Regional

By KRWG News

New Mexico – American Indian veterans should begin receiving long-overdue reimbursements of tax dollars unlawfully withheld from their military paychecks.

An estimated 9,000 American Indian veterans live in New Mexico.

Those who can prove state income tax was unjustly withheld from their military paychecks can collect a piece of a settlement fund.

New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department Secretary Rick Homans told veterans in Shiprock Thursday that checks should begin showing up in mail boxes early next year.

By KRWG News

Lordsburg – Two North Carolina men are facing drug charges after New Mexico police found more than 740 pounds of marijuana hidden in a truck full of office furniture.

Officers stopped the truck at the Lordsburg port of entry in southern New Mexico on Wednesday night for an inspection. They noticed a discrepancy in the driver's paperwork and a search dog signaled the presence of drugs on board.

Bundles of marijuana were found in boxes mixed with cartons of chairs. The drugs were worth an estimated $1.1 million.

By KRWG News

Texas – The state's prepaid college tuition plan will face a financial review during the 2011 Legislature after thousands dropped the program.

The state comptroller's office says about 7,000 investors left the Texas Guaranteed Tuition Plan since August, when the state announced a now-defunct plan to cut refunds.

Agency spokesman R.J. DeSilva says about $110 million was withdrawn, equal to slightly more than 7 percent of the fund's value, which topped $1.4 billion as of Oct. 31.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – A Las Cruces man was arrested after detectives learned he held his girlfriend against her will and physically assaulted her while holding an 8-month-old girl in his arms.

Salvador R. Garcia, 25, of the 900 block of Foster Road, is charged with first-degree kidnapping, aggravated battery against a household member and two counts of negligent child abuse. Garcia is being held at the Dona Ana County Detention Center with bond set at $40,000.

By Vanessa Dabovich

Las Cruces, NM – A research lab being conducted at New Mexico State University is finding ways to help those who stutter. KRWG's Vanessa Dabovich reports

By KRWG News

Juarez – Mexican prosecutors say gunmen shot and killed a university student in the deadly border city of Ciudad Juarez.

Chihuahua state prosecutor's spokesman Arturo Sandoval says the student's body was found in a truck Tuesday at an intersection.

He is the second student from the Autonomous University of Chihuahua to be killed since Saturday.

Also Wednesday, state police spokesman Luis Banuelos said seven bullet-riddled bodies were found along a highway.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – The secretary of the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department is leaving Gov. Bill Richardson's administration for a job with a conservation organization.

Joanna Prukop is retiring at the end of the month and will become director of business for wildlife with a group called Freedom to Roam. It's a coalition of businesses and conservation groups that wants to protect wildlife corridors that allow animals to move from place to place.

Richardson announced Wednesday that Jon Goldstein will replace Prukop.

By KRWG News

Texas – Texas Gov. Rick Perry is asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to withdraw its finding that greenhouse gases threaten the public health and welfare of Americans.

Perry on Wednesday sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, asking her to retract the finding until the science and data forming the basis of the conclusion can be validated and verified.

By KRWG News

Texas – When Corpus Christi Judge Rose Vela sought an appointment to the Texas Supreme Court, her husband turned to a friend and ally of GOP Gov. Rick Perry.

But Filemon "Fil" Vela said he was dismayed by what Cameron County Judge Cascos told him: He needed to publicly disavow his support of Perry rival Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, get on the Perry re-election bandwagon, and give the governor some campaign money.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – White Sands Missile Range has begun releasing nonessential personnel and the wind conditions have caused damage.

High winds at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) tore the roof from the range's Directorate of Plans Training Mobilization and Security building (which acts as the post's police station) at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. Everyone was safely evacuated from the building. Two people were treated for injuries at WSMR's McAfee Army Health Clinic and released. Police services remained operational from an alternate location.

By KRWG News

Deming – Deming's mayor and other officials are planning a town hall meeting to discuss "Keeping Kids Safe in a Digital Age."

Mayor Andres Silva said the meeting grew out of discussions from the Mayor's Round-table, a monthly session of invited students and community officials.

Silva said he is concerned with the use of digital devices to transmit messages and pictures called 'sexting.' He said parents, guardians and children may not realize their actions could have serious ramifications.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – From Virgin Galactic:

Virgin Founder, Sir Richard Branson and SpaceshipOne (SS1) designer, Burt Rutan, have introduced the world's first manned commercial spaceship (SS2) to the public. It is expected that SS2 will be used at New Mexico's Spaceport America.

SS2 has been designed to take many thousands of private astronauts into space after test programming and all required U.S. government licensing has been completed.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – Gov. Bill Richardson is revising a schedule for unpaid furloughs for state government workers.

Richardson said Monday that one furlough day will be March 5 rather than Dec. 31. Without the change, three consecutive paychecks of government workers would have been reduced because of furloughs.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – New Mexico State head football coach DeWayne Walker announced that offensive coordinator Timm Rosenbach and running back coach Earnest Wilson will not return for the 2010 season.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – Las Cruces Police are investigating an armed robbery that was reported Monday morning at the Mesilla Valley Mall.

Shortly before 10 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 7, police were called to the delivery dock near the Famous Footwear store where an employee was assaulted and held up by two juvenile boys. One of the boys threatened the employee with a knife and cut the victim's hand during the incident.

The victim's injury is not life-threatening.