- UNITED STATES-MEXICO-ASYLUM
US expands 'Remain in Mexico' at dangerous part of borderHOUSTON (AP) — The U.S. government will expand its policy requiring asylum seekers to wait outside the country to one of Mexico's most dangerous cities.
The Department of Homeland Security said Friday it will implement its "Migrant Protection Protocols" in Brownsville, Texas, across the border from Matamoros, Mexico. DHS says it anticipates the first asylum seekers will be sent back to Mexico starting Friday.
Thousands of people are already camped in Matamoros, at the eastern edge of the U.S.-Mexico border. An official waiting list to seek asylum has more than 1,000 people.
Matamoros is in Mexico's Tamaulipas state, which the U.S. government warns citizens not to visit due to violence and kidnappings.
The city is also near where a Salvadoran father and his 23-month-old daughter were found drowned in the Rio Grande, in photos that were shared around the world.
- UNIVERSITY-HONEY BEE HIVE
University of New Mexico brings in experts to move bee hiveALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Thousands of swarming bees and several pounds of dripping honeycomb have been removed from a building on the University of New Mexico's main campus.
Officials said Thursday the bee hive was nested within the decorative trim over a window near one of the entrances of the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology.
Unlike more aggressive wasps and hornets, university officials say there's minimal risk to humans when honey bees are involved. But groundskeepers decided to move the hive to limit the possibility of passers-by being stung and to prevent damage to the building due to the weight of the honeycomb.
The university got help moving the hive from the group Albuquerque Beekeepers.
The removal process took multiple sessions over two days before the hive could be transported to a local farm.
- ENDANGERED WOLVES-DEATH
US authorities investigate death of Mexican gray wolfALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Wildlife managers say investigators are looking into the death of a Mexican gray wolf that found last month in New Mexico.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the male endangered wolf belonged to the Elk Horn pack, which has been roaming an area just west of the Arizona-New Mexico state line.
Officials say there have been eight documented wolf mortalities in the first six months of 2019. They have not released any details about the circumstances of the deaths.
Survey results released earlier this year indicated there were at least 131 wolves in the mountain ranges spanning southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona.
A subspecies of the Western gray wolf, Mexican wolves have faced a difficult road to recovery that has been complicated by politics and conflicts with livestock.
- LAS CRUCES-COOLING STATIONS
Las Cruces activates cooling stations to help with hot tempsLAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — One southern New Mexico city has activated its cooling stations as high temperatures near triple digits.
Las Cruces officials say the cooling stations will be open until 8 p.m. every week night and from noon to 8 p.m. on weekends.
The stations are places where the elderly, other high-risk residents and the general public can find temporary shelter from the heat. They include community centers and other city buildings such as the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library.
Officials say city museums also are open to provide relief during regular business hours.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service say they expect record and near record warmth for portions of New Mexico's central valley and eastern plains through Saturday. While no records are likely in the south, they say it'll be very warm.
- DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE-PROTESTS
Lawsuit: North Dakota officers used 'violence' on protesterBISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A man who was injured during protests against the Dakota Access pipeline in January 2017 has filed a lawsuit accusing North Dakota law enforcement of using "excessive violence."
The lawsuit filed Thursday names Morton County, the city of Bismarck and state Highway Patrol officers.
The complaint says officers fired shotgun beanbag rounds at peaceful, unarmed protesters and that one shattered the orbital wall of Marcus Mitchell's left eye, wounding his cheekbone and the skin near his eye.
The suit says 24-year-old Mitchell, a Navajo tribal member who lives in New Mexico, underwent treatment but still suffers from vision, hearing and smell problems. He's seeking unspecified damages.
The Bismarck Tribune reports that representatives for the three entities Mitchell is suing didn't comment on the lawsuit.
Law enforcement has denied using excessive force against the pipeline protesters.
- NEW MEXICO LOTTERY-RAISE
Salary of New Mexico Lottery head increases to $220K(Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com)
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Lottery Authority has increased its CEO's base annual pay to $220,000 — a move drawing criticism by those who argue the money should be going into a scholarship program.
Lottery board Chairman Dan Salzwedel told the Albuquerque Journal on Thursday that the 26% increase for CEO David Barden is smaller than it appears because the new salary agreement does not include several bonus pay incentives that the previous contract offered.
Barden's three-year agreement does include a one-time $8,800 salary retention adjustment and a severance package if he's fired.
Think New Mexico Executive Director Fred Nathan says the board should be focused on maximizing scholarship funds.
The group advocated for the state requirement for the lottery to put 30% of its gross sales into a college scholarship program.
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- CODE TALKER'S GRANDDAUGHTER
Senate seat passes to granddaughter of Navajo code talkerSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The granddaughter of deceased World War II Navajo code talker and state legislator John Pinto will serve out his term in the state Senate through 2020.
Navajo Nation member and teacher Shannon Pinto was appointed Thursday by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to represent a district that extends from the Four Corners to Gallup.
John Pinto died in May at the age of 94 after serving over four decades in the Legislature. He voted this year in favor of a successful bill to expand background checks on gun sales and was a supporter of abortion rights.
In a news release Pinto said she will fight for common sense gun violence prevention measures and be "a champion for efforts that support women and their personal health care decisions."
- TRIBAL ARTIFACTS
US lawmakers propose ban on export of tribes' sacred itemsALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Democrats are making a renewed push in Congress to ban collectors and vendors from exporting Native American ceremonial items.
Sen Martin Heinrich, U.S. Reps. Ben Ray Lujan and Deb Haaland, and others intend to reintroduce legislation Thursday that also would increase penalties for trafficking objects that tribes hold sacred.
The legislation follows a similar proposal from Heinrich in 2016.
It aimed to address what senators described as a loophole in federal law that officials say hampered efforts to have a Paris auction house return a ceremonial shield to Acoma Pueblo.
Lawmakers say U.S. law prohibits the trafficking of certain items domestically but does not explicitly ban dealers from exporting them.