SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Officials with the New Mexico State Forestry Division say fire danger around the state remains high. They're asking residents and visitors to be careful as the unofficial start to the summer vacation season gets under way with the Memorial Day weekend. So far this year, nearly 170 fires have scorched closed to 5,800 acres of state and private land around New Mexico.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - The state Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of a Tatum man for a 2009 killing in southeastern New Mexico. The court ruled on Monday there is ample evidence to support 50-year-old Robert Freeman's first-degree murder conviction and that he was not entitled to a jury instruction about self-defense as a justification for the killing.
FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) - A defense attorney for a man accused of fatally shooting another man in front of his 4-year-old son after a fight says the case will not go to trial. The Farmington Daily Times reports an attorney for 50-year-old David Markham said Monday his client will likely enter a plea agreement. Attorney Cosme Ripol says Markham has made statements against his interests by claiming self-defense.
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - A panel of appellate judges has upheld a $3.4 billion settlement between the U.S. government and hundreds of thousands of Native American plaintiffs whose land trust royalties the Department of Interior mismanaged. The court yesterday said the deal approved by Congress in 2010 is fair and the best that can be hoped for without years of additional litigation.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
