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

  • PRISON-SEXUAL ASSAULT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Three former inmates of a New Mexico prison say they were repeatedly sexually assaulted by guards and their complaints were met with indifference or retaliation.The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the women recently filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court over assaults that allegedly occurred in a Springer, New Mexico, prison from 2016 to 2018.
According to the lawsuit, the prison guards forced the women to show their body parts and kiss each other.
One woman says her abuser harassed her when she was in solitary confinement by turning the lights on every half hour to wake her up and made derogatory comments about her body.
New Mexico Corrections Department spokesman Ricardo Montoya says the department has not seen the lawsuit.
 

  • NEWBORN DEATH

ALCALDE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the death of a newborn baby found in a trash bag inside a residence in northern New Mexico.According to the State Police, the baby's body was found during a welfare check of a residence in Alcalde where the baby's mother was staying.
Officials say a man had reported Aug. 17 that he returned to his home in La Madera from a trip and found that his unborn child's mother was no longer showing signs of being pregnant and wouldn't disclose the child's location.
No identities were released and officials said their investigation continues.
An autopsy will be conducted to determine cause and manner of death.
Alcalde is 28 miles (46 kilometers) north of Santa Fe. La Madera is 40 miles (65 kilometers) southeast of Santa Fe.

  • BEHAVIORAL HEALTH-SETTLEMENTS

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico has reached settlements with two more providers whose Medicaid claims were frozen as part of a shake-up in the state's behavioral health care system.The state agreed Tuesday to pay TeamBuilders Counseling Services more than $1.9 million.
It agreed last month to pay more than $173,000 to Counseling Associates.
Gov. Susana Martinez's administration froze payments to 15 mental health service providers in 2013 after an audit identified $36 million in Medicaid overpayments.
The state attorney general later cleared the providers of any criminal wrongdoing, but 10 filed lawsuits.
Neither the state nor providers admitted to liability or fault under the settlement agreements.
The state Human Services Department says in a statement that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration is working to resolve the remaining cases.

  • HIGHLANDS UNIVERSITY-DECLINING FACULTY

LAS VEGAS, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Highlands University officials are worried about the declining number of faculty and are reporting its lowest number of tenured positions in school history.The Las Vegas Optic reports Vice President of Finance and Administration Max Baca told the school's Board of Regents this week that officials want to address the falling numbers at the northern New Mexico college.
Baca says the school would be pushing legislators for money to increase salaries to make Highlands University more competitive with other institutions.
Faculty association president Kathy Jenkins says there is a certain level of dissatisfaction with some of the faculty that led them to start looking for employment elsewhere.
Faculty Senate Chair Orit Tamir says she worried about the impact on the students with the declining numbers of faculty.
 

  • LGBTQ CHURCH-VANDALIZED

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Vandals continue to target a New Mexico church known for welcoming LGBTQ residents and immigrants.KRQE-TV reports Metropolitan Community Church members said this week the Albuquerque church has been the target of vandalism seven times in less than three weeks.
The most recent vandalism happened Monday night. Members say that's when someone threw a rock through the window on the front door, knocking out the newly installed plexiglass.
Albuquerque police are investigating.
No arrests have been made.
Church board members said it will cost an estimated $5,000 to fix the damage.
The Christian church has been at the same location for 18 years and it has reported only a few minor episodes in its history.
 

  • PENCE-TRADE WAR CAMPAIGN

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence is renewing efforts to promote the Trump administration's trade deal with Mexico and Canada as he travels to the border state of New Mexico and then Salt Lake City.The Office of the Vice President announced that Pence will talk about the trade pact Wednesday while visiting an Artesia-based service company for oil and natural gas production in the Permian basin that straddles New Mexico and Texas.
The trip provides Pence with an additional forum for the administration's efforts to ease federal environmental regulations and boost employment prospects in a critical location for U.S. oil and exploration.
Congressional Democrats have signaled that the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico needs stronger protections for workers and the environment before it can be ratified.

  • NEW MEXICO-ATHLETICS SPENDING

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Former University of New Mexico athletic director Paul Krebs has been indicted in connection with a lavish 2015 golf trip to Scotland that was partly paid for with state funds.Documents filed Wednesday in state district court show a grand jury indicted the 63-year-old Krebs on embezzlement, larceny, and tampering charges.
The charges are part of an investigation into questionable spending by the school's troubled athletic department.
Attorney General Hector Balderas launched an investigation in 2017 after it was discovered that the university used nearly $25,000 in public money to pay some private donor expenses on the Scotland trip.
Krebs served as New Mexico athletic director from 2006 to 2017.
Krebs' attorney Paul Kennedy says he's confident his client will be vindicated by a jury.

  • VAPING-LUNG DISEASE-NEW MEXICO

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Department of Health is investigating possible cases of lung disease associated with vaping and recommends against using vaping cartridges containing an active ingredient of marijuana.The department said in a statement Wednesday that a 29-year-old Albuquerque area man has been determined to have lung disease associated with vaping and that three additional cases are under investigation.
The department also says all of those people reported using vaping cartridges and that those cartridges might have contained THC, an active ingredient of marijuana.
According to the department, similar cases have been reported in at least 14 other states and federal and state agencies are investigating possible causes.
The department urged health providers to report cases of lung disease possibly associated with vaping.