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

  • ELECTION 2020-NEW MEXICO

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico promoted U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján to the U.S. Senate in Tuesday´s election in a victory for Democrats as Joe Biden won the state's Electoral College delegates. Also on Tuesday, Republican Yvette Herrell wrestled the state's southern congressional district away from first-term Congresswoman Xochitl Torres Small. Luján defeated Republican former television meteorologist Mark Ronchetti and Libertarian scientist Bob Walsh in a victory that marks a resurgence of Latino political leadership in a state with the largest share of Hispanic residents. Two Democratic state Supreme Court justices kept their seats in election victories.

  • ELECTION 2020-HOUSE-NEW MEXICO

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is sending an all-female U.S. House delegation to Congress, including a Republican who defeated incumbent U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small in what was one of the most watched races in the nation. The contest between former state lawmaker Yvette Herrell and the first-term congresswoman was a 2018 rematch that was decided by turnout. Voter participation in the Democrat-leaning state broke records, as new Republican registrations in the 2nd District outpaced Democrats. In the other two races, Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez won the 3rd District to succeed U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján and Democratic U.S. Rep. Debra Haaland was reelected in the 1st District.

  • ALBUQUERQUE HOMICIDE

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque police say officers responding to a report of a shooting in progress early Wednesday morning found a woman dead and a man gravely wounded, A brief statement released by the Police Department said the woman was found dead outside an apartment and the wounded man was found inside the unit with an apparent gunshot wound. The statement said the wounded man was taken to a hospital "where he is not expected to survive his injuries." No identities were released and the statement said detectives were in the initial stages of investigating circumstances of the incident.

  • VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has proposed a $25 million stimulus package for the state's tourism industry. The proposal on Monday comes after the most recent employment report said the state's leisure and hospitality industry has lost 24,500 jobs this year, about a 24.5% decrease from a year ago. The governor's office says the pandemic has cost the industry $4.3 billion this year. The U.S. Travel Association and Tourism Economics estimates that without substantial funding, it may take up to seven years for the industry to return to the levels of spending it experienced before the coronavirus.

  • VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW NEXICO

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico has set a new record for the number of COVID-19 cases reported in a single day. State health officials reported an additional 1,141 cases Tuesday, bringing the statewide total to 49,240 since the pandemic began. New Mexico has been dealing with a surge for weeks now despite having some of the toughest public health restrictions in place, including mandates that call for face coverings and limited interaction with others. The death toll related to the virus also has increased to 1,045 and hospitalizations topped 400 to reach a new high Tuesday. Officials have been concerned about added pressure on the health care system.

  • NAVAJO-COAL POWER PLANT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Navajo Nation would expand its investment in coal-fired electricity generation as part of a plan to acquire more shares in one of the Southwest's last remaining coal power plants. The tribe's Navajo Transitional Energy Co. has negotiated an agreement with New Mexico's largest electric utility to take on the utility's share of the Four Corners Power Plant in 2024. If approved by state regulators, the transaction would preserve jobs at the plant and the adjacent tribally-owned mine for several more years. Many of the workers are Navajo. The deal would also allow the New Mexico utility a faster exit from coal.

  • VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Lawmakers on the Navajo Nation have approved legislation to reopen the tribe's four casinos. The action Monday came despite a tribal health expert warning that the coronavirus is spreading uncontrollably. Navajo President Jonathan Nez has not said whether he'll support the measure. The tribe reported 47 additional cases of the coronavirus as of Monday and three confirmed deaths. The latest figures bring the total number of reported cases to 11,875 and the known death toll to 584 on the reservation. A shelter-in-place order, mask mandate, daily curfews and weekend lockdowns remain in effect on the reservation that extends into Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

  • ELECTION 2020-HOUSE-NEW MEXICO

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Republican Yvette Herrell has staged an upset to win a contested race for a U.S. House seat in New Mexico. Herrell defeated Democratic U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small in a 2018 rematch to flip back the 2nd District seat that represents the southern half of the state. In the other two House races, Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez won a seat in the 3rd Congressional District to succeed U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján and Democratic U.S. Rep. Debra Haaland was reelected in the 1st District, as the state sends its first all-female U.S. House delegation to Congress.