Billionaire Blastoff: Rich Riding Own Rockets Into Space - By Marcia Dunn AP, Aerospace Writer
Two billionaires are putting everything on the line this month to ride their own rockets into space.
It's intended to be a flashy confidence boost for customers seeking their own short joyrides.
The lucrative, high-stakes chase for space tourists will unfold on the fringes of space — 55 miles to 66 miles up, pitting Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson against the world's richest man, Blue Origin's Jeff Bezos.
Branson is due to take off Sunday from New Mexico, launching with two pilots and three other employees aboard a rocket plane carried aloft by a double-fuselage aircraft.
Bezos departs nine days later from West Texas, blasting off in a fully automated capsule with three guests: his brother, an 82-year-old female aviation pioneer who's waited six decades for a shot at space and the winner of a $28 million charity auction.
Branson's flight will be longer, but Bezos' will be higher.
Branson's craft has more windows, but Bezos' windows are bigger.
Branson's piloted plane has already flown to space three times. Bezos' has five times as many test flights, though none with people on board.
Either way, they're shooting for sky-high bragging rights as the first person to fly his own rocket to space and experience three to four minutes of weightlessness.
Branson, who turns 71 in another week, considers it "very important" to try it out before allowing space tourists on board. He insists he's not apprehensive; this is the thrill-seeking adventurer who's kite-surfed across the English Channel and attempted to circle the world in a hot air balloon.
"As a child, I wanted to go to space. When that did not look likely for my generation, I registered the name Virgin Galactic with the notion of creating a company that could make it happen," Branson wrote in a blog this week. Seventeen years after founding Virgin Galactic, he's on the cusp of experiencing space for himself.
"It's amazing where an idea can lead you, no matter how far-fetched it may seem at first."
Bezos, 57, who stepped down Monday as Amazon's CEO, announced in early June that he'd be on his New Shepard rocket's first passenger flight, choosing the 52nd anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's moon landing.
He too had childhood dreams of traveling to space, Bezos said via Instagram. "On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend."
Branson was supposed to fly later this year on the second of three more test flights planned by Virgin Galactic before flying ticket holders next year. But late last week, he leapfrogged ahead.
He insists he's not trying to beat Bezos and that it's not a race. Yet his announcement came just hours after Bezos revealed he'd be joined in space by Wally Funk, one of the last surviving members of the so-called Mercury 13. The 13 female pilots never made it to space despite passing the same tests in the early 1960s as NASA's original, all-male Mercury 7 astronauts.
Bezos hasn't commented publicly on Branson's upcoming flight.
But some at Blue Origin already are nitpicking the fact that their capsule surpasses the designated Karman line of space 62 miles up, while Virgin Galactic's peak altitude is 55 miles. International aeronautic and astronautic federations in Europe recognize the Karman line as the official boundary between the upper atmosphere and space, while NASA, the Air Force, the Federal Aviation Administration and some astrophysicists accept a minimum altitude of 50 miles.
Blue Origin's flights last 10 minutes by the time the capsule parachutes onto the desert floor. Virgin Galactic's last around 14 to 17 minutes from the time the space plane drops from the mothership and fires its rocket motor for a steep climb until it glides to a runway landing.
SpaceX's Elon Musk doesn't do quick up-and-down hops to the edge of space. His capsules go all the way to orbit, and he's shooting for Mars.
"There is a big difference between reaching space and reaching orbit," Musk said last week on Twitter.
Musk already has carried 10 astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA, and his company's first private spaceflight is coming up in September for another billionaire who's purchased a three-day, globe-circling ride.
Regardless of how high they fly, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin already are referring to their prospective clients as "astronauts." More than 600 have reserved seats with Virgin Galactic at $250,000. Blue Origin expects to announce prices and open ticket sales once Bezos flies.
Phil McAlister, NASA's commercial spaceflight director, considers it a space renaissance, especially as the space station gets set to welcome a string of paying visitors, beginning with a Russian actress and movie producer in October, a pair of Japanese in December and a SpaceX-delivered crew of businessmen in January.
"The way I see it is the more, the better, right?" McAlister said. "More, better."
This is precisely the future NASA wanted once the shuttles retired and private companies took over space station ferry flights. Atlantis blasted off on the last shuttle flight 10 years ago Thursday.
NASA's final shuttle commander, Chris Ferguson, who now works for Boeing on its Starliner crew capsule, is impressed that Branson and Bezos are launching ahead of customers.
"That's one surefire way to show confidence in your product is to get on it," Ferguson said at Thursday's 10th anniversary shuttle celebrations. "I'm sure that this was not a decision made lightly. I wish them both well. I think it's great.
Navajo Nation: 24 New COVID Cases, No Deaths For A 4th Day – Associated Press
The Navajo Nation on Thursday reported 24 new COVID-19 cases, but no additional deaths for the fourth consecutive day.
Tribal health officials said the total number of coronavirus-related cases on the vast reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah is 31,067 since the pandemic began more than a year ago.
The total number of known deaths remained at 1,357.
"The increase in cases today is being looked into by contact tracers," Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said in a statement. "We were informed that family members traveled to Las Vegas recently and brought the virus back to their homes.
"This serves as a strong reminder that the variants, including the dominant Delta variant, continue to pose a threat," Nez added. "We need to be very cautious and always wear a mask when you travel on or off the Navajo Nation and when you visit family members who live in separate households. The data across the country shows that states with lower vaccination rates are now having surges in new cases of COVID-19."
Relief Fund Partners To Donate Shoes To Navajo Children – Associated Press
Hundreds of children from several Navajo communities in northwestern New Mexico soon will have new kicks.
A relief fund created by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former Navajo Nation President Peterson Zah teamed up with four-time PGA Tour winner Notah Begay III and his foundation to deliver 300 pairs of Nike shoes on Thursday. They gathered at the Dream Diné Charter School in Shiprock to distribute the goods.
With no shoe stores on the Navajo Nation, organizers said they began getting tearful messages of appreciation from Navajo moms once they learned about the donation.
The relief fund was started last year to help get personal protective equipment and other supplies to the Navajo Nation during the pandemic. That included everything from food and water to diapers and funds to help with burial costs.
The tribe that stretches into Arizona, New Mexico and Utah was hit particularly hard early in the pandemic with one of the country's highest COVID-19 infection rates. Access to health care and basic services is limited, and tribal officials enacted shutdowns, curfews and weekend lockdowns to try to prevent the spread of the virus.
Officials with the relief fund said the donation of Nike shoes along with grants for sports equipment and apparel were another way they could focus on serving Navajo youth.
Begay's organization — the NB3 Foundation — was able to get a 50% discount on the shoes, which enabled the relief fund to double its buying power. The partners are planning to distribute another 300 pairs of shoes in the fall.
Nike shoe designer Lacey Trujillo, who is Navajo and from Fruitland, selected the shoes that were given to the Navajo children.
Gallup Hospital Shedding Nearly 80 Jobs; Patient Counts Drop – Associated Press
A Gallup hospital says it is eliminating nearly 80 jobs as it responds to reduced patient counts following a $14 million loss in 2020.
The job cuts announced Tuesday by Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services include 27 layoffs made in May when it closed WellSpring Recovery Center plus elimination of 27 currently vacant positions, the Gallup Independent reported.
Other moves include severing 18 contracts with temporary or traveling workers and laying off six local physicians and staff, the newspaper reported.
Interim CEO Don Smithburg said federal pandemic-relief funding provided "only a temporary reprieve from financial challenges that have been persistent for years."
"For us to remain a vital resource for our region, we must do the hard work to right-size the organization to meet current patient demand," Smithburg added.
The statement said Rehoboth McKinley's 2020 losses resulted from the suspension of elective surgeries and non-essential services during the pandemic.
"Moving forward, hospital leadership is focused on meeting the post-pandemic needs of the community and ensuring the hospital's long-term sustainability."
Contract workers brought in during the pandemic because of the high volume of COVID-19 patients are no longer needed as the hospital returns to pre-pandemic patient numbers, the statement said.
Person Killed In Encounter With Santa Fe County Deputies – Associated Press
Authorities say a suspect was killed during an encounter with Santa Fe County sheriff's deputies responding to a reported stabbing in a residential area.
The shooting occurred Wednesday in an area north of Santa Fe and was under investigation by the New Mexico State Police.
The agency said information on the person killed and circumstances of the incident were not immediately available.
Officer Dusty Francisco, a state police spokesman, confirmed a suspect was killed and said no deputies were injured.
US Agency Offers $307 Million For Rural Water Projects - By Cedar Attanasio, Associated Press / Report For America
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will issue up to $307 million in grants and low-interest loans in an effort to modernize rural water infrastructure, officials announced Wednesday.
The programs are aimed at towns with less than 10,000 people in 34 states and the territory of Puerto Rico.
Officials made the announcement at a wastewater treatment center in the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, north of Santa Fe, where employees have worked to keep the aging plant running for its thousands of residents along the Rio Grande.
"Every community needs safe, reliable and modern water and wastewater systems," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement ahead of a tour at the plant run by the Indigenous tribe in New Mexico.
The announcement is part of a multistate push by President Joe Biden and his administration to gain more support fora $973 billion infrastructure package that includes more than a half-trillion dollars in new spending.
The Pueblo will receive a $610,000 loan and a $1.6 million grant to improve its wastewater treatment plant, part of a $4 million investment in the state. Federal officials say it will allow the tribe to start extending service to over 1,000 residents who are disconnected by treating 33% more water each day.
State and local grants will be needed to finish the wastewater treatment center's expansion, Vilsack said.
At the center of the small plant, a decades-old metal trough measuring about 100 feet sat rusted over, the metal now a dark orange. Workers at the plant said the equipment, which mixes sewage with air to induce bacterial breakdown of the waste, was about a year away from rusting through.
"We're operating, but just barely," wastewater treatment plant manager Nelson Edmonds told Vilsack on the tour along with Democratic Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, who serves a majority Hispanic and Native American district.
"The consequences of decades of disinvestment in physical infrastructure have fallen most heavily on communities of color. This is why USDA is investing in water infrastructure in rural and Tribal communities that need it most to help them build back better, stronger and more equitably than ever before," Vilsack said.
Among some minority communities, Vilsack has been the target of criticism for how he handled discrimination complaints during his tenure as agriculture secretary in the Obama administration.
African American farmers were angered by his appointment by Biden because of an unaddressed flurry of civil rights complaints. But in March, Vilsack announced a program that would forgive the debts of ranchers of color.
A coalition of Hispanic and Native American cattle ranchers in New Mexico complained in 2015 that they were being discriminated against through arbitrary revocations of grazing permits, concerns validated by a report from the agency's Office of Compliance, Policy, Training and Cultural Transformation.
One of them still blames the agency for the death of his cows a decade ago.
"I had to liquidate 250 animals overnight," said Dave Sanchez, 61, of Chama, north of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo.
He said that during the Obama administration Vilsack turned down many requests to meet and address the concerns of a large group of cattle ranchers in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado.
"We're really disappointed in Vilsack for what he did in the Obama administration. I don't know why he's coming to New Mexico. He didn't want to meet with Hispanic ranchers. He shunned us," Sanchez said Tuesday after learning of the visit.
The "USDA takes complaints of discrimination seriously and seeks to ensure all programs are administered equitably," agency spokeswoman Kate Waters said in a statement Wednesday.
Republican Lawmaker Enters Race For New Mexico Governor – Associated Press
State Rep. Rebecca Dow announced Wednesday that she will seek the Republican nomination for governor of New Mexico in next year's election, becoming the fifth GOP candidate looking to unseat Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Dow, who is serving her third term in the Legislature and works as a consultant to early childhood providers, said she's tired of New Mexico being last when it comes to educational outcomes, child well-being and employment opportunities.
The state currently has the second highest unemployment rate in the U.S. Critics have placed some of the blame on Lujan Grisham for her handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the effects of her public health restrictions on small businesses. Many were forced to close their doors for good over the past year, and the state recently started offering cash incentives in an effort to get people back to work.
Lujan Grisham announced her reelection bid at a June rally in Albuquerque that was derailed by protesters who were mostly upset over her handling of the pandemic, which included some of the nation's toughest restrictions.
Dow said during an interview on KKOB radio that her campaign will be a grassroots effort. She also pointed to her ability to win over Democrats in her rural district.
"I am looking for the everyday New Mexican to join me," she said. "I don't care what political party you're affiliated with — it's the people who want to see New Mexico thrive. It's time," she said, adding that New Mexico has the potential to do as well as the neighboring states of Arizona and Texas.
Dow described Lujan Grisham's policies as radical and said New Mexicans should be allowed to make their own choices.
"We have rights, we are allowed to take risks and we take personal responsibility," she said. "The everyday New Mexican, they're capable of making informed rational decisions for themselves and for their families. ... This governor assumes that we can't make choices for ourselves."
As part of her campaign, Lujan Grisham is running on her pandemic-related policies, saying they helped to save lives. She also has touted the approval of tax breaks for working families, increases in spending on public education and legalization of recreational marijuana during her first term.
Other Republicans seeking the GOP nomination for governor include former congressional candidate Karen Bedonie, investment adviser and West Point graduate Greg Zanetti, Sandoval County Commissioner Jay Block and retired teacher Tim Walsh.
Canal Breaches After Storm, Causing Street Flooding In Belen – Associated Press
The central New Mexico city of Belen was mopping up after a storm dropped heavy rain, causing a canal to breach and resulting in street flooding that stranded motorists.
The breach was secured by Wednesday morning but standing water remained in some areas after the Tuesday night storm, local news outlets reported.
No injuries were reported.
The city declared a flood emergency early Wednesday and an emergency shelter was opened at Dennis Chavez Elementary School in Los Chavez. It wasn't known whether any residents used the shelter.
The municipal court was flooded and was closed Wednesday for repairs.
Belen is 30 miles south of Albuquerque.
Navajo Nation Reports No COVID-19 Deaths For 3rd Day In Row – Associated Press
The Navajo Nation on Wednesday reported eight new COVID-19 cases, but no additional deaths for the third consecutive day.
Tribal health officials said the total number of coronavirus-related cases on the vast reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah is 31,043 since the pandemic began more than a year ago.
The total number of known deaths remained at 1,357.
"As we begin to welcome visitors and tourists back to the Navajo Nation, we have to keep our guard up and continue to take precautions to prevent another surge in COVID-19 cases," tribal President Jonathan Nez said in a statement Wednesday. "We ask all visitors and tourists to adhere to our public health orders including the mask mandate that requires everyone to wear a mask in public. Getting fully vaccinated is the key to preventing the spread of the virus and protecting ourselves."
Drought, Heat, Fire Force Fishing Ban On Colorado River - By James Anderson, Associated Press
Colorado wildlife officials on Wednesday urged anglers to avoid fishing along a stretch of the Colorado River because low flows during a historic drought in the U.S. West, critically warm water temperatures and sediment runoff from wildfire burn scars are all starving trout of oxygen.
The move along a 120-mile stretch of the river — unusual so early in the summer — is another consequence of the record heat and drought that's afflicted the American West. The voluntary fishing ban runs from the town of Kremmling in north-central Colorado to Rifle in the western part of the state.
"The extreme drought on the Western Slope, plus the sediment and debris in the waterway, have created a really challenging situation for fish," said Travis Duncan, spokesman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
River temperatures reaching and surpassing 70 degrees Fahrenheit pose a threat by depleting oxygen levels and possibly feeding algae blooms. Rainbow and brown trout in the Colorado River, which thrive in temperatures between 50 and 60 F, become lethargic and often stop feeding, Duncan said, and wildlife officials have seen evidence of the fish dying in parts of the river.
"We're asking folks to voluntarily refrain from fishing," he said. "If the conditions persist, we'll need to adopt a mandatory ban."
Colorado River flows at two U.S. Geological Survey monitoring stations are less than half of historic levels, state wildlife officials said. At an upstream site, a Geological Survey gauge has been measuring between 600 and 700 cubic feet per second, compared with a typical 1,500 to 2,000 cubic feet per second.
Flows at a downstream gauge are about 1,250 cubic feet per second, compared with an expected 3,000 to 4,000 cubic feet per second, the state agency said.
Repeated mudslides, debris runoff and sediment from burn scars left behind by destructive wildfires last year, especially in the Glenwood Canyon area, are being dumped into the river.
"With the high sediment load, the fish can't find clear water," Colorado Parks and Wildlife aquatic biologist Kendall Bakich said in a statement. "They've got to sit through those conditions. And at nighttime, the temp isn't coming down enough, so there's no recovery for those fish right now. They've just got to hang on."
The low flows and high temperatures are affecting catch-and-release trout fishing and fly-fishing operations like the one run by Tom Trowbridge, manager of Roaring Fork Anglers in Glenwood Springs.
In South Canyon west of Glenwood Springs, river temperatures have surpassed 70 F for the past three days, and the coolest nighttime temperature was 65 F, Trowbridge said. Luckily, his company has other river options nearby.
"In these temperatures, it is hard to catch and release the fish and have them survive the experience," said Trowbridge, who's seen voluntary restrictions during daytime hours in the past. The new ban runs round the clock.
Other Colorado rivers are being affected, too.
Wildlife officials said they could adopt a mandatory fishing closure on parts of the Yampa River in northern Colorado, where temperatures surpassed 75 F on Tuesday. Biologists also are monitoring the Fraser River and the upper Colorado River. In June, officials imposed voluntary fishing restrictions on the Dolores River in southwest Colorado for the first time.
Female Powwow Emcees Make Voices Heard In Mostly Male Field - By Dalton Walker, Indian Country Today
Deanna Rae StandingCloud has jokes.
She also has the voice, and the skill. Now, she just needs more opportunities to show it.
StandingCloud, Red Lake Nation, from Minneapolis, is one of the few female powwow emcees in a typically male-dominated field. Now that in-person powwows and other social gatherings are coming back after a monthslong pandemic hiatus, StandingCloud is ready for her voice to be heard.
StandingCloud and others like Kwe Blomgren want powwow decision makers to know they are available to emcee,Indian Country Today reported.
"We have to start having women in these roles, so in our minds, we think, that definitely can be a woman, and it can be," StandingCloud said. "Women are pretty funny, and some of the funniest people I met are female, so why the heck not?"
StandingCloud created a Facebook female powwow emcee group and has nearly a dozen members. She wanted aspiring female powwow emcees to have a space to connect. Blomgren is one of its members.
"Hearing their journeys of celebrations or mini gigs is really inspiring there," Blomgren said about the group.
Blomgren, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, periodically posts on her Facebook page that she is a "powwow emcee for hire." In August 2019, she posted a short Facebook video explaining why she wanted to emcee along with an example of her emcee style. The video was her way to let others know how serious she is.
In her post, she wrote: "I'm officially submitting my cowboy hat into the ring. (Aye.) Here is my mock (grand entry) run. I'm not the best or a pro but my heart is fully into this video. I worked hard on it and I'm super proud. I tell my girls to try, try, and fight for what they really want. So here is me fighting for my dream."
The emcee, or master of ceremonies, tends to be a popular yet demanding gig, and most powwows have a two- or three-person rotation or more. The challenge for most emcees is keeping the crowd engaged and entertained while guiding dancers and singers through the hourslong celebration.
It's also fun and worthwhile, StandingCloud said. Plus the many plates of food all the time, and the ability to come up with words and jokes on the fly, she said.
"I think the trick to being an emcee is reading the crowd and being in the moment," she said. "A lot of the jokes come from improvising. I try to be present, being in the moment and appreciating the celebration itself, and a lot of teasing jokes will come out of that."
She also likes to play off the energy of her co-hosts.
"Somebody ends on a perfect beat — I'll go, 'Hoo! There you have it, folks,'" she says in a deep voice, stretching out her words. "'Powwow Saturday night live. We're here!"
StandingCloud enjoys being social and was often found at powwows or events in the Twin Cities area before the pandemic. Her first emcee opportunity wasn't planned. She was assisting an emcee a few years back at an area school powwow until it made more sense for her to be on the microphone. The following year, she was invited back to be the lead emcee.
Then came her big break. In mid-2019, organizers for Leech Lake Labor Day Powwow asked StandingCloud to co-emcee the celebration. StandingCloud said she was initially anxious about the invite. She was familiar with the powwow and knew it was one of the larger powwows in northern Minnesota.
"Inside, I was like, 'OK, I have to do this because, first of all, nobody ever gets asked this,''' StandingCloud recalled. "I didn't want to because I was nervous and I didn't think I was really good enough, but whatever. I said yes."
A few months after, she had another emcee gig at a Fond du Lac Band powwow near Lake Superior. Emceeing was getting easier, and StandingCloud was getting comfortable. Then the pandemic hit.
More recently, StandingCloud was the virtual emcee for the MN Connect Powwow and an in-person emcee at the Red Lake Nation College graduation and mini powwow.
"I'm just excited for COVID to be something that is behind us so we can all come back together and have a powwow," StandingCloud said. "I miss the sounds, smells, sounds of bells, everything. It's just a nostalgic feeling. It's a very vivid experience for a lot of our people, and it's one of the things that probably healed us as Native people."
A few years ago during a Minnesota summer, Blomgren was enjoying a powwow on her Leech Lake homelands when her goal was to be in the emcee stand.
She came close. She emceed community events and gatherings.
After her Facebook video, Blomgren had a few local powwow emcee gigs lined up, but they were unfortunately canceled because of the pandemic.
"I'm definitely ready," Blomgren said. "When the world is healthy, I'm ready"
Her confidence comes from positive feedback from her family and community, including from elders. Her dream is to one day emcee at the Gathering of Nations in New Mexico.
"I want lady emcees to be the norm, and I want us to start hearing us at celebrations and seeing us do big things."