- RADIATION EXPOSURE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The president of the Navajo Nation and New Mexico residents who live downwind from the site of the world's first atomic blast are among those seeking recognition and compensation from the U.S. government following uranium mining and nuclear testing carried out during the Cold War. A congressional subcommittee was taking testimony Wednesday about who should be eligible under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. Groups and residents have been urging lawmakers to expand the compensation program for years, and advocates say the latest push takes on added weight because the act is set to expire next year. Some say their communities have been plagued by cancer, birth defects and stillbirths.
- BOTTLED WATER RECALL-LAWSUITS
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Lawsuits are mounting against a Las Vegas-based bottled water brand, Real Water, amid a U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation and accusations by more people in more states that it caused liver illness and other ailments. A Nevada man blamed the product for his liver transplant in September 2019, a federal class-action lawsuit was filed this week in Nevada, and another lawsuit in state court called the product unsafe and dangerous to human life. Company president Brent Jones has posted a message offering sympathy and concern. An attorney representing the company said Wednesday it is cooperating with the FDA probe. He declined to comment about the lawsuits.
- TAX REBATES
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department has started issuing $600 one-time rebates for taxpayers who are not dependents and who receive the Working Families Tax Credit. The Albuquerque Journal reported that the department said Tuesday that recipients must have an adjusted gross income of no more than $39,000 if they are married and filing as the head of a household, or $31,200 or less if they are single filers. The Legislature authorized the rebates earlier this year, more than 110,000 rebates worth more than $66 million have already been issued.
- NEW MEXICO WEATHER
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A storm dropped snow and pushed strong winds across much of northern and central New Mexico on Wednesday as authorities warned of highway closures and difficult travel conditions in some areas. In east-central New Mexico, Interstate 40 was closed late Wednesday morning between Clines Corners and Santa Rosa due to heavy snow and multiple crashes, and U.S. 285 was closed near Vaughn. A high wind warning was in effect in the Albuquerque area where the National Weather Service said gusts of up to 68 mph were recorded at the airport. The weather service said snowfall accumulations were expected to range up to a foot.
- PLANE CRASH-NEW MEXICO
LORDSBURG, N.M. (AP) — Authorities say the three people aboard a single-engine plane suffered minor injuries when it crashed Wednesday south of Lordsburg in southwestern New Mexico. Cause of the crash at 1:30 a.m. was under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration which said the plane was on a flight from Fort Stockton, Texas, to Tucson, Arizona. No identities were released and no additional information was immediately available.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation on Tuesday reported three new COVID-19 cases but no additional deaths. It was the third consecutive day that the tribe has not recorded a coronavirus-related death. The death toll remains at 1,233 since the pandemic began with the number of confirmed cases at 30,010 on the vast reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. The Navajo Nation had a soft reopening last week with 25% capacity for some businesses under certain restrictions. Still, mask mandates and daily curfews remain.
- PANDEMIC RELIEF-STATES
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's Legislature is asserting its budgetary authority over $1.6 billion in new federal aid that dwarfs year-to-year spending adjustments, setting an agenda for economic recovery that Gov. Lujan Grisham can challenge only with her veto pen. Legislators want to replenish the state's unemployment fund, bail out public museums and historic sites and endow the state's lottery scholarship with $100 million. Some states are only beginning to sort out spending priorities for federal funds. Congress and President Joe Biden approved the $1.9 trillion relief package this month that funnels billions of dollars directly to New Mexico's state government, school districts and local governments.
- AP-US-EXPLAINER-BIDEN-VS-OIL
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden shut down oil and gas sales from the nation's vast public reserves over worries about climate change. Now the administration has to figure out what do with that multi-billion dollar program without crushing a significant sector of the U.S. economy. On the campaign trail, Biden pledged to end leasing and new drilling permits for public lands and waters. The leasing ban announced Jan. 27 is only temporary, and it's unclear how much legal authority the government has to stop drilling on about 23 million acres previously sold.