- HEPATITIS A OUTBREAK
2nd death in Bernalillo County linked to hepatitis A virusSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Department of Health officials have confirmed 103 acute hepatitis A virus infections since last October with two associated deaths in Bernalillo County.
An acute case of hepatitis A infection also has been confirmed in Santa Fe County.
The current outbreak has primarily impacted people who use both injection and non-injection drugs and people experiencing homelessness.
Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease that results from infection with the hepatitis A virus.
It can range in severity from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a severe illness lasting several months.
Hepatitis A infection typically causes fever, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, dark urine, and yellowing of the skin and eyes.
- AP-US-BORDER-RELOCATING-MIGRANTS
Planes, buses move migrants from crowded border sheltersEL PASO, Texas (AP) — U.S. authorities are using aircraft to move migrants to less-crowded areas for processing, while others have been bused as far north as Colorado to alleviate the strain on overwhelmed shelters along the border in Texas and New Mexico.
Several dozen migrants were bused to Denver overnight with the help of the New Mexico governor's office to help crowded shelters in El Paso and neighboring Las Cruces, New Mexico, where one shelter reported running low on food.
It's likely the bus trips will continue. In addition, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has scheduled daily flights out of Texas' Rio Grande Valley at least through Tuesday for some migrants.
The flights aim to ensure adults don't slip through the cracks as agents scramble to process the increasing number of families crossing the border.
- CUBANS-ASYLUM SURGE
Burgeoning numbers of Cubans trying to enter US via MexicoCIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — Burgeoning numbers of Cubans are trying to get into the U.S. by way of the Mexican border, creating a big backlog of people waiting on the Mexican side for months for their chance to apply for asylum.
The surge over the past several months has been propelled in part by loosened traveled restrictions in Central America and deteriorating living conditions in Cuba.
About 4,500 people, the vast majority of them Cuban, are waiting in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas, for their asylum interviews.
For Cubans and others, one of the biggest obstacles is simply getting an opportunity to apply for asylum. Over the past year, the Trump administration has sharply limited the number of asylum claims it processes at land crossings. That has forced people to wait their turn in Mexico.
O'KEEFFE MUSEUM-DIRECTOR
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum's interim director to be permanent
(Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.santafenewmexican.com)
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum's acting director will now take on the position permanently.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the Santa Fe museum's board of trustees announced Monday the appointment of Cody Hartley.
Hartley has been serving on an interim basis since director Robert Kret departed in January.
Hartley was hired by the museum to be director of curatorial affairs in 2013.
He said in a statement that taking the "acting" part out of his role will be a welcome change.
A major figure in the American Modernist movement, O'Keeffe became inspired by the state after her first visit in 1929. She eventually made northern New Mexico her permanent home in 1949.
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- SUBSTITUTES-TEACHER SHORTAGE
Substitutes filling void in New Mexico amid teacher shortage(Information from: Carlsbad Current-Argus, http://www.currentargus.com/)
CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico school districts have become increasingly reliant on substitutes as they contend with growing vacant teaching positions in the state.
The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports school districts needing to fill vacancies have turned to hiring substitute teachers, particularly long-term substitutes.
Some of those substitutes have spent years in a classroom as temporary educators.
School district leaders say it's a necessary step as they deal with hundreds of vacant positions across the state. Still, they express concerns about the challenges that come with hiring substitute teachers who typically are not certified and do not build lesson plans or meet with parents.
A New Mexico State University report says that state had about 740 vacant teaching positions last year. That's more than double the 300 vacancies reported in 2017.
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- INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' DAY
Vermont renames Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples' DayMONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont has joined a handful of states in renaming Columbus Day to honor Native Americans.
Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed a bill May 6 recognizing the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples' Day.
A half-dozen states, including Vermont, and several cities have made the change.
The governors of Maine and New Mexico signed similar measures last month.
Native American tribes and others say celebrating Italian explorer Christopher Columbus ignores the effect that the European arrival in the Americas had on the native peoples.
They suffered violence, disease, enslavement, racism and exploitation at the hands of the settlers.
Vermont's law states that "Vermont was founded and built upon lands whose original inhabitants were Abenaki people and honors them and their ancestors."
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This story has been corrected to change the day of the bill signing to May 6, instead of Friday.