- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Supreme Court says state officials have the power to impose civil penalties as they enforce mandates that are part of public health orders. The unanimous written opinion was issued Friday. It provides more detailed legal reasoning for the court's oral decision made in August in a case brought by businesses that challenged fines imposed by the state amid the coronavirus pandemic. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham had petitioned the court to resolve the dispute. Lujan Grisham on Thursday warned that more restrictions could be imposed as early as next week and that she plans to keep working on enforcement.
- ELECTION 2020-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Leading state lawmakers are laying plans for the next legislative session in January after an election that ushered in a new slate of progressive Democrats to the state Senate. A meeting of House and Senate leaders with legal counsel is scheduled Friday as the Legislature initiates the process of redrawing legislative district boundaries and discusses the executive powers that the governor commands in response to the coronavirus. Democrats retained substantial majorities in the Legislature in Tuesday's election. At the same time, several conservative-leaning Democrats won't return to the state Senate next year after primary election losses, including the Senate president and gatekeepers for tax policy and state spending decisions.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says the state is reporting its highest daily count for deaths related to the coronavirus pandemic. She announced an additional 23 deaths during a public briefing Thursday, saying the statewide total now stands at more than 1,080. Like other states, New Mexico has been dealing with a surge of cases, higher positivity rates and more hospitalizations. Lujan Grisham says people can't get numb to the troubling data or the threat of the state's health care system being overwhelmed. She says this "dramatic, critical situation" is what state officials had been warning about.
- VIRGIN GALACTIC
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Virgin Galactic is planning to launch its first manned test flight into space from New Mexico this month. The plans were announced Thursday for the spaceflight to be held between Nov. 19 and 23. The company's spacecraft has conducted two previous test flights from Mojave, California, before moving to its facilities at Spaceport America in New Mexico. That will be Virgin Galactic's base for launching passengers on brief trips high above the Earth, starting with billionaire founder Richard Branson next year. The date for that event was not specified. The company also reported progress in construction of its second spacecraft.
- RECORDS REQUEST LAWSUIT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Republican Party of New Mexico has filed a lawsuit claiming a district attorney's office violated state public records laws by not providing records related to vandalism at the party headquarters. The Albuquerque Journal reported Thursday that a man was arrested in February, but the 2nd Judicial District Attorney's Office dropped the case against him. The party requested the complete case file in June. The district attorney's office said the records are not subject to disclosure. Party Executive Director Anissa Tinnin was not immediately available for comment.
- ELECTION 2020-HOUSE-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A day after Republicans won back New Mexico's only conservative-leaning congressional district, a top state Democrat says its boundaries will be redrawn. House Speaker Brian Egolf has suggested there could be implications for Republicans holding on to the seat. The redistricting process this time will be guided by the Democratic-controlled Legislature and Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Democrats also dominate the state Supreme Court, which could decide any legal disputes. Political experts have said there's more temptation to pass a partisan plan when the executive and legislative branches are held by the same party. Republicans say Egolf's focus should instead be on addressing the state's problems.
- NEW MEXICO BLACK SENATOR
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Tuesday's election is transforming the New Mexico Legislature to look more like the population it represents. Residents on the outskirts of Albuquerque are choosing an African American senator for the first time in New Mexico's 108-year history as a state. Retired Air Force Captain Harold Pope Jr. says he didn't make his campaign about race, but he is proud to break the barrier. He says he hopes to be a role model for young people of color. Pope is joined be two recently elected openly LGBT senators, bringing the total to four. In the House, a majority of representatives will be women for the first time.
- ELECTION 2020-LATINOS
President Donald Trump and his GOP allies made inroads with Latinos in Tuesday's election that eroded Democratic strength among the nation's second-largest demographic group. Not only did Trump win Florida partly from his support in heavily Cuban American Miami, but he also won some heavily Latino areas along the Texas border and helped the GOP keep an open congressional seat there. Republicans also defeated a Democratic congresswoman in New Mexico and ate away at Democratic margins among Latinos in Arizona and Nevada. The inroads demonstrate the diversity of the Latino electorate and how its members can be far more interested in the economy and jobs than in immigration.