- MEDICAL MARIJUANA-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is considering whether to extend its medical cannabis program to dogs with epilepsy and people with attention deficit disorder.Petitions for new qualifying medical conditions have been filed with the Medical Cannabis Advisory Board at its upcoming meeting in December. The Department of Health withheld the names of petition sponsors.
One petition cites recent studies in veterinary medicine to suggest authorization of cannabis for animals coping with seizures. Cannabidiol derived from hemp or marijuana already is widely marketed for pets.
Another petition would allow marijuana for attention deficit-hyperactivity, anxiety disorder and Tourette's syndrome.
New Mexico's medical cannabis program has opened its doors to nearly 80,000 patients who cope with conditions from cancer to HIV. A large majority are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder or severe chronic pain.
- NEW MEXICO-CLIMATE CHANGE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says her administration is committed to addressing the causes and effects of climate change.She reiterated her environmental focus Thursday with the release of a report prepared by her climate task force.
The document summarizes the steps taken by the first-year Democratic governor since assuming office and details upcoming regulatory strategies.
It also suggests New Mexico officials need to work faster if they want to reach a statewide target of reducing net emissions by 45% over the next decade.
According to the report, New Mexico's top greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants and the transportation sector as well as methane, largely from oil and natural gas production.
The state is in the midst of drafting methane rules for the industry.
- JEFFREY EPSTEIN
NEW YORK (AP) — A woman who says she suffered lasting damage from sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein when she was 17 years old has sued his estate.Teala Davies on Thursday joined the growing list of women who have sued the wealthy financier. She filed her lawsuit in Manhattan federal court.
Davies appeared at a news conference with attorney Gloria Allred.
She says she still hurts from abuse suffered over two years at Epstein's residences in New York, Paris, Florida, New Mexico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
Epstein killed himself in August while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. A message was left seeking comment from a lawyer for his estate.
- PLUMES-AIR FORCE BASES
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's Environment Department is asking state lawmakers for $1.2 million to study a plume of toxic chemicals seeping from two U.S. Air Force bases.The Santa Fe New Mexican reports state Environment Secretary James Kenney said the requested money would be used to investigate the plume and is "a critical first step" in knowing how to contain it.
He says the department would hire a private contractor to study the pollution if the Legislature approves the special funding request.
New Mexico regulators first issued a notice of violation to the Air Force last year for failing to address the contamination at the base near Clovis adequately. They followed up earlier this year on Holloman, saying that base had yet to respond to concerns about the pollution near Alamogordo.
- HOMICIDE RECORD
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico authorities have announced three people were shot in less than two days pushing the number of homicides in Albuquerque to 72 and matching the highest year-end total in recent history.The Albuquerque Journal reported Wednesday that the Albuquerque Police Department confirmed two people were killed and another was rushed to the hospital after suffering from gunshot wounds, each in unrelated cases.
Authorities say neither of the alleged homicide cases have been solved.
Mayor Tim Keller says officials expect this year to be one of the worst years on record and announced plans to double the number of homicide detectives among other initiatives.
Keller says Albuquerque was regarded as worst or second-worst nationwide in violent crime, auto theft and robbery leading into 2018.
- DRUG DEALER BODY
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (AP) — The hunt for a suspected gang leader by federal narcotics agents has ended after the man's body was discovered in a New Mexico mortuary.The Albuquerque Journal reported the body of 43-year-old Johnny Lee Padilla was found last week at Albuquerque's Gabaldon Mortuary.
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents are investigating whether Padilla was tortured and executed in Mexico, where they believe he was living under the protection of a cartel leader.
Authorities say they found Padilla's body through an obituary on the mortuary's website.
Authorities have linked Padilla to the Juarez Cartel and identified him as a leader in the Los Padillas gang.
A federal grand jury in Albuquerque indicted Padilla on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in 2015, but authorities say he was out of reach in Mexico.
- FIREARMS SEIZED FROM STUDENTS
ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico authorities have arrested two middle school students on charges of possession of deadly weapons on school property.The Alamogordo Daily News reports that Chaparral Middle School administrators were alerted that two 13-year-old students allegedly had unloaded firearms on the campus Wednesday.
A school resources officer says she found the students and their backpacks.
Authorities say a pistol was found in the backpack of one student and another pistol and two knives were found on the other student.
The names of the minors were not released.
Alamogordo police say both students were charged with possession of a deadly weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor while one student was also charged with larceny of a firearm and larceny.
They are held at the Otero County Detention Center.
- AIRMAN-SILVER STAR
CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) — A U.S. Special Tactics airman is scheduled to be presented a Silver Star Medal during a ceremony at Cannon Air Force Base.The U.S. Air Force said this week U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Cody Smith will be awarded on Friday the nation's third highest medal for gallantry against an armed enemy of the U.S. in combat.
Smith will be honored for his role in securing the safety of his joint and partner force members during national parliamentary elections in Afghanistan.
The U.S. Air Force says Smith exposed himself to danger to control airstrikes and assist dozens of civilians injured and killed from the enemy's ambush. Smith was specifically targeted and hit by hostile fire.
Smith is an ST combat controller with the 26th Special Tactics Squadron.