- NEW MEXICO-EQUIFAX FINE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico will receive more than $2 million as part of a settlement between Equifax and the U.S. government over a massive 2017 data breach.Attorney General Hector Balderas' office announced in a news release Monday that New Mexico residents are among consumers who will receive restitution.
The $700 million settlement includes up to $425 million for consumers and $175 million for various states.
The company will also extend credit monitoring services for 10 years for impacted consumers.
The breach was one of the largest ever to threaten private information including Social Security and other data on nearly 150 million people.
It is estimated 860,000 of them live in New Mexico.
The consumer reporting agency, based in Atlanta, did not detect the attack for more than six weeks.
- IMMIGRATION-FAST-TRACK DEPORTATIONS
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Trump administration is expanding the authority of immigration officers to deport migrants without requiring them to appear before judges ahead of deportation.The Homeland Security Department said Monday that fast-track deportations will apply to anyone in the country illegally less than two years.
Until now those deportations applied online to people caught crossing the U.S. border by land and not entering by boat or plane.
The department says the expansion "expedited removal" authority will allow it to more efficiently pursue large numbers of people in the country illegally and promptly remove them.
Omar Jawdat of the American Civil Liberties says his group and the American Immigration Council will challenge the measure in court.
The announcement came a week after the administration adopted a major policy shift to limit asylum.
- INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE-OPIOIDS
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A federal audit says government hospitals have placed Native American patients at increased risk for opioid abuse and overdoses.The report was released Monday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's Office of Inspector General.
It finds that a handful of Indian Health Service hospitals failed to follow the agency's protocols for prescribing and dispensing the drugs.
The report doesn't draw any conclusions about actual abuse or overdoses. But it says the five hospitals it reviewed had patients who were given opioids in amounts that exceeded federal guidelines.
The Indian Health Service agreed with each of the 13 recommendations, including improving its information technology systems. The agency says changes are coming.
The audit covers hospitals in Arizona, New Mexico, Minnesota, Oklahoma and North Dakota.
- FIREWORKS EXPLOSION
ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico firefighter who was seriously injured last month in a fireworks explosion has died.Roswell Fire Chief Devin Graham announced that Roswell firefighter Jeff Stroble died Sunday in Lubbock, Texas, where he was hospitalized for injuries suffered in a June 5 explosion. He was 46.
Robert "Hoby" Bonham of the Roswell Fire Department also was injured in the blast. He was sent home from the hospital in late June.
The pair were critically injured while moving fireworks material at a New Mexico storage area for a planned show.
Twelve firefighters in all were hurt. Most sustained minor injuries.
The city officials in Roswell destroyed the remainder of the fireworks for safety reasons.
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This story corrects a previous version to say the fireworks explosion happened in June.
- ALBUQUERQUE DEPUTY SHOOTING
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office says a woman was fatally shot after multiple deputies fired at her during a domestic violence call.Undersheriff Rudy Mora told reporters early Monday the woman was shot after she jumped out of an RV and "aggressively approached" the deputies. Mora says the female was armed but it's unclear what type of weapon she held.
Mora says the female, whose name was not released, was declared dead at the scene and one deputy was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
The shooting occurred in Albuquerque's South Valley neighborhood after deputies responded to a domestic violence report. It is being investigated by a multi-agency task force.
- ALBUQUERQUE-HOMICIDE ARREST
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities say a transgender woman has been arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of a man.Albuquerque police say 25-year-old Tyrone Benito — who also is known as Beverly or Bev — was booked into jail Saturday night on suspicion of murder and tampering with evidence.
They say 53-year-old Jack Kyselka was found bleeding from the stomach early Friday outside a convenience store.
A store employee called 911, but Kyselka was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy report says Kyselka had a stab wound to the left side of his chest that punctured his heart and caused him to bleed out.
The report also says Kyselka had cuts to his face, feet and left palm.
It was unclear Sunday if Benito has a lawyer yet.
- IMMIGRATION-HOTELS
DETROIT (AP) — There's a new target in the clash over immigration: hotels.Advocacy groups and unions are pressuring Marriott, MGM and others not to house migrants who have been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
The U.S. government has occasionally detained migrants in hotels for decades and says it might have to split up families if hotels don't help.
After the Trump administration announced plans for an immigration sweep last weekend and said it might use hotels, the big companies released statements saying they don't want their hotels used to detain migrants.
They felt pressure from their unions as well as from customers angered by recent scenes of overcrowding at detention facilities.
But some hotel owners say they'd consider housing migrants because "it's not our business to stand on one side of the debate or another."
- RECALL ELECTIONS-GOP WEAPON
DENVER (AP) — Republicans frustrated by losing their grip on political power in some Western states have begun deploying a new weapon: the recall.Once reserved for targeting corrupt or inept elected officials, the recall has become part of the toolkit for Republicans seeking a do-over of election results.
One GOP strategist in Colorado has put a name to it — "recall season."
To be sure, Democrats also have used recalls, most notably in Wisconsin, where they tried unsuccessfully to oust then-Republican Gov. Scott Walker in 2012 after he weakened public sector unions.
But Republicans have been mounting recall efforts against Democratic state lawmakers and governors at an unprecedented rate over the past two years in a handful of Western states, at the same time their political fortunes there have been declining.