A jury of 12 Lea County residents returned a verdict of not guilty on Tuesday for a Hobbs man charged with robbery of an American flag. The jury found Casey Smith of Hobbs not guilty on Tuesday in the Fifth Judicial District Court in Lovington in a trial presided over by the Judge William Shoobridge. The alleged robbery case against …

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A bitterly divided U.S. Senate panel deadlocked Thursday on President Joe Biden’s pick to oversee vast government-owned lands in the West, as Democrats united behind a nominee whose credibility was assailed by Republicans over her links to a 1989 environmental sabotage case. The 10-10 tie in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee sets up a …

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden has nominated a longtime environmental advocate and Democratic aide to oversee the vast expanses of federally owned land in Western states — the latest political appointment raising concerns among Republicans as Biden moves to curtail energy production from public reserves. Tracy Stone-Manning of Missoula, Montana, was nominated on Thursday to direct the Interior …

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The cost of drilling for oil and natural gas on public and tribal land went up slightly nationwide, thanks to a fee hike that took effect over the weekend. But New Mexico producers said Monday they are more worried about a continued backlog in the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s processing of permits. The delays are …