- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Officials at some of New Mexico's largest hospitals are holding out hope that vaccine supplies will catch up with demand. They said during a briefing that they understand the wait is stressful for people who have registered to receive shots. Some have been waiting for weeks, and state health officials have acknowledged that residents have been crossing state lines in search of vaccines in Texas. On Monday, the New Mexico Health Department confirmed Walgreens and other pharmacies in the state would begin receiving shipments this week. Over 88,000 New Mexico residents have been fully vaccinated — or about 4.2% of the population.
- MARIJUANA PRODUCER-LICENSE
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A medical marijuana producer is in danger of losing its license in the wake of a fire at a Santa Fe facility left two workers hurt. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported Saturday that the New Mexico Department of Health is weighing whether to revoke the license for New Mexicann Natural Medicine. Authorities say the October fire started after two employees were in the midst of a cannabis extraction process. One lost his grip as both were carrying a large metal vessel with a mixture of ethanol and cannabis oil. It is the second incident at that location after an explosion occurred there in 2015.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — Navajo Nation health officials have reported 23 new COVID-19 cases and one death. The latest numbers released Sunday raised the totals to 28,897 cases and 1,057 known deaths since the pandemic began. U.S. President Joe Biden recently signed a long-awaited major disaster declaration for the Navajo Nation. It will provide more federal resources and prompts the release of federal funds for the reimbursement of emergency funds. The tribe has extended its stay-at-home order with a revised nightly curfew to limit the spread of COVID-19. The Navajo Department of Health has identified 56 communities with uncontrolled spread of the coronavirus.
- BIDEN-IMMIGRATION
HOUSTON (AP) — President Joe Biden rushed to send the most ambitious overhaul of the nation's immigration system in a generation to Congress. And he signed nine executive actions to wipe out some the toughest measures to fortify the U.S.-Mexico border implemented by his predecessor, President Donald Trump. But a federal court suspended Biden's 100-day moratorium on deportations, the immigration bill hasn't been passed and many of the new president's orders will take weeks, months — perhaps even years — to implement. In the meantime, there is likely to be more overlap in the Biden and Trump hardline immigration policies than many of the activists who helped generate Latino support for Biden in the election had hoped.
- CHILD WELFARE DATA
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — New data from New Mexico shows that the southern portion of the state continues to lag behind the rest of the state in child poverty and welfare. The 2020 New Mexico Kids Count Data Book was released to provide state legislators child welfare data and showed that the state is still 48th in child poverty among U.S. states. Emily Wildau, the New Mexico Kids Count research and policy analyst, says most of the data released was from 2019. She says that in the data's timeframe, 11 of 16 indicators of child welfare had improved. Despite the improvements in some categories, the south of the state is still experiencing problems with child poverty and welfare.
- LAWMAKER-PARTY AFFILIATION CHANGE
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A Republican lawmaker in New Mexico who voted in favor of a Democratic-backed abortion bill has left the Republican Party. House Minority Leader Jim Townsend said on Friday that state Rep. Phelps Anderson of Roswell changed his voter registration to a "declined to state" after voting to repeal a 1969 law that criminalizes abortion. Anderson sided with seven Democrats in repealing the law, drawing criticism from his constituents as well as calls for his resignation. Anderson was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 and won reelection in 2020. He also served in the House from 1977 through 1980.
- WILDFIRE-NEW MEXICO
SACRAMENTO, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Forest Service officials say a fire that started Friday night in a structure in the southern New Mexico mountain village of Sacramento spread into an adjacent national forest before crews stopped its growth overnight. Officials say numerous volunteer fire departments and two fire engines completed lines around the fire, limiting its size to 17 acres of private land and Lincoln National Forest. Officals said crews on Saturday were mopping up and monitoring the fire to ensure that fire lines continued to contain the fire. Sacramento is in Otero County and 24 miles (39 kilometers) east of Alamogordo.