are urging people to be careful with fire and to know if the area they plan to visit is under fire restrictions. Land management agencies have implemented fire and smoking restrictions due to prolonged drought to protect public health and safety by preventing human-caused wildfires. Year-around restrictions, local burn bans, Stage I and Stage II fire restrictions are in effect across New Mexico.

Scouts approve plan to accept openly gay boys 05/24/13 - 12:35am

GRAPEVINE — The Boy Scouts of America threw open its ranks Thursday to gay Scouts but not gay Scout leaders — a fiercely contested compromise that some warned could fracture the organization and lead to mass defections of members and donors. Of the roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA’s National Council who cast ballots, 61 percent supported the proposal drafted by the governing Executive Committee. The policy change takes effect Jan. 1.

Shuttered NM plant resumes making peanut butter 05/24/13 - 12:30am

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The eastern New Mexico peanut butter plant shuttered eight months ago after a salmonella outbreak is back in production, and company officials say their coveted natural and organic butters could be back on store shelves within a month. Sunland Inc. Vice President Katalin Coburn said the company last week got the go-ahead from the Food and Drug Administration to restart peanut butter operations at its factory in Portales. It is currently in a test phase of production, she said.

Distraught mom becomes face of Oklahoma storm 05/24/13 - 12:21am

MOORE, Okla. — A massive tornado was carving its way through town. There was no time to hesitate. LaTisha Garcia had to get to her children. And so she raced against the storm. She had 30 miles to cover from her job in Edmond to Plaza Towers Elementary School, where her 8-year-old daughter, Jazmin Rodriguez, is a third-grader. She lost. The tornado got there first, and the destruction kept her from driving the final few hundred yards. And so she got out of her car and ran, arriving to find little left of the school and almost nothing of the neighborhood.

Senate votes to cut crop insurance aid for wealthy 05/24/13 - 12:17am

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday voted to limit the amount of government subsidies the wealthiest farmers receive when purchasing crop insurance. The vote was one small victory this week for critics of a massive, five-year farm bill that would cost almost $100 billion a year and includes generous subsidies for the nation’s biggest crops. Supporters have deflected other attempts on the Senate floor to reduce government help for agriculture, including proposals to trim sugar subsidies and crop insurance.

Obama sees narrower terror threat, defends drones 05/24/13 - 12:17am

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama sought Thursday to advance the U.S. beyond the unrelenting war effort of the past dozen years, defining a narrowing terror threat that still imperils the nation but now is defined by smaller networks and homegrown extremists rather than the grandiose plots of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida. He defended his controversial drone-strikes program as a linchpin of the U.S. response to the evolving dangers.