Roswell Daily Record
Senate confirms Hagel, 58–41
Vol. 122, No. 50 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A deeply divided Senate voted on Tuesday to confir m Republican Chuck Hagel to be the nation’s next defense secretary, handing President Barack Obama’s pick the top Pentagon job just days before billions of dollars in automatic, across-the-board budget cuts hit the military.
POSTAL SERVICES STRUGGLE
OTAKI, New Zealand (AP) — For now, a boom in Internet shopping is helping keep alive moribund postal services across the developed world. But the core of their business — letters — is declining precipitously, and data from many countries indicate that parcels ... - PAGE B5
The vote was 58-41, with four Republicans joining the Democrats in backing the contentious choice. Hagel’s only GOP support came from for mer col-
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
February, 27, 2013
WEDNESDAY
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leagues Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Dick Shelby of Alabama and Mike Johanns of Nebraska — all three had announced their support earlier — and Rand Paul of Kentucky.
The vote came just hours after Republicans dropped their unprecedented delay of a Pentagon choice and allowed the nomination to move forward on a 71-27 vote. Hagel, 66, a former twoterm Nebraska senator and twice-wounded Vietnam combat veteran, succeeds
Ride ’em, cowboy!
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Hagel is expected to be sworn in at the Pentagon today. Obama welcomed the bipartisan Senate vote, although 41 Republicans opposed his nominee. Republicans had opposed their onetime colleague, casting him as unqualified for the job, hostile toward Israel and soft on Iran. The objections remained strong well after the vote. Hagel joins Obama’s See HAGEL, Page A3
AP Photo
Armed school staffers?
Chuck Hagel testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, Jan. 31.
The state’s Senate Education Committee is scheduled to hear a bill at 8 a.m. today that would allow up to three school employees to carry a concealed handgun on school property.
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Horse anti-doping bill passes • Water bill to increase 22% ... • Roswell woman sought following chase • Rabies clinic this Sunday • Sweet accepts Gridiron King award
State law prohibits anyone from carrying guns on school property, except police and security guards. Under SB 230, sponsored by Sen. Sue Wilson Beffort, R-Sandia Park, public schools would have the option to designate employees to be armed on school premises. The employees would need to have a valid concealed handgun license.
INSIDE SPORTS Mark Wilson Photo
Doc Dison of Las Cruces and his steer Blizzard acknowledge passers-by while promoting the Gold N' Cash Roundup location at 1107 S. Main St., Tuesday.
RFD suspects arson in Mulberry fires Shug McGaughey catches Derby fever every once in a while, and the Hall of Fame trainer just might have it again thanks to a 3-year-old colt named Orb. Sure, it’s more than two months before the Kentucky Derby, but it’s never too early to start planning for a trip to Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. Orb rallied in the stretch for a half-length win over favorite Violence in Saturday’s Fountain of Youth ... - PAGE B1
DERBY FEVER
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OBITUARIES
Emiterio Pino Peralta Virginia Runion Ruth (Brown) Hulse Elizabeth Lou Owen Camilo “Milo” Juarez Robin Troublefield Felix Vallejos Maxine Kilness - PAGE A3, A7, B6
HIGH ...55˚ LOW ....29˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
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JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Roswell Fire Department investigators suspect arson in a recent spate of fires that have occurred along the 1400 block of South Mulberry Avenue. Fire Marshal Bill Wells said, “It’s no coincidence that we have had four structure fires in a one-block area between Wildy and East Forest streets in the past six
weeks.”
Three of the four have been ruled as arson. In addition, there have been multiple small fires in the vicinity. “There has definitely been activity with dumpsters, and we are working on the assumption that someone is starting fires in the neighborhood.” The most recent investigated by Fire Marshal Bill See ARSON, Page A2
JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Roswell area shoppers should soon have a new national retail store and a tasty dessert shop to visit at the Roswell Mall. Plans are in place for the mega, off-price retailer Marshalls to open a 25,000-square-foot store next to Hobby Lobby in the fall mall management announced Tuesday. Shoppers will access the
AP Photo
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., answers questions on the looming automatic spending cuts following a Democratic strategy session at the Capitol, Tuesday.
money could be transferred from lower-priority accounts to others that fund air traffic control or meat inspection. But Obama, appearing at a Virginia shipbuilding site that he said would sit idle should the cuts go through, rejected the idea, saying there’s no smart way to cut such a
See ARMED, Page A2
Marshalls coming to Mall in fall
Obama rejects GOP spending cuts plan WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama brushed off a Republican plan Tuesday to give him flexibility to allocate $85 billion in looming spending cuts, wanting no part of a deal that would force him to choose between the bad and the terrible. Three days out and no closer to any agreement, both parties sought to saddle the other with the blame for the painful ramification of the across-the-board cuts set to kick in Friday. Obama accused Republicans of steadfastly refusing to compromise, while the top Senate Republican, Mitch McConnell, chided Obama’s effort to “fan the flames of catastrophe.” McConnell and other top Republicans were lining up behind a plan that wouldn’t replace the cuts but would give Obama’s agency heads, such as incoming Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, greater discretion in distributing the cuts. The idea is that
“We need to stop a tragedy before it happens,” Beffort said in a statement. “It is an option that school boards can decide if they want. If they want it, then a shooter is not
large chunk from the budget over just seven months — the amount of time left in the fiscal year. Giving the Obama administration more authority could take pressure off of Congress to address the sequester. But the White House is See OBAMA, Page A3
store from the outside. “We’re really excited to have them here,” said Anjy Cooper, mall spokeswoman in management and leasing. “I think for the mall, it will hopefully bring more national tenants for our interior stores, more job opportunities for the people in Roswell and overall make the mall look a lot busier, bigger, healthier.” The company has not yet submitted of ficial plans with the city for
interior work, according to Building Inspector Miller Butts. Butts said he did finalize an addition to the south side where the old Walmart store was located, and where the new Marshalls will be built. “The shell is existing with fire suppression in place,” Butts said. “It’s ready for interior remodel work.” The mall added an
See MALL, Page A2
House to take up anti-violence act
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress appeared on a course to renew the expired Violence Against Women Act after House Republican leaders on Tuesday agreed to take up a version of the 1994 anti-domestic violence law that passed the Senate two weeks ago by a wide, bipartisan margin. The decision to allow a vote on the Senate bill, rather than insist on the House GOP’s more limited version, could help avoid a bitter partisan fight over an issue important to women at a time that Congress is already embroiled in an unbecoming political standof f over budgetary issues. The House Rules Committee decided that the House on Wednesday will take up the Senate bill. The House alternative will be offered as an amendment and, if that is defeated, the House will then vote to pass the Senate measure, sending it to President Barack Obama for his signature. The Senate bill expands the law, which expired in
2011, to better protect lesbians and gays, immigrants and Native American women. House Republicans introduced a more limited bill this week, setting off cries of protest from Democrats, the White House, women’s advocacy groups and some Republicans who said it was inadequate to meet the needs of anti-domestic abuse programs. House Democrats said Tuesday that no one in their caucus would support the Republican bill, meaning that the opposition of a small number of Republicans could spell its defeat. A similar scenario played out last year when the Senate passed a more ambitious bill by a wide, bipartisan margin and the House took a different course with a largely partisan bill. The year ended without a compromise and with Democrats making election-year claims that GOP actions on the bill exposed the party’s lack of commitment to women’s issues. See HOUSE, Page A2