- COUNTRY SINGER-DEADLY CRASH
TAOS, N.M. (AP) — A northern New Mexico sheriff says Texas country singer Kylie Rae Harris was legally impaired by alcohol and driving 95 miles per hour when she and another driver were killed in a three-vehicle crash in September. Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe says in a statement Thursday that toxicology testing showed Harris had a blood-alcohol level of .28 percent. That is more than three times the legal limit for impaired driving. Holgrefe says on-board computer data also indicated Harris was driving 102 mph (164 mph) before the crash. Hogrefe says the other driver killed in the wreck had no alcohol in her system.
- COWBOYS FOR TRUMP-WHITE SANDS
ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico group Cowboys for Trump is facing criticism after a member bragged the group brought gypsum sands from White Sands National Monument to Washington for a Christmas tree lighting ceremony. The Alamogordo Daily News reports Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin said the group brought four plastic bins of sand for Wednesday's ceremony. Removing natural resources from national monuments is illegal without permission. In a live interview, Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham noted the tree had sands from White Sands National Monument, but the governor's office said Friday she wouldn't have approved of taking the sand without proper permission.
- ALBUQUERQUE CRIME
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Records show 88% of those arrested in Albuquerque by New Mexico State Police on felony charges during a so-called surge are no longer in custody. KOAT-TV reports records show most of the 201 felony arrests made over 60 days resulted in suspects going back on the streets within days. State Police launched "Operation Surge" earlier this year in New Mexico's largest city following high-profile homicides of a mail carrier and a University of New Mexico baseball player. The city also has seen a jump in overall homicides this year.
- NAVAJO HOUSING CEO-NUDE PHOTOS
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — A former Navajo Housing Authority CEO says he deleted nude photos of him and his wife on a company cell phone, but his predecessor restored them out of anger. Craig Dougall told the Gallup Independent this week he made a mistake in using the company phone to share intimate correspondence with his wife of 20 years. But Dougall said he didn't deliberately return the phone with the photos to be seen by the staff.
- HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS-REALIGNMENT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The governing board for New Mexico high school sports has voted to realign a number of football programs. The Albuquerque Journal reports Mayfield High School, one of New Mexico's most storied programs and winner of eight big-school state championships, is leaving the largest classification starting in 2020. Capital and Los Alamos — who have been sharing a football district with Del Norte and Santa Fe — are going to be part of a newly formed District 1-5A that also includes Farmington, Piedra Vista and Miyamura.
- MISTAKEN IDENTITY-JAIL
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities say a teen girl was jailed for a week after a school employee mistakenly identified her as a suspect in a fatal shooting. The Albuquerque Journal reported the 17-year-old was booked into a juvenile detention center after an Albuquerque Public Schools employee mistakenly identified her to police from a social media photo. The Albuquerque High School student was charged in November with murder, armed robbery and conspiracy in connection with the July death of 21-year-old Calvin Kelly. Officials say she was released six days later after a suspect told police they had charged the wrong girl.
- VIRGIN GALACTIC-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The CEO of Virgin Galactic says the space tourism venture is on the verge of making more history in 2020 following an "incredible" year of progress. George Whitesides told hundreds of business leaders during a luncheon Thursday in Albuquerque that 2019 was marked by many milestones including going public on the New York Stock Exchange. The move raised $450 million for the company's balance sheet as it prepares for commercial flights once test flights are complete. Virgin Galactic has not announced a specific date for beginning commercial flights, but it's expected that 2020 will finally be the year.
- NAVAJO COAL
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A judge has approved a bankruptcy reorganization plan for one of the biggest U.S. coal companies amid uncertainty about how its mines will be bonded in the long term. The judge signed off on the Chapter 11 reorganization of Cloud Peak Energy on Thursday. Wyoming-based Cloud Peak was the third-highest-producing coal producer in the U.S. in 2018. Cloud Peak's reorganization includes the sale of its Antelope and Cordero Rojo mines in Wyoming and Spring Creek mine in Montana to a Navajo Nation company seeking to secure bonding that would ensure cleanup should the mines ever close. A spokesman for the Navajo Transitional Energy Company says he can't comment because the bond negotiations are active.