- OPIOID CRISIS-HARM REDUCTION
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico lawmakers are poised to legalize test strips that can detect the presence of the potent opiate fentanyl in efforts to avoid deadly overdoses. The Democrat-sponsored bill from legislators in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Los Alamos would lift restrictions on public access to devices that can test for drug impurities. It was scheduled for a decisive Senate vote as soon as Monday that would send the measure to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who supports the initiative. The bill also gives state health health officials new authority to intervene and prevent the spread of diseases through intravenous drug use.
- LEGISLATURE-LAWMAKER ARREST
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Santa Fe police say a state lawmaker has been arrested and charged with aggravated drunken driving charges. Police say Democratic state Rep. Georgene Louis was stopped for speeding late Sunday night and was booked after a sobriety test. Louis is a prominent member of the New Mexico House and a tribal lawyer for the Pueblo of Tesuque. The arrest took place during the frenetic final days of a 30-day annual legislative session. A committee chaired by Louis canceled a hearing scheduled for Monday morning, just hours after she was booked at the local jail.
- AP-US-SCI-WESTERN-MEGADROUGHT-RECORD
The megadrought bedeviling the American West got even drier last year and is becoming the deepest dry spell in more than 1,200 years. Monday's study says the megadrought is now the worst-case scenario officials and scientists worried about in the 1900s. The drought deepened so much in 2021 that it is 5% worse than the old record in the late 1500s. Scientists compare this megadrought to what would happen in a hypothetical world without human-caused climate change. And they calculate that 42% of this drought is due to global warming from the burning of fossil fuels.
- ALBUQUERQUE STABBINGS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque police have arrested a man suspected of stabbing 11 people, apparently at random, as he rode a bicycle around the city. Authorities identified him Monday as Tobias Gutierrez, who has a criminal history. He was booked on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Investigators went to several crime scenes Sunday, including one near the University of New Mexico. Police say the suspect rode a bike and was armed with a large knife. Two victims were critically injured and others were treated for injuries at hospitals and released. Police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos says the stabbings appear to have been random and booking documents say Gutierrez is homeless.
- SENATE-LUJÁN
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján, who's recovering from a stroke, says he plans to be back at work in the Senate in "just a few short weeks" so he can vote on President Joe Biden's forthcoming nominee for the Supreme Court. In a video released Sunday by his office, the 49-year-old New Mexico senator said he's at the University of New Mexico Hospital after surgery to relieve pressure on his brain and soon will gt to an inpatient rehabilitation facility for a few more weeks. He said he's "doing well" and "strong" and looks forward to being back on the Senate floor after making a "full recovery."
- STATE POLICE OFFICER SHOT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Two suspects have been arrested and charged in the shooting of a New Mexico State Police officer, who authorities said has been released from a hospital. State Police said 24-year-old Caleb Dustin Elledge and 22-year-old Alanna Martinez were located after a Saturday search at a home in the town of McIntosh. Police say Elledge has a long criminal history and multiple arrest warrants. The Albuquerque Journal reports that at the time of Friday's shooting, Elledge had been on the run for several months after cutting off his ankle monitor. State Police Chief Tim Johnson says at least three guns were recovered, but it's not yet known if one of them was used in the shooting.
- BC-NM-ALBUQUERQUE-HOMICIDE CASE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Police in Albuquerque police say they are investigating a homicide. They say officers were dispatched to an apartment in the northeast part of the city about a shooting that occurred around 2:15 a.m. Saturday. Police say a man was found shot in the chest and he died at the scene. The victim's name hasn't been released yet. Police say detectives are interviewing several witnesses, but there is no immediate word on any suspects in the case.
- LEGISLATURE-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Senate legislators have proposed an additional $150 million in spending in revisions to a record-setting annual spending proposal the would provides raises for school and state-government employees, free college tuition for in-state students and an array of grants, loans and tax breaks to private industry. Sen. George Muñoz of Gallup, chairman of the lead Senate budget-writing committee, presented the revised $8.48 billion spending plan Saturday. It would increase annual general fund spending by more than $1 billion or roughly 14%. A Senate panel delayed its endorsement of the bill, amid a dispute over future locations of a training academy for the film and media industries.