- IMMIGRATION-BUS DROPOFFS
APNewsBreak: Migrant families must wait outside bus stationsPHOENIX (AP) — Greyhound Lines Inc. is no longer allowing U.S. authorities to drop off immigrant families inside bus stations, forcing those who have been released from custody to wait outside until they have a ticket.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed Friday that it had been asked to leave migrants outside the facility.
Greyhound spokeswoman Crystal Booker said the company is experiencing an "unprecedented increase of individuals" at certain bus terminals and that travelers need tickets to get in.
For years, ICE has dropped off migrants at Greyhound stations after releasing them pending court hearings, often for asylum. They often wait long hours until someone can buy them a ticket.
Outside the Phoenix station Thursday, about 15 adults and five children were waiting in a shaded area near a parking lot. Some said they had been there for about seven hours.
- STOLEN PAINTING-UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
Recovered de Kooning painting back in the spotlightPHOENIX (AP) — More than 30 years after it was stolen from an Arizona museum, a Willem de Kooning painting worth millions of dollars is going on display where it all began.
The University of Arizona Museum of Art is giving a glimpse of "Woman-Ochre" Sunday as part of a fundraiser before the piece undergoes restoration work.
A New Mexico antiques dealer bought the oil painting in 2017 and realized it was the same piece taken in the heist.
Curator Olivia Miller says the FBI, which still has the case open, officially released the painting back to the museum in November.
Police say a couple swiped the painting the day after Thanksgiving in 1985.
It is one in an iconic series by the Dutch-American abstract expressionist that explores the female figure.
- ENDANGERED WOLVES-REMOVALS
Cattle kills prompt removal of Mexican gray wolvesALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Wildlife managers have removed two Mexican gray wolves from the wild and are looking for a third as they try to address conflicts with ranchers in southwestern New Mexico.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the two wolves were recently captured in an area of the Gila National Forest where ranchers reported a dozen instances of livestock deaths in four months.
Agency spokesman Mark Davis says wildlife managers caught two young females suspected of being the culprits. Tests are being done to determine if they have the right animals.
Environmentalists have asked that the animals be released and that the removal order for the third wolf be cancelled. They contend more should be done to mitigate the conflicts, saying the carcasses of cows that have died from other causes need to be removed to discourage scavenging.
- INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S DAY-NEW MEXICO
New Mexico Legislature approves Indigenous People's Day billSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A proposal to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People's Day has won final approval in the New Mexico Legislature.
The Senate voted on the bill after a lengthy floor debate Friday, sending it to the governor.
Numerous cities nationwide, including Albuquerque, have moved to shift the October holiday's focus away from honoring Christopher Columbus by passing resolutions and measures that instead call for celebrating indigenous cultures.
But only a small handful of states so far have removed Columbus Day from their calendars and replaced it with Indigenous People's Day.
Sponsors of the bill include Rep. Derrick Lente, of Sandia Pueblo, who said during this year's legislative session that Columbus' expeditions of the Americas five centuries ago had resulted in a violent legacy.
New Mexico is home to 23 tribes.
- COLORADO-ELECTORAL COLLEGE
Colorado governor signs law on presidential electorsDENVER (AP) — Colorado's governor has signed into law a bill to have the state join others in casting their presidential electoral votes for the winner of the national popular vote.
Gov. Jared Polis signed the bill late Friday. He'd long said he supported the measure.
Colorado joins 11 other states and the District of Columbia in what's called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
The pact would take effect after states with a collective 270 electoral votes — the number needed to win the presidency — agree to join.
With Colorado's nine electoral votes, compact members have 181.
Opponents say the initiative subverts an electoral college that ensures that smaller states aren't trampled when it comes to choosing a president.
- NAVAJO NATION-MISSING GIRL
Search underway on Navajo Nation for missing 3-year-old girlANETH, Utah (AP) — Navajo Nation authorities are searching in southeastern Utah for a missing 3-year-old girl.
Navajo police say officers began searching late Thursday for Andanndine Jones with help from the San Juan County Sheriff's Office and Montezuma Creek Fire and Rescue.
Navajo Nation authorities say the search continued into Thursday night and that over 100 volunteers joined the effort Friday.
Circumstances of the girl's disappearance weren't immediately clear. Council spokesman Carl Slater says reports indicated that searchers focused initial efforts along a runoff-swollen creek where dogs were observed barking toward the water.
Slater says the location is several miles from where the creek feeds into the San Juan River.
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This story replaces a previous version to correct the first name of the missing girl, and to correct that the search continued into Thursday night.
- WINTER WEATHER-THE LATEST
The Latest: President tweets support in wake of floodingOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — President Donald Trump says he has spoken to Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and is praising first responders and emergency response teams for doing "a great job dealing" with flooding, high winds and road closures.
Trump tweeted Friday that the people of Nebraska and across the Midwest, especially farmers and ranchers, are feeling the impacts from severe weather.
Thousands of people have been urged to evacuate along eastern Nebraska rivers as a massive late-winter storm system has pushed streams and rivers out of their banks throughout the Midwest.
Some residents in nearly 30 communities along the Missouri, Platte and Elkhorn rivers have been asked to evacuate.
- NMSU-AUXILIARY SERVICES
NMSU considers contracting auxiliary services portfolio(Information from: Las Cruces Sun-News, http://www.lcsun-news.com)
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A document posted to New Mexico State University's procurement website shows a transfer of $40 million in university revenue to private sector development is under consideration.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reported on Thursday that the document, called a "Referral for Information," seeks market data for potentially outsourcing all of the university's auxiliary services beginning in 2020.
The auxiliary services include main campus maintenance and custodial services, housing, dining services, the university golf course and more.
The document says the university is not currently seeking bids or committing to contracting all the services, but presents a timeline for proceeding with procurement and negotiating the contract.
NMSU is assessing whether at least one contractor might "develop, operate, maintain, and improve its portfolio of physical and operational assets beginning on July 1, 2020."
NMSU's administration declined interview requests for this story.
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