New Mexico ranks 12th in identity theft cases
(AP) - Identity theft has grown by 21 percent from 2003 to 2004 in New Mexico, according to a Federal Trade Commission report.
The Feb. 1 report shows New Mexico ranked 12th in the country for identity theft with 1,588 victims in 2004. A year earlier, the state had 1,317 such victims.
Identity theft occurs when someone steals your personal identification information - a Social Security number, bank account number or credit card - and uses it to buy items and damage your credit.
Santa Fe jail looks into cause of prisoner's death
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SANTA FE (AP) - Investigators are trying to determine a cause of death for a prisoner whose body was found in his Santa Fe County jail dormitory bed.
Chris Roybal, 37, of Santa Fe, died early Friday, authorities said.
"Investigators are looking into some inmates' claims that Mr. Roybal may have taken heroin" on Thursday, said Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano.
Roybal's body showed no signs of trauma and no drug paraphernalia was found near his body, said Maj. Ron Madrid of the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department.
Medical Marijuana bill clears Senate panel
SANTA FE (AP) - A Senate committee has unanimously endorsed a measure to allow the medical use of marijuana under a program run by the Department of Health.
The Public Affairs Committee on Friday heeded the pleas of people with cancer, AIDS and other illnesses to approve the legislation.
"If this bill gets passed it will be a blessing to so many of us," said Essie DeBonet of Albuquerque, who suffers chronic nausea from her AIDS medications.
The bill would have to clear the Judiciary Committee before it reached the full Senate for a vote.
'Gidget' star Sandra Dee dies near LA at 63
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Actress Sandra Dee, the blond beauty who attracted a large teen audience in the 1960s with films such as "Gidget" and "Tammy and the Doctor" and had a headlined marriage to pop singer Bobby Darin, died Sunday. She was 63. Dee died at 5:57 a.m. at the Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, said Cynthia Mead, nursing supervisor.
Jeff Gordon wins his 3rd Daytona 500 in wild finish
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Jeff Gordon grabbed the lead from Dale Earnhardt Jr., then held off Kurt Busch and Earnhardt in extra laps to win his third Daytona 500 Sunday. One of the wildest finishes in the 47-year history of NASCAR's biggest race saw four lead changes in the last nine laps. Earnhardt, the defending champion, came from as far back as 30th to grab a late lead, only to watch four-time series champion Gordon pass him seconds before a caution flag waved with three laps to go.
Israel approves Gaza pullout in historic vote
JERUSALEM (AP) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Cabinet began charting Israel's future borders in a historic session Sunday, giving final approval to a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a revised route for the West Bank separation barrier that would move Israel's border closer to that of its original frontier. With the vote, an Israeli government agreed for the first time since capturing the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war to dismantle some of the dozens of Jewish settlements it has built there.
Lebanon to cooperate with U.N. investigation
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Lebanon, facing mounting domestic and international pressure to find the assassins of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, said Sunday it will cooperate with U.N. investigators but stuck to its rejection of a full-fledged international inquiry.
Hariri was killed a week ago Monday in a massive bomb explosion as he was driven through central Beirut.
The blast killed 16 others and wounded more than 100.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh said Sunday that Lebanon welcomes the help of an international investigating team, provided that it comes within the framework of Lebanese sovereignty.
Al Qaeda denounces calls for Mideast reforms
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Al-Jazeera television aired a videotape Sunday purporting to show al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri denouncing U.S. calls for reform in the region and urging the West to respect the Islamic world.
Al-Zawahri, who appeared sitting on the ground and in front of a brown background, said the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, "explains the truth about reforms and democracy that America alleges it wants to impose in our countries."
