- DROUGHT-NEW MEXICO
TIJERAS, N.M. (AP) — A mountain village in central New Mexico has been awarded nearly $750,000 in federal funding from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation that will be used to help the community bolster its resiliency to drought. The grant for Tijeras is part of an overall announcement made Thursday where 12 projects were selected to receive $7.5 million to increase the reliability of water supplies as well as improve water management and the environment. Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman says communities throughout the West need to take steps to prepare for drought. The latest federal drought map shows more than 40% of the state is dealing with some level of dryness.
- BOWLING ALLEY MASSACRE
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Detectives are examining dozens of new tips related to the massacre at a southern New Mexico bowling alley more than 30 years ago following the announcement of a new reward. KVIA-TV reports the tips come a month after Las Cruces police detectives announced a $30,000 reward for information leading to the suspects behind a deadly robbery that left four dead. Police say two unidentified robbers came into the Las Cruces Bowl in February 1990 and shot seven people before burning a portion of the building. Las Cruces Detective Amador Martinez said he's combing through 50 to 60 tips he's received since holding a news conference in early February.
- MURDER CONVICTION UPHELD
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Supreme Court has upheld the first-degree murder conviction of a Raton woman in the fatal 2016 shooting of her boyfriend. The state's highest court unanimously decided Thursday there was sufficient evidence to support Crystal Vigil's conviction. The court also rejected Vigil's arguments that she failed to receive a fair trial. She says the judge prevented the cross-examination of a witness about text messaging statements concerning the murder and declined to make an instruction to the jury that the defense initially requested but later withdrew. Vigil was sentenced to life in prison for killing Zachariah Holderby in the house they shared in Raton. She must serve 30 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's governor announced Thursday that K-12 schools will close for three weeks in an effort to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a news release that the extended closure will begin at the end of the school day Friday. Many public school districts had shorter spring breaks scheduled next week. Public Education Secretary Ryan Stewart said the extended closure is designed to guard against the spread of COVID-19 within communities. The state confirmed a sixth positive test for coronavirus for a woman in her 50s from Santa Fe County. New Mexico health officials are temporarily banning many mass gatherings that involve 100 or more people.
- SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL
Plan to store nuke fuel in New Mexico gets 1st regulatory OKALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Federal regulators are recommending licensing a proposed multibillion-dollar complex in southern New Mexico that would temporarily store spent fuel from commercial nuclear reactors around the United States. But the preliminary recommendation of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is making waves with critics who say the agency did not look closely enough at potential conflicts with locating the facility in the heart of one of the nation's busiest oil and gas basins. New Mexico's governor and other politicians are among those with concerns. But regulators indicated in a draft environmental review released this week that the facility wouldn't interfere with the oil industry or affect the environment.
- AP-US IMMIGRATION-TRANSGENDER DETAINEE
PHOENIX (AP) — Advocates say a transgender woman seeking asylum should be released after she was sexually assaulted and harassed while being detained in an Arizona immigration facility for nine months. Several groups say the woman from Mexico is suffering from PTSD and should be released on humanitarian grounds while she awaits an appeal to her asylum denial. They say transgender immigrants face unsafe conditions in detention and none are being held with members of the gender they identify with. ICE says it prioritizes the health, safety, and welfare of all of those in its care and custody, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people.
- AP-US-NAVAJO-COAL
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana regulators have reached a deal allowing the state to enforce environmental laws at a large coal mine bought last year by a Navajo-owned company. Company executives and state officials had been at odds for months over demands that the Navajo Transitional Energy Company waive its immunity as a tribal entity from future lawsuits. Thursday's agreement came a day before a temporary waiver for the Spring Creek mine was set to expire. The 275-worker strip mine is one the of the largest in the U.S. Litigation is a key tool to enforce many environmental laws. But tribal entities can't normally be sued in state court.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation is now under a public health state of emergency declared by tribal President Jonathan Nez due to the growing spread of the coronavirus outbreak. Nev's office said in a statement announcing the declaration Wednesday that there were no confirmed cases on the the tribé's sprawling reservation that includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. But Nez said the declaration is a "proactive measure to help ensure the Navajo Nation's preparedness and the health and well-being of the Navajo people." Nez also imposed travel restrictions for all executive-branch employees For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. But for some, it can cause more severe illness.