- SPECIAL SESSION-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State legislators pushed forward with election reforms and an overhaul of state spending in response to the coronavirus and economic upheaval. The Democratic-led New Mexico state Senate on Friday approved election reforms aimed at making absentee balloting more reliable as residents of New Mexico flock to mail-in voting. The Democrat-sponsored bill now moves to the House for consideration. It would provide more time for the distribution of absentee ballots by request, add new verification requirements and expand local voting opportunities for Native American communities and their immediate neighbors. Lawmakers plan to tap $750 million in federal recovery funds and state financial reserves to sustain some increased spending.
- BANKING RECORDS-PRIVACY PROTECTION
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Supreme Court has ruled that prosecutors can obtain a person's banking records using a warrantless grand jury subpoena without violating the individual's right to privacy under the state's Constitution. In a unanimous decision Thursday, the justices concluded that a district court properly allowed the use of five years of personal financial records as evidence in a pending criminal case against a Taos couple facing charges of tax evasion and other finance-related offenses. The high court rejected the married couple's argument that the state's Constitution provided greater privacy protections for their financial records than offered under the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.
- AMERICA PROTESTS-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Crews in Santa Fe , New Mexico, have removed a statue of a Spanish territorial governor from a city park amid a national debate over the appropriateness of monuments and other markers that recognize historical figures. The statue of Don Diego de Vargas was taken down Thursday ahead of a planned protest. In addition to the de Vargas statue, Mayor Alan Webber is calling for the removal of two other monuments that many Native Americans find offensive. The mayor also promised to revive a commission that will evaluate every statue and monument in the centuries-old city.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico State University is rolling out plans for students, faculty and staff as they prepare to return to campus in the fall. The document released this week outlines the steps the university will take to ensure what officials said would be a welcoming and functioning campus environment when classes begin Aug. 19. University officials say the plan is a living document and can be updated as more is learned about the novel coronavirus and as best practices evolve. The university planned a town hall for Thursday afternoon. The number of positive tests in New Mexico now stands at 10,153.
- SPECIAL SESSION-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A proposal to distribute absentee ballots directly to registered New Mexico voters without a request or application was rejected by a state Senate panel at the outset of a special legislative session aimed primarily at shoring up state finances. The committee's Thursday vote means absentee ballots will continue to be available only by request in New Mexico. Lawmakers are confronting a 25% decline in estimated state government income for the coming budget year as the coronavirus pandemic takes its economic toll. An amended election reform proposal advanced to the Senate floor that would allow more time before an election to request an absentee ballot.
- AP-US-SUPREME-COURT-IMMIGRATION
PHOENIX (AP) — President Donald Trump says he'll renew his effort to end legal protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the United States as children. Trump on Friday denounced a Supreme Court ruling that the administration improperly ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2017. Through executive action, Trump could still take away the ability of 650,000 young immigrants to live and work legally in the U.S. With no legislative answer in sight in Congress, uncertainty continues for many immigrants who know no other home except America, but many are vowing to keep fighting for the program and for a pathway to citizenship.
- TRUMP-ROSWELL
President Donald Trump says he's heard some interesting things about Roswell, but he's not sharing even with his eldest child. Trump made the comments Thursday in a Father's Day-themed interview with his son Don Trump Jr., hosted by the president's reelection campaign. Don Jr. wound down his interview by jokingly asking the president if he would ever divulge more information about Roswell, the New Mexico city known for its proximity to arguably the most famous UFO event. The president responded he "won't talk" but says what he's heard is "very interesting."
- GILA RIVER FIGHT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A panel of New Mexico water managers has voted to end work on an environmental review related to a proposal to divert and store water from the Gila River. The Interstate Stream Commission's 7-2 vote Thursday comes in a years-long battle over the future of the river. Supporters of the diversion project had argued it was vital to supplying drought-stricken communities and irrigation districts in southwestern New Mexico with a new source of water. But environmentalists have maintained that the effort would result in a $1 billion boondoggle. Officials cited the cost, missed deadlines and management concerns for their decision to pull the plug.