- SPECIAL SESSION-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico legislators are preparing for a decisive vote on reforms to promote police accountability and address concerns about institutional racism in state government. The Democrat-led House of Representatives scheduled deliberations on Senate-approved legislation that would mandate police body cameras for all state and local law enforcement officers with the exception of tribal police. Another bill backed by Democratic Reps. Javier Martinez and Patricia Roybal Caballero of Albuquerque is aimed at aimed at identifying and uprooting institutionalized discrimination or racism in state government.
- RACIAL INJUSTICE-CONQUISTADOR
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A man who opened fire after a fight broke out as protesters tried to tear down a statue of a Spanish conquistador is being released from custody pending trial. The decision was made Monday during a detention hearing for Steven Ray Baca. He's facing a weapons charge and charges of battery for interactions with three unidentified women during the protest. One man was shot and injured during the June 15 confrontation in Albuquerque. Debate over what to do with the Juan de Oñate statue and other Spanish representations around New Mexico is ongoing. Petitioners are seeking to protect targeted monuments in Santa Fe.
- AIRPORT-CLEANING ROBOT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's largest airport has enlisted a robot to help with cleaning in the age of coronavirus. KOAT-TV reports the Albuquerque International Sunport is employing an autonomous robot to sanitize spaces in the airport. Airport officials say the robot, dubbed Breezy One, will be employed every night. The device came from Build with Robotics and Fetch Robotics. Fetch Robotics officials say it decontaminates spaces of mover than 100,000 square feet in under two hours. The robot uses a disinfectant developed at Sandia National Labs.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Department of Health has reported 27 new cases of coronavirus on the Navajo Nation and one known death. That pushes the totals to 6,990 positive COVID-19 cases and 335 known deaths as of Sunday. Tribal officials also say that preliminary reports from 11 health care facilities indicate about 3,603 people have recovered from COVID-19 with one hospital report still pending. The Navajo Nation has resumed weekend lockdowns with businesses closed as the number of coronavirus cases off the reservation increases, most notably in Arizona. The tribe's vast reservation stretches into northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico and southeastern Utah.
- BROTHERS KILLED-REWARD
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The deaths of two Ohio brothers have left five boys spending their first Father's Day without their dad and the man they called "Uncle Phils." Authorities and their family say Philip and Matthew Reagan were headed to California in March when their journey got cut short in northern Arizona. Their vehicle got stuck in the mud, and the brothers were fatally shot likely while walking to seek help. The FBI has no suspects and now is offering a reward for information that could lead to an arrest. The brothers from near Cleveland are remembered as funny, charitable and hard workers.
- SPECIAL SESSION-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's Legislature has approved a bill to ensure adequate voting locations in Native American communities that have been hit hard by the coronavirus. The state House on Saturday approved the bill that gives Indigenous nations and pueblos final say before a local polling place can be closed or consolidated. The voting initiative also aims to make absentee balloting more reliable by extending mailing deadlines and using postal bar codes to track ballots. Some polls were closed for the state's June 2 primary election because tribal communities shut borders to visitors. The bill needs Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's signature to become law.