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Latest New Mexico news, sports, business and entertainment at 11:20 a.m. MDT

  • DRIVER'S LICENSES-NEW MEXICO

New Mexico streamlines requirements for state ID cardsSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New application rules for driver's licenses are going into effect in New Mexico that relax identification requirements in some instances.
Requirements were streamlined on Tuesday to receive a standard driver's license that will not be valid for boarding commercial airline flights starting in October 2020. The changes are an outgrowth of new legislation and a lawsuit alleging that previous requirements unfairly denied basic identification cards to immigrants, homeless people and others.
The Taxation and Revenue Department says requirements are not changing for licenses that are compliant with federal Real ID standards.
To receive a so-called standard license, applicants must provide one document that provides proof of identity and age, and two more that prove New Mexico residency. The standard license serves as personal identification at state agencies and private establishments.

  • CHILE PIONEER HONORED

Trailblazer of New Mexico chile industry to be honored(Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A researcher seen as a pioneer of New Mexico's chile pepper industry is being honored by the National Agricultural Center.
The Albuquerque Journal reported Monday that Fabian Garica will have a place in the Center's Hall of Fame in Kansas.
Garcia, who died in 1948, will be the first New Mexican and Hispanic to be inducted.
In 1921, he released the "New Mexico 9," a chile that is seen as the genetic precursor of the state's chiles.
Garcia did his research at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.
As someone who faced discrimination, the Mexican immigrant offered room and board for Mexican American students at NMSU's horticulture farm.
He will be inducted in a ceremony next year. Other hall-of-famers include cotton gin inventor Eli Whitney and scientist Isaac Newton.

  • CLIMATE STRIKE-NEW MEXICO

Youths seek emergency climate declaration in New MexicoSANTA 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

Monsoon brings high hope, delivers little rain in SouthwestFLAGSTAFF, 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.

  • MAYOR-COLUMBUS DAY

Mayor in Maine plans to declare Oct. 14 to be Columbus Day(Information from: Kennebec Journal, http://www.kjonline.com/)
WATERVILLE, Maine (AP) — A conservative mayor in Maine says he plans to declare Oct. 14 to be Columbus Day, in defiance of state law.
The Kennebec Journal reports Waterville Mayor Nick Isgro's proclamation would defy a state law passed in April that renamed the holiday Indigenous People's Day.
At the time of the April signing, Gov. Janet Mills said she hoped the legislation would help the state "take a step towards healing, towards inclusiveness."
Maine is one of several states, including Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota and Vermont that have changed the holiday's name.
Isgro says he will read the proclamation at the City Council meeting on Tuesday night.
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  • MUMPS CASES-JAIL

7 mumps cases reported at New Mexico's Torrance County jailSANTA 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

Juarez mayor to testify on migrants at New Mexico hearingALBUQUERQUE, 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

GOP hopefuls for key US House seat dismiss impeachment talkALBUQUERQUE, 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.