- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — Navajo Nation officials have reported 24 additional COVID-19 cases and two deaths from the virus as of Sunday night. Tribal officials still are urging people to get vaccinated, wear masks while in public and minimize their travel. Since the pandemic began, 36,109 COVID-19 cases and 1,473 deaths have been reported on the tribe's reservation, which is the country's largest at 27,000 square miles (70,000 square kilometers). It covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
- AP-US-PROP-FIREARM-MOVIE-SET
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A camera operator told authorities that Alec Baldwin had been careful with weapons on the set of the film "Rust" before the actor shot and killed a cinematographer with a gun he'd been told was safe to use, records released Sunday show. A search warrant affidavit includes details with camera operator Reid Russell, who told a detective that Baldwin was rehearsing a scene Thursday in which he was set to draw his gun while sitting in a church pew. The camera wasn't rolling when the gun went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The records released Sunday also include details from an interview with "Rust" director Joel Souza, who was also wounded by the shot.
- AP-US-PROP-FIREARM-DIGITAL-GUNSHOTS
NEW YORK (AP) — The tragedy that unfolded on a New Mexico movie set when Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun, killing a cinematographer, has led to calls for fundamental change in Hollywood. Some are saying real guns should be banned on sets. From a change.org petition to a network TV drama that has banished real weapons from the set, supporters of the move say there is no justification for taking any risks when computers can create gunshots in post-production. Halyna Hutchins was killed when Baldwin fired a weapon that a crew member told him was safe.
- SCHOOL'S STOLEN BAND EQUIPMENT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Police in Albuquerque say they have recovered a high school's stolen truck that was filled with about $200,000 worth of band equipment. On the day of a major competition just a few hours before they were supposed to perform, the Las Cruces High School marching band discovered that all their equipment and instruments were gone. School officials say some of the stolen equipment was new and some of it wasn't insured. Other schools reached out to help by lending the band some band equipment so Las Cruces High Bulldogs could compete in the Zia Marching Band Fiesta, a major competition at the University of New Mexico. Police say the van was later found Saturday in Albuquerque.
- PROP FIREARM-MOVIE SET
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Hours before actor Alec Baldwin fired a fatal gunshot from a prop gun that he had been told was safe, seven camera crew members for the movie he was filming walked off the job to protest conditions and production issues that included safety concerns. Disputes in the production of the Western film "Rust" began almost from the start in early October. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed hours after the crew walked off. Court records state that Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer with a gun that a crew member had assured the actor didn't carry live rounds.
- WILDFIRE AND WILDLIFE-EXPLAINER
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Wildlife centers in the U.S. West are caring for animals that weren't able to flee the flames or are looking for food in burned-over places. The animal care director at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care said an emaciated turkey vulture recently found on the Lake Tahoe shore couldn't fly, likely because food isn't as plentiful in burned areas. A veterinarian in California struggling to care for an adult bear with burned paws developed a tilapia skin bandage that's now used on 15 different species.
- AP-US-PROP-FIREARM-LAX-REGULATIONS
The film industry and its unions provide guidelines on how to deal safely with prop guns on movie sets. But in states where movie-making is big business, lawmakers and regulators rely on those suggested practices rather than regulate on-set firearm use. The lack of strict gun safety rules is under scrutiny after a cinematographer was killed by a prop gun on the New Mexico film set of "Rust." Court documents state an assistant director handed actor Alec Baldwin a loaded weapon and told him it was safe to use. In New Mexico, as in other states, most of the legislative debate over the entertainment industry has focused on tax credits and incentives to lure it.