Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 122, No. 44 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
February 20, 2013
WEDNESDAY
www.rdrnews.com
China linked to cyberattacks, US to respond WASHINGTON (AP) — As public evidence mounts that the Chinese military is responsible for stealing massive amounts of U.S. government data and corporate trade secrets, the Obama administration is eyeing fines and other trade actions it may take against Beijing or any other country guilty of cyberespionage.
GOOGLE’S STOCK TOPS $800
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
According to officials familiar with the plans, the White House will lay out a new report Wednesday that suggests initial, more-
aggressive steps the U.S. would take in response to what top authorities say has been an unrelenting campaign of cyberstealing linked to the Chinese government. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the threatened action. The White House plans come after a Virginia-based cybersecurity firm released a torrent of details Monday that tied a secret Chinese military unit in Shanghai to
years of cyberattacks against U.S. companies. After analyzing breaches that compromised more than 140 companies, Mandiant has concluded that they can be linked to the People’s Liberation Army’s Unit 61398.
Military experts believe the unit is part of the People’s Liberation Army’s cyber-command, which is under the direct authority of the General Staff Department, China’s version of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As
such, its activities would be likely to be authorized at the highest levels of China’s military.
The release of Mandiant’s report, complete with details on three of the alleged hackers and photographs of one of the military unit’s buildings in Shanghai, makes public what U.S. authorities have said less publicly for years. But it also increases the pressure on the U.S. to take more forceful action against the Chinese for what experts say has been years
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google’s stock price topped $800 for the first time Tuesday amid renewed confidence in the company’s ability to reap higher profits from its dominance of Internet search and prominence in the growing mobile market. The milestone comes ... - PAGE B5
WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Deputy found guilty of sexual penetration • Licensing is made easier for veterans • County Commission to meet Thursday • One of Roswell’s Most Wanted now serving ... • Dexter runs to ...
SPORTS
Mark Wilson Photo
Man leads police on high-speed chase Police stand watch as a truck is towed from a residence on Olive Avenue in Midway following a chase and pursuit, Tuesday afternoon.
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
East Grand Plains Elementary was locked down Tuesday afternoon after a clerk contacted the Chaves
ROSWELL GIRLS TOP GODDARD
Think of a situation at work and the first time you had to deal with it. Whether it be dealing with an angry customer or fixing a problem within a computer network, if you haven’t had to deal with that issue before, you will most likely make some mistakes. Those mistakes are ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S • • • • • • • •
OBITUARIES
Lucio Llamas Robert Stewart Jane Marie Scifres Henrietta Martinez Barbara Ann Tyler Jeff McClain Joseph Purser Lydia Pauline Baca - PAGE A3, A6
HIGH ...69˚ LOW ....33˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
See CHINA, Page A6
Senate group OKs wage hike ILISSA GILMORE RECORD STAFF WRITER
TOP 5
INSIDE
of systematic espionage. “If the Chinese government flew planes into our airspace, our planes would escort them away. If it happened two, three or four times, the president would be on the phone and there would be threats of retaliation,” said former FBI executive assistant director Shawn Henry. “This is happening thousands of times a day. There needs to be some definition of where the red
County Sheriff’s Office about a male subject who was causing a commotion at Dollar General, 125 E. Lupton Rd. According to SO’s Lt. Britt Snyder, when officials arrived at the store at Mid-
way, the subject took off on Hwy 2 toward Dexter. “I gather he knew he had six outstanding warrants from the city.” The male suspect, Alex Sertuche, drove north on Hwy 285 and turned left
on Darby Road, circling back toward Midway. Sheriff’s deputies laid down spikes, which the suspect drove over, puncSee CHASE, Page A6
The state Senate Public Affairs Committee voted 53 Tuesday to pass a bill that would raise the state’s minimum wage from $7.50 to $8.50. Senate Bill 416, sponsored by Sen. Richard Martinez, D-Espanola, would raise minimum wage effective Jan. 1 of next year. Martinez said he knows people who are struggling under the current wage and an increase to $8.50 would be “just a start.” “These people can’t survive. They're not making it,” he said. “I think this is the moral thing to do.” Sen. William Soules, DLas Cruces, who spoke in support of the bill, said research indicates increases in minimum wage eventually benefit the economy as a whole because the money would be spent
NM minimum wage inflation Panel OKs budget, spending increase indexing blocked in panel SANTA FE (AP) — A proposal to increase New Mexico’s minimum wage for inflation stalled Tuesday after a House committee’s Democratic leader opposed the measure. An effort to send the measure to the 70-member House failed on a 6-5 vote in the Voters and Elections Committee. The measure remains alive and can be reconsidered later, but it’s stuck unless votes change on the panel. The state’s $7.50 an hour minimum wage has been in effect since 2009. A proposed constitutional amendment would allow voters to decide whether to require automatic cost-of-living increases in the wage rate. The proposal by Rep. Miguel Garcia, D-Albuquerque, would provide for increases of up to 4 percent a year to
match inflation, but it wouldn’t allow the wage to drop if the cost-of-living declined. Business groups opposed the measure, warning that it could force employers to cut jobs. “Business owners are trying to keep their doors open,” said Matthew Gonzales of the Association of Commerce and Industry of New Mexico. Supporters said the change is needed to prevent workers from losing buying power to inflation, and they contended it could help the state’s economy. “Putting money into the pockets of low-income workers is almost the single best thing we can do to help spur economic growth,” said Carter Bundy of the
Panel buries bill on social promotion
See INFLATION, Page A6
See WAGE, Page A6
SANTA FE (AP) — State workers and educators will receive a 1 percent pay raise next year under a nearly $5.9 billion budget proposal that’s heading to the House for consideration later this week. The measure provides for a state spending increase of $239 million, or 4.2 percent, to finance education and government programs — from prisons and courts to health care — in the fiscal year starting in July. The Appropriations and Finance Committee approved the budget Tuesday with only three Democrats — current and retired school workers — opposing the measure because of concerns about proposed education spending. Republicans on the committee supported the bill, which calls for spending about $7 million more than GOP Gov. Susana Martinez had recommended to lawmakers. The governor said she was pleased the budget included money for some of her education initiatives but cauSee BUDGET, Page A6
An American design
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Majority Democrats in the New Mexico House are scuttling education legislation that’s a priority for Gov. Susana Martinez.
A party-line vote Monday by the House Education Committee tabled a bill to provide reading remediation and hold back most third-graders who aren’t proficient in reading. The Albuquerque Journal reports that the bill sponsored by Democratic Rep. Mary Helen Garcia is intended to halt social promotion.
Social promotion is a practice in which students are promoted to higher grades even if they’re not doing well enough academically.
Democratic Rep. Mimi Stewart of Albuquerque says the bill amounts to an unfunded mandate for public schools because the proposed funding wouldn’t be enough.
Mark Wilson Photo
An American Airlines 767, recently re-painted with a new branding design by Dean Baldwin Painting, awaits fueling before delivery, Tuesday.