- AP-US-ODD-MISTAKEN-CALL-GETS-WALKER
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An 84-year-old New Mexico woman's misdial meant for a medical supply store went to an investigator in a district attorney's office _ and led to a new walker. KOB-TV reports Bernice Weems mistakenly called Kyle Hartsock with the Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office in Albuquerque, New Mexico, seeking a new walker. She left a voicemail. It turns out Hartsock's number is just one digit off from the medical supply store she was trying to call. Hartsock says instead of ignoring the message, he went out and got Weems a walker.
- AFFORDABLE HOUSING-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Several Native American tribes in New Mexico will share more than $36 million in federal funding for affordable housing projects. The U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department announced the funding Wednesday. In all, tribes across the country will be getting nearly $200 million in grants for new construction. Officials say the money is expected to result in about 1,200 new housing units for low-income families living on reservations or in other Native American communities. Housing authorities that serve Zuni Pueblo and the Jicarilla and Mescalero Apache tribes are among the recipients.
- PRINCIPAL-BAT ATTACK
LAS VEGAS, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico middle school principal is facing charges after police said he threatened his brother with a baseball bat while drunk. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports West Las Vegas Middle School Principal Thomas Sanchez was arrested Monday a day following his alleged altercation with his brother. According to police, the 39-year-old Sanchez showed up to his brother's house in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and threatened him with a bat. Sanchez then reportedly damaged his brother's truck. West Las Vegas Public Schools Superintendent Christopher Gutierrez says Sanchez has been placed on administrative leave with pay, pending an investigation.
- AP-SKI-WORLD-PRO-SKI-TOUR
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Efforts to revitalize traditional professional alpine ski racing are culminating in a network-televised world championship event planned for April 2020 at Taos Ski Valley in northern New Mexico. On Wednesday, World Pro Ski Tour CEO Jon Franklin announced the single-elimination, head-to-head competition with a $100,000 purse and competitors including U.S. Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety. The U.S.-based World Pro Ski Tour was revived in 2017, and the April race is the first championship-style event since then. The ski mountain on U.S. Forest Service land outside the town of Taos has been transformed by new investments in amenities in recent years.
- IMMIGRATION-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. lawyers want a judge to dismiss claims by New Mexico that immigration officials shirked their duties earlier this year by quickly releasing thousands of mostly Central American migrants into communities after they crossed into the United States. New Mexico claimed in a lawsuit filed in June that the practice left communities to pick up the tab for housing and feeding the asylum-seekers until they moved on to find relatives or other hosts elsewhere in the U.S. A judge heard arguments Wednesday but it could be some time before a ruling is issued.
- WHITE SANDS-NATIONAL PARK
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A national monument in southern New Mexico is one step closer to being re-designated as a national park. The U.S. House on Wednesday approved a defense spending measure that includes language to boost the classification of White Sands National Monument. Aside from the name change, the bill would clear the way for a land swap between the National Park Service and the U.S. Army. President Donald Trump has said he'll sign the measure, which is expected to pass the Senate.
- INMATE TREATMENT-JAILS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico county involved in one of the largest prisoner civil rights settlements in U.S. history is facing more federal lawsuits over its treatment of inmates. Attorney Matt Coyte recently filed two lawsuits on behalf of inmates who allege mistreatment and abuse at the Doña Ana County Detention Center in Las Cruces. One lawsuit says Susan Hylton was placed in solitary confinement for 85 days after she sought to report sexual and physical abuse following a strip search. Court documents say Antonio Reali, of Coarsegold, California, was refused proper medical care after he suffered a heart attack.
- AP-US-JEFFREY-EPSTEIN-VICTIM-COMPENSATION
NEW YORK (AP) — A lawyer for Jeffrey Epstein's estate says he's disappointed that women who say the financier sexually attacked them aren't suspending lawsuits to join a special compensation fund. Attorney Bennet Moskowitz told a Manhattan federal judge Wednesday that the women instead are moving full steam ahead with their lawsuits. A lawyer for one of the women says she has very low confidence in the integrity of the process set up by the estate to compensate victims. More than a dozen lawsuits are seeking compensation for women who say they were abused at Epstein's homes in Manhattan, Florida, New Mexico, the Virgin Islands and Paris.