Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 121, No. 275 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
BP TO PAY $4.5 BILLION IN OIL SPILL SETTLEMENT
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — BP said Thursday that it will pay $4.5 billion in a settlement with the U.S. government over the disastrous 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and plead guilty to criminal charges related to the deaths of 11 workers and lying to Congress. The day of reckoning comes more than two years ... - PAGE A6
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
November 16, 2012
Violence escalates along Gaza border
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian militants targeted densely populated Tel Aviv in Israel’s heartland with rockets for the first time Thursday, part of an unprecedented barrage that threatened to provoke an Israeli ground assault on Gaza. Three Israelis were killed. Air raid sirens wailed and panicked residents ran for cover in Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial and cultural capital. Israel responded by moving troops and heavy
FRIDAY
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weapons toward Gaza and authorizing the call-up of tens of thousands of reservists. There was no word on where the two rockets aimed at Tel Aviv landed, raising the possibility they fell into the Mediterranean. A third rocket landed in an open area on the southern outskirts of Tel Aviv. The fighting, the heaviest in four years, came after Israel launched a ferocious air assault Wednesday to stop repeated rocket fire
from Gaza. The powerful Hamas military chief was killed in that strike, and another 18 Palestinians have died over two days, including five children. Some 100 Palestinians have been wounded. Israeli warplanes struck dozens of Hamas-linked targets in Gaza on Thursday, sending loud booms echoing across the narrow Mediterranean coastal strip See GAZA, Page A3
Autumn burns bright
AP Photo
County evaluates CCDC project
An Israeli solider rides atop an armored personal carrier close to the Israel Gaza Border, southern Israel, Thursday.
ILISSA GILMORE RECORD STAFF WRITER
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Dr. Leandro Gutierrez: Pet ownership ... • EGP students help the troops • ‘Blessings in the dressing’ at church ... • Veteran outreach program addresses ... • Remember, get your ...
INSIDE SPORTS Fallen leaves cover the ground at the corner of 13th and N. Kentucky, Thursday.
Mark Wilson Photo
The County Commission toured the Chaves County Detention Center during its regular meeting Thursday to lear n more about the site’s upcoming expansion and remodeling plans that will include new equipment and more space. “In the beginning, we were looking at building a new facility,” said Detention Administrator Sandra Stewart. “But it was considerably more expensive. We felt it was just more efficient to remodel.” In addition to needing new equipment and techSee COUNTY, Page A3
FDA: NM company knowingly Charges dismissed against former secretary of state shipped tainted peanut butter CABRERA, POSEY WIN MVP AWARDS
NEW YORK (AP) — Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera won the American League’s Most Valuable Player award on Thursday after becoming baseball’s first Triple Crown winner in 45 years, and San Francisco’s Buster Posey was voted the National League honor. Cabrera received ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• James Cliett • Esther Mae Davies - PAGE A3
HIGH ...63˚ LOW ....39˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B3 COMICS.................A7 FINANCIAL .............A6 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
WASHINGTON (AP) — A New Mexico peanut company linked to a recent salmonella outbreak distributed peanut and almond butters after its own internal testing showed the products were contaminated, the Food and Drug Administration says.
Sunland Inc. is the nation’s largest organic peanut butter processor, though it also produces many non-organic products. The company recalled hundreds of nuts and nut butters manufactured since 2010 after one of its products, Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Peanut Butter, was linked to 41 salmonella illnesses
around the country in September. FDA reports released this week show that repeated agency inspections found problems at the plant since 2007, though government officials didn’t take any action or release the results of those inspections until after the illnesses were discovered this year. Sunland sold hundreds of different peanut products to many of the nation’s largest grocery chains, including Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Safeway, Target and other large national retailers. In a monthlong investigation in September and October, FDA inspectors
Questions on scandal: Top officials testify
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top national security officials trudged to Capitol Hill on Thursday to grapple with fallout from the David Petraeus sex scandal as Defense Secretary Leon Panetta asked service chiefs to review ethics training for military officers. He said he was unaware of any other top brass who could turn out to be ensnared in the debacle. One person missing from the tableau: Afghan war chief Gen. John Allen, whose nomination to take over in Europe is on hold because of suggestive emails turned up in the investigation. Legislators went forward with a hearing on the nomination of Gen. Joseph Dunford to replace Allen in Afghanistan. But with Allen’s own future uncertain, they put off consideration of his promotion to U.S. European Command chief and NATO supreme allied commander. Allen had initially been scheduled to testify. Panetta, speaking at a news conference in Bangkok, gave new words of support to Allen, voicing “tremendous confidence” in the general. Citing a string of ethical lapses by senior military officers, however, Panetta asked the Joint Chiefs of Staff to review ethics training and look for ways to help officers stay out of trouble. See SCANDAL, Page A2
found 28 different samples of salmonella in Sunland’s plant. The agency also found improper handling of the products, unclean equipment and uncovered trailers of peanuts outside the facility that were exposed to rain and birds. “Investigators found that employees improperly handled equipment, containers, and utensils used to hold and store food,” the agency report reads. “Employees handling peanut products wiped gloved hands on street clothes and other times failed to wash their hands or change gloves. There See PEANUT, Page A3
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — A judge has dismissed corruption charges against former New Mexico Secretary of State Rebecca VigilGiron after ruling that repeated delays violated her right to a speedy trial. Second Judicial District Judge Reed Sheppard ruled late Wednesday that VigilGiron did nothing to cause the delays other than file one motion asking the state attorney general’s office to be disqualified, the Albuquerque Journal reported. Vigil-Giron issued a statement saying she felt vindicated and plans a return to the public arena. She served two terms as secretary of state and left office in 2006. “She has steadfastly
requested her day in court because she was confident that there was not a shred of real evidence against her,” said the statement released by her attorney, Bob Gorence.
Vigil-Giron was emotional when infor med of the decision, Gorence told the newspaper.
Vigil-Giron and three codefendants — Elizabeth and Joe Kupfer of Rio Rancho and Armando Gutierrez of Corpus Christi, Texas — were each charged in 2009 with 50 counts, including conspiracy, fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, and soliciting or paying a kickback. See CHARGES, Page A3
Students wish upon a giving tree
Mark Wilson Photo
Students at Midway Learning Center tape their wishes to a Thanksgiving Tree, Thursday.