- AP-US-NUCLEAR-WEAPONS-TREATY
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Trump administration has sketched out a framework that it hopes will avoid a three-way arms race. Ambassador Marshall Billingslea, the special presidential envoy for arms control, spoke with The Associated Press about negotiations with Russia and efforts to bring China to the table while touring nuclear research labs and production sites in the United States. Last week's visit comes as the facilities ramp up modernization of the country's multibillion-dollar nuclear enterprise. He acknowledged that the proposed treaty would be ambitious but that the time is right for a new agreement to curb the buildup of nuclear warheads.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico labor officials say a $300 weekly federal supplement to unemployment benefits expired on Sept. 5. as payments continue for backdated claims. In a news release Wednesday, the Department of Workforce Solutions announced the tentative end of federal supplements to state unemployment benefits. The state is distributing lump-sum $1,500 payments that cover the first five weeks of the program, to be followed by one addition $300 payment. President Donald Trump's $300-a-week jobless aid program was created by an executive order last month after a more generous version adopted by Congress expired and Trump and Congress failed to reach agreement on a new aid package.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-BESIEGED HOSPITAL
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The former CEO of Rehoboth McKinley Christian hospital in Gallup is challenging the findings of a special audit of finances and contracts at the taxpayer-supported hospital in Gallup. In a statement Wednesday, former hospital executive David Conejo and his attorney called the audit report "shoddy" and said it "misrepresents the true financial picture" at Rebohoth under Conejo's tenure. The independent audit was commissioned initially by McKinley County and released by the state auditor's office. It alleges that Conejo's hospital management company Healthcare Integrity circumvented proper oversight. Conejo condemned the audit as "grossly inaccurate" and denied its assertion that his salary was not approved by the hospital board.
- SANTA FE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Santa Fe Community College has seen the bottom fall out of its enrollment thanks to the novel coronavirus. The Albuquerque Journal reports enrollment at the college declined 28% in one year. Officials say the number of students fell from 5,337 students last year to 3,841 this semester. College President Becky Rowley says most of the reduction was due to the cancellation of fitness classes and a large reduction in art courses. In addition, many of the school's part-time students decided not to return. Part-time students make up about 80% of the college's total enrollment. College administrators had expected enrollment to plummet since the early days of COVID-19.
- FOUL PLAY ALLEGATIONS-DEAD SOLDIER
GALLUP, N.M. (AP) — The family of an Army tank crewman from New Mexico who died at Fort Hood, Texas, says he messaged his fiance that he was concerned about three men who didn't like him and that something was wrong shortly before his death. The Army said Pvt. Corlton L. Chee collapsed during fitness training on Aug. 28. He died two days later. Carma Johnson, Chee's cousin and his family's spokesperson, told the Gallup Independent Monday that Chee was being targeted and did not want to go to the training that morning because he felt that something was going to happen. They are alleging foul play, which Fort Hood officials deny.
- AP-US-RACIAL-INJUSTICE-HAIR-DISCRIMINATION
RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — A growing number of U.S. states are facing pressure to ban race-based discrimination against hair texture and styles. Activists recently presented a proposal to New Mexico state lawmakers that would outlaw employers and schools from discriminating against Black and Native American women's hairstyles. Earlier this year, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a measure that made Washington the sixth state to pass a version of the CROWN Act. The act's name stands for Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. According to the Crown Act campaign, California, Colorado, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia have already passed similar laws.
- AP-US-UNDERGROUND-RAILROAD-TO-MEXICO
HOUSTON (AP) — Scholars and preservation advocates are working to piece together the story of a largely forgotten part of American history: a network that helped thousands of Black slaves escape to Mexico. Like the more well-known Underground Railroad to the north, the path in the opposite direction provided a pathway to freedom south of the border. Historian Roseann Bacha-Garza says the Underground Railroad to Mexico is gaining attention as the U.S. becomes more diverse and more people show an interest in studying slavery. But just how organized the Underground Railroad to Mexico was and what happened to former slaves remains a mystery.