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

  • POLICE SHOOTING-LAWSUIT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A lawsuit accuses Albuquerque police of wrongfully killing a pipe-wielding man during a 2018 encounter in a home after officers found him hiding in a closet. The lawsuit filed Tuesday by 24-year-old Daniel Saavedra's sister says police should have tried to defuse the situation before entering the apartment and cornering  Saavedra. The Albuquerque Journal reports that lapel camera video shows officers shooting as 24-year-old Daniel Saavedra leapt out into an empty bedroom, swinging a metal pip near officers. Saavedra formerly lived in the apartment and police were called after he broke into it.  The lawsuit said Saavedra was suffering from psychosis. Police Department spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said the city's lawyers would respond to the lawsuit's allegations in court.

  • TEXAS JUDGE-DWI CASE DISMISSED

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A judge has dismissed a case in New Mexico against a Texas judge accused of driving under the influence. KRQE-TV reported Friday that deputies from the Sante Fe County Sheriff's Office arrested El Paso Magistrate Judge Ray Gutierrez in October after he allegedly backed into another vehicle in the Santa Fe Opera parking lot. Authorities say Gutierrez performed poorly during field sobriety tests and had a blood alcohol content above the legal limit. Defense attorneys for Guiterrez say the state couldn't verify the authenticity of the video evidence. Officials say the judge suppressed that evidence and prosecutors dismissed the charges.

  • IMMIGRATION-YUMA

YUMA, Ariz. (AP) — Trump administration officials on Friday touted the 100th mile of border wall since the president took office. The Yuma, Arizona, area has seen drastic highs and lows in migration over the last two years. Like the rest of the border it has seen fewer migrants in recent months. Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf responded to critics who say the new construction is only replacing old fencing. Wolf said the administration will build or start to build 400 to 450 miles by the end of the year. 

  • PREGNANT WOMEN SYPHILIS SCREENING

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico health officials are ordering physicians and other medical professionals to step up screening of pregnant women for syphilis. The state Department of Health says an order issued Friday is intended to prevent prevent congenital syphilis. That's a disease that occurs when a mother with sexually transmitted syphilis passes the infection on to her baby during pregnancy. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that congenital syphilis has increased annually in the US since 2012. Under the order, medical professionals must test all pregnant women in their first and third trimesters and again at delivery. 

  • VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE-NEW MEXICO

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A nonpartisan group says targeted mailings that encourage voter registration are going out to one-in-eight residents of New Mexico. Broader registration among Latinos is one focus of the effort by the Center for Voter Information in the state with the highest ratio of Hispanics. The group brings big-data technology to bear on efforts to register populations that are underrepresented in elections. Young adults and single, unmarried women are another focus of the drive intended to increase overall voting. Center founder and president Page Gardner says the effort seeks to narrow the gap between those eligible to vote and those who are registered to vote.

  • FLU-NEW MEXICO

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Health officials in New Mexico have confirmed the first death of a child due to the flu this season. The state Health Department says the 1-year-old boy was from Roosevelt County. Officials have recorded a total of 52 pneumonia and flu-related deaths since the start of the season in October. The health department is warning that flu is still spreading in all regions of the state and that peak activity hasn't been reached. The agency says this season is already unusual for how early the illness became widespread and vaccinations are recommended.

  • SEXUAL MISCONDUCT-EPSTEIN-NEW MEXICO

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Legislators will consider changes to the state's sex offender registration policies in response to revelations that deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein was allowed to avoid registering locally as a sex offender following a guilty plea a decade ago in Florida. Epstein was accused of abusing young women at his New Mexico ranch before his death last year. A Democratic state representative says he has filed a bill that would require people who are registered as sex offenders in another state or U.S. territory to also register in New Mexico if they spend 20 days in the state during a calendar year. 

  • IRANIAN AMERICANS-NEW MEXICO

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Members of an Iranian American group in New Mexico say state Homeland Security recently asked them if they have seen any suspicious activities. Iranian Cultural Society of New Mexico President Azadeh Mehrnoush says the agency asked the group to report unusual episodes to authorities amid tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said they wanted to make sure they were engaged with community representatives in case any issues develop around threats or hate crimes. But Mehrnoush says she felt the email was an attempt to seek information about actions by Iranian Americans.