Man sentenced to 18 years on sexual assault charges
CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) - A man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison on criminal sexual penetration and criminal sexual contact charges.
Steve Woods, 33, was sentenced by state District Judge Stephen K. Quinn on Monday, said District Attorney Matthew Chandler. Woods was convicted of the charges in December.
The victim told a Curry County sheriff's deputy that he had been held against his will and sexually assaulted in his home by Woods on April 29.
In addition to the prison time, Quinn sentenced Woods to more than three years of supervised probation. Woods must also register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Firefighters beginning to contain bosque blaze
SAN ANTONIO, N.M. (AP) - A wildfire in the Rio Grande bosque has burned more than 1,100 acres, fire officials said Monday.
Large plumes of smoke were visible as firefighters conducted burnout operations to remove fuel in the interior of the fire's boundaries.
"I think they have a pretty good handle on it," said Dan Ware, state Forestry Division spokesman. The fire remained 70 percent contained Monday evening, he said.
The fire - tackled by 70 to 80 firefighters - was burning salt cedar, Russian olive and cottonwood trees along with grass east of San Antonio.
Fire activity was minimal Monday because of low temperatures and light wind, Ware said.
Women speak at FDA silicone implant hearing
WASHINGTON (AP) - Thirteen years after most use of silicone-gel breast implants was banned, the government reopened emotional debate Monday on whether to lift the restrictions - despite lingering questions about how often the devices can break inside women's bodies and how bad those breaks really are. In an extraordinary daylong hearing, dozens of women, many in tears, told federal health advisers of pain and crippling health problems when silicone leaked from broken implants into their breasts and beyond.
Senate panel grills Bolton on record of U.N. criticism
WASHINGTON (AP) - His Senate approval to be U.N. ambassador still in question, John R. Bolton told skeptical Democrats on Monday that the world body had "gone off track" at times but that he was committed to its mission.
Democrats at Bolton's Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing recited his past undiplomatic remarks about the United Nations and wondered aloud why he would even want the job. They also challenged him over alleged bullying of government intelligence officials who disagreed with him on issues including Cuba's weapons capabilities.
Bush warns Sharon about settlement growth
CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - President Bush told Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday he must not allow further West Bank settlement growth and said Israeli and Palestinian doubts about each other were hampering peace prospects.
In response, Sharon said Israel would abide by the internationally negotiated "road map" peace plan, which calls for a settlement freeze, but would keep some large Jewish population blocs in the West Bank under its control.
Disgraced cardinal leads Mass for pope's funeral
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Cardinal Bernard Law, whose failures to stop sexually abusive priests sparked the worst crisis in American church history, led a Mass for thousands mourning Pope John Paul II at St. Peter's Basilica on Monday after police whisked away a victim protesting outside. Law celebrated the Mass without disruption, saying in his homily that Italian, Polish and other pilgrims were inspiring in their huge tribute to John Paul II. Nearly 3 million mourners flooded Rome for the pontiff's funeral last week.
Kyrgyzstan leaders accept ex-president's resignation
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) - Parliament accepted the resignation Monday of ousted President Askar Akayev, formally ending his 15-year rule in Kyrgyzstan and paving the way for the election of a new leader for a nation shaken by last month's sudden and forceful change of power.
After opposition supporters stormed and ransacked his office March 24, Akayev fled to Russia, where he signed his resignation a week ago.
Legislators initially hesitated in accepting his offer to step down, reluctant to allow him a dignified exit. After days of debate, they deepened his disgrace by stripping him of privileges he had gained as the Central Asian nation's first president under a 2003 law.
