- KOCH BROTHERS-SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Koch-funded group hosting school supply give-away eventsALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A Koch brothers-funded group is hosting school supply give-away in 10 cities with more 6,500 backpacks.
The LIBRE Institute is scheduled Thursday to begin its school supply give-away campaign in Aurora, Colorado, and will then travel to the New Mexico cities of Roswell and Española.
This campaign is an annual effort aimed at talking to parents about charter schools, Education Savings Accounts, and online tutoring options.
A school supply give-away event in Albuquerque is planned for Aug. 4.
The LIBRE Institute in recent years has held forums around President Donald Trump's tax reforms and other conservative policies but has been vocal on pushing immigration reforms.
- MILITARY BASE-JET FUEL SPILL
New Mexico air base hosts open house for cleanup projectALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Air Force is inviting the public to learn about the work being done to clean up jet fuel contamination at a base bordering New Mexico's largest city.
The open house at Kirtland Air Force Base will be Thursday. Experts from the Air Force and the state Environment Department will be on hand to answer questions.
A coalition of environmental groups has threatened to sue, saying the contamination is a danger to public health and the environment.
The Air Force already has spent $125 million cleaning up soil and water around the site, but the group is seeking an agreement that would establish a schedule with clear deadlines and penalties.
The fuel leak was detected in 1999. It was believed to have been seeping into the ground for decades.
- JILL BIDEN-NEW MEXICO
Wife of candidate Joe Biden to raise money in New MexicoSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is scheduled to visit New Mexico for a campaign fundraising events.
The campaign said Jill Biden plans to attend fundraising events on Friday in Santa Fe and Saturday in Albuquerque. Further details were unavailable.
In 2016, Hillary Clinton narrowly edged out Bernie Sanders in New Mexico's Democratic presidential primary and went on to beat Donald Trump in the state's general election by 9 percentage points.
- MISSING MAN FOUND
Missing New Mexico man found in river, identified by family(Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.santafenewmexican.com)
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The body of a missing man who jumped into a New Mexico river to escape police was found by family.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reported Monday that Sylvia Encinias Mendoza identified the body as her 46-year-old brother Brian Encinias on Monday.
Authorities say officers investigating another case recognized Encinias as someone with an active arrest warrant before he fled into the Pecos River in May.
Police say a body was recovered from the river, but the identity cannot be confirmed until it is examined by a medical investigator.
Mendoza says she found the body about a mile from where he reportedly jumped into the river 26 miles (42 kilometers) east of Santa Fe.
Mendoza says the family now has closure, and is waiting for more answers from state police.
___
- STATE WEBSITES-NEW MEXICO
Campaign videos serve as backdrop to state websitesSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Webpages for two independent state agencies are blurring the lines between governance and politicking by using video footage from campaign ads as a backdrop for information about government services.
On the State Land Office website , agency chief Stephanie Garcia Richard runs along the rim of a vast desert canyon in video images from a political ad paid for by her campaign committee.
Agency spokeswoman Angie Poss on Tuesday said no state money was used in the video's production and that it also shows landscapes, industries and interests that affect work at the agency.
The backsplash for the Office of the State Auditor's home page is the same video footage from a 2018 campaign ad for State Auditor Brian Colón that was paid for by his campaign committee.
- MOTHER-IN-LAW KILLED-SENTENCING
Woman sentenced to 30 years for killing of mother-in-lawALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An Albuquerque woman faces 30 years in prison for convictions for second-degree murder and other crimes stemming from the killing of her mother-in-law.
KOB-TV reports that Alissa Bickett was sentenced Tuesday in the 2018 killing of 65-year-old Marilyn Gandert whose stabbed and beaten body was found on a secluded road in Sandoval County.
Two other people have been convicted in the case. One is serving a prison term and the other awaits sentencing.
Authorities say Gandert had evicted the three for not paying rent.
- IMMIGRATION COURTS
Trump puts his stamp on nation's immigration courtsLOS ANGELES (AP) — In just 2½ years, the Trump administration has put its stamp on the nation's immigration court system, appointing more than 4 in 10 judges, overseeing a hiring surge, and issuing new rules that make it harder for migrants to win their cases and stay in the country.
An Associated Press analysis shows that President Donald Trump's administration has appointed at least 190 immigration judges, accounting for 43 percent of the total.
The administration has also continued a trend in hiring large numbers of former military lawyers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorneys as immigration judges.
- INTERIOR SECRETARY-NEVADA-THE LATEST
The Latest: Interior secretary touts Trump NEPA reform in NV(Information from: Elko Daily Free Press, http://www.elkodaily.com)
ELKO, Nev. (AP) — U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt toured a Nevada gold mine's expansion project to tout the Trump administration's streamlining of environmental regulations to expedite permitting for development on federal lands.
Bernhardt said Tuesday streamlining of the National Environmental Policy Act is one of the reasons the newly formed Nevada Gold Mines committed to the expansion at the Cortez Mine.
Greg Walker, executive managing director of the company formed by the recent joint venture between Barrick Gold and Newmont Goldcorp, said it's a significant improvement from the old process that added 18 months to the completion of environmental impact statements.
One of President Trump's executive orders requires such reviews be completed within a year.
Conservationists say the expedited reviews short-circuit federal regulations that have protected fish and wildlife for a half-century.
____