Russell Contreras, Author at Valley News

FILE - In this April 26, 2019, file photo, Maine Gov. Janet Mills signs a bill to establish Indigenous Peoples' Day at the State House in Augusta, Maine. A handful of states, including New Mexico and Maine, are celebrating their first Indigenous Peoples' Day as part of a trend to move away from a day honoring Christopher Columbus. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Vt., Maine honor indigenous people

by Russell Contreras Associated PressOctober 14, 2019

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A handful of states are celebrating their first Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday as part of a trend to move away from a day honoring Christopher Columbus.New Mexico, Vermont and Maine are among the latest to pass measures doing…

FILE - In this January 1954 file photo, three Americans who refused repatriation, take a smoke break outside the peace hut at Panmunjom, Korea. They were among 21 U.S. prisoners of war who refused to come home after the Korean War. The new PBS documentary "KOREA: The Never-Ending War" examines the lasting social and political costs of the Korean War _ a conflict largely forgotten in the U.S. (AP Photo,File)

PBS documentary eyes social, political tolls of Korean War

by Russell Contreras Associated PressApril 28, 2019

FILE - In this May 23, 1941 file photo, outfielder for the Boston Red Sox Ted Williams poses at Yankee Stadium in New York City. A new film explores the life of baseball legend Williams who struggled with his Mexican-American heritage and his volatile relationship with his family and the press. The upcoming PBS "American Masters" documentary on the former Boston Red Sox slugger uses rare footage and family interviews to paint a picture of a complicated figure that hid his past but later spoke out and defended black players. (AP Photo/File)

Documentary Examines Ted Williams’ Heritage, and His Anger

by Russell Contreras Associated PressJuly 19, 2018

In this May 17, 2018 photo, kids enjoy the game arcade area at the Maya Cinemas Theater in Delano, Calif. For around a decade, the farm worker city of Delano, has lacked a movie theater. Residents from this largely Latino community had to travel nearly 40 miles to see the latest film a drive advocates say was rare since around a third of the population lives in poverty. Moctesuma Esparza, a well-known Latino movie producer, opened his latest Maya Cinemas theater in May 2018 in the Central California city of 53,000 people as part of his ongoing effort to open movie theaters in poor, U.S. rural areas that lack basic entertainment options. (Henry A. Barrios/The Bakersfield Californian via AP)

Movie Producer Opens Theaters in Rural ‘Entertainment Deserts’

by Russell Contreras Associated PressJune 7, 2018

In this undated photo provided by StoryCorps, Juan Romero, 67, holds a photo of himself and the dying Sen. Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, taken by the Los Angeles Times' Boris Yaro on June 5, 1968, at his home in Modesto, Calif. Associated Press Hollywood reporter Bob Thomas was on a one-night political assignment covering Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's victory celebration in the California presidential primary at the Ambassador Hotel when mayhem unfolded before his eyes. He heard pops of gunfire, then screams, and quickly rushed into the kitchen to see the dying Kennedy on the floor, blood oozing from his head. He found a phone and called the AP desk. "I've got a flash. Kennedy shot." Sirhan Sirhan was later convicted of Kennedy's murder. (Jud Esty-Kendall/StoryCorps via AP)

Busboy Who Held Dying RFK Still Feels Pain

by Russell Contreras Associated PressJune 2, 2018

FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up during a tour of the National Museum of African American History and Culture with Housing and Urban Development Secretary-designate Dr. Ben Carson and his wife Candy Carson in Washington. A poll shows just over half of Americans think that black people face hurdles to progress in the United States. The new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018, also found that nearly half, including three-quarters of African Americans themselves, think President Donald Trump's policies are making matters worse. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Nearly 6 in 10 Americans Say Trump Is Racist, According to Poll

by Emily Swanson Associated Press, and Russell Contreras Associated PressMarch 1, 2018

FILE - In this Aug. 25, 2015 file photo, pamphlets and prayer cards of Sister Blandina Segale sit on a table at the Catholic Center in Albuquerque, N.M. The Italian-born nun who once challenged Billy the Kid and later opened New Mexico hospitals and schools will soon be the subject of a television series. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras, File)

Nun Who Faced Down Billy the Kid Considered for Sainthood

by Russell Contreras Associated PressJuly 14, 2016