Latest news with #D-N.M
Axios
10-07-2025
- Health
- Axios
Trinity Test-area residents to finally get reparations 80 years later
New Mexicans impacted by the Trinity Test are getting closer to receiving compensation after eight decades of health problems and rare cancers stemming from the world's first atomic explosion. The big picture: President Trump's recently signed the "big, beautiful bill," which includes an extension of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) and, for the first time, covers victims of the Trinity Test. The inclusion comes after the victims fought for acknowledgement and reparations over multiple generations. It also comes before the 80th anniversary of the Trinity Test, which is next week. Zoom in: Under the extension and inclusion, Trinity victims can apply for $100,000 for damages caused by the 1945 bomb test that helped end World War II. RECA, which awarded financial reparations to people who lived downwind of the Nevada Test Site, ended last year but has now been renewed for two years thanks to pressure from Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) The law was originally passed in 1990, but Hispanic residents and Mescalero Apache tribal members, who were next to the 1945 Trinity Test, were never included. Descendants have suffered from rare cancers for generations. Yes, but: The recently passed legislation gutting Medicaid covers many residents in New Mexico, including Trinity victims. The RECA expansion also does not include eligibility for people near Nuclear testing in the U.S. territory of Guam, parts of Arizona, Montana, Colorado and new parts of Nevada. What they're saying: "The two-year extension will not be long enough for us to get everybody enrolled that should be enrolled, and the health care coverage was stripped out," Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, said on a call with reporters Thursday. Cordova said she was still grateful and relieved New Mexicans were finally added and that her group will continue to fight for Medicaid restorations. Luján said he's hopeful that his Republican colleagues in the Senate will work with him to reserve some of the Medicaid cuts. "I want to recognize the leadership of Sen. Hawley when we had a chance to begin working on this over the last couple of years." Context: On July 16, 1945, in the New Mexico desert, the U.S. Army detonated an atomic bomb developed at the then-secret community of Los Alamos as part of the World War II-era Manhattan Project. The bomb exploded at 5:29am, and its thunderous roar knocked people from breakfast tables in the historic Hispanic village of Tularosa and sent Mescalero Apache Reservation residents into hiding. Following the test in the Jornada del Muerto desert near Alamogordo, residents often picnicked at the site and took artifacts, including the radioactive green glass known as "trinitite." Residents only learned about the Trinity Test after the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. The bomb's aftermath later caused rare forms of cancer for many of the 30,000 people and their descendants in the area surrounding Trinity. Poor Hispanic residents and Mescalero Apache tribal members held bake sales to pay for cancer treatments. The intrigue: Downwinders received renewed public interest in 2023 following the release of the blockbuster "Oppenheimer," directed by Christopher Nolan. The movie follows American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer as his team races to create the atomic bomb, but it overlooks the aftermath on the people of New Mexico. What we're watching: The U.S. Justice Department is advising the public to wait "for further guidance" before filing a claim, noting on its website that the bill was only recently signed into law.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oregon saw a record wildfire season in 2024. Now, senators warn fire mitigation is at risk
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Months after burned nearly two million acres of land, destroyed dozens of homes, and injured civilians and fire responders, federal help to mitigate future wildfires could be at risk, according to a group of senators. On Monday, Democratic senators — led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) — sent a letter to recently confirmed Interior Secretary Doug Bergum and Acting Agriculture Secretary Gary Washington. In their letter, the senators raised concerns over reported stop-work orders from the Bureau of Land Management to small business owners and organizations across the U.S. related to the removal of hazardous wildfire fuels on public land. DON'T MISS: Oregon places new rules on homeowners living in some high-risk wildfire areas 'We are writing with great concern about reports from our constituents that the Bureau of LandManagement has issued stop work orders for hazardous fuels reduction projects. We are furtherconcerned that fuels projects overseen by the U.S. Forest Service will be next. These projects areintegral to increased safety and resiliency and any delay in implementation puts those communities at greater risk. We urge you to immediately rescind these stop work orders, halt any further stop work orders or funding freezes, and instead work with the tools and funds Congress has provided to better safeguard our communities from the serious risk of catastrophic wildfire,' the senators wrote. The lawmakers noted that any delays in removing hazardous wildfire fuels could mean missing out on the right seasonal and weather conditions for wildfire prevention and mitigation efforts — adding that President Trump's recent federal funding freeze could also harm these efforts. 'As we've seen with the recent fires surrounding Los Angeles, wildfire does not distinguish between homes and trees. But we do have ways to mitigate the risk,' the senators said. 'One of the most effective strategies to reduce that risk is to reduce the hazardous natural fuels that surround our communities. These fuels reduction projects save lives and property, reduce the danger to firefighters, and return our lands to a fire-adapted ecosystem that can better withstand the threat to human life, communities, infrastructure, and property.' Passenger subdued, banned from Alaska Air flights 'Catastrophic wildfires across the United States are an ongoing national crisis and responding to them must be a national priority. These stop-work orders and funding freezes jeopardize communities that depend on a robust federal response to our wildfire crisis – and also jeopardize small businesses, often in frontier and rural communities, that are contracted to do the work on the ground to reduce hazardous fuels,' the senators continued. The senators pointed out that investing in wildfire fuel reduction is a primary recommendation in the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission Report, a nonpartisan document on ways to tackle wildfires across the U.S. The senators noted that the report has been removed from federal websites in the last week. Aside from 'endangering communities,' the senators said the executive orders that froze federal funding are 'flagrantly illegal,' citing the Government Accountability Office, the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel, and the Supreme Court of the United States, which have disavowed some 'inherent Presidential power to impound,' the senators said. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now The letter was signed by several senators of western states including Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ). A spokesperson for the Bureau of Land Management did not confirm whether a work stop order was issued but did tell KOIN 6 News that hazardous fuel projects are ongoing. 'Hazardous fuels projects that are funded by base appropriations are continuing forward across the West,' the BLM spokesperson said. 'Fuels reduction work funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is currently undergoing review to ensure consistency with the Executive Order.' 4 arrested in connection to nearly 40 burglaries around Oregon targeting Asian Americans In response to the letter, and concerns over a reduction in federal help towards wildfire mitigation efforts, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Forestry told KOIN 6 News, 'Every change in administration comes with the possibility of shifts in federal funds. We are closely monitoring the guidance coming from our federal partners for ODF programs that receive federal dollars and could be impacted if federal funding levels should change.' 'ODF is unwavering in its commitment to protect Oregon's forests and will do our best to limit impacts to Oregonians in the event of changes to federal funding levels,' the spokesperson continued. The concerns for wildfire mitigation efforts come amid an executive order from President Trump that paused the hiring of thousands of federal firefighters, as reported by The New York Times, noting, even though the order exempts 'public safety' positions, some federal firefighters have had their job offers recently rescinded. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
