Albuquerque News (BETA)

Event will be held at Berg Park, across the river from the National High School Finals Rodeo

News from around New Mexico:

Charity contact football game will pit police and sheriff's deputies against firefighters

Study will be conducted July 20 to Aug. 1 in Ensenada, Mexico

La Linea drug cartel points to members of Sinaloa cartel as being responsible

An Albuquerque grandmother accused of using her granddaughter to create child pornography has her bond reduced to $100,000

A Rio Rancho man has been sentenced to four years in prison and five years of probation after pleading guilty to fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion charges.

An APD officer walked away pretty much unharmed after crashing a police cruiser in Albuquerque on Saturday night.

It's officially a three-way race for Albuquerque mayor. After dodging questions for months about his bid for re-election, Mayor Martin Chavez made it official Sunday: He is seeking a fourth term.

An Albuquerque teen is trying to pick a fight after arriving at a national boxing championship and finding no one to get in the ring with.

Photo: Myra Green sings along with Charlie Hibner, left, and Roark Griffin during a recent Sunday service at the Pecos Valley Cowboy Church.

When Santa Fe photographer Lisa Law, a Woodstock veteran, signed a U.S. Forest Service permit for the recent Rainbow Family Gathering in the Jemez Mountains, she stepped into a decades-long debate that has landed people in jail and reached the U.S. Court of Appeals half a dozen times.

Photo: A sign along Forest Road 69 in the Jemez Mountains, at the head of the trail that leads to Parque Venado, asks Rainbow Family members leaving the site of a recent gathering to take a bag of trash with them when they leave.

Photo: From left, David Mendoza of Bali looks over textiles form Mohammed Yusuf Khatri of India at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market on Saturday.

St. Michael's High School might be able to provide financial aid to a few more students with $30,000 donated by the family of the late Manuel Lujan Sr.

Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez makes it official -- he is running for re-election.

A mother struggles with grief just days after a driver ran into her and killed her 2-month-old son. The crash happened on Otero Road in Los Lunas Friday morning.

Friends and family of four teens killed in a wrong-way crash near Santa Fe brainstormed ideas for a permanent memorial Saturday.

Cars racing down one South Valley street forced neighbors to ask for help to keep their community safer.

A 2-month-old baby died after a driver allegedly ran over him and his mother during a morning walk.

New Mexico's gubernatorial election isn't until November 2010, but the negative political attack ads are about to begin.

Often when the temperature rises people fall because heat stroke can sneak up on anyone. There are several things you need to know before heading out under the sun here in the sizzling southwest.

Aspiring aviators flocked to the Albuquerque Sunport Sunday afternoon to learn more about a career path that would allow them to get paid for touching the sky.

Rescuers braved scorching temperatures north of Santa Fe on Sunday to rescue a 50-year-old hiker who fell and broke her ankle at Nambe Falls.

A murder suspect, who was on the run for the past eight months, is in jail after he surrendered following a SWAT standoff. Sunday morning, Robert Romero made his first appearance in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.

The recession has caught up with venture capitalists.

A survey of national construction forecasters showed commercial construction is projected to drop significantly through 2010.

Gift shop Things Remembered will open a store at the Animas Valley Mall in Farmington July 31.

The nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court has PBS reaching out to the Hispanic audience.

Citibank and Bank of the West will continue accepting California IOUs, State Treasurer Bill Lockyer’s office said late Friday. (C) (BAC) (WFC) (JPM) (USB)

Japan's prime minister fails to keep majority TOKYO (AP) - Japan's embattled prime minister suffered a fresh blow Sunday as his ruling party was badly beaten by the opposition in a crucial Tokyo vote that is seen as a bellwether for a coming national election.

BAGHDAD - A car bomb exploded near a church as worshippers left Sunday Mass, killing at least four civilians and injuring 18 in one of several attacks on Iraq's beleaguered Christian minority.

KABUL, Afghanistan - A bomb blast killed two U.S. Marines in Afghanistan's dangerous south, where thousands of American troops have deployed in a massive operation to oust Taliban fighters from the country's opium poppy region, officials said Sunday.

DENVER - All-Star Brad Hawpe hit a game-ending RBI double, and the Colorado Rockies rallied to beat the Atlanta Braves 8-7 on Sunday. Seth Smith set up Hawpe's clutch hit with a one-out single off Luis Valdez (0-1), who was making his major league debut.

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. - Police and prison guards aided by search dogs hunted Sunday for two convicted killers and a third man who escaped the maximum-security Indiana State Prison, apparently through underground tunnels and pipes.

As long-term patrons of the Alamogordo Family Recreation Center, we would like to express our sincere concern about the deterioration in the maintenance of the facilities.

A 26-year-old Alamogordo man was sentenced Thursday to five years probation in Otero County 12th Judicial District Court after he pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary in a plea agreement.

Suppose you own a business and hire the most trusted employees you can find to manage it. Standing on the sidelines, you observe these trusted heads of your company signing contracts they have not read that will affect the future of your company.

Shera Winnings, 36, of the 1700 block of Teresa Lane, was arrested on a New Mexico Department of Corrections order for alleged probation violations. She was incarcerated at the Otero County Detention Center and is to appear in court as directed.

Alexis Duprey has competed in beauty pageants since she was 7 years old. Now, she will be competing on the national stage. Duprey, an 18-year-old Alamogordo High School graduate, will represent New Mexico at the upcoming Miss Teen USA pageant.

CARLSBAD — "I've been a gambler all my life." Carlsbad resident Gabriel Vallejos lives by those words.

CARLSBAD — The early morning return of thousands of bats to Carlsbad Caverns after a night of feeding on insects is a sight not quickly forgotten.

CARLSBAD — The New Mexico Oil Conservation Division, Eddy County and state emergency management officials have scheduled a meeting next week to update the public about a brine well in Carlsbad.

CARLSBAD — With a long list of witnesses, prosecutors began Friday to lay out their case against Brad Light, the Carlsbad businessman accused of providing drugs for a May 9 rave party that included a number of underage guests.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Harry Teague, D-N.M., announced recently that the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development approved his request for an additional $10 million in funding for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad.

LAS CRUCES - Kappa Sigma fraternity at New Mexico State University is trying to help a New Mexico soldier in need. Sgt. Erik Schei of Rio Rancho suffered a brain injury in 2005 after an Iraqi sniper shot him in the head. His injuries have confined Schei to a wheelchair.

The notion of man's use of CO2 as a possible driver of climate has been the subject of several recent Letters to the Editor in the Sun-News.

SILVER CITY — Two District 7 champions were yet to be determined when Saturday night's Little League district games resumed. The big contest of the night came in the Boys Major Division (11-12) where the Copper All-Stars took on the Silver All-Stars.

LAS CRUCES — As a child in Lovington, N.M., Troy Bower was always wowed by the incredible Christmas display outside late Lea County state Sen. Jack Danglade's home.

ALBUQUERQUE — The head of wind technology research at Sandia National Laboratories views the wind as fuel. His job is to find better ways to harness it as the nation answers President Barack Obama's call for more clean energy.