ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's crime lab has cleared a backlog of nearly 1,400 rape kits that can be crucial in assisting investigations into sexual assaults, Gov. Susan Martinez said Friday.The governor said a combination of $1.2 million in grant funding and hiring two temporary forensic scientists helped officials clear the backlog of evidence kits that came to light following a 2015 audit.At the time, the review revealed 5,300 rape kits had not been tested in New Mexico.

By MORGAN LEE, Associated PressSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A professional advocate for the renewable energy industry was appointed Friday to lead the New Mexico state agency overseeing oil well permits and incentives for wind and solar energy production, in a striking departure from the current Republican-led administration.New Mexico Gov.-elect Michelle Lujan Grisham announced her first three Cabinet appointments, emphasizing efforts to expand the clean-energy economy in a state that relies heavily on oil and gas production for public spending.

CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) — Construction work on a 600-foot-deep (183-meter-deep) cavity in Carlsbad began this month as crews re-positioned access routes and brought materials to the site ahead of February's predicted remediation start date.The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports the Carlsbad Brine Well, located directly underneath the South Y junction of U.S. Highway 285 and U.S.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico attorney general's office says a man accused of human trafficking, kidnapping and other sex crimes will remain in custody pending trial on numerous charges.Prosecutors announced Friday that they have secured the preventive detention of Mario Morales, who was extradited to New Mexico following his arrest in Arizona last month.The attorney general's office says Morales was indicted this week on more than a dozen charges, nearly all of them felonies.An arraignment has been scheduled in state district court for Dec. 21. 

By The Associated Press

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Escalante 49, Sanford, Colo. 43

Estancia 63, Cuba 62

Fort Sumner 80, Capitan 17

Gadsden 55, Valley 49

Highland 70, Santa Teresa 52

Hobbs 76, Cibola 35

Jal 66, Alamo-Navajo 64

Laguna-Acoma 92, Penasco 51

Lovington 63, Alamogordo 47

Mayfield 64, Albuquerque Academy 59

Miyamura 62, Rio Grande 61

Mountainair 43, Floyd 40

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