ALBUQUERQUE MAYOR MARTIN CHAVEZ ENTERS THE RACE TO REPLACE PETE DOMENICI IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. THE FIRST MAJOR CANDIDATE TO JUMP IN ON THE DEMOCRATIC SIDE MADE HIS FORMAL ANNOUNCEMENT JUST BEFORE NOON TODAY. STUART DYSON WAS THERE - AND HE’S IN OUR NEWSROOM NOW WITH A LOOK AT HOW THE CAMPAIGN IS SHAPING UP. CHAVEZ SAYS HIS DECISION TO RUN WAS A TOUGH ONE - BUT FRIENDS SAY IT WOULD HAVE BEEN TOUGHER FOR HIM TO STAY OUT - NOW THAT PETE DOMENICI TO COVER BEFORE THE NOVEMBER THE NOVEMBER 2008 ELECTION. EXCLUSIVE SURVEY U-S-A POLL NUMBERS RELEASED YESTERDAY SHOW THAT HEAD TO HEAD-- REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE HEATHER WILSON IS POLLING AT 48- PERCENT AROUND THE STATE-- FOUR POINTS BETTER THAN MAYOR CHAVEZ. STILL-- EIGHT PERCENT OF VOTERS SAY THEY'RE UNDECIDED-- WHICH COULD MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE. AND DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDER DENNIS KUCINICH WILL STUMP IN ALBUQUERQUE TODAY. THE OHIO CONGRESSMAN WILL SPEAK THIS EVENING AT CENTRAL NEW MEXICO COLLEGE'S SMITH-BRASHER HALL-- TONIGHT AT SIX. SO FAR GOVERNOR BILL RICHARDSON HAD BEEN THE ONLY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE TO CAMPAIGN IN NEW MEXICO SO FAR. THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES JUST WRAPPED UP THEIR DEBATE MINUTES AGO IN MICHIGAN. JOBS AND JOB LOSS WERE THE MAIN POINTS IN DEARBORN. THE AUTO INDUSTRY HAS HAD WELL PUBLICIZED TROUBLES RECENTLY-- LEADING TO AN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE MUCH HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE. YOU CAN WATCH THE REBROADCAST OF THE DEBATE TONIGHT ON M-S-N- B-C STARTING AT SEVEN. ONLY A COUPLE MORE HOURS TO VOTE IN RIO RANCHO. RESIDENTS ARE DECIDING ON WHETHER TO APPROVE A ONE- HUNDRED-FIVE MILLION DOLLAR SCHOOL BOND. TAXPAYER MONEY WOULD GO TOWARD BUILD NEW SCHOOLS-- AND REPAIR OLDER CAMPUSES. POLLS CLOSE AT SEVEN. A WILD MORNING FOR BALLOON FIESTA PILOTS-- AS HARD LANDINGS AND CRASHES HAPPENED ALL ACROSS RIO RANCHO. CHOPPER FOUR EVEN CAUGHT ONE OF THEM ON TAPE HITTING THE GROUND HARD AND BEING DRAGGED BY THE WIND. THE FIRST CRASH WAS NEAR RIO RANCHO HIGH SCHOOL-- AT HIGH RESORT AND LOMA COLORADO-- A BALLOON HIT A RETAINING WALL. MINUTES LATER-- THE DUCKIE SPECIAL SHAPED BALLOON HIT THE GROUND HARD-- DUMPED A SIX MONTH PREGNANT WOMAN AND ANOTHER PASSENGER-- THEN CONTINUED ON. 'i don't know if the wind gusted up or somehow bounced back up and looked like the basket hit the top of one of our neighbor's houses.' IN ALL RIO RANCHO POLICE RESPONDED TO FOUR REPORTED CRASHES. NINE PEOPLE WERE TREATED FOR INJURIES-- INCLUDING THE PREGNANT WOMAN AND ANOTHER WOMAN WITH A POSSIBLE BROKEN LEG. THOSE INJURED IN YESTERDAY'S DEADLY BALLOON ACCIDENT ARE IMPROVING AT THE HOSPITAL. ONE OF THE WOMEN WAS RELEASED FROM U- N-M HOSPITAL-- TWO OTHERS HAVE BEEN UPGRADED TO SATISFACTORY CONDITION. 60-YEAR-OLD ROSEMARY WOOLEY PHILLIPS WAS KILLED YESTERDAY-- WHEN THE BALLOON-- HEAVENLY RIDE — GOT TANGLED IN A UTILITY LINE. THE GONDOLA HAD A HOLE CUT INTO IT-- AND SHE ENDED UP FALLING OUT. THE BALLOON BROKE FREE AND CRASHED A FEW BLOCKS FURTHER AWAY. FEDERAL AUTHORITIES ARE INVESTIGATING. THE AMERICA'S CHALLENGE GAS BALLOON RACE IS WELL UNDERWAY ..... NINE TEAMS LIFTED OFF FROM BALLOON FIESTA PARK LAST NIGHT ... ONE TEAM PULLED OUT OF THE RACE EARLIER IN THE DAY. RIGHT NOW -- THE LEADERS ARE MAKING THEIR WAY NORTH THROUGH COLORADO. THE LEADING TEAM HAS TRAVELLED NEARLY THREE HUNDRED 30 MILES SO FAR -- LOCAL FAVORITES RICHARD ABRUZZO AND CAROL RYMER-DAVIS AREN'T FAR BEHIND AT 292 MILES. YOU CAN KEEP TRACK OF RACE RESULTS AND OTHER BALLOON FIESTA INFORMATION BY LOGGING ON TO KOB-DOT-COM. DESPITE A FEW ROUGH WINDS TO THE NORTH OF ALBUQUERQUE-- IT WAS GREAT WEATHER FOR BALLOON FLYING TODAY. BUT WHAT ABOUT TOMORROW? CHIEF METEOROLOGIST LARRY RICE HAS THE DETAILS IN THE PINPOINT FOUR STORM CENTER. LARRY? IT'S BEING CALLED THE NATION'S LARGEST ENVIRONMENTAL SETTLEMENT. THE COUNTRY'S BIGGEST PRODUCER OF ACID RAIN AND SMOG, AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER... HAS AGREED TO PAY NEARLY 5 BILLION DOLLARS TO CUT CHEMICAL EMISSIONS. THE AGREEMENT ENDS AN EIGHT-YEAR LEGAL BATTLE OVER REDUCING THE SPREAD OF POLLUTION ACROSS THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. :41 - :46 and because of the massive scope, the scale of these emissions reductions, 813 thousand tons per year, you're gonna see an effect EXPERTS SAY FEWER KIDS WILL SUFFER FROM ASTHMA AS A RESULT... AND 32 BILLION DOLLARS WILL BE SAVED EVERY YEAR IN HEALTH CARE COSTS. SINCE 19-97-- MEDICARE'S MULTI- AGENCY TASK FORCE HAS RECOVERED CLOSE TO NINE BILLION DOLLARS FROM PEOPLE TRYING TO WORK THE SYSTEM THROUGH BILLING SCAMS. AND AS LISA MYERS REPORTS-- THE GOVERNMENT IS CRACKING DOWN TO KEEP FUTURE GENERATIONS FROM FEELING THE PAIN. Wasteful spending and outright fraud...... problems that have long plagued Medicare .... CHYRON: FILE NAT/BRIAN WILLIAMS ANCHOR LEAD-IN NAT/PETE WILLILAMS 2/24/99 'it's by far the single biggest source of government waste nearly $13 billion a yr lost to mistakes and scams'NAT/VIRGINIA CHA 2/17/03 'the government has no handle on exactly how much is being ripped off All of that on top of a program already facing serious financial shortfalls in the near future.... SOT / John Rother / AARP 'if we don't do more to g to be in trouble financially earlier than it needs to be' g scams before they happen... especially in areas where there are high concentrations of retirees... Southern California, Florida and Texas 'IN SOME PARTS OF THE COUNTRY MEDICARE FRAUD HAS BEEN A SERIOUS PROBLEM FOR A LONG TIME' It's a multi-agency effort, with investigators from the the department of health and human services playing a pivotal role SOT / Alexander Acosta, U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Florida 'we worked with HHS, office of inspector general to do surprise inspections on these 1500 suppliers what we found almost 500 didn't exist' Since March,South Florida prosecutors have secured 100 indictments for alleged schemes by phony suppliers accused of bilking more than $500 million from Medicare...but they say more needs to be done to prevent fraud in the first place. Chyron: Lisa Myers, NBC News Senior Investigative Unit Correspondent / Washington, DC To do that Medicare officials are requiring all their suppliers to reapply for the right to bill the system, post cash bonds, and agree to submit to random site visits ....all part of the effort to weed out the phony companies and THE FLEECING OF Lisa Myers, NBC News, Washington THE FLEECING OF AMERICA SERIES CONTINUES HERE TONIGHT, WITH A REPORT ON A TV STATION THAT THE U-S HAS BEEN FUNDING FOR ALMOST TWO DECADES. BUT IS ANYBODY OUT THERE WATCHING? THAT'S COMING UP AT 5:30 ON NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS. TWO OF THE BIGGEST BEER MAKERS IN AMERICA WANT TO BECOME ONE. COMING UP-- WE'LL TELL YOU WHY COORS AND MILLER ARE BREWING UP THE PLAN. PLUS-- CHRISTMAS IS MORE THAN TWO MONTHS AWAY-- BUT BIG NAME RETAILERS DON'T WANT TO WAIT TO GET YOUR DOLLARS. WE'LL EXAMINE WHY STORES ARE STARTING SO EARLY TO DRAW YOU IN WITH HOLIDAY DEALS. POLICE ARREST A MAN FOR SOLICITING A POTENTIAL ROOMMATE ONLINE--