- CONSUMER DEBT-MORATORIUM-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's state court system is taking steps to ease financial pain as consumer debt comes due along with consequences for mortgages that went unpaid during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Administrative Office of the Courts on Monday announced staggered deadlines for a return to debt collection orders that can be used to garnish wages or seize property to pay off consumer debt. Common forms of consumer debt are linked to credit card spending and medical expenses. The judiciary also won't allow mortgage lenders to foreclose on properties without first providing homeowners with a list of other options, including forbearance that reduces or suspends loan payments temporarily.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The University of New Mexico will require students, faculty and other workers to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by Sept. 30. The mandate is subject to limited exceptions and exemptions and will be in effect at the main campus in Albuquerque, the Academic Health Sciences Campus in Albuquerque and at satellite locations around the state. President Garnett Stokes said Monday night in an email that incentives that the university offered to people getting vaccination had an impact but not enough to protect the health and safety of the campus community. Stokes has asked the Board of Regents to endorse the requirement.
- WILD HORSE ROUNDUPS-DROUGHT
RENO, Nev. (AP) — U.S. land managers have begun efforts to capture about 50% more wild horses than originally planned this year because of severe drought across the U.S. West. The emergency roundups that began Sunday and Monday target about 6,000 additional animals primarily in Nevada, Oregon and Colorado. The Bureau of Land Management says the expanded effort concentrates on places where "chronic overpopulation" of the herds has stretched available food and water to their limits. Horse advocates say the emergency roundups are being driven by pressure from ranchers who don't want wild horses competing with their livestock for limited forage and water. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association says ranchers have voluntarily reduced and rotated grazing on federal lands during the drought.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation on Monday reported nine new COVID-19 cases, but no additional deaths for the second consecutive day. The latest numbers pushed the total number of coronavirus cases to 31,421 since the pandemic began more than a year ago. The known death toll remains at 1,377. The tribe had reported 25 new cases and three deaths Saturday with 10 new cases and no deaths on Sunday. The Navajo Nation's sprawling reservation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-INCENTIVES
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The state of New Mexico is moving forward with a carrot-and-stick approach to immunizations against COVID-19 with a renewed $100 payout to newly vaccinated residents. That offer started on Monday and remains in effect through the end of August. The strategy was pioneered by New Mexico for several days in June, with about 25,000 eligible participants. The state's $5 million sweepstakes prize for one vaccinated resident is scheduled to be awarded on Saturday. President Joe Biden has recommended that more states use cash payments to break through plateaus in vaccination rates. A immunization mandate for vaccine-eligible state workers takes effect Tuesday.
- TRIPLE MURDER CONVICTIONS UPHELD
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Supreme Court is upholding the sentencing of a man who, as a teen, killed three members of a family with a large pickax. The high court announced Monday that it determined Nicholas Ortiz's constitutional rights were not violated because he was sentenced as an adult for three first-degree murder convictions. Ortiz's attorneys argued that since he was 16 at the time of the crimes, Ortiz should have had an "amenability hearing" to see if he was open to some sort of juvenile rehabilitation. But the court argued an amenability hearing is only mandated for minors convicted of second-degree murder. Ortiz was sentenced to25 years in 2019.
- AP-US-EL-PASO-SHOOTING-ANNIVERSARY
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Officials in the border city of El Paso are unveiling a garden meant to bring healing two years after a gunman targeting Latinos opened fire at a Walmart, killing 23 people in an attack that stunned the U.S. and Mexico. Tuesday's dedication will be closed to the public as a precaution against the coronavirus pandemic. Victims' families and officials will take part in the ceremony, which will be livestreamed. The Aug. 3, 2019, shooting happened on a busy, weekend day. Authorities say the shooter drove more than 600 miles from the Dallas area to target Mexicans. He has pleaded not guilty.
- DRIVE-BY KILLING-TRIAL
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A murder trial for an Ojo Caliente man is slated to begin this week after being delayed more than a year because of possible COVID-19 exposure. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that jury selection was underway Monday for the trial of 25-year-old Mark Hice, who faces first-degree murder and other charges. Hice was about to go on trial in July 2020 when his defense attorney disclosed she was exposed to COVID-19 patients while working as a midwife. The judge declared a mistrial. Hice is accused of killing 18-year-old Cameron Martinez and wounding three others on N.M. 68 north of Española in October 2018 in a case of mistaken identity.