- ELECTION 2020-HOUSE-NEW MEXICO
Congresswoman Torres Small outraising GOP opponents
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Xochitl (SOH'-cheel) Torres Small is outraising her Republican opponents in her re-election bid for a key Congressional seat in southern New Mexico.
Federal election records show the Las Cruces Democrat pulled in $444,000 during her first three months in office after winning the seat in November. Record show she had around $519,000 cash on hand.
Republican Yvette Herrell, who lost to Torres Small last year and is seeking a rematch, raised $211,000 during the same period and reported having $285,000 cash on hand.
But to win the GOP nomination Herrell will have to go through Las Cruces businessman Chris Mathys who is also running. Records show Mathys loaned his campaign $76,000 and had $67,000 cash on hand.
No other candidates have declared for the seat.
- CLEAN POWER-NEW MEXICO
New Mexico seeks energy savings in state building upgrades
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is pushing forward with energy-saving upgrades to its portfolio of agency buildings in the state capital.
The General Services Department that oversees more than 800 buildings across the state announced Tuesday that it plans to invest $32 million on projects to improve the energy efficiency of state buildings in Santa Fe and generate renewable electricity with photovoltaic solar panels. Solar installations are planned on 19 buildings.
The Legislature and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham have dedicated $20 million to the initiative. Permission is being sought from the New Mexico Finance Authority to borrow an additional $12 million.
The contractor hired to implement the project is guaranteeing energy-related savings of $1.1 million a year, and actual savings should be higher.
- OBIT-PAT MURDOCH
Former New Mexico judge who was forced to step down dies
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A former New Mexico judge known for his fairness on the bench but who was forced to retire early in the wake of allegations that rocked the state's judiciary has died.
Officials with New Mexico's 2nd Judicial District Court said Albert "Pat" Murdoch died Monday. He was 67.
The cause of his death was not immediately known, and court officials declined to release further details.
A 1978 graduate of the University of New Mexico law school, Murdoch went on to become the youngest person ever appointed as a state district judge.
As the 2nd district's chief criminal judge, he was respected by both prosecutors and defense attorneys.
His career was derailed in 2011 when a prostitute accused him of rape. While he agreed to step down, he maintained his innocence and prosecutors in 2014 decided not to press charges.
- IMMIGRATION DETENTION-BOND
Asylum seekers who show credible fear not eligible for bond
PHOENIX (AP) — Detained asylum seekers who have shown they have a credible fear of returning to their country will no longer be able ask a judge to grant them bond.
U.S. Attorney General William Barr decided Tuesday that asylum seekers who clear a "credible fear" interview and are facing deportation don't have the right to be released on bond while their cases are pending.
Only the Department of Homeland Security could allow their release.
It's Barr's first immigration-related decision since taking office and takes effect in 90 days.
The decision doesn't affect asylum-seeking families because they generally can't be held for longer than 20 days. It also doesn't apply to unaccompanied minors.
The attorney general has the authority to overturn prior rulings made by immigration courts, which fall under the Justice Department.
- IMMIGRATION-SEPARATING FAMILIES
Judge: US can probably identify separated families sooner
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A judge says it appears the Trump administration can identify potentially thousands of children who were separated from their families at the border in less time than the one to two years it wants.
U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw said Tuesday that he was reluctant to impose deadlines and asked lawyers for the administration and American Civil Liberties Union try to reach a mutual agreement.
He scheduled a hearing April 24 with a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services official who spearheaded an earlier effort that reunited more than 2,700 children with their families.
The ACLU wants the job completed in three months.
A government watchdog estimates thousands of children may have been separated from July 2017 to June 2018.
- COLORADO RIVER-DROUGHT PLAN
Trump signs Colorado River drought plan
PHOENIX (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed a plan to cut back on the use of water from the Colorado River, which serves 40 million people in the U.S. West.
Trump announced the action Tuesday on Twitter.
The Colorado River drought contingency plan aims to keep two key reservoirs from falling so low they cannot deliver water or produce hydropower. It was negotiated among the seven states that draw water from the river.
Mexico also agreed to store water in Lake Mead on the Arizona-Nevada border if the U.S. legislation was approved by April 22.
Arizona has the lowest-priority access to Colorado River water and will be hit hardest. The state negotiated a separate agreement to provide other water sources and new groundwater infrastructure for farmers between Phoenix and Tucson.
- IMMIGRATION-NEW MEXICO
City in New Mexico authorizes spending on asylum seekers
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — The city of Las Cruces is spending $75,000 on humanitarian aid to cope with an influx of international asylum seekers.
City spokesman Udell Vigil said Tuesday that over 600 asylum seekers have been dropped off in the southern New Mexico community by U.S. immigration authorities since Friday. The city council authorized spending on food, water, transportation and personal hygiene items.
Las Cruces has converted its recreation center into sleeping quarters for immigrants as local shelters for the homeless reach capacity. Vigil says immigrants rarely stay more than one night before departing to reach relatives or other household sponsors throughout the continental U.S. to live with while asylum requests are processed.
New Mexico's Homeland Security Department says asylum seekers are likely to continue arriving at Las Cruces for several weeks.
- NEW MEXICO FAMILY KILLED
Case of man who killed 5 as teen again goes before judge
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A prosecutor has argued that a New Mexico man plotted a shooting rampage at his family's home when he was 15, as she delivered closing arguments in a case that has taken years to resolve in the state's court system.
The hearing Tuesday in Albuquerque is being held to determine whether 22-year-old Nehemiah Griego should be sentenced as a juvenile or an adult for the January 2013 shootings at his home.
It marks the second such hearing after the New Mexico Court of Appeals overturned an initial decision that Griego showed he was receptive to treatment while in state custody and could be sentenced as a juvenile.
Judge Alisa Hart took the case after the judge overseeing Griego's case and monitoring his treatment for years recused himself in December.