Farmers find innovativve ways to keep markets stocked in winter Local Business, A-9
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Tuesday, December 9, 2014
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Study exam mines heels’ power
Santa Fe Public Schools gets $3.8M to increase teacher pa ay The funds are part of a pay-for-performance pilot program for the 2014-15 school year. PAGE A-6
If a woman a drops a glove on n the street while wearing high heels, she is aalmost 50 percent moree likely to have a man fetch it for her than if she were wear a ing fl flats, according to French researchers who oes can have on men. NATION & WORLD, A-2 tested the affect sho
Scientists re-create what could be life’s first spark Experiment bolsters theory that an asteroid was a catalyst in Earth’s chemical soup. PAGE A-3
Obama, GOP clash over report on torture
Slumping oil dampens DA denies state revenue forecast wrongdoing in bribery investigation
With Senate expected to detail U.S. practices today, country on alert
Prosecutor criticized for her handling of APD shooting now subject of department probe
By Mark Landler and Peter Baker By Russell Contreras
The New York Times
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — On the eve of a long-awaited Senate report on the use of torture by the United States government — a detailed account that will shed an unsparing light on the Central Intelligence Agency’s darkest practices after the September 2001 terrorist attacks — the Obama administration and its Republican critics clashed on Monday over the wisdom of making it public and the risk that it will set off a backlash overseas. While the U.S. has put diplomatic facilities and military bases on alert for heightened security risks, administration officials said they do not expect the report — or, rather, the declassified summary of it that will be released Tuesday — to ignite the kind of violence that killed four Americans at a diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012. Such violent reprisals,
Please see TORTURE, Page A-4
other state services in 2015 due to a healthy reserve, which is expected to be $617 million or 10 percent of the fund on June 30, according to the new estimates. The larger impact of oil’s swoon — prices have dropped some 30 percent since August — will be on new money for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2015. Those are dollars lawmakers and Gov. Susana Martinez would
ALBUQUERQUE — A New Mexico district attorney who has faced scrutiny for not prosecuting officers linked to Albuquerque police shootings said Monday she is being investigated as part of a bribery case. The disclosure by Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg creates even more uncertainty as the city tries to overhaul its police force. Brandenburg said she learned she was being investiKari gated by Albuquerque police after a reporter contacted her Brandenburg last week. Citing police documents, the Albuquerque Journal reported Brandenburg is suspected of reimbursing burglary victims to protect her son, 26-year-old Justin Koch, who has been implicated in the theft cases. The newspaper said Brandenburg contacted victims in two burglaries and a larceny case. In the documents, Detective David Nix said police had been investigating Brandenburg for the past year and believed there was probable cause for felony charges against her. At a hastily arranged news conference, Brandenburg said she never broke any laws but declined to comment directly when asked if she offered burglary victims any money. “That act would be illegal and I said I did not, absolutely, without any hesitation, doubt or question commit any criminal offense,” she said. “I did not do anything wrong.” Brandenburg also said she has not seen any of the police reports. Brandenburg said she’s never deviated from
Please see REVENUE, Page A-4
Please see BRIBERY, Page A-4
Drivers put gas in their tanks Monday at the Smith’s station on St. Michael’s Drive. Falling oil prices have effectively cut in half the expected new revenue that the state is forecasting as part of its budget for the coming fiscal year. JANE PHILLIPS/THE NEW MEXICAN
Falling prices will have biggest impact on fiscal year starting July 1 By Bruce Krasnow
Today
The New Mexican
Mostly sunny and mild. High 55, low 28.
C
PAGE B-5
Obituaries Priscilla McGill Carr, 94, Dec. 3 Melvin Mecker, Santa Fe, Nov. 29 Robert Bryan Riner, 75, Albuquerque, Nov. 27 Rolanda Flossie Rotunno-Sosa, 48, Santa Fe, Dec. 4 Irving Warhaftig, Dec. 4 PAGE A-7
Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
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Calendar A-2
Afghanistan mired in war as U.S. combat command ends American involvement will last at least another 2 years By Lynne O’Donnell
Vocal quartet; medieval carols and motets, 7:30 p.m., Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, 131 Cathedral Place, check ticketssantafe.org or call 505988-1234 for ticket availability. More events in Calendar, A-2 and Fridays in Pasatiempo
Index
rashing oil prices have effectively cut in half the expected new revenue that the state of New Mexico is forecasting as part of its budget for the coming fiscal year. “Just as high oil prices boosted state revenues, the bulk of the reduction in this revenue forecast is a direct effect of their decline,” wrote Peter B. van Moorsel, chief
economist for the Legislative Finance Committee, in a presentation to lawmakers Monday. One way the state gains money from oil production is a direct royalty on each dollar of energy extracted from New Mexico fields. That decline to the general fund is two-fold. First, the current fiscal year will see $120 million less in revenue through June 30, 2015. That loss should have no impact on education and
Classifieds B-6
The Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan — American and NATO troops closed their operational command in Afghanistan on Monday, lowering flags in a ceremony to mark the formal end of their combat mission in a country still mired in war 13 years after the U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban regime for harboring those responsible for 9/11.
Comics B-12
Crosswords B-7, B-11
The closing of the command, which oversaw the day-to-day operations of coalition combat forces, is one of the final steps in a transition to a support and training role that begins Jan. 1. But with President Barack Obama’s recent move authorizing U.S. forces in Afghanistan to carry out military operations against Taliban and al-Qaida targets, America’s longest war will in fact continue for at least another two years. Obama’s decision to give American forces a more active role than previously envisioned suggests the U.S. is still concerned
Lotteries A-2
Please see WAR, Page A-5
Opinions A-10
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International Security Assistance Force Joint Command Lt. Gen. Joseph Anderson, center, hands a flag over to the commander of International Security Assistance Force, Gen. John F. Campbell, during Monday’s ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan. MASSOUD HOSSAINI/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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