- DRY NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — If hot and dry conditions persist, federal water managers warn that it's possible Albuquerque could see its stretch of the Rio Grande go dry this fall. The Bureau of Reclamation has teamed up with the Interstate Stream Commission and irrigators to lease the last block of water available to keep the river as stable as possible before winter. The entities will pay Albuquerque's water utility $700,000 for the extra water. Other emergency releases happened earlier this year as spring runoff was poor and the monsoon season was spotty. Officials say New Mexico will wrap up the irrigation season with very little water left in storage.
- LEGISLATOR RESIGNS
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico legislator not running for re-election this year has resigned and is leaving office before the end of his term. Democratic Rep. Jim Trujillo of Santa Fe announced his resignation Monday. He previously cited health concerns and a desire to spend more time with family members when he announced last October he wouldn't run for re-election. Trujillo represented House District 45 and served as co-chairman of the House Taxation and Revenue Committee. The Santa Fe County Commission will select a replacement to serve the remainder of Trujillo's term. Voters in November will elect a successor who will take office in January.
- FATAL SHOOTING-ALBUQUERQUE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque police say one person was detained and nobody else was being sought in a double fatal shooting prompted by an altercation during a party. Police said officers early Tuesday found the two people fatally shot at an apartment complex. No identities were released and police didn't immediately say whether the person detained was a suspect in the shooting. A brief police statement said "there are no outstanding subjects related to this incident."
- FOUR CORNERS-WEATHER STATION
DURANGO, Colo. (AP) — The location of a new permanent weather station for the Four Corners region has been announced. La Plata County and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe said Monday they plan to build the station on tribal lands about 15 miles south of Durango. The radar system is expected to fill a notorious blind spot for weather and radar modeling. The Four Corners' hubs currently process data at elevations too high to accurately model the region. For instance, in Grand Junction, Colorado, the radar system cannot locate storms coming into the Four Corners below an altitude of 28,000 feet. This means weather forecasters miss many incoming storms.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's top health officials say the number of COVID-19 cases and the rate of transmission are on the rise, leaving the state trailing when it comes to two of its most important metrics. Human Services Secretary David Scrase acknowledged during a briefing Tuesday that if things don't change, the state will see the curve continue to rise. He said he would rather see New Mexicans following the health order already in place rather than the state imposing more mandates to limit spread. An additional 178 cases were reported Tuesday, pushing the total to more than 29,000 since the pandemic began.
- THREATENED THISTLE
SILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list a rare plant that was once found in the the American Southwest and Mexico as a threatened species. The agency outlined its intensions in Tuesday's Federal Register. Aside from adding the Wright's marsh thistle to the list of imperiled species, 159 acres spanning five southern New Mexico counties would be set aside as critical habitat. The thistle used to be found in southern Arizona and parts of Mexico. It's now in just eight separate locations in New Mexico. The proposal comes after environmentalists threatened to sue in 2019 over delayed action.
- ELECTION 2020-FACEBOOK-NEW MEXICO
RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — Researchers say President Donald Trump has spent more money on Facebook advertising targeting New Mexico users since July than any other candidate. A New York University Tandon School of Engineering project that monitors Facebook spending reports that the Trump campaign and his various affiliates have spent $380,700 on Facebook ads in the state since July 1. That's more than two times the amount spent during the same period by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Damon McCoy, professor of computer science and engineering at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering, and doctoral student Laura Edelson built the NYU Tandon Online Transparency Project.
- CHACO CANYON-DRILLING
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Archaeologists and Native American leaders are pointing to a recent survey of an area around Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico that's considered sacred to some tribes in the Southwest. They say work done this summer shows there are around 4,200 sites outside the park's boundaries that deserve protection. They released some details from the pilot project Monday. A public comment period wrapped up Friday as federal land managers consider revisions to a plan that would govern oil and gas development in northwestern New Mexico. Officials say they have received more than 14,000 comments. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is among those who sent letters.