Roswell Daily Record
INSIDE NEWS
STOCKS TURN UP
NEW YORK (AP) — On Monday, the stock market was as choppy as the “fiscal cliff” deal-making that has been yanking it around. Stocks opened little changed but jerked higher at midday as headlines began to cross that the bare bones of a deal had been worked out to avoid a drastic series of tax increases and government spending cuts set to kick in after a midnight deadline. - PAGE A6
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
How close to the edge will we get?
Vol. 121, No. 1 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
WASHINGTON (AP) — Agonizingly close to a New Year’s Eve compromise, the White House and congressional Republicans agreed Monday to block acrossthe-board tax increases set for midnight, but held up a final deal as they haggled away the final hours of 2012 in a dispute over spending cuts. “It appears that an agreement to prevent this New Year’s tax hike is within sight,” President Barack Obama said in an earlyafternoon status report on negotiations. “But it’s not done.” Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell — shepherding final talks with Vice Presi-
January 1, 2013
TUESDAY
www.rdrnews.com
dent Joe Biden — agreed with Obama that an overall deal was near. In remarks on the Senate floor, he suggested Congress move quickly to pass tax legislation and “continue to work on finding smarter ways to cut spending” next year. The White House and Democrats initially declined the offer, but several officials said they could reconsider. While the deadline to prevent tax increases and spending cuts was technically midnight, passage of legislation by the time a new Congress takes office at noon on Jan. 3, 2013 — the likely timetable — would eliminate or mini-
mize any inconvenience for taxpayers. For now, more than the embarrassment of a gridlocked Congress working through New Year’s Eve in the Capitol was at stake. Economists in and out of government have warned that a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts could trigger a new recession, and the White House and Congress have spent the seven seeks since the Nov. 6 elections struggling for a compromise to protect the economy. Even now, with time running out, partisan agendas See CLIFF, Page A3
AP Photo
Hillary in hospital
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell arrives on Capitol Hill, Monday.
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours • Fatality at Second and Nevada • Have you seen this man? • Sammye, the doggie savior, currently has a houseful ... • RHS wins Poe Corn title, Cooper gets 300th • Goddard boys down Artesia
INSIDE SPORTS
NM ends year with blanket of snow AP Photo
Arnoldo Campos shovels snow from the sidewalk in front of the Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe, Monday morning.
ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
When Gabby Douglas allowed herself to dream of being the Olympic champion, she imagined having a nice little dinner with family and friends to celebrate. Maybe she’d make an appearance here and there. “I didn’t think it was going to be crazy,” Douglas said, laughing. “I love it. But I realized my perspective was going to have to change.” Just a bit. The teenager has become a worldwide star since winning the Olympic all-around title in London, the first African-American gymnast ... - PAGE B1
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — A thin layer of snow blanketed parts of New Mexico on Monday to wrap up what has been one of the driest and warmest years on record for the state. Snow continued to fall along Interstate 25 near the Colorado border by midday, and state highway crews were busy spreading salt and cinder
to ease what had started out as a treacherous day of travel for some. Difficult driving conditions were reported along parts of I-25 and along Interstate 40 in the east. At Pino’s Truck Stop in Las Vegas, N.M., employees said the parking lot was full of drivers who didn’t want to chance the snow-packed and icy con-
LONDON (AP) — Lavish fireworks displays ushered in 2013 across the AsiaPacific region today, and Europe was holding scaledback festivities and street parties in the hope of beginning a new year that will be kinder to its battered economies.
OBITUARIES
Rowena C. Preuit Jean Corn Boswell Chester Parker John Ashley Blevins II - PAGE A6
HIGH ...48˚ LOW ....19˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8 WORLD .................B4
INDEX
through the snow to Clines Corners, a popular rest stop along I-40. “But it’s dry now, like it never even happened.” That’s been the story with most of the storms to cross New Mexico this year. And forecasters with the National Weather Service say the latest one
World gives rousing, fireworks-laden welcome to 2013
TODAY’S • • • •
ditions being reported at Raton Pass and near Glorieta outside of Santa Fe. To the south, the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, clearing the roads and leaving behind only frigid temperatures. “When I came in at 5:30 a.m. this mor ning, I couldn’t even see,” Deborah Montano said of her hour-and-a-half commute
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton developed a blood clot in her head but did not suffer a stroke or neurological damage, her doctors said Monday. They say they are confident that she will make a full recovery. In a statement that revealed the location of the clot, Clinton’s doctors said it is in the vein in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear. She is being treated with blood thinners to help dissolve the clot, the doctors said, and she will be released once the medication dose has been established. Clinton, 65, is making excellent progress and is in good spirits, Dr. Lisa Bardack of the Mt. Kisco Medical Group and Dr. Gigi ElBayoumi of George Washington University said in a statement. Clinton, who was spending a second day at a New York hospital, developed the clot after suffering a concussion earlier in December. She had fainted, fallen and struck her head at home while battling a
AP Photo
Fireworks explode over Sydney Harbour bridge during the New Year celebrations, Tuesday.
Asian cities kicked off New Year’s celebrations in style and an atmosphere of renewed optimism, despite the “fiscal cliff” impasse of spending cuts and tax increases threatening to reverberate globally from the United States.
See SNOW, Page A3
Huge fireworks lit up skylines in Sydney, Hong Kong and Shanghai, and even the once-isolated country of Myanmar joined the countdown party for the first time in decades.
Celebrations were planned around the world, including the traditional crystal ball drop in New York City’s Times Square, where 1 million people were expected to cram into the surrounding streets.
In Russia, Moscow’s iconic Red Square was filled with spectators as fireworks exploded near the
See HILLARY, Page A3
Kremlin to welcome in the new year. Earlier in the day, about 25 people were reportedly arrested in Moscow for trying to hold an unsanctioned demonstration. But President Vladimir Putin gave an optimistic New Year’s Eve address, making no reference to the anti-gover nment protests that have occurred in his country in the past year. “We believe that we can change the life around us and become better our-
Bills at NM Legislature Educational system Ingle’s top priority to confront corruption
SANTA FE (AP) — Some of the proposals filed by New Mexico lawmakers before the start of the Legislature’s annual session include bills that aim to confront political corruption and drunken driving. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that 35 bills have been filed by House members and another 22 by senators so far for the 60-day legislative session that begins Jan. 15.
Republican Rep. Nate Gentry of Albuquerque has proposed a bill that’s aimed at discouraging bribery, kickbacks and other activities that have caused scandal in state government in the past several years.
The proposal would let judges add a year to the sentences of public officials convicted of specified corruption-related crimes and See BILLS, Page A3
ILISSA GILMORE RECORD STAFF WRITER
In 2013, Sen. Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, hopes to have more success with a bill he’s been trying to pass for nearly a decade. The bill would prevent universities from raising tuition for students using scholarship dollars provided by the state lottery. Ingle said the lottery scholarship program has helped more than 60,000
See 2013, Page A3
students, but it may run out of money because schools have increased tuition so much.
For example, if a student starts attending a university in 2012, his or her tuition should remain the same, regardless of the school’s potential tuition increases.
Ingle said he has proposed the bill for several years, only for it to be See INGLE, Page A3
Courtesy Photo
State Sen. Stuart Ingle