- Navajo Nation reports 6 new COVID-19 cases and 1 more death
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation on Tuesday reported six new confirmed COVID-19 cases and one additional death. Tribal health officials says the latest figures pushed the total number of cases since the pandemic began more than a year ago to 30,785 on the vast reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. The known death toll remained at 1,302. Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez reiterated for people to continue getting vaccinated, wearing face masks and social distancing.
- New Mexico increases COVID-19 death toll by 114 after audit
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Health officials in New Mexico have added more than 110 coronavirus-related deaths to the state death toll on Monday after completing an audit of public health records. The Albuquerque Journal reported that the state Department of Health added 114 deaths to the final report released last week. All but one death was added because of the audit. Department spokesman David Morgan said the death toll was adjusted to 4,245 virus-related deaths after the audit identified inaccurate data and addressed incomplete information, including asking hospitals in Texas that were handling COVID-19 patients from New Mexico.
- New Mexico proposes new rules for recreational pot growers
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico has taken its first major regulatory steps toward legal production of recreational marijuana with the publication of a long list of proposed rules. The proposals released Tuesday for cannabis businesses outline fees, quality controls, audit requirements and criminal background checks for producers. A public comment period on the rules will culminate with a June 29 hearing as the state Regulation and Licensing Department takes control of New Mexico's legalization effort. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the legalization bill last month. It calls for recreational marijuana sales to start no later than April 1, 2022.
- New Mexico schools reject millions in funding, learning days
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Public schools across New Mexico have rejected state funding to increase learning time after parents and teachers pressured school boards to turn the funding down. From Albuquerque to Carlsbad, schools are rejecting the addition of 25 days to elementary school calendars. Some schools have accepted a 10-day addition. Still, resistance from parents and teachers to extended learning is a blow for the state Legislature after it funneled another $200 million to the effort to increase reading and math proficiency. Two-thirds of New Mexico 3rd graders are not proficient in either, including some whose parents opposed added learning days.
- Man sentenced to 5 life terms in killings of wife, daughters
ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) — A Roswell man who pleaded no contest in the 2016 killings of his wife and their four daughters ages faces five consecutive life sentences. Juan David Villegas-Hernandez's pleas to five counts of first-degree murder ended his trial on May 13 and he was sentenced May 19 by state District Judge Dustin K. Hunter. Prosecutors said Villegas-Hernandez shot Cynthia Villegas and their daughters ages 3-14 after he learned that his wife planned to divorce him. Prosecutors said Villegas-Hernandez shot the victims at close range at their home before fleeing to Mexico. He was apprehended by Mexican authorities and later extradited.
- Firefighter critically injured battling New Mexico wildfire
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State officials say a wildland firefighter was critically injured while fighting a wildfire on private land in southwestern New Mexico. A state Forestry Division statement said the firefighter works for the U.S. Forest Service and was injured Monday while fighting a fire in the Animas Mountains in Hidalgo County. The firefighter's identity wasn't released. Forestry Division spokeswoman Wendy Mason said the firefighter is a member of an elite hotshots crew but that information on how the firefighter was injured wasn't immediately available. The division's statement said the firefighter was in critical condition Tuesday at a hospital in El Paso, Texas.METHANE FIGHT-NEW MEXICO
New Mexico rules to curb oil industry emissions take effect
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's new rules to limit most venting and flaring in the oilfield as a way to reduce methane emissions are going into effect. The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department made the announcement Tuesday, saying the rules were published in the New Mexico Register. The rules are the result of a nearly two-year process that involved testimony from environmental advocates and technical experts from the oil and gas industry. Virtual public hearings also were held. The first phase of implementation begins in October with data collection and reporting to identify natural gas losses at every stage of the process.
- Families separated at Mexico border build new American life
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Keldy Mabel Gonzales Brebe and her teenage sons are trying to rebuild their lives together. They were separated under a former "zero-tolerance" policy to criminally prosecute adults who entered the country illegally. Now one of the first families reunited under President Joe Biden's administration, they live in Philadelphia. Starting over means daily hugs and kisses and the relief of seeing each other each morning. But it also means trying to make ends meet and living with the scars of the past.