- CLIMATE STRIKE-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Youth activists want the state of New Mexico to declare a climate emergency and do more to end dependence on fossil fuels that contribute to global warming.Organizers of mid-September student demonstrations about climate change planned to present a list of demands Monday to the state's Democratic governor at the New Mexico Statehouse.
State government and school districts in New Mexico rely heavily on income from oil and natural gas production.
Demands from Youth United for Climate Crisis Action include the creation of a "Just Transition Fund" from oil and gas revenues to pay for the transition to a carbon-neutral economy.
Thousands of students thronged the New Mexico state capitol on Sept. 20 amid worldwide demonstrations that urged world leaders to combat climate change more aggressively.
- DRY MONSOON
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The monsoon season was a dud across much of the U.S. Southwest this year, bringing high hope but delivering little rainfall.Several communities in northern Arizona had the driest monsoon season on record, including Flagstaff. Phoenix's season was the fifth driest recorded.
The seasonal weather pattern is characterized by a shift in wind patterns and moisture being pulled in from the tropical coast of Mexico. It runs from mid-June through the end of September.
Usually it means rain that can cool down scorching cities, water crops and reduce wildfire risk. But it also can be disappointing.
The Four Corners region had abnormally low rainfall. St. George in southern Utah received traces of rain.
Las Vegas got a little more than a quarter-inch (.63 centimeters), making it the 14th driest on record.
- MUMPS CASES-JAIL
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Department of Health is investigating seven mumps cases at the Torrance County Detention Facility.Other details about the mumps cases at the jail weren't immediately released Monday.
Health officials say mumps is a highly contagious disease that is spread through the air and by droplets of saliva or mucus from the mouth, nose, or throat of an infected person, usually when the person coughs or sneezes.
The virus can also spread through shared use of drinks, cups or eating utensils and on occasion through contaminated surfaces.
People exposed to mumps may become ill up to 25 days after the exposure.
Health officials say the best way to be protected from mumps is to be vaccinated.
- IMMIGRATION-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A key group of New Mexico lawmakers will tour both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border this week and hear from the mayor of the largest Mexican city in the region about the migrant influx.Ciudad Juarez Mayor Armando Cabada will be among those who will meet with members of New Mexico's Legislative Finance Committee during a packed agenda .
The mayor has said his city has spent $300,000 on shelter for some 12,000 migrants who are waiting to seek asylum in the U.S.
The lawmakers also will visit the Antelope Wells port of entry, a remote spot that was overwhelmed earlier this year by large groups of migrants.
The committee will stop at a shelter in Deming and talk with a rancher who says he has dealt with break-ins, litter and property damage from trespassing migrants.
- ELECTION 2020-HOUSE-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Republican candidates competing for a key U.S. House seat in southern New Mexico are dismissing impeachment talk around President Donald Trump.The three hopefuls vying to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small say they all strongly support Trump. They say an impeachment inquiry over the president's conversation with a Ukrainian leader seeking dirt on Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden's son is a waste of time.
Former state lawmaker Yvette Herrell says she believed there was "zero evidence" Trump committed any impeachable or illegal offense.
Oil executive Claire Chase says phone call transcripts show "no valid basis for impeachment" and charged Democrats with only wanting to undermine Trump.
Businessman Chris Mathys says Trump hasn't done anything different than other presidents.
Torres Small has not come out in favor of an impeachment inquiry.
- THREATENED OWL-FIREWOOD PERMITS
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Republican lawmakers say a federal court decision that halts firewood gathering and other forest projects will have devastating consequences.The 21 legislators sent a letter Monday to the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, saying the ruling will affect thousands of New Mexicans and jeopardize fire management programs. They called the order 'indiscriminate.'
The Forest Service has suspended timber sales, thinning projects, prescribed burns and the sale of firewood permits on five New Mexico forests and one in Arizona.
The decision stems from a case in which environmentalists accused the federal government of failing to track Mexican spotted owls.
A pending motion would modify the court order to exclude firewood cutting and gathering for personal use. It's unclear when the judge will rule.