Free Republic

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A Republican push to make drilling cheaper on federal land is creating new fiscal pressure for states that depend on oil and gas revenue, most notably in New Mexico as it expands early childhood education and saves for the future. The shift stems from the sweeping law President Donald Trump signed in July that rolls back the minimum federal royalty rate to 12.5%. That rate — the share of production value companies must pay to the government — held steady for a century under the 1920 Mineral Leasing Act. It was raised to 16.7% under...

Incumbent Mayor Tim Keller won the runoff election and will lead Albuquerque for another four years, according to unofficial election results from Tuesday's municipal election. With 58% of the vote by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Keller — first elected in 2017 — bested challenger Darren White to become the city's first consecutive three-term mayor. The mayoral race focused largely on Albuquerque’s crime rate, homelessness, housing and economic development. Keller, a Democrat who has served as state auditor and in the state Legislature, defended his record and campaigned on the need for follow-through. White said he offered a changing of the guard...

New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver is once again at the center of a major election-integrity controversy — this time after the U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit accusing her of illegally blocking access to the state’s voter registration database. Instead of complying with federal law, Toulouse Oliver — who is campaigning for lieutenant governor — is now attacking the DOJ and framing basic election-integrity oversight as a political assault. Toulouse Oliver responded on X immediately after the lawsuit was announced, claiming the federal action is “part of the Trump administration’s assault on free and fair...

New Mexico’s anti-gun politicians are again taking aim at lawful firearms dealers, pushing a proposal that Second Amendment advocates warn could deliver the “final death blow” to the gun industry by criminalizing shops for crimes committed by others. For longtime Albuquerque gun dealer Arnie Gallegos, the narrative pushed by these lawmakers is far removed from reality. Gallegos, who has owned ABQ Guns for 15 years, already keeps a vigilant eye out for anything suspicious. “If they’re buying, like, 15 ARs, or they’re ordering an AR every week or something like that, that’s kind of a red flag,” he said. If...

Powerful families, millions of dollars and fake investigations.The House Democrats on the Oversight Committee, whose header is a picture of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, released a cache of emails that they claimed indicted Trump. Instead the emails again confirm that Trump had broken ties with Epstein and wanted nothing more to do with him.The Democrat members of the committee showed no interest in why members of their party in three states, New York, Florida and New Mexico, covered up for Epstein and kept him off the sex offender registry. That’s not something Trump, who didn’t even hold public office until...

The Department of the Interior today announced the successful seizure of more than 37,000 fentanyl pills during a coordinated drug interdiction operation on the Pueblo of Isleta Reservation in New Mexico, led by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Division of Drug Enforcement and Pueblo of Isleta Tribal Police. The operation, which also included the Homeland Security Task Force, resulted in the seizure of approximately 37,300 fentanyl pills with a street value of nearly $1.5 million and $37,877 in cash. "We commend the law enforcement teams from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Pueblo of Isleta, and all of the other...

SANTA FE — The New Mexico Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of a 2023 lawsuit aimed at dramatically curtailing oil and natural gas production in the state. The state’s Court of Appeals in June dismissed the lawsuit, which was filed by a coalition of Native American activists and environmental groups. But the plaintiffs subsequently appealed that ruling, and New Mexico’s highest court issued an order this week accepting the case. “We have a strong Constitution in New Mexico, and I’m confident the Supreme Court will uphold New Mexicans’ right to protection of our health and our environment,”...

For Maggie Aragon, a New Mexico woman who’s relied on federal food assistance for more than 30 years, the moment her SNAP balance dropped to zero was life-altering, she says. “When I heard, ‘Zero dollars,’ my chest went into my throat,” Aragon told KOAT 7 News, describing the fear and panic that set in when she discovered her benefits had been cut off due to the ongoing Democrat-led government shutdown. “It’s detrimental to my life.” Aragon, who said she also depends on local food banks to survive, is one of tens of thousands of New Mexicans now facing uncertainty as...

Summary Program aims to improve education, child welfare in New Mexico Other Democratic-run areas eye similar steps Critics argue against free child care for wealthy families TAOS, New Mexico, Nov 1 (Reuters) - New Mexico became on Saturday the first U.S. state to offer free child care to all residents in a bid to boost its economy and lift education and child welfare levels ranked the worst in the country.Under the program, families, regardless of income, can receive state vouchers to cover public and private child care fees. It culminates efforts New Mexico has made to expand access to free...

“If only Muslims were clever politically, they could take over the United States"Rising outrage by families of 9/11 victims and FBI agents involved in the original World Trade Center bombing investigation, along with attacks from political rivals and questions from the one or two media outlets not in the tank for his campaign, forced Zohran Mamdani to answer why he had campaigned at the Al-Taqwa Mosque, which had been under NYPD surveillance, and tweeted a photo of himself with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, an unindicted coconspirator in the World Trade Center bombing.And Mamdani’s response was accusing critics of ‘Islamophobia’.“The same imam...

The Albuquerque International Sunport has joined airports across the country in refusing to show a video of U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem blaming Democrats for the federal government shutdown. Mayor Tim Keller said in a statement Tuesday that political rhetoric was not welcome at the Sunport. “Our nation’s airports are not an appropriate venue for political messages, especially statements that will lead to confusion for the traveling public,” Keller said. “Our focus at the Sunport remains where it should be: the safety, security and experience of all travelers.” Federal workers nationwide, including agents at the Transportation Security Administration,...

A security guard was arrested after allegedly shooting and killing a man who reportedly took $90 worth of merchandise from a Halloween store in Northeast Albuquerque Thursday evening. Josiah Armijo, 25, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder Friday. He was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center and does not yet have a lawyer. Officers were dispatched to the Spirit Halloween on Carlisle NE at Indian School around 5 p.m. Thursday following reports of a homicide. Upon arrival, police saw a man with a gunshot wound to the chest ... Security camera footage from the store showed the man place...

The United States Agriculture Department informed states including New Mexico that it will not pay for food stamps in November if the ongoing government shutdown continues, the state’s Health Care Authority secretary said Wednesday. The order could mean the state’s 450,000 recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program won’t receive nearly $90 million in benefits next month, HCA Secretary Kari Armijo told lawmakers on the Legislative Finance Committee during a meeting Wednesday morning in Santa Fe. In addition, Armijo said the USDA informed states it may revoke the authorization of the state’s roughly 1,700 SNAP retailers, “so folks with SNAP...

A Navajo Nation man charged by federal prosecutors with running a vast illegal cannabis cultivation and distribution ring pleaded guilty Tuesday to 15 felony crimes and faces up to life in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced. Dineh Benally, 48, admitted in his federal plea agreement that he operated more than 30 farms covering some 400 acres on land obtained from Navajo Nation members. He also admitted hiring illegal Chinese workers to grow cannabis on his farms. Benally entered the plea on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque before U.S. Magistrate Judge John F. Robbenhaar. Benally also admitted that...

New Mexico’s National Guard Adjutant General announced Monday that Guardsmen will soon be deployed to Española, a town of roughly 10,000 people in northern New Mexico whose leaders recently asked for state help dealing with a crime, drug and housing crisis. Española will be the second New Mexico city to receive National Guard troops this year. Albuquerque, the state’s biggest city, has seen a monthslong troop deployment in support of the Albuquerque Police Department. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham authorized the deployments to both cities in emergency orders that cite rising crime and short-staffed law enforcement agencies. The governor’s Aug. 13...

In the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, a doctor in Albuquerque has drawn national attention and condemnation for social media posts in which he appeared to celebrate the violence. Dr. John R. Vigil, identified in his public profile as board-certified in Addiction Medicine (not Virgil), a Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, a Master Addiction Counselor, and associated with the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and JRV Medical Group, posted two messages on Facebook following Kirk’s death. In one, he reportedly wrote: “If you’re looking for sympathy from me...

If you want to know where America’s oil boom is happening, no need to look at the whole map—because it’s limited to just ten counties in the Permian Basin. Between 2020 and 2024, these small dots in Texas and New Mexico delivered 93% of all U.S. crude oil growth, according to the latest EIA and Enverus data. It's almost like the rest of the US doesn’t even matter when it comes to oil production growth. The U.S. added 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) of new crude and condensate output over that stretch. But nearly all of it came from...

Emergency response teams from across the country faced off in the annual hazmat challenge. It’s all about keeping their skills sharp. “Hazmat teams from around the nation encounter so many different scenarios and hazards that they very rarely get to see this many scenarios in one place,” said Chris Rittner, an emergency response group leader. From wrecked cars, planes and rail cars, it can all be found at the Los Alamos National Lab Emergency Response Center. “The reason we do these challenges is there’s a requirement for teams to maintain their training and competency,” said Rittner. The training event and...

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has declared a state of emergency in Rio Arriba County, Española, and nearby Pueblos due to ongoing challenges curbing violent crime and drug trafficking. The order, which may include National Guard deployment, authorizes up to $750,000 for the state emergency management department. Critics condemned the move as inconsistent with her past remarks regarding President Donald Trump's federal guard deployments.

Police officer draws his gun on a high school student in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after receiving a report that the student had a gun. Five guns were found on or near school campuses in Albuquerque on Wednesday. Two students at West Mesa High School are facing charges and are in juvenile detention. The student in the video allegedly had a gun in his book bag, and another student at the school reportedly had a gun in his waistband. On the same day, two students at Albuquerque High School also brought guns on campus. According to police, there was a similar...