New Mexico Headlines 

New Mexico official in video blames 'Asians' for virus
New Mexico official in video blames 'Asians' for virus

A southern New Mexico county official is under fire for posting a social media video casting blame for the novel coronavirus pandemic on “Asians.” The Las Cruces Sun-News reports Luna County Safety and Risk Coordinator...

Navajo poet Jake Skeets wins Whiting Award
Navajo poet Jake Skeets wins Whiting Award

GALLUP, N.M. - Navajo poet Jake Skeets has been named one of the winners of this year's Whiting Award. The Gallup Independent reports the Giles Whiting Foundation recently announced Skeets as one of the 10 writers to...

2 hrs ago
News Minute: Here is the latest New Mexico news from The Associated Press at 5:40 p.m. MDT
News Minute: Here is the latest New Mexico news from The Associated Press at 5:40 p.m. MDT

A inmate who recently arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Bernalillo County said Monday in a statement that the jail learned of the positive test on...

June 8th, 12:49 PM CDT
Plans for Navajo Medicaid entity stall in leadership dispute
Plans for Navajo Medicaid entity stall in leadership dispute

Plans for a Navajo Nation entity to manage Medicaid on parts of the reservation are up in the air over disagreements among tribal leaders. A tribal corporation has been touting a plan that would incorporate traditional...

7 hrs 37 mins ago
Feds refuse again to list bi-state grouse along state line
Feds refuse again to list bi-state grouse along state line

Two years after a U.S. judge ordered the Trump administration to reconsider its refusal to protect sage grouse populations along the California-Nevada line, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has again decided against...

9 hrs 41 mins ago
Feds revoking reservation status for tribe's 300 acres
Feds revoking reservation status for tribe's 300 acres

A Massachusetts tribe is losing reservation status for its nearly 300 acres, raising fears among Native American groups that other tribes could face the same fate under the Trump administration. The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe...

10 hrs 13 mins ago
Groups: More time needed to weigh New Mexico drilling plan
Groups: More time needed to weigh New Mexico drilling plan

Archaeologists, historians and environmentalists are joining New Mexico's congressional delegation and a coalition of Native American tribes in asking federal land managers to grant more time for the public to comment...

11 hrs 37 mins ago
Jail inmate in Albuquerque tests positive for COVID-19
Jail inmate in Albuquerque tests positive for COVID-19

Officials say a Metropolitan Detention Center inmate in Albuquerque has tested positive for COVID-19. Bernalillo County said Monday in a statement the jail learned of the positive test on Sunday and the inmate is in...

12 hrs 41 mins ago
Hobbs News-Sun to end Saturday edition amid oil price drop
Hobbs News-Sun to end Saturday edition amid oil price drop

HOBBS, N.M. - The Hobbs News-Sun is ending its Saturday edition and shrinking the size of the paper amid falling oil prices and the downtown caused by COVID-19. Hobbs News-Sun Publisher Daniel Russell announced Saturday...

13 hrs 17 mins ago
Santa Fe police lieutenant faces domestic violence charge
Santa Fe police lieutenant faces domestic violence charge

A Santa Fe police lieutenant has been placed on alternative duty after he was arrested for domestic violence. Court records show Christopher McCord faces an aggravated battery with a deadly weapon on a household member...

March 29th, 11:33 PM CDT
New Mexico tech startup lands $5M investment
New Mexico tech startup lands $5M investment

A New Mexico startup has landed $5 million in private equity from investors to accelerate the marketing of super-fast cell-screening and analysis technology. The Albuquerque Journal reports that BennuBio Inc. won the...

March 29th, 11:29 PM CDT
Office probes claims sheriff showed up at standoff drunk
Office probes claims sheriff showed up at standoff drunk

The New Mexico Attorney General's Office is reviewing a case involving a sheriff who police said showed up drunk to a SWAT standoff and tried to order officers away. Attorney General spokesman Matt Baca told The...

March 29th, 11:29 PM CDT
Supplies brought to Navajos who lack running water at home
Supplies brought to Navajos who lack running water at home

Health officials have been telling people for weeks to wash their hands thoroughly to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. That’s not always an easy task on the Navajo Nation, where 30% of residents on the vast...

March 29th, 1:57 PM CDT
New Mexico primary challengers face uphill fight amid virus
New Mexico primary challengers face uphill fight amid virus

Restrictions limiting person-to-person contact to stop the spread of COVID-19 is hindering Democratic primary challengers seeking to unseat incumbent state lawmakers in New Mexico. Challengers are barred for weeks from...

March 29th, 10:33 AM CDT
Counties without coronavirus are mostly rural, poor
Counties without coronavirus are mostly rural, poor

As the coronavirus rages through Europe, and major American cities like New York and Los Angeles, more than a third of counties across the U.S. still have not reported a positive test result for infection across what are...

March 28th, 11:12 PM CDT
New Mexico police deny making stops to enforce virus order
New Mexico police deny making stops to enforce virus order

The New Mexico State Police and other law enforcement agencies say they're not making traffic stops to enforce a statewide stay-at-home order issued by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to combat the spread of the...

March 28th, 1:07 PM CDT
Tribes say persistent efforts pay off in massive stimulus
Tribes say persistent efforts pay off in massive stimulus

Tribes say their persistent efforts to be included in a massive stimulus bill to respond to the new coronavirus have paid off. Tribes have been lobbying Congress to help address shortfalls in an already underfunded health...

March 28th, 10:51 AM CDT
New Mexico unveils 'pollinator protection' license plate
New Mexico unveils 'pollinator protection' license plate

For the love of bees, New Mexico is now offering motorists a chance to help the pollinators through the purchase of a special license plate. The state Transportation Department says proceeds from the new plates will help...

March 27th, 11:03 PM CDT
New Mexico city to promote businesses along Route 66
New Mexico city to promote businesses along Route 66

New Mexico's largest city will be investing a half-million dollars to promote local businesses that line its stretch of historic Route 66. The city of Albuquerque announced the effort Friday, saying it's looking...

March 27th, 2:30 PM CDT
Police: Drunk sheriff tried to obstruct SWAT standoff
Police: Drunk sheriff tried to obstruct SWAT standoff

A New Mexico sheriff is facing an obstruction charge after police say he showed up drunk to a SWAT standoff and tried to order officers away. A criminal complaint filed Thursday said Rio Arriba County Sheriff James Lujan,...

March 27th, 1:14 PM CDT
New Mexico cancels national tourism campaign amid COVID-19
New Mexico cancels national tourism campaign amid COVID-19

New Mexico is canceling its national tourism campaign and is halting related events as COVID-19 restrictions have grounded tourism in the state to a halt. New Mexico Cabinet Secretary for Tourism Jen Schroer said Friday...

March 27th, 11:38 AM CDT
New Mexico lawmaker urges free water to limit virus risks
New Mexico lawmaker urges free water to limit virus risks

A western New Mexico state senator is urging authorities to stop charging customers near the Navajo Nation without full indoor household plumbing for drinking water at a municipal filling station because of the coronavirus...

March 27th, 9:30 AM CDT
1 dead in early morning house fire in northeast Albuquerque
1 dead in early morning house fire in northeast Albuquerque

Authorities say one person is dead and a firefighter was injured  in a house fire early Friday morning. Albuquerque Fire Rescue says the firefighter was taken to a hospital for treatment after suffering minor injuries in...

March 27th, 8:38 AM CDT
Deputies: Crime Stoppers official embezzled donated SUV
Deputies: Crime Stoppers official embezzled donated SUV

A Crime Stoppers official in New Mexico is facing charges after investigators say he used a donated SUV for personal use. A criminal complaint filed Wednesday says Johnny Adams drove the gifted Ford Expedition SUV meant...

March 26th, 11:14 PM CDT
Authorities squash western New Mexico prison riot
Authorities squash western New Mexico prison riot

GRANTS, N.M. - Authorities say they have put down a prison riot in western New Mexico after a reported suicide of an inmate. The Gallup Independent reports inmates at Northwestern New Mexico Correctional Center in Grants...

March 26th, 11:10 PM CDT
UFC light heavyweight champ Jones arrested, accused of DWI
UFC light heavyweight champ Jones arrested, accused of DWI

Albuquerque police say UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been arrested on suspicion of DWI and other offenses after officers heard gunshots and found him sitting in a parked vehicle with a gun. Police say the...

March 26th, 11:10 PM CDT
DA held in contempt for skipping hearing amid COVID-19 rules
DA held in contempt for skipping hearing amid COVID-19 rules

TUCUMCARI, N.M. - A New Mexico district attorney says he was held in contempt of court after he skipped a hearing to follow COVID-19 travel restrictions. The Albuquerque Journal reports state District Judge Lisa Riley in...

March 26th, 11:06 PM CDT
New Mexico regulators getting squeezed out of state building
New Mexico regulators getting squeezed out of state building

A powerful commission in charge of regulating utilities and other New Mexico businesses is being evicted from its state offices by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration. Officials with the Public Regulation...

March 26th, 4:46 PM CDT
Settlement reached in death of electrocuted Santa Fe worker
Settlement reached in death of electrocuted Santa Fe worker

SANTA FE, N.M. - The city of Santa Fe and the New Mexico Environment Department have reached a settlement involving the death of a city employee who was electrocuted in April 2019. The Albuquerque Journal reported...

March 26th, 4:14 PM CDT
5 earthquakes rattle West Texas; largest is magnitude 5.0
5 earthquakes rattle West Texas; largest is magnitude 5.0

Five earthquakes centered near a remote area of West Texas have rattled the region. The U.S. Geological Survey says the first tremor registered at a magnitude 3.0 Thursday near Mentone, in Loving County on the New Mexico...

March 26th, 2:38 PM CDT
New Mexico sees major jump in unemployment claims amid virus
New Mexico sees major jump in unemployment claims amid virus

More than 17,000 New Mexico residents applied for unemployment benefits amid the widespread economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus. The numbers released Thursday show the jump in New Mexico is more than 19 times the...

March 26th, 2:22 PM CDT
State's largest jail releases some inmates amid virus worry
State's largest jail releases some inmates amid virus worry

The largest municipal jail in New Mexico is releasing some inmates who are considered vulnerable to the new coronavirus. Officials at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque say they identified several dozen...

March 26th, 1:46 PM CDT
Appeals grow to close US national parks during pandemic
Appeals grow to close US national parks during pandemic

The Trump administration is sticking with its crowd friendly waiver of entrance fees at national parks during the coronavirus outbreak. That's even as managers at some parks try and fail to keep tens of thousands of...

March 26th, 1:30 PM CDT
New Mexico reaches settlement with foster youth, advocates
New Mexico reaches settlement with foster youth, advocates

New Mexico has reached a settlement with foster youth and their advocates that will allow for the creation of a trauma response system for all children in state custody. The Human Services Department and state child...

March 26th, 11:14 AM CDT
Fire danger level elevated in southwestern New Mexico
Fire danger level elevated in southwestern New Mexico

Forest Service officials say the threat of wildfires is rising in southwestern New Mexico. Gila National Forest officials on Thursday cited strong winds, low humidity and the recent discovery of an abandoned campfire for a...

March 26th, 10:58 AM CDT
Navajo Nation reports 20 more cases; Arizona county has 2
Navajo Nation reports 20 more cases; Arizona county has 2

The Navajo Nation reports 20 more cases of the coronavirus on its reservation and a rural Arizona county is no longer among the few without cases of the disease. Navajo tribal officials announced Wednesday night that that...

March 26th, 9:50 AM CDT