- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is preparing to relax restrictions on visits to nursing homes and assisted living facilities as the spread of COVID-19 wanes and more people get vaccinated. Aging and Long Term Services Secretary Katrina Hotrum-Lopez announced the new guidelines Wednesday. Starting on Friday, the outdoors is still preferred for visiting residents of long-term care facilities. Indoor visits will be allowed with rules on room size and capacity. Prohibitions and tight restrictions on visitors were put in place amid dozens of deadly virus outbreaks at congregate living facilities for the elderly and disabled.
- SUPREME COURT-POLICE SHOOTING
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is siding with a New Mexico woman who was shot by police as she drove away from them. The justices have ruled 5-to-3 for Roxanne Torres. The case will allow more excessive force lawsuits against police to go forward. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the question for the justices was "whether a seizure occurs when an officer shoots someone who temporarily eludes capture after the shooting." The majority said the answer was yes. The decision does not end the case but just allows it to continue. Lower courts will still have to weigh in on the "reasonableness of the seizure," among other things.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation on Wednesday reported 10 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths. It was the first deaths reported by the tribe after three days without any coronavirus-related fatalities. The latest numbers pushed the tribe's numbers to 30,021 cases and 1,235 known deaths since the pandemic began. The Navajo Nation had a soft reopening last week with 25% capacity for some businesses under certain restrictions. Still, mask mandates and daily curfews remain on the vast reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Tribal health officials say nearly 197,000 vaccine shots have been administered so far.
- RADIATION EXPOSURE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The president of the Navajo Nation and New Mexico residents who live downwind from the site of the world's first atomic blast are among those seeking compensation from the U.S. government following uranium mining and nuclear testing carried out during the Cold War. A congressional subcommittee took testimony Wednesday about who should be eligible for payouts. Some lawmakers and residents from western states have been urging Congress to expand a compensation program for years, and advocates say the latest push takes on added weight because it's set to expire next year. Some say their communities have been plagued by cancer, birth defects and stillbirths.
- AP-US-BIDEN-IMMIGRATION
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has tapped Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the White House effort to tackle the migration challenge at the U.S. southern border. She also is tasked with working with Central American nations to address root causes of the problem. Biden, in delegating the matter to Harris, is seeking to replicate a dynamic that played out when he served as President Barack Obama's vice president. Obama turned to Biden early in his first term to lead the White House effort to draw down U.S. troops in the intractable war in Iraq. With the move, Biden hopes to show he's taking the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border seriously.
- BOTTLED WATER RECALL-LAWSUITS
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Lawsuits are mounting against a Las Vegas-based bottled water brand, Real Water, amid a U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation and accusations by more people in more states that it caused liver illness and other ailments. A Nevada man blamed the product for his liver transplant in September 2019, a federal class-action lawsuit was filed this week in Nevada, and another lawsuit in state court called the product unsafe and dangerous to human life. Company president Brent Jones has posted a message offering sympathy and concern. An attorney representing the company said Wednesday it is cooperating with the FDA probe. He declined to comment about the lawsuits.
- EDUCATION RETIREMENT FUNDING
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An international credit rating agency says the New Mexico teachers pension fund isn't taking in enough money to pay educators when they retire. Moody's says a funding bill for pensions approved by the Legislature last week wouldn't eliminate a growing gap between what the pension collects and what it is expected to pay teachers in the future. Moody's estimates that the pension needs to collect an additional 5% of payroll. It also says a drop in interest rates is hurting the pension's conservative investments. If the bill is signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, the state will pay for a slight increase in employer contributions to the fund.
- IMMIGRATION-TOWN EMERGENCY
PHOENIX (AP) — A small town in Arizona has declared a state of emergency over the number of asylum seekers being dropped off within town limits. Gila Bend Mayor Chris Riggs made the declaration on Tuesday and said the town does not have the resources to fund or support migrants. The town has a population of 2,000 people and is about 75 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The declaration came after Border Patrol agents on Monday dropped off 16 people, including young children, at a town park. Riggs said he and his wife drove the families to Phoenix. The mayor has called for help from Maricopa County and the state.