- ELECTORAL COLLEGE-NEW MEXICO
ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Rep.-elect Yvette Herrell of New Mexico says she'll be among Republican members of Congress who will formally object on Wednesday to the certification of the Electoral College tally of votes. The Roswell Daily Record reports that Herrell said Thursday on her Facebook page that she would vote against certifying the Electoral College results in which President-elect Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump. Herrell is set to be sworn into office on Sunday, three days before House and Senate hold a joint session to certify the vote results. Trump has attributed his defeat to widespread voter fraud, despite nonpartisan election officials saying there wasn't any.
- INMATE MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A judge in Albuquerque has ruled this week that the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center should not penalize medical marijuana patients under its custody or supervision for using the drug. District Court Judge Lucy Solimon said the order, issued Tuesday, applies specifically to the Albuquerque facility. Spokeswoman Julia Rivera said the jail would comply with the ruling. The decision stems from a drunken driving case where Joe Montaño, who was sentenced to house arrest in October 2019, was jailed for having medical marijuana as a licensed patient. County attorneys said he violated federal laws. His attorney Jacob Candelaria argued licensed inmates should not be penalized.
- GRIZZLY BEARS-RECOVERY PLANS
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that an environmental group has no legal standing to challenge the specific components of endangered species recovery plans. The ruling last week came in a 2014 petition by the Center for Biological Diversity that asked federal wildlife officials to update a recovery plan for threatened grizzly bears. It also asked the agency's plans to take into account updated information from new research. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen ruled that recovery plans are guidelines for the agency and not rules that can be challenged in court.
- 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.