- AIRPORT BODIES
WOODBURY, N.J. (AP) — Officials say a man charged with beating to death a New Jersey resident he said sexually abused him as a child now claims he has killed a total of 16 people, including his ex-wife and three others in New Mexico. Authorities say there is no indication his claim is true, but they will investigate. NJ.com reported that a New Jersey prosecutor alleged Friday in court that 47-year-old Sean Lannon of Grants, New Mexico, said he confessed to 16 killings in all. A public defender tried to get Lannon released from jail and said his client was provoked in the New Jersey killing. Lannon has been named a person of interest in the four New Mexico slayings.
- LEGISLATURE ADJOURNS-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico lawmakers are closing out a 60-day legislative session that charts an economic exit from the pandemic. As the session ended Saturday, progressive legislators in the Democratic majority have pushed forward policing reforms, shored up abortion rights, and approved medical aid in dying. In the final hours, lawmakers passed proposals that would guarantee paid sick leave for private-sector workers and ramp up state tax breaks for working families. Proposals to legalize recreational marijuana faltered. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says she will call a special legislative session in coming weeks to give cannabis reforms another try.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Department of Health is launching an app that will enable your phone to tell you in some instances if you have been exposed to COVID-19. KRQE-TV reports that the app called NM Notify and intended to help slow spread of the coronavirus will go live Tuesday. The department says NM Notify is a voluntary program that works by exchanging anonymous keys through Bluetooth with other nearby phones that also have the exposure notification app activated. When a person tests positive for COVID-19, they will get a text with a verification that, when activated, will let other phones nearby know of exposures. New Mexico on Saturday reported 191 additional confirmed cases and seven more deaths.
- COURT OF APPEALS-APPOINTMENT
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has appointed a judge to the state Court of Appeals to fill a vacancy created by Justice Julie J. Vargas' appointment to the state Supreme Court. The state's 4th Judicial District Chief Judge Gerald E. Baca was appointed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals on Friday. Baca will now be one of 10 judges tasked with reviewing appeals from the state's lower courts. Baca, a registered Democrat, will have to win the 2022 primary and general elections to remain on the Court of Appeals. This is Baca's third gubernatorial appointment.
- MARIJUANA-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A proposal to legalize recreational marijuana in New Mexico appeared to falter in the final hours of a 60-day legislative session as the Senate postponed a floor debate and turned to other bills. Legislators had until noon Saturday to send the legalization initiative to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Advocates for marijuana reforms have clashed amid divergent approaches to complex issues of taxation, public safety, regulatory oversight and licensing rules. Lujan Grisham spokeswoman Nora Meyers Sackett said Friday evening that the governor would call a special session of the legislature later if the legalization effort does not come to fruition on Saturday.
- BIDEN-BORDER
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is facing growing questions about why it wasn't more prepared for an influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. The administration is scrambling to build up capacity to care for 14,000 young undocumented migrants now in federal custody, and more are likely on the way. Immigration experts say the predicament was predictable. Biden administration officials blame the Trump administration for making a mess of the immigration system. Border patrol officials have encountered more than 29,000 unaccompanied minors since Oct. 1, nearly the same number of youths taken into custody for all of the previous budget year.
- PASS THE TRASH
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico state Senate has unanimously passed a bill to expand background checks on school employees. It also directs state agencies to more closely track teachers who abuse children and mandated school staff and volunteers to take training on how to recognize and report abuse. The Public Schools Insurance Authority says the number of abuse cases stemming from public schools has decreased in recent years. But the severity of the cases has increased, and so have the court settlements for victims. Settlements don't affect individual school budgets but have driven up liability insurance costs for schools by 9% since 2018.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-BORDER BUSINESSES
NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) — Small businesses in border towns across the U.S. are reeling from the economic fallout of the partial closure of North America's international boundaries. Restrictions on nonessential travel were put in place a year ago to curb the spread of the virus and have been extended almost every month since. Small businesses, residents and local chambers of commerce say the financial toll has been steep, as have the disruptions to life in communities where it's common to shop, work and sleep in two different countries. And as more Americans are vaccinated against COVID-19 and infection rates fall across the U.S., many are hoping the restrictions will soon be eased.