- HAZMAT SPILL-INTERSTATE
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico State Police shut down a stretch of Interstate 25 in Las Cruces for several hours as a hazardous materials team responded to a rollover crash involving a commercial motor vehicle hauling fuel. The driver sustained unknown injuries and was transported to an area hospital Thursday afternoon. NMSP spokesman Dusty Francisco said the Las Cruces Fire Department's HAZMAT team was called to assist because diesel and gas was believed to be leaking from the tanker. Northbound I-25 was closed at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint near milepost 26 . Traffic was being rerouted onto NM 185. One southbound lane reopened shortly after 5 p.m.
- ATTEMPTED BANK ROBBERY-ALBUQUERQUE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A 21-year-old New Mexico man has been charged with attempted bank robbery after he allegedly demanded money from a teller at a bank's drive-through window then fled the scene. A criminal complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court says Daniel Hansen of Albuquerque is accused of entering the Bank of Albuquerque on Coors Blvd around 3:45 p.m. on Dec. 16. Federal prosecutors say a teller told him that transactions must be handled at the drive-up window so he went there on foot and wrote a demand for money on a withdrawal slip. A teller backed away and activated the security alarm, causing Hansen to flee.
- NAVAJO NATION CASINOS
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Casinos run by the Navajo Nation plan to temporarily lay off more than 1,100 workers on New Year's Day because of prolonged closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The tribe's Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise announced the decision Thursday night, saying it was left with no choice but to move ahead with the layoffs because of lack of revenue caused by the closures. The tribe operates four casinos in Arizona and New Mexico that have been closed since March. Together they employ more than 1,200 people, including more than 775 tribal members. The Gaming Enterprise plans to keep 165 employees on the payroll.
- GALLUP HOTEL SHOOTING
GALLUP, N.M. (AP) — One man is in critical condition and police are searching for two others following a shooting outside the historic El Rancho Hotel in Gallup. KOB-TV reports Gallup police officers who were in the area heard numerous shots being fired at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. They said they saw a man reloading a firearm and handcuffed him. They then realized he man had been shot in the torso and began rendering medical aid. Police determined the man had been firing at two others in the hotel parking lot, who also were armed and returned fire. They fled in a white, newer-model, extended cab Toyota Tundra.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — Officials on the Navajo Nation are reporting 287 new cases of the coronavirus and 23 more deaths. Thursday's figures come on top of 225 new cases the tribal government reported Wednesday along with two additional deaths. Navajo President Jonathan Nez said the high number of cases reported over the two days is likely due to reporting delays over the Christmas holiday. Nez and other tribal officials received doses of the new coronavirus vaccine Thursday. The new reports bring the total number of cases on the reservation that extends into Arizona, New Mexico and Utah to 23,090. The death toll is 806.
- VIRUS-OUTBREAK-IMMIGRANT RELIEF
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Immigrant taxpayers and their families are celebrating a federal relief package that includes spouses and children who are U.S. citizens. Checks sent out in the spring didn't go to families if one spouse was an immigrant in the country illegally, even if the other was a U.S. citizen or legal resident. About 5 million Americans were left out that way. But even in the new bill, some 2.2 million U.S. citizen children won't receive a check because they live in immigrant households. In Democratic-controlled areas, officials have targeted rent relief and direct payments to those families. New Mexico lawmakers are unique in sending federal money directly to immigrants.
- ALBUQUERQUE-POLICE CHIEF
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The results of a recent online survey of some Albuquerque residents show reducing violent crime and police reforms should be among the top priorities for the city's next police chief. The city released the results Wednesday, saying nearly 2,300 responses were submitted. The city also made public a list of the 39 people who have submitted applications for the position. The city has held more than 40 community meetings over the last two months focused on the search and will be identifying those candidates most in sync with the community's priorities as the selection process continues.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque city officials say they've used all of the coronavirus relief money received earlier this year from the federal government. City finance officials announced Thursday that the municipal government has spent or otherwise applied $150 million in relief aid in an effort to meet the original Dec. 30 spending deadline. The city said it focused much of the funding on shifting employees from jobs that were limited by the pandemic into roles directly related to supporting relief efforts. In addition to personnel, the city used the money on direct economic relief, including $11.2 million for business grants and $2.5 million in emergency grants for vulnerable residents.