News

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – The Mesilla Valley DWI Resource Center will present a town hall meeting on underage drinking prevention Thursday at 6:00 p.m. at Mayfield High School.

Young people who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence and two and a half times more likely to become abusers of alcohol than those who begin drinking at age 21.

2007 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control show underage drinking is widespread in New Mexico.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – The New Mexico Environment Department says it plans to petition a state regulatory board for a cap and trade program aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The department is seeking public comments on a draft document that outlines options for a cap and trade program. The proposal will then be put before the state Environmental Improvement Board later this year.

Environment Secretary Ron Curry says it's important that the board adopt a cap and trade program that will best suit the needs of New Mexico.

By KRWG News

Albuquerque – An 18-year-old Albuquerque Academy senior has won the top award of $100,000 in the Intel Science Talent Search.

Erika DeBenedictis won the prize Tuesday night from the Intel Foundation for developing a software navigation system to help improve travel of spacecraft through the solar system.

Her research found the gravity and movement of planets create routes that ultimately will help spacecraft move faster and with less fuel.

Intel says it's the first time a New Mexican has won the competition.

By KRWG News

Juarez, Mexico – The FBI says that confused hit men may have gone to the wrong party when they shot dead three people with ties to the U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

That casts doubt on fears that the Saturday slayings in the border city across from El Paso, Texas, shows Mexican drug cartels have launched an offensive against U.S. government employees.

By Vanessa Dabovich

Las Cruces, NM – President Obama's proposed revision of the No Child Left Behind Law contains many changes to the current system. As KRWG's Vanessa Dabovich reports New Mexico U.S Senator Jeff Bingaman says he supports the amendments.

By Vanessa Dabovich

Las Cruces, NM – New Mexico U.S Senator Jeff Bingaman says some parts of the health insurance reform bill can take effect quickly if the bill is signed into law. KRWG's Vanessa Dabovich reports

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – A member of the archives staff at New Mexico State University has been named as state historian.

Rick Hendricks will take the job Monday.

Hendricks is currently employed in the archives and special collections department at NMSU's library and teaches Latin American history at NMSU.

His selection was announced last week by state records administrator Sandra Jaramillo.

He succeeds Estevan Rael-Galvez, now executive director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.

By KRWG News

Texas – Texas Gov. Rick Perry has activated a secret spillover violence contingency plan, citing an increasing threat of violence crossing the Texas border from Mexico.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Santa Teresa Station seized over 232 pounds of marijuana in duffle bags from a Nissan Altima that was loaded near mile marker 124 on New Mexico Highway 9.

At approximately 9:45 p.m. on Monday, March 15, 2010, as agents were following several footprints leading north from the U.S./Mexico Border they observed several individuals loading what seemed to be several backpacks into a vehicle on Highway 9. Agents in the area were advised of the situation and responded quickly.

By Claudette Ortiz

Las Cruces – March is Women's History Month. In honor of that, Las Cruces Sun News columnist Claudette Ortiz shares a personal story in this installment of "The Age Spot".

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – Police say a Las Cruces woman has been arrested for falsely claiming that she had been sexually assaulted.

Police say 20-year-old Michelle Holcomb is charged with one count of filing a false police report. She's jailed at the Dona Ana County Detention Center on $1,000 bond.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – Police in Las Cruces are serious about enforcing the city's recently approved ban on using a cell phone while driving.

A traffic enforcement operation Monday netted 30 violations of the city's cell phone ordinance and another 57 citations for other offenses.

The effort ran from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. just north of the Downtown Mall.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – Every Monday at 7:51 a.m., Fred Martino speaks with Las Cruces Sun News Business Editor Brook Stockberger.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – U.S.Border Patrol Agents assigned to the Las Cruces Station apprehended a U.S Citizen attempting to smuggle four illegal migrants into the country while endangering their lives at the Interstate 25 traffic checkpoint during a routine inspection.

By Melissa Aguilera

Las Cruces, NM – A native Las Crucen who served in Iraq helped the children of that country while she was there. KRWG's Melissa Aguilera reports.