- ALBUQUERQUE-SHOOTINGS
6 people die in shootings in AlbuquerqueALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque police say six people were killed in separate shootings in the city.
There have been no arrests in Thursday night's shootings, which also left five people wounded.
Officers responded shortly after 9 p.m. to a call of shots fired at 1028 Lura Place. Three people were found dead, a fourth died at the hospital and two others suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
At 8:44 p.m., officers received a report of gunfire at the Rio Volcan Apartments at 1919 Ladera. Two people later died at the hospital and two others were injured.
Earlier, at 7:30 p.m., officers went to the Casa Bonita Apartments and found a man who was shot in the neck after confronting a couple who'd broken into a neighbor's apartment and stolen a purse by force.
- CLERGY ABUSE-NEW MEXICO-THE LATEST
The Latest: Fugitive priest sentenced in US sex abuse caseALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A former Roman Catholic priest who authorities say fled the country in the early 1990s as he faced sex abuse allegations in New Mexico has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after being returned to the U.S.
A judge sentenced 81-year-old Arthur Perrault on Friday in Santa Fe, saying it was the worst case of child sex abuse she had handled over the course of 26 years.
Prosecutors had requested a maximum of more than 30 years in prison for Perrault after several men testified that they had been abused by him as children.
The abuse counts in an indictment filed against Perrault stem from the treatment of one boy at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque and at Santa Fe National Cemetery.
Perrault, a former pastor at an Albuquerque parish and a chaplain at the base, pleaded not guilty after he was returned to the U.S. from Morocco in 2017.
His defense team plans an appeal.
- ARIZONA-NAVAJO VOTERS
Arizona voters who don't sign some ballots will get 2nd shot(Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com)
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona voters who forget to sign the envelope on their early ballots will have a chance after Election Day to fix their mistake.
The Arizona Republic reports the state Secretary of State Katie Hobbs has agreed to a new policy to require officials to notify voters about missing signatures on early ballots. The new policy is part of a settlement in a voting rights lawsuit filed by the Navajo Nation last year.
According to the changes, state election officials will give voters five business days after an election to remedy the problem.
The Navajo Nation filed a federal lawsuit last year that sought emergency relief for more than 100 tribal members who either weren't able to address mismatched signatures or didn't know to sign the ballot envelope.
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- LESSER PRAIRIE CHICKEN
Agreement means feds to decide on prairie bird designationDALLAS (AP) — A federal judge has approved an agreement that will require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make a recommendation by May 2021 whether the lesser prairie chicken should be federally protected as a threatened or endangered species.
The agreement was reached Thursday between the federal agency and three conservations groups: the Defenders of Wildlife, the Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians.
The groups sued the federal government in June to force it to make a designation for the lesser prairie chicken and its habitats.
Once a designation is proposed, there will then be a public comment period followed by a final determination made later by Fish and Wildlife. The agency also could decide that no federal protections be provided for the bird.
It was listed as threatened in 2014 but a federal court overturned the designation.
The grouse roams parts of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, but the groups said fewer than 38,000 remain .
- OIL BOOM-WASTE WATER
New Mexico team to study uses for oil industry's waste waterALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — State environmental regulators are teaming up with New Mexico State University to study how waste water from the booming oil and gas industry can be treated and reused.
State officials announced the formation of a new consortium Thursday. The group is charged with filling in scientific gaps and researching technological solutions for dealing with what's known in the oilfield as produced water.
Some oil companies already have been reusing the waste water in their operations to cut down on fresh water use.
Officials are looking to learn more to establish regulations and policies for the treatment and potential reuse of the water beyond the oilfield.
The memorandum of understanding between the state Environment Department and New Mexico State is aimed at spurring economic investment opportunities.
The Environment Department also is planning public meetings on the topic this fall.
- FATAL CRASH-ARIZONANS KILLED
State Police: Arizona couple killed in New Mexico crashHATCH, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico authorities say a Tucson, Arizona, couple died in a two-vehicle crash when their eastbound vehicle crossed a highway's center line and collided with the side of a westbound truck's trailer.
The State Police on Friday identified those killed Thursday as 76-year-old Jerry Douglas Livingston and 72-year-old Margaret Ann Livingston.
The truck driver was not injured on the crash that occurred on State Route 26 west of Hatch.
The State Police said it wasn't known why the Livingstons' vehicle crossed the center line but said alcohol was not believed to be a factor.
- COMPLAINT-RACIAL HARASSMENT
Agency backs black student's complaint vs. convenience storeSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico agency says there is probable cause that a Santa Fe convenience store clerk discriminated against a black customer last year.
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico announced this week the New Mexico Human Rights Bureau's ruling that now allows Jordan McDowell to pursue legal action.
In December, the ACLU of New Mexico filed a complaint in New Mexico on behalf of McDowell who says a convenience store employee called police on him for "being arrogant because he's black."
According to the complaint, McDowell, a pre-med student at Xavier University in New Orleans, drew attention from an employee at the Allsup's Convenience Store. The complaint says the employee felt McDowell was being "suspicious and sneaky."
The Clovis, New Mexico-based Allsup's did not immediately return phone messages.
- GILA RIVER-PROTECTION
New Mexico county supports protecting portions of Gila RiverSILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) — The Grant County Commission is joining the call to protect portions of the Gila and San Francisco rivers.
Commissioners voted Thursday in favor a resolution supporting a possible legislative effort to designate under federal law hundreds of miles of the rivers and their tributaries as "wild and scenic."
Supporters contend such a designation would sustain rural economies that depend on the anglers, hunters and other outdoor recreationists who visit southwestern New Mexico.
They say the designation could spur more visits, noting that the outdoor recreation industry generates an estimated $10 billion annually in consumer spending in addition to wages and tax revenues.
Supporters are asking members of New Mexico's congressional delegation to introduce legislation to designate the rivers under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.