AP New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Federal transportation authorities said Friday that a helicopter returning home from a firefighting mission made a rapid descent without making any turns before plowing into the ground last month, killing the four first responders onboard. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board released their preliminary report, noting that two witnesses on

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Two more New Mexico counties have been added to a federal disaster declaration issued in response to the state’s historic wildfire season. State officials said Thursday that Los Alamos and Sandoval counties will now be eligible for grant funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The counties were affected by

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Two employees of an Albuquerque grocery store have been injured after a compressor exploded, authorities said Thursday. City fire officials said two heating, ventilation and air conditioning specialists were working on the store’s HVAC system Thursday morning and it was unclear why the compressor exploded. Officials said the two employees were

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — Navajo Nation officials declared a state of emergency Thursday due to increased flooding from recent monsoon rains. The declaration by the tribe’s Commission on Emergency Management will allow local chapters to access additional resources to help mitigate the impacts of heavy rainfall. Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said the tribe’s

PHOENIX (AP) — Eviction filings in Arizona’s largest county have surged higher than at any time in the last 13 years. Data released Thursday by the Maricopa County Justice Court shows that the July filing figure of 6,405 is higher than any month since October 2008, when the number hit 6,975. It’s also the second

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The investigation into the fatal film-set shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin is ongoing, and the New Mexico prosecutor overseeing the case says authorities are awaiting the analysis of key forensic evidence before a decision can be made about whether criminal charges will be filed. District Attorney Mary

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Las Vegas-based corporate owner of thousands of residential rental properties in several U.S. states is facing investigations about whether it improperly evicted tenants during the coronavirus pandemic, while it received millions of federal dollars aimed at keeping people in their homes. Probes of The Siegel

By BOB CHRISTIE and CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — The Trump-endorsed state lawmaker who won the GOP nomination for Arizona secretary of state is the latest candidate to advance to the November ballot for a post overseeing state elections while denying the results of the last one. The early success of such

By MICHAEL BIESECKER and HELEN WIEFFERING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency says it will conduct helicopter overflights to look for methane “super emitters” in the nation’s largest oil and gas producing region. EPA’s Region 6 headquarters in Dallas, Texas, issued a news release about a new enforcement effort in the Permian

By MARINA VILLENEUVE Associated Press The U.S. Justice Department has charged five people for making threats of violence against election workers amid a rising wave of harassment and intimidation tied to the 2020 presidential election, a top official told U.S. senators Wednesday. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite said one charge has led to a conviction

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — With the highest unemployment rate in the nation, New Mexico is banking on a tiny infusion of federal relief money through the American Rescue Plan to boost the job market in a poverty-stricken corner of the state and in some cases provide a second chance

PHOENIX (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix held a special Mass on Tuesday to install John P. Dolan as the fifth bishop in the diocese’s 52-year history. Pope Francis appointed Dolan in June to succeed Bishop Thomas Olmsted, who retired on his 75th birthday in January. Olmsted became Phoenix’s bishop in December 2003.

SANTA TERESA, N.M. (AP) — A Mexican man has been arrested for reckless driving in connection with a rollover crash that left two people dead and 10 others injured last week, New Mexico State Police said Monday. They said 19-year-old Julio Garcia Rascon was driving an SUV at a high rate of speed around 5

By FELICIA FONSECA Associated Press FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Bill Donovan, a prolific journalist who covered the Navajo Nation for five decades at newspapers in New Mexico and Arizona, has died. He was 76. Donovan recently was hospitalized with pneumonia and died Saturday night at his home in Torrance, California, surrounded by loved ones, said

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Nichelle Nichols, who broke barriers for Black women in Hollywood as communications officer Lt. Uhura on the original “Star Trek” television series, has died at the age of 89. Her son Kyle Johnson said Nichols died Saturday in Silver City, New Mexico. “Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed