New Mexico

Chevron Corp., the second largest U.S. oil and gas company, posted a sharp increase in earnings for the fourth quarter on higher production, better refinery performance, and a gain from an asset swap that increased the company's position in a gas field in Australia. Fourth quarter net income jumped 41 percent to $7.2 billion on revenue of $60.6 billion.

SANTA FE, N.M.-- Republican lawmakers proposed Thursday to significantly revamp New Mexico's governmental finance system by relying more on taxing people and businesses on what they consume and spend rather than the income they earn.

SACRAMENTO, Calif.-- Hispanics will become the largest ethnic group in the nation's most populous state early next year, the California Department of Finance said Thursday, marking a big milestone in a long-running demographic shift that has already deeply altered the political balance of power, the economy and culture.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.-- The response to natural disasters and other emergencies in American Indian communities is expected to improve thanks to legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama. Former Santa Clara Pueblo Gov.

*Nebraska the most drought-stricken state. Jan 31- The unrelenting drought gripping key farming states in the U.S. It's not a pretty picture, "said climatologist Mark Svoboda of the University of Nebraska's Drought Mitigation Center.

OLYMPIA, Wash.-- Washington state has the highest state minimum wage in the nation, but a new bill being considered by lawmakers would allow some employers to pay a lower "training wage" to new employees for a certain period of time. Washington state's minimum wage increased by 15 cents this month to $9.19 per hour.

British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic plans to fly tourists into outer space at $200,000- a-ticket from Spaceport America, near the community of Truth or Consequences. A 2010 state law shields Virgin Galactic from being sued in most cases for damages by passengers or their families if there was an accident.

The South Dakota law is based on centuries-old British law. Adelstein had hoped his cause would be helped by a recent trial in Rapid City that attracted a lot of attention in South Dakota. Former county prosecutor Glenn Brenner was sued by his wife's ex-husband, businessman Douglas Rumpca, claiming Brenner stole Kellie Rumpca from a loving marriage.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.-- Virgin Galactic has agreed to start paying New Mexico rent on the nearly quarter-billion dollar spaceport the state built for British businessman Richard Branson's space tourism business, but it says it is doing so under protest and without waiving its right to walk away from the project, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

CHICAGO-- As Illinois becomes the fourth and most populous state to give illegal immigrants permission to drive, nagging concerns remain about whether there are enough safeguards to avoid the identity fraud and other pitfalls other states faced. Pat Quinn signed Illinois' measure into law Sunday in Chicago.

Gasoline prices averaged $3.3443 per gallon on Jan. 25, up $1.96 cents from Jan. 11, Trilby Lundberg, editor of the Lundberg Survey, said. Gasoline prices on Jan. 6 averaged $3.3247 per gallon, up 6.68 cents from Dec. 21.

New Mexico has spent more than $200 million to develop a spaceport in southern New Mexico that British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic plans to use to take tourists into outer space for $200,000- a-ticket.

*WellPoint expects significant Medicaid growth in 2014. Jan 23- A top U.S. insurance industry executive on Wednesday predicted that most states will agree to expand their Medicaid programs under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, despite opposition from more than a dozen Republican governors.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.-- The federal government reports that New Mexico's graduation rate for the 2009-2010 was 67.3 percent. The rates are being reported by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is part of the U.S. Department of Education. States' rates ranged from 57.8 percent in Nevada at the low end to 91.4 percent in Vermont at the high end.

WASHINGTON, Jan 23- U.S. adults who qualify for Medicaid often must have incomes well below the federal poverty line, while adults who have no dependent children are allowed to receive benefits in only nine of the 50 states, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Virgin Galactic plans to fly tourists into outer space at $200,000- a-ticket from Spaceport America near the community of Truth or Consequences. Top House and Senate leaders said an agreement to limit the liability of parts suppliers was negotiated by trial lawyer representatives and officials of Virgin Galactic at the prodding of lawmakers.

ALBANY, N.Y.-- Legislation to provide financial aid and other assistance to college-bound illegal immigrants is gaining political support in New York a year after the idea withered in Albany and Washington. Andrew Cuomo and the Republicans who share control of the state Senate are interested in discussing the bill.

WASHINGTON-- The nation's high school graduation rate is the highest since 1976, but more than a fifth of students are still failing to get their diploma in four years, the Education Department said in a study released Tuesday. That wasn't true 10 or 15 years ago, "Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in an interview with The Associated Press.

*Four Republican governors back Medicaid expansion. WASHINGTON, Jan 16- At least 22 U.S. governors, including four Republicans, support an expansion of Medicaid under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, while others are expected to decide in the coming weeks, experts said on Wednesday.