Morning Word: Obama Rallies Democrats

'Stay the Course'

US Reps. Ben Ray Lujan and Michelle Lujan Grisham 

 and just hours later, President Barack Obama’s

that may have done more to unify the party than anything else. Obama encouraged the party faithful to ‘stay the course’ and get behind Hillary Clinton, whom he called the most qualified candidate—man or woman—ever to campaign for the White House. Clinton is

tonight.

In and Out 

Gov. Susana Martinez says she wants lawmakers to

to the state’s budget crisis before she calls them back to Santa Fe for a “short” special session in order to save taxpayers money, since a special session will cost about $50,000 a day.

'It's Criminal and Obscene' 

Another state lawmaker wants Human Services Secretary Brent Ernest to

that in 2013 falsely accused nonprofit providers of Medicaid fraud. “This is just morally repugnant behavior that this administration, this department, has done,” state Rep. Christine Trujillo, D-Albuquerque, said Wednesday at an interim Legislative Health and Human Services Committee meeting. “It’s criminal and obscene.”

Espinoza Faces Ethics Complaint 

Republican candidate for secretary of state Nora Espinoza is

Among the allegations against Espinoza: She didn’t identify specific vendors and spending for credit card reimbursement, failed to report the purpose of some expenditures, and didn’t properly identify the occupations of some donors who gave $250 or more. The complaint also says Espinoza ignored the secretary of state’s instructions not to list couples as individual contributors, to properly keep track of individual contribution limits. It cited more than 150 instances in which couples were listed.

Last month, state Rep. Zach Cook, R-Ruidoso, accused Espinoza’s Democrat opponent Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver of violating the campaign finance act in 2014.

License Plate Hazard 

Those turquoise and yellow license plates may be popular, but law enforcement officers says

than the older yellow and red plates.

North Carolina Law Makes Open Government Advocates Cringe 

Getting a copy of police officer’s body camera and dashcam videos in North Carolina just got a lot harder. Gov. Pat McCrory is being
 
 
to the footage unless law enforcement agencies decide to release it on their own.
 


Treasurer Hunter's Body Found 

Santa Fe author Forrest Fenn, who claims to have buried treasure worth millions, says the death of a Colorado treasurer hunter is ”regrettable.” KOAT reports that

, 54. He went missing in January after setting out to find the loot north of Cochiti Dam. The Medical Investigator's Office is waiting on autopsy results to figure out exactly how the Colorado grandfather died. 

'Heaven Sent' 

This is an insane idea, but Luke Aikins, an experienced skydiver, is planning to jump from an airplane at 25,000 

 and will attempt to land in a net one-third the size of a football field. The jump will air live Saturday (but on a tape delay) as part of a Fox network special called "Heaven Sent."

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