—From Albuquerque, NM

Germanwings: The initial French investigation has found that the co-pilot who intentionally crashed a Germanwings jet into the Alps had previously practiced a slow descent, setting the autopilot to 100 feet. Andreas Lubitz appeared to have rehearsed on a flight earlier on the day of the crash, investigators say.

Lubitz was found to have a history of depression, the full extent of which does not appear to have been known to his employers.

Eyes Over Baltimore: The Washington Post reports that a Baltimore man inquiring why a small plane was doing repeated loops over the city discovered that the city and federal governments were conducting aerial surveillance after several days of rioting and civil unrest. The small plane was a Cessna owned by a private company in Bristow, Va., and another was a Cessna Citation jet, owner unknown. The American Civil Liberties Union is demanding an explanation.

Hashtag War: The gunmen killed in an attack on the Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas had left a trail of electronic messages revealing that they were planning to take action and had been in touch with a fighter for the Islamic State in Syria. ISIS praised the two men as “soldiers of the caliphate.” Investigators are looking into how much of a connection there was between ISIS and the two men. ISIS is known to troll the Internet looking to recruit radical-minded people.

Water Boarding: California’s state water board has approved regulations requiring local water districts to cut use by up to 36 percent in some extreme cases. The average for the state is 25 percent. It could be tough for residents, who use the most water during summer. Already Californians are responding by ripping out their water-sucking lawns, putting in drought tolerant plants and even plastic grass.

Hillary: Despite taking some dings about her private email account and the fundraising practices of the Clinton family foundation, Hillary Clinton’s popularity is growing, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll. While Americans are roughly spilt in their opinion about Clinton, her favorability rating has improved by nine percentage points since the private email dustup. And the poll says nearly nine out of ten Democrats think the country is ready for a woman president.

The Obit Page: Marv Hubbard, the bruising fullback for the Oakland Raiders from 1969-1975 has died of cancer just days short of turning 69. Hubbard was one of the most popular Raiders during the team’s rise to prominence. He was a phenomenon in part because he was drafted in the 11^th round out of Colgate University in upstate New York, which sends few players to the pros.

Art News: A Vincent Van Gogh painting called “The Allee of Alyscamps” sold at a Sotheby’s auction yesterday for 66.3 million to a private Asian collector. The autumn scene was painted in 1888 during a two-month period when van Gogh and Paul Gauguin painted together in Arles, France. The standing record for a Van Gogh is $82.5 million. He died broke in 1890.

Albuquerque News: Preservationist want to declare the one-time home of Jim Morrison, lead singer for The Doors, as an historical site. It’s a brick ranch house.

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