- ELECTION 2020-SENATE-NEW MEXICO
New Mexico AG Hector Balderas says he won't seek Senate seat
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas says he has decided not to run for the state's open U.S. Senate seat in 2020, leaving open the chance for more jockeying among some of the state's top Democratic politicians.
Balderas made the announcement Thursday on a New Mexico radio station, citing personal and professional reasons.
Balderas says he loves being New Mexico's top prosecutor. He also said he serves as a legal guardian for his 20-year-old daughter and wants to continue advocating for the special needs community.
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall announced Monday he would not seek a third term.
Another Democrat, U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, has said he's consulting with family and supporters about getting into the race. He holds the No. 4 leadership post in the House, and commands a federal campaign account with $380,000.
- CLERGY ABUSE-NEW MEXICO
Religious orders targeted in New Mexico clergy abuse case
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Religious orders once associated with a now-shuttered Catholic boarding school for Native Americans are being accused of failing to protect students from sexual abuse by clergy and faculty.
The lawsuit naming an Ohio-based order of Franciscan Friars and the Pennsylvania-based Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament was filed this week in a New Mexico court by a law firm that has represented dozens of abuse survivors over the years.
The accusations stem from the 1980s while the unnamed plaintiff was a student at St. Catherine's Indian School in Santa Fe.
The religious orders did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The case comes as the Catholic church wrestles with a sex abuse and cover-up scandal that has spanned the globe. New Mexico's largest diocese is among the religious organizations seeking bankruptcy protection as a result.
- ETHICS COMMISSION-NEW MEXICO
New Mexico forges ahead with independent ethic commission
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is moving forward with the creation of an independent ethics commission to investigate complaints about the conduct of public officials, political candidates, lobbyists and government contractors.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday signed legislation to create the commission that underwent dozens of revisions and substitutions as it passed the Legislature earlier this month.
Voters approved the commission concept by statewide ballot last year, leaving lawmakers to assign investigative powers and decide the extent of public access to proceedings.
The commission must go through a district court judge to subpoena documents or witness testimony.
Six commissioners will be appointed by the governor and legislative leaders, and a seventh is appointed by those commissioners. Complaints are made public 30 days after a probable-cause finding.
- BORDER SECURITY
Officials say flood of immigrants prompting quick release
PHOENIX (AP) — The Border Patrol says the number of immigrant families traveling to the U.S. is now so high that the agency is immediately letting some go instead of transferring them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for release.
The situation has forced local governments to help coordinate housing, meals and travel for the immigrants.
The direct release of border crossers by the Border Patrol also means fewer people will have ankle monitors to help ensure they show up to court hearings.
Yuma, Arizona Mayor Douglas Nicholls said the city is working with various non-governmental organizations to make sure the families have temporary housing, food, medical care and help with travel to their intended destinations.
The Border Patrol says it's on track to make 100,000 arrests at the southern border this month, over half of which are families with children.
- USDA DROUGHT DISASTER AREAS
USDA: Arizona, New Mexico areas eligible for drought loans
PHOENIX (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it has designated four counties in Arizona and 21 counties in New Mexico as primary disaster centers eligible for emergency loans because of drought.
The agency said Thursday that producers in Arizona's Apache, Coconino, Greenlee and Navajo counties suffering drought-related losses may apply.
Twenty-one New Mexico counties are primary natural disaster areas: Bernalillo, Catron, Chaves, Cibola, Colfax, Eddy, Grant, Lincoln, Los Alamos, McKinley, Mora, Otero, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Juan, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Sierra, Socorro, Taos and Union.
Producers in the contiguous Arizona counties of Cochise, Gila, Graham, Mohave and Yavapai, along with Colorado's Montezuma; New Mexico's Catron, Cibola, Grant, Hidalgo, McKinley and San Juan counties; and Utah's Kane and San Juan counties also can apply.
The deadline is Nov. 22.
- AP-NM-MISSING WOMAN-ALBUQUERQUE
Albuquerque police search for missing woman
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Police say they are searching for a 33-year-old Albuquerque woman after her mother reported her missing.
Officer Simon Drobik said in a statement Thursday that police were searching for Andreanna Yellowhair, who was last seen at her mother's apartment Wednesday.
Police say her mother reported receiving a text message stating Yellowhair was dead, which police have not confirmed.
They say the message her mother reported receiving was from an unknown person.
Police say attempts to reach Yellowhair and her boyfriend, who are homeless, have not been successful.
Anyone with information on her location is asked to call the police's Missing Persons Unit at 505-924-6094.
- TRIBAL COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS
Tribal college scholarship program could lose its funding
(Information from: KNAU-FM, http://www.knauradio.org/)
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A federal grant program that provides college scholarships to Native American students reportedly could lose funding.
Flagstaff radio station KNAU reports the Trump administration has proposed defunding the grant program.
The program survived last year's proposed cuts, but it's on the table again this year.
The administration's fiscal year 2020 budget would slash nearly $40 million from tribal scholarship and education programs administered by the Bureau of Indian Education.
Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt says the budget proposal supports tribal self-determination and improves education services in Indian Country.
But Navajo officials say the federal Higher Education Grant is crucial for thousands of students to attend and graduate from college.
KNAU reports that just over 4 percent of Navajo tribal members have a bachelor's degree.
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- PILEUP-GOOD SAMARITAN KILLED
Good Samaritan killed at scene of 5-car pileup in New Mexico
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Authorities say a 16-year-old girl is accused of careless driving and driving under the influence following a five-car pileup in which a woman who stopped to help was killed.
The New Mexico State Police says the teenager was driving a car that crashed and blocked a westbound lane of U.S. 70 near Las Cruces on Wednesday evening, leading to the pileup with four other vehicles.
The State Police says 51-year-old Lorenza Nunez stopped at the initial crash scene to help and to warn oncoming traffic.
Nunez died at the scene of injuries suffered when an SUV, a car and a pickup pulling a horse trailer struck the stopped vehicles.
The State Police says the dark road and no lighting contributed to the crash.
The 16-year-old girl's identity wasn't released.