Uranium enrichment plant may lose support
SANTA FE (AP) - Gov. Bill Richardson may withdraw his support for a proposed uranium enrichment plant near Eunice unless he sees action to address concerns about final disposal of the waste the plant would generate, a spokesman said Wednesday.
Richardson previously has received waste-disposal assurances from the company, Louisiana Energy Services,and the office of Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said governor's spokesman Gilbert Gallegos.
"The governor expects they will abide by those promises, but he hasn't seen a lot of action," Gallegos said.
Uranium processing generates a type of waste that cannot be dumped legally anywhere in the United States. Such waste requires processing to convert it before it can be shipped to a low-level nuclear waste dump, but no U.S. facility can do that.
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Deming man to stand trial in fatal shooting
DEMING, N.M. (AP) - A Deming man will stand trial on a murder charge in the death last month of another man.
Magistrate Fred Gifford ruled Monday there is sufficient evidence to try Anthony L. Campa, 22, in state district court in the Jan. 27 shooting death of Angel Olivas, 25. Campa also will be tried on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence and conspiracy to tamper with evidence.
Gifford ruled last week that a second man, Esteban Montano, 33, should stand trial on accessory and conspiracy charges in the case.
Campa and Montano were arrested two days after Olivas was gunned down outside his Deming home in an apparent drive-by shooting. He died a short time later.
Snowpack affected by greenhouse gases
New research suggests global warming will lead to less snow in New Mexico's mountains in the coming decades, hurting New Mexico's water supply.
The northern mountains of New Mexico, where snow provides critical water supplies for the state, could see a 30 percent drop in average snowpack by 2050, said L. Ruby Leung, a staff scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington state.
Her study predicts relatively modest drops in annual precipitation - falling more as rain rather than snow. Leung said that will cause havoc on systems built to handle spring snowmelt.
Bush displays concern over gay marriage issue
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush said Wednesday he was troubled by gay weddings in San Francisco and by legal decisions in Massachusetts that could clear the way for same-sex marriage. He declined to say whether he was more inclined now to back a constitutional ban. However, he spoke privately with conservative Catholics about the issue, and activists who favor such a ban said the president would soon announce his support.
Edwards' campaign shifts to Kerry, Bush
Their rivalry engaged, Democratic presidential contenders Sen. John Kerry and Sen. John Edwards unveiled distinctive strategies Wednesday for a 10-state showdown March 2. The challenger will attack Kerry's free-trade policies and special interest ties, targeting Ohio, New York and Georgia with television ads. The front-runner will battle Edwards on one front and President Bush on another, advertising in general-election battleground states while counting on arcane Democratic Party rules to protect his lead in nomination delegates.
Pakistan and India to meet for peace talks
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan and India agreed Wednesday on an aggressively rapid plan for peace talks they hope will put a history of acrimony behind them, planning high-level meetings on contentious issues like Kashmir, terrorism and nuclear weapons.
The dialogue will culminate with a summit in August between the two nations' foreign ministers - a major breakthrough that would have been unimaginable two years ago, when the atomic adversaries stood on the brink of war.
