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Latest New Mexico news, sports, business and entertainment at 6:20 a.m. MDT

  • Crew member: Baldwin careful with guns before fatal shooting

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A camera operator told authorities that Alec Baldwin had been careful with weapons on the set of the film "Rust" before the actor shot and killed a cinematographer with a gun he'd been told was safe to use, records released Sunday show. A search warrant affidavit includes details with camera operator Reid Russell, who told a detective that Baldwin was rehearsing a scene Thursday in which he was set to draw his gun while sitting in a church pew. The camera wasn't rolling when the gun went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The records released Sunday also include details from an interview with "Rust" director Joel Souza, who was also wounded by the shot.

  • Let computers do it: Film set tragedy spurs call to ban guns

NEW YORK (AP) — The tragedy that unfolded on a New Mexico movie set when Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun, killing a cinematographer, has led to calls for fundamental change in Hollywood. Some are saying real guns should be banned on sets. From a change.org petition to a network TV drama that has banished real weapons from the set, supporters of the move say there is no justification for taking any risks when computers can create gunshots in post-production. Halyna Hutchins was killed when Baldwin fired a weapon that a crew member told him was safe.

  • Albuquerque police recover high school's stolen band gear

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Police in Albuquerque say they have recovered a high school's stolen truck that was filled with about $200,000  worth of band equipment. On the day of a major competition just a few hours before they were supposed to perform, the Las Cruces High School marching band discovered that all their equipment and instruments were gone. School officials say some of the stolen equipment was new and some of it wasn't insured. Other schools reached out to help by lending the band some band equipment so Las Cruces High Bulldogs could compete in the Zia Marching Band Fiesta, a major competition at the University of New Mexico.  Police say the van was later found Saturday in Albuquerque.

  • Navajo Nation: No COVID-related deaths, 17th time in 24 days

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation has reported 61 more COVID-19 cases, but no coronavirus-related deaths for the 17th time in the past 24 days. The latest numbers released Saturday pushed the tribe's totals to 36,083 confirmed COVID-19 cases from the virus since the pandemic began more than a year ago. The known death toll remains at 1,471. Health officials had reported 69 more cases and no deaths Friday on the tribe's reservation, which is the country's largest at 27,000 square miles. It covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Based on cases from Oct. 1-14, the Navajo Department of Health issued an advisory for 31 communities due to the uncontrolled spread of the coronavirus.

  • Film crew voiced complaints before fatal on-set shooting

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Hours before actor Alec Baldwin fired a fatal gunshot from a prop gun that he had been told was safe, seven camera crew members for the movie he was filming walked off the job to protest conditions and production issues that included safety concerns. Disputes in the production of the Western film "Rust" began almost from the start in early October. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed hours after the crew walked off. Court records state that Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer with a gun that a crew member had assured the actor didn't carry live rounds.

  • EXPLAINER: How wildfires impact wildlife, their habitat

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Wildlife centers in the U.S. West are caring for animals that weren't able to flee the flames or are looking for food in burned-over places. The animal care director at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care said an emaciated turkey vulture recently found on the Lake Tahoe shore couldn't fly, likely because food isn't as plentiful in burned areas. A veterinarian in California struggling to care for an adult bear with burned paws developed a tilapia skin bandage that's now used on 15 different species. 

  • States mostly defer to union guidance for on-set gun safety

The film industry and its unions provide guidelines on how to deal safely with prop guns on movie sets. But in states where movie-making is big business, lawmakers and regulators rely on those suggested practices rather than regulate on-set firearm use. The lack of strict gun safety rules is under scrutiny after a cinematographer was killed by a prop gun on the New Mexico film set of "Rust." Court documents state an assistant director handed actor Alec Baldwin a loaded weapon and told him it was safe to use. In New Mexico, as in other states, most of the legislative debate over the entertainment industry has focused on tax credits and incentives to lure it.

  • Halyna Hutchins remembered as gifted cinematographer

NEW YORK (AP) — The cinematographer who was fatally shot with a prop gun by Alec Baldwin on a movie set grew up on a Soviet military base in the Arctic Circle and worked on documentary films in Europe before studying film in Los Angeles. Halyna Hutchins was 42. She identified herself on Instagram as a "restless dreamer" and "adrenaline junkie." According to her website, she grew up surrounded by reindeer and nuclear submarines. She received a graduate degree in international journalism from Kyiv National University in Ukraine, worked on British documentary productions in Eastern Europe and graduated from the American Film Institute Conservatory in 2015.