AP New Mexico

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — It’s no secret that chile is a popular and essential crop in New Mexico. Now researchers at New Mexico State University are working to develop more nutritious and better-yielding chile pepper varieties to improve overall productivity in the nation’s top chile-producing state. Dennis Nicuh Lozada, the school’s chile pepper breeder

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency has reached a settlement with United Parcel Service to resolve violations of hazardous waste regulations at more than 1,100 facilities across 45 states and Puerto Rico, the agency said Wednesday. The consent agreement with Atlanta-based UPS resolves a range of alleged violations, including

MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s top elections regulator said Wednesday that precautions are being taken to guard against the possibility of deliberate disruptions by party-appointed poll challengers and watchers in the ongoing general election. Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said at a news briefing that she is aware

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI and CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY Associated Press In 2018, Democrat Katie Hobbs spent $1 million in campaign funds running to become Arizona’s secretary of state, narrowly besting Republican Steve Gaynor, who spent $3.2 million in what was the most expensive race in state history for the post that oversees elections. The record stood

By DAVID KOENIG and CATHY BUSSEWITZ AP Business Writers DALLAS (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to release 15 million barrels of oil or more from the U.S. strategic reserves in an effort to stop gasoline prices from rising now that OPEC and its allies plan to cut production. The administration hopes that tapping the

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An Albuquerque man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend and then dousing the couple’s bedroom in gasoline and bleach, according to authorities. Albuquerque police said 35-year-old Gideon Michael Robles was on probation and wearing an ankle monitor at the time of the alleged assault. They said Robles was arrested

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Leaning into education aggressively and uncommonly so for a media organization, NBC News is making its leaders available to students this week for a one-day digital seminar on how to succeed in the news business. The second Next Level Summit being held Tuesday is part

ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) — Roswell officials say the city’s UFO Festival had an economic impact of more than $2 million. The Roswell Daily Record reports the Roswell City Council’s finance committee looked earlier this month at an economic report for the event. It indicated more than 40,000 visitors came to the four-day festival, which ran

By COLLEEN LONG and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Two years ago, candidate Joe Biden loudly denounced President Donald Trump for immigration policies that inflicted “cruelty and exclusion at every turn,” including toward those fleeing the “brutal” government of socialist Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. Now, with increasing numbers of Venezuelans arriving at the

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Freshman Gavin Frakes threw two touchdown passes and New Mexico State breezed to a 21-9 victory over New Mexico on Saturday night. After Luke Drzewiecki’s 44-yard field goal staked New Mexico (2-5) to a 3-0 lead, Frakes fired a 22-yard scoring strike to Ahmonte Watkins with three minutes left in

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Leaders representing Native American communities around New Mexico hosted a number of political candidates Friday, peppering them with questions about how they would ensure voting access for tribal members, respect sovereignty and protect water rights as the West grapples with historic drought. The forum in

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico agency that oversees professional licenses for thousands of businesses across the state has been the target of a cyber attack. Officials said Thursday there is evidence of unauthorized access of the Regulation and Licensing Department and that some organizations and individuals had their records compromised. They did

By AMY TAXIN and BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bricia Lopez has welcomed people of all walks to dine at her family’s popular restaurant on the Indigenous-influenced food of her native Mexican state of Oaxaca — among them Nury Martinez, the first Latina elected president of the Los Angeles City Council. The

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham hitched her reelection campaign squarely to support for abortion access in the second head-to-head debate of the campaign season with Republican nominee Mark Ronchetti on Wednesday night. Lujan Grisham returned repeatedly to her advocacy for legal access to abortion

DETROIT (AP) — A Michigan man has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint alleging he set 25 fires on semitrailers in eight states over more than two years, all belonging to the same trucking company, prosecutors said Wednesday. Viorel Pricop, 64, of Allen Park, Michigan, was arrested Tuesday morning. A detention hearing is scheduled

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An expert in the field of Indigenous art has been named as the executive director of New Mexico’s Museum of Indian Arts & Culture. Pollyanna “Polly” Nordstrand, who is Hopi, will take on her new role next month. She will oversee a team of curators, anthropologists and archaeologists who are

By CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press/Report for America ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) — A shortage of child care in the U.S. has become so acute that it’s reaching far into rural communities, including one northwestern Oregon county where future embryos are in line for a spot at Amy Atkinson’s nursery and preschool. “We have children that have

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A popular penguin exhibit at the Albuquerque BioPark Zoo has been shut down due to concerns about bird flu. The Albuquerque Journal reports zoo officials announced Tuesday that Penguin Chill will be closed indefinitely as a precaution. No birds have tested positive for the virus. But there are outstanding tests for

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Early voting began Tuesday across New Mexico on a limited scale at county clerk’s offices, as election regulators began mailing absentee ballots by request to registered voters. More than a dozen people formed a line to cast ballots outside the Santa Fe County Clerk’s office, including U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — An environmental group filed a lawsuit Tuesday against U.S. Forest Service officials that alleges they polluted waterways during their campaigns against wildfires by inadvertently dropping large volumes of chemical flame retardant into streams. Government data released earlier this year found aircraft operated or contracted by the Forest Service dropped more than

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico State University study has found that teacher vacancies in the state have dropped significantly over the last year. NMSU released a report Monday from its Southwest Outreach Academic Research Evaluation & Policy Center showing that the number of empty positions are closer to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. Researchers

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Gopher tortoises — burrowers whose extensive homes shelter many other animals — are generally doing well and need federal protection only in the small area where they were declared threatened 35 years ago, the government said Tuesday. Thanks to extensive conservation work and recently discovered populations,