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Latest New Mexico news, sports, business and entertainment at 3:20 p.m. MDT

  • CHACO CANYON-DRILLING

US officials to put off oil leases near sacred tribal landALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has agreed to put off oil and gas leasing for a year on land that tribes consider sacred surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico.
Officials say that will allow time to finish an updated management plan to guide energy development across the region. The decision comes after Bernhardt visited the ancient site Tuesday.
The area has been central to an ongoing dispute over drilling in the San Juan Basin in northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado.
Native American tribes and others are pushing for a formal buffer to protect culturally significant sites within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of the park.
The management plan will include an alternative that reflects the views of Native American leaders and provisions from pending federal legislation.
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This story has been corrected to show the park's name was incorrect.

  • NAVAJO NATION TREATY

Navajo Nation votes to accept copy of 1868 treatyWINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation has accepted an original copy of an 1868 treaty that had been stored in a Massachusetts home.
The treaty allowed Navajos to return to their homeland in the Four Corners region after years of imprisonment in eastern New Mexico.
It is one of three known copies of the treaty. One is at the National Archives. Another was given to Navajo Chief Barboncito, but its whereabouts are unknown.
The great-grandniece of one of the negotiators, Clare "Kitty" P. Weaver, recently donated the third copy to the tribe. A legislative committee voted Tuesday to accept it.
Weaver was visiting the Navajo Nation on Wednesday where a small crowd gathered to see the treaty.
It will be on display at the Navajo Nation Museum for a week starting Saturday.

  • CENSUS 2020-MINORITIES

Census head vows 'independent' count amid heated politicsALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Census director is promising the 2020 Census will remain independent and will avoid political pressures amid uncertainty over how the bureau will question immigrants.
U.S. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham told reporters in Albuquerque on Wednesday bureau workers have taken a "lifetime oath" not to share private information from residents. He also vowed the bureau would make sure states with high percentages of Latinos and Native Americans receive accurate counts.
Dillingham was in New Mexico for a bureau's four-day tour of the state's rural communities and the Navajo Nation.
His visit comes as the U.S. Supreme Court reviews a possible question about whether a person is a United States citizen.
Democratic U.S, Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico says all communities should feel safe about filling out the 2020 Census.

  • COAL-ENDING OFFER

Colorado utility gets $500M offer to shut coal plants(Information from: The Daily Sentinel, http://www.gjsentinel.com)
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — A wholesale power provider has proposed a $500 million deal for a Colorado electric utility to retire some coal assets and shift toward more renewable energy.
The Daily Sentinel reported Wednesday that the proposal from Denver-based Guzman Energy calls for Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association to shut down coal-fired power plants in New Mexico and northwest Colorado by 2025.
Guzman Energy says the deal would provide financial assistance to impacted communities and help the utility comply with new regulations.
Tri-State CEO Duane Highley says in the statement the verbal proposal by Guzman Energy is "imaginative and creative" but lacks detail and terms.
He says the utility welcomes a detailed written explanation from Guzman Energy.
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  • PAY TO PLAY-NEW MEXICO

New Mexico signs off on settlements in pay-to-play scandal(Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's State Investment Council has approved settlements in a decade-old scandal that involved politically influenced investment deals using state money.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the council unanimously approved settlements Tuesday with Anthony Correra and his son Marc Correra, who shared in more than $22 million in fees charged to investment firms.
Anthony Correra has agreed to pay $1 million to settle claims that he illegally directed state investments to firms that paid fees to his son.
Marc Correra has agreed to turn over $4.1 million to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court to be used to settle claims. The settlement also allows $900,000 to be released from an escrow account.
The father and son have both agreed to never conduct business again in New Mexico.
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  • SHERIFF'S VEHICLES RAMMED

Man accused of ramming Santa Fe County sheriff's vehiclesSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities say a Santa Fe man sought in a domestic violence investigation is jailed and accused of ramming Santa Fe County sheriff's vehicles, including one with a deputy inside.
A New Mexico State Police statement said 25-year-old Melisco Gallegos was arrested after he returned at a residence where the ramming occurred earlier Monday.
According to the statement, a deputy inside one of vehicles that was rammed fired his weapon but Gallegos was not injured.
The statement said a deputy was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
Gallegos remained jailed Wednesday on suspicion of multiple counts of aggravated battery on a peace officer, criminal damage to property and resisting, evading or obstructing an arrest.
Court records don't list defense attorney for Gallegos who could comment on the allegations.

  • MEMORIAL PROCESSION-CODE TALKER

Memorial procession for Navajo lawmaker traverses stateSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A procession in honor of deceased state Sen. John Pinto will travel from Gallup to the state Capitol to honor the former Navajo Code Talker and politician.
The procession including State Police and the Navajo and Hopi Honor Riders motorcycle group is scheduled to accompany Pinto's casket through the communities of Shiprock, Farmington, Bloomfield, Cuba, Bernalillo and Santa Fe.
Afternoon memorial services were scheduled in the Statehouse rotunda.
Pinto died on Friday at age 94 after setting a record for serving 42 years in the state Senate.
Potential successors to Pinto in the Senate will be nominated by the McKinley and San Juan county commissions. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham makes the final appointment.
Pinto this year voted in favor of progressive initiatives on gun control and abortion rights.

  • BORDER ACTIVIST-TRIAL

Trial against border activist who helped migrants beginsTUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Jury selection has begun in a federal trial against a border activist charged with harboring migrants in a case that advocates say is a politically-motivated.
Scott Daniel Warren was arrested in 2018 when Border Patrol agents found him at a property used to provide aid to immigrants in Ajo, Arizona. Warren was helping two immigrants who had crossed the border illegally.
Prosecutors have argued that migrants Kristian Perez-Villanueva and Jose Arnaldo Sacaria-Goday were never in any real distress.
Warren says the administration of President Donald Trump has cracked down on humanitarian aid groups.
He says the administration has refusing to allow the groups on federal land and has prosecuted volunteers, including several others with the group Warren works with. It is called No More Deaths.
The trial began Wednesday.