AP New Mexico

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and JIM SALTER Associated Press MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Many overwhelmed hospitals, with no beds to offer, are putting critically ill COVID-19 patients on planes, helicopters and ambulances and sending them hundreds of miles to far-flung states for treatment.The delta variant of the virus, combined with low vaccination rates in many states,

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A requirement for everyone attending the upcoming New Mexico State Fair to show proof of vaccination is drawing criticism. The mandate was announced Tuesday by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham as part of a new public health order that also requires vaccines for health care workers and others. She also is reinstating

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A 13-year-old New Mexico boy accused of shooting and killing a classmate will remain in custody pending trial. A Children’s Court judge agreed with prosecutors Tuesday and ordered the boy to remain at the Bernalillo County Youth Services Center. He’s charged with an open count of murder and unlawful carrying of

By BEN FOX Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is proposing changing how asylum claims are handled. The aim is to reduce the backlog of cases from the U.S.-Mexico border that’s left people waiting years to find out whether they’ll be allowed to stay in America. Under the proposal, routine asylum cases no

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State labor and workforce training officials are bracing for the end of a $300 weekly federal bonus in unemployment benefits that also bolstered income for the self-employed and gig-economy workers in response to the pandemic. New Mexico officials used an online forum Tuesday to direct people on unemployment toward resources

RED VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) — A return to in-person classes at a Navajo Nation school will be on hold indefinitely because of a unknown radiation levels, likely caused by decades of uranium mining. A Navajo Nation education official said Monday the presence of radioactive hotspots inside Cove Day School in Red Valley near the Arizona-Utah

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The family of an Albuquerque man killed in a car crash made a gruesome discovery when they went back to the scene to grieve. Relatives told KRQE-TV on Monday they found body parts that belong to 18-year-old Hector Sanchez, including his right hand and nose. New Mexico State Police say Sanchez

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It will be up to Albuquerque voters to decide whether they want to foot the bill for a new soccer stadium. The City Council on Monday voted 7-2 to put the bond question on the Nov. 2 ballot. If approved, the city would borrow $50 million for the project. City officials

By SCOTT SONNER Associated Press RENO, Nev. (AP) — Sen. Dianne Feinstein is calling on federal land managers to conduct an investigation to determine how many of the wild horses captured on public lands in the West end up at slaughterhouses. The California Democrat is urging the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to reevaluate the

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Two hundred gallons of contaminated water spilled at the Los Alamos National Laboratory nearly a month ago after a worker failed to close a cooling valve. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the July 19 incident at the lab’s plutonium facility caused some of the liquid to flow into

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico will begin routinely collecting demographic data about sexual orientation and gender identity during government surveys under an executive order signed by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The order on Monday responds to growing concerns that basic demographic information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender populations is being left

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The head of the U.S. Energy Department is scheduled to visit New Mexico this week as the Biden administration looks to promote its renewable energy initiatives. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will be accompanied by Democratic U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico. They’re expected to meet with local leaders and organizations

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque police say a suspect driving in a stolen car was shot and killed after he pulled a gun on officers. The fatal shooting occurred Sunday shortly after 5 p.m. when officers were following a stolen car. Police arrived at a Walmart and watched a man and woman get out of

By SUMAN NAISHADHAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials have declared the first-ever water shortage from a river that serves 40 million people in the West. The forecast Monday means some Arizona farmers will get less water from the Colorado River next year, forcing them to make adjustments. A prolonged drought made worse by

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order Sunday declaring a state of emergency in New Mexico’s Dona Ana County. The order aims to provide local governments with the tools and funding they need to begin recovering from the heavy rainfall and severe flooding that began last week. Like similar

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A second person has died from flooding caused by monsoon-type rains in far western Texas and southern New Mexico and Arizona. A family spokesman said a 2-year-old girl died Friday of injuries she suffered in the collapse of a basement wall at her family’s El Paso home. The girl’s 65-year-old

CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) — Environmentalists have sued again over an endangered mouse found only in parts of New Mexico and Arizona. The latest legal filing by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Maricopa Audubon Society centers on habitat of the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse in southern New Mexico’s Sacramento Mountains. The claim alleges

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — Navajo Nation officials have called for all flags on the vast reservation be flown at half-staff to honor former tribal President Kelsey Begaye. They say Begaye died of natural causes Friday in Flagstaff at age 70. He was was elected the fifth president of the Navajo Nation in November 1998

By GRANT SCHULTE and DAVID PITT Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Rural America lost more population in the latest census, highlighting an already severe worker shortage in the nation’s farming and ranching regions and drawing calls from those industries for immigration reform to help ease the problem. The census data released last week showed

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A 25-year-old northern New Mexico man accused of fatally shooting three family members and two other people during a 2017 shooting spree has been convicted of four of the killings. A state District Court jury in Santa Fe convicted Damian Herrera of Ojo Caliente on Friday of first-degree murder in

By KEN MILLER Associated Press A storm system that stalled for days over West Texas led to what a National Weather Service meteorologist calls an “unprecedented” amount of rain in the El Paso area that left a woman dead. Meteorologist Jason Grzywacz said Saturday that 6 inches of rain fell on El Paso in the

SUMAN NAISHADHAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The sweeping $1 trillion infrastructure bill approved by the Senate this week includes funding for Western water projects that farmers, water providers and environmentalists say are badly needed across the parched region. The Senate voted this week in favor of the legislation that seeks to rebuild America’s roads

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN and PAUL DAVENPORT Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque’s police chief said the boy who was shot and killed at his school had tried to deescalate a violent confrontation between classmates. Chief Harold Medina said the victim was a hero. Police on Saturday identified him as 13-year-old Bennie Hargrove and

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico health officials are putting out an urgent call for volunteer nurses to help boost the state’s medical workforce. The New Mexico Department of Health late Friday called on nurses or anyone with a medical license to volunteer to help because they think hospitals could soon be overwhelmed with patients.