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Latest New Mexico news, sports, business and entertainment at 5:20 p.m. MDT

  • ELECTION 2020-WARREN ENDORSEMENT

Native American congresswoman endorses Elizabeth WarrenSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — One of two Native American women in Congress has endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren.
U.S. Rep. Debra Haaland of New Mexico on Tuesday announced her endorsement in social media posts that describe Warren as a great friend and partner on policies that affect Indian Country.
On Instagram , a tinted photograph of Haaland and Warren accompanies praise for the senator's efforts related to working families, student loan debt and missing and murdered indigenous women.
Warren has been criticized for claiming Native American identity early in her career and apologized recently to the Cherokee Nation for releasing DNA test results as evidence she had Native American ancestry, albeit at least six generations back.
Haaland is a tribal member of Laguna Pueblo and represents a district centered in Albuquerque.
BOARDING HOMES REGULATIONS
New Mexico governor aims to up oversight of boarding homes
(Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com)
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration is working on regulations to increase oversight of boarding homes for people with mental illnesses.
The Albuquerque Journal reported Tuesday that the administration is aiming to require licenses and periodic inspections of the homes.
The Democratic governor says the rules would also set standards for fire safety, staffing levels, crowding and bathroom facilities.
Grisham says the state has about 100 boarding homes that are unregulated.
Most of the facilities are near Las Vegas, New Mexico, where the only state psychiatric hospital is located.
State Department of Health spokesman David Morgan says the rules aim to ensure residents of the homes have "safe and supported" living conditions.
He says they aim to release the proposed rules in the coming weeks.
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  • AMBER ALERT SYSTEM-TRIBES

Tribes train to implement Amber Alert under new federal lawALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The mother of a Navajo girl who was abducted and killed in 2016 is urging tribal officials to take advantage of tools and funding that have been made available for responding to reports of missing Native American children.
Pamela Foster's comments Tuesday came during a training in Albuquerque for tribes to implement the alert system. Organizers say more than 20 tribes are participating in the training.
A federal law signed last year expanded the alert system to tribal land. It gives tribes direct access to grants and training long available in other jurisdictions.
The law is named for Foster's daughter Ashlynne Mike. She was 11 when she was kidnapped near her school bus stop and killed.
An Amber Alert wasn't issued for her until early the next morning.

  • PRESIDENTS-RACIST GESTURES

Presidents have made racist gestures throughout US historyALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — President Donald Trump's recent tweets aren't the first time a president has drawn attention for racist gestures.
Throughout American history, presidents have uttered comments, issued decisions and made public and private moves that critics said were racist, either at the time or in later generations.
Thomas Jefferson wrote that black slaves smelled and couldn't produce art or poetry. Woodrow Wilson screened the racist film "The Birth of a Nation" at the White House without apology. Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon used racist epithets in secretly recorded conversations with aides.
Many of the early presidents owned black slaves. They also held power when African Americans, Native Americans and Latinos did not have the right to vote or serve on juries and could be refused service in public accommodations.

  • IMMIGRATION-MIGRANT DETENTION

Border Patrol detains adults with no end _ until lawyers sueHOUSTON (AP) — Immigration lawyers allege adults are being detained in packed Border Patrol cells — malnourished, poorly treated and incommunicado — only to be moved within hours once the government is sued on their behalf.
One group of lawyers has filed lawsuits on behalf of the spouses, siblings and relatives of 18 migrants — all of whom were removed from their cells almost immediately.
The lawyers believe the government is trying to avoid a federal judge issuing a sweeping order that would require the release of potentially thousands of people detained by the Border Patrol.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection declined to comment.

  • NEW MEXICO-JOURNALISM DEPARTMENT

New Mexico's journalism department to lose accreditation(Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The University of New Mexico's Department of Communication and Journalism soon will no longer be accredited by an outside agency that evaluates the nation's journalism departments.
The Albuquerque Journal reports department chair David Weiss said last week faculty members were in favor of not seeking reaccreditation, saying the process was expensive and not worth the time and resources.
That means the department won't meet the requirements set by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.
The council says the University of New Mexico is one of 113 journalism programs around the country, and the only one in New Mexico.
Peter Bhatia, the executive director at the council and the editor of the Detroit Free Press, says accreditation is about holding everyone to a high standard of teaching.
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  • NAVAJO VOTING RIGHTS

Utah county declines appeal in Navajo voting-rights case(Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah county has decided not to pursue further appeal after a federal appeals court upheld newly drawn voting districts that led to the first majority-Navajo commission in the county.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports San Juan County commissioners voted Monday to not challenge the ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
A lower court found the former district boundaries in the county that overlaps with the Navajo Nation amounted to racial gerrymandering and violated the rights of Navajo voters.
Republicans then contested the new districts used in last year's election.
Navajo voters make up slightly more than half the population of the county.
The case now goes to a state court judge who will assess fees to the county.
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  • LESSER PRAIRIE CHICKENS-LAWSUIT

Some in New Mexico vow to fight prairie chicken lawsuit(Information from: Roswell Daily Record, http://www.roswell-record.com)
ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) — Officials in southeastern New Mexico say they won't stop fighting to keep the lesser prairie chicken off the federal protected list despite a pending federal lawsuit.
The Roswell Daily Record reports Chaves County Board of Commissioners chair Will Cavin said last week officials protest the listing because it could affect grazing rights and other issues in New Mexico.
Three conservation groups are suing the federal government to force it to protect the lesser prairie chicken and its habitats.
The lawsuit alleges that the U.S. Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service has not done enough to protect the bird. The groups want the agency to determine whether the lesser prairie chicken is a threatened or endangered species.
The bird roams parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado.
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