Here’s a look at today’s headlines:

Gila National Forest offices will close at noon Thursday, Dec. 24 in accordance with an executive order issued by President Obama. Gila National Forest offices will also be closed Friday, Dec. 25 in observance of Christmas and Friday, Jan. 1 for New Year’s Day.  If you are planning a trip to the Gila National Forest, please remember that the weather can change rapidly in the high country making roads hazardous or impassable. Contact the office nearest your destination for information about current conditions. Happy holidays from the Gila.

Janice Chacon, Clarissa Funaki and Breana Martin all were named to the All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Academic Team on Tuesday.  To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete must carry a 3.30 cumulative grade point average and must have been an active student at the institution for at least two consecutive semesters or three consecutive quarters. They must also be participating in their same sport for the second straight year.

U.S. Senator Tom Udall delivered a speech on the U.S. Senate floor to celebrate the Senate’s historic passage of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, a landmark chemical safety reform bill to overhaul the nation’s broken Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA). Udall and Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) authored the bill, which passed the Senate last night by a unanimous voice vote and now has 61 bipartisan cosponsors.  The 39-year-old TSCA is the last of the major environmental laws passed in the 1960s and ’70s that has not yet been modernized. The bill must now be reconciled with the U.S. House of Representatives-passed legislation on the same issue.

The Alzheimer’s Association, New Mexico Chapter is delighted to share the news delivered by their parent organization, that a $350 million increase for Alzheimer’s disease research funding in the FY2016 budget, was signed into law on Friday by President Barack Obama.  “This a truly historic development for our cause, and news of this increase in research funding gives us a much-needed ray of hope for the future,” says Gary L.J. Girón, Executive Director, Alzheimer’s Association, New Mexico Chapter.  Currently, 36,000 New Mexicans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, and are being supported by 106,000 unpaid family caregivers.  “We applaud our national organization for their achievement in helping to make this landmark legislation a reality,” Girón added.