Former janitor convicted of first-degree murder
(AP) - A former elementary school janitor was convicted Monday of first-degree murder in the death of a school occupational therapist. Martin Saiz, 22, was the last person seen with 28-year-old Carolyn Rustvold before she disappeared on Jan. 17, 2003.
Her body was found in a ditch near Belen seven weeks later. Jurors began deliberating Monday morning and returned the verdict at 4:30 p.m. Saiz was also convicted of kidnapping and 15 counts of tampering with evidence. Members of Saiz's family sobbed when the verdict was read. His girlfriend ran out of the courtroom.
MVD has issued 3,500 ignition interlock licenses
SANTA FE (AP) - The state Motor Vehicle Division issued more than 3,500 ignition interlock licenses in the last 18 months, an official said. A law signed by Gov. Bill Richardson in April 2003 allows convicted drunken drivers who lost their licenses to return to the road if they get a special license and install an ignition interlock device in their vehicle.
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"Every day we are making it more difficult for people to drive intoxicated on our roads," said MVD director Larry Kehoe. An ignition interlock, which costs about $75, prevents a vehicle from being started if the driver's blood-alcohol content is greater than 0.025.
California storms cause mudslides; 3 people die
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Mudslides trapped people in their homes Monday and forced others to flee as Southern California was soaked by yet another of the powerful storms that have pounded the region this winter. At least three deaths were blamed on the weather and part of the area's commuter rail service was halted.
Lebanese hold historic anti-occupation protest
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Tens of thousands marched Monday in the biggest anti-Syrian protest in Lebanese history amid signals that Syria will soon withdraw its troops from parts of the country.
President Bush renewed demands for Syrian forces to leave Lebanon immediately. The protest marked one week since the Feb. 14 death of Rafik Hariri and began at the bomb-scarred site of the former prime minister's assassination, which turned many Lebanese against Syria and increased international pressure on Damascus to extract its army from Lebanon.
Bush appeals to European allies for help in Mideast
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - President Bush scolded Russia for backsliding on democracy Monday and urged Middle East allies to take difficult steps for peace, appealing for Europe's help in both troubled areas to "set history on a hopeful course."
Bush opened his discussions with a gesture of reconciliation toward disgruntled allies, hosting an elegant dinner for French President Jacques Chirac, the harshest critic of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
N. Korea hints at return to negotiations with U.S.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told a visiting Chinese envoy that his government will return to six-party nuclear disarmament talks if the United States shows "sincerity," the communist state's official news agency said Tuesday.
The announcement - the latest in more than two years of conflicting statements over North Korea's nuclear program - came less than two weeks after Kim flouted Washington and its allies by claiming that it had nuclear weapons and would boycott the talks.
