1-4-2010

Page 1

Roswell Daily Record

Vol. 120, No. 3 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday

INSIDE NEWS

BEEBE, Ark. (AP) — New Year’s revelers in a small Arkansas town were enjoying midnight fireworks when they noticed something other than sparks falling from the sky: thousands of dead blackbirds. - PAGE A2

January 4, 2011

TUESDAY

www.rdrnews.com

House GOP sends health care message

WASHINGTON (AP) — Eager to show who’s now in charge, the House’s new Republican majority plans to vote to repeal President Barack Obama’s landmark health care overhaul before he even shows up in their chamber to give his State of the Union address.

MYSTERIOUS BIRD DEATHS

THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

Dramatic as that early showdown promises to be — the vote will be Jan. 12, Republicans said Monday — it will be just the first in a series of struggles expected to play out in the next few months. Obama returns Tuesday from his holiday vacation, fresh off lame-duck legislative victories late last year, and Republicans will be sworn

in Wednesday, primed to challenge him after gaining House control in last fall’s elections. Full repeal of the health care law is still a long shot. The House vote would be just the first, easiest step. But House Republicans vow they will follow up with dozens of attempts to hack away at what they derisively call “Obamacare.” The strategy is not riskfree for the Republicans, who won’t have a replacement plan of their own ready by the time of the repeal vote. But they say there’s no time to lose. Senate Democratic leaders are sending their own “you-don’t-scare-me” mes-

sage. In a letter Monday to House Speaker-to-be John Boehner, they served notice that they’ll block any repeal, arguing it would kill popular provisions such as improved prescription coverage for Medicare.

Beyond the early health care vote, emboldened Republicans are straining to challenge the president’s spending priorities, setting up likely conflicts over the budget and the country’s debt ceiling. Those votes will be early tests of how the president will maneuver with a divided Congress, as both he and Republicans look ahead to the next elections. Most likely, both parties

AP Photo

In this June 8, 2010, file photo, President Barack Obama, listens as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speaks during a town hall meeting in Wheaton, Md.

will carry the main issues of the health care debate

Martinez gets to work

TOP 5 WEB For The Last 24 Hours

• NM teen dies in accidental shooting • Hospital welcomes its first baby of 2011 • RPD chief likely named next week • Aircraft tear down made easy

INSIDE SPORTS

James Duffey was sworn in as a Chaves County Commissioner on Monday morning.

Emily Russo Miller Photo

Duffey sworn in as Commissioner STANFORD WINS ORANGE BOWL MIAMI (AP) — John Elway flashed his familiar grin and Jim Harbaugh gave a jubilant shout from the sideline as Andrew Luck sprinted up the field to join an end zone celebration. - PAGE B1

TODAY’S OBITUARIES • Luis L. “Shorty” Flores • Maura Tafoya • Shirley SweetenAvey • Virginia Hamlett Marsh • Dorothy Little • Edgar Ray Hatcher - PAGE B3

HIGH ...62˚ LOW ....22˚

TODAY’S FORECAST

CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8 WORLD .................A3

INDEX

See HEALTH, Page A3

After a tight election race followed by petitions and recounts, Republican James Duffey was formally sworn in as a Chaves County Commissioner Monday morning. He had defeated his opponent by one vote, a District Court judge affirmed in early December. Duffey had previously told the Daily Record that he will only know if he is a commissioner when he is officially sworn in. “I’ll believe it now,” he said with a smile during the ceremony. “I look forward to working for the people of Chaves County,” he added.

The other four commissioners said they are eager to work alongside Duffey in the upcoming year.

“It was a long ordeal after the election,” Commissioner Chairman Greg Nibert said, “but we’re pleased to have James on board.”

Fellow Commissioner Kyle "Smiley" Wooton said Duffey’s “agricultural background and business savvy” will be a helpful addition to the board of commissioners.

Also sworn in at the same ceremony was Nibert, County Assessor Ron Lethgo and Chaves County Probate Judge Eric J. Coll.

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Gov. Susana Martinez used her first work day to reverse a decision by her Democratic predecessor and to propose expanding state law to require DNA samples from those arrested for any felony. The Republican governor, who took office on Saturday, followed through on a promise to stop a plan by former Gov. Bill Richardson’s administration to move a state DNA center to Santa Fe from Albuquerque. Some computer equipment was moved last week, but Martinez on Monday directed that be returned. She described the move as “politics at its worst” and said “it doesn’t make sense from a public safety standpoint.” The Richardson administration contended that it could save money having DNA samples processed by the state’s crime lab in Santa Fe. But that was disputed by Albuquerque Public Safety Director Darren White, who joined Martinez at the news conference at the city’s police crime lab. New Mexico has been paying the Albuquerque Police Department about $400,000 a year to process See MARTINEZ, Page A3

Troubled Pakistan faces Stocks start 2011 with a big lift ruling coalition collapse

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The collapse of Pakistan’s ruling coalition after a key party’s defection complicates efforts to tackle problems facing this nuclear-armed nation already grappling with widespread poverty and insurgent attacks. The renewed political turmoil bodes ill for military action against Muslim extremists that the U.S. believes is key to success in neighboring Afghanistan, analysts said. Pakistan’s powerful army could use the lack of political consensus to avoid operations that clash with its perceived strategic interests. The crisis also all but guarantees that lawmakers will not make progress anytime soon on fixing Pakistan’s deep-seated problems in areas like education, health care and infrastructure that have contributed to economic decline and rising militancy. “There is no electricity, no gas, no jobs and they are fighting one another,” said Arif Fasiullah, 35, of the central city of Multan. “They do not pass any legislation. They just do dirty politics.” Pakistan, with a population of more than 180 million, faces chronic power outages that can last up to 16 hours per day in some areas during the scorching summer, and up to a third of its people lack access to clean drinking water. Average income per capita is less than $3,000, and the average adult has fewer than five years of schooling. The International Monetary Fund, which has provided Pakistan with billions of dollars in loans to keep its economy afloat, has demanded the country implement significant reforms, including deep cuts to its deficit. The assistance took on added importance after last year’s massive floods that affected some 20 million people. But the economic reforms, notably a revised general sales tax, are unpopular and have given the opposition and other parties a focus for their complaints. The second-largest partner in Pakistan’s governing coalition, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, said Sunday it See PAKISTAN, Page A3

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks started 2011 with a big lift on Monday, and that could be a promising sign for the rest of the year. Investors call it the “January barometer.” According to the Stock Trader’s Almanac, a gain in the Standard and Poor’s 500 stock index over the first five days of January has led to annual gains nearly 90 percent of the time. “All of the forecasts come out of Wall Street, and those expectations for the year give January a nice indicative effect of what the year will look like,” said Jeffery Hirsch, the editor of the Stock Trader’s Almanac. Signs that the economy is improving pushed stock indexes higher on the first trading day of the year. Manufacturing activity and construction spending both rose more than analysts were predicting. The Institute of Supply Management’s index of manufacturing activity rose in December for the 17th straight month. Separately, the Commerce

AP Photo

Trader Joseph Denter works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.

Department said construction spending rose 0.4 percent in November. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 93.24 points, or 0.8 percent, to

close at 11,670.75, its highest close since Aug. 28, 2008. The index had See STREET, Page A3


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.