- MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Native American women face a murder rate that is more than 10 times the national average, and a Utah lawmaker wants to address the violence. The Daily Herald in Provo reports Democratic state Rep. Angela Romero said her top priority this year is her proposal to create a task force aimed at studying violence against indigenous women. Those crimes can be particularly challenging to investigate because they often involve many different agencies. The task force would report to lawmakers about what gaps exist and create a road map to prevent and address future violence. The Navajo Nation stretches across Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.
- MARIJUANA ATTORNEY-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A top-ranked Democratic legislator who represents New Mexico's largest medical marijuana dispenser as a private attorney is recusing himself from activity on a bill regarding state residency rules for cannabis patients. Attorney and Democratic House Speaker Brian Egolf of Santa Fe made the announcement Friday as a bill advances through the Legislature that would restrict enrollment in the state's medical cannabis program to New Mexico residents. Egolf represents medical cannabis company Ultra Health in a dispute with the state Health Department over residency requirements for medical cannabis program enrollment. State health officials say lawmakers unintentionally dropped the residency requirement.
- NEW MEXICO GUN LAWS
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she hopes to see strong leadership in the law enforcement community to implement a red-flag gun initiative approved this week by the state's Democrat-led Legislature. The second-year Democratic governor told news reporters she plans to sign the bill as soon as possible. The law allows police and sheriffs deputies to petition a court for the surrender of household firearms from people who appear to pose a danger to themselves or others. Sheriffs and Republican political candidates for U.S. Congress have denounced the soon-to-be law in a state with the strong culture of gun ownership.
- POWER PLANT-LAYOFFS
PREWITT, N.M. (AP) — State labor officials say workers laid off as a result of the planned closure of a power plant in western New Mexico will be eligible for unemployment benefits. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association announced earlier this year it would close the coal-fired Escalante Station. Layoffs are expected in March. State and local officials have said they are concerned about the economic effects the closure will have, especially in a rural region where jobs are scarce. State Workforce Solutions Secretary Bill McCamley says workers who will be forced to look for a new job should have access to a safety net as they transition.
- OLD RAPES-ARREST
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — A man has been arrested in two decades-old rapes in California and New Mexico after authorities in Albuquerque were able to test rape kits that had been untested for years. Police in Mountain View, California, say detectives learned in January that DNA collected during a 2004 sexual assault investigation matched DNA from a 1997 rape case in Albuquerque. Police in New Mexico arrested 45-year-old Van Overton, Jr., and extradited him to California to face rape and other charges. It wasn't immediately known if Overton has an attorney who can speak on his behalf. Police say he will face charges in the Albuquerque rape on a later date.
- TEXAS-NEW MEXICO WATER FIGHT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico lawmakers are considering setting aside $20 million that could be used as seed money as water managers in the arid state scramble to find ways to reduce groundwater pumping that is at the center of a legal battle. The ongoing fight over the Rio Grande has pitted Texas against New Mexico before the U.S. Supreme Court. New Mexico's top water engineer says the funding could pay for farmers to fallow their land in some years as well as storage projects aimed at recharging the aquifer connected to the river.
- AP-US-BOOKS-WINFREY-AMERICAN-DIRT
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Oprah Winfrey's soon-to-be televised discussion about the controversial novel "American Dirt" is drawing scrutiny for not inviting some of the book's harshest Latino critics. The Arizona Daily Star reports the talk show host organized her much-hyped conversation with author Jeanine Cummins on Thursday after inviting around 250 people to the Harkins Theatres Arizona Pavilions in southern Arizona. The crowd was then directed to another Tucson, Arizona, location and asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Critics say the book relies on stereotypes, caricatures, and material similar to another Latino writer. The discussion will appear on the next episode in Winfrey's new Apple TV+ series Oprah's Book Club.
- CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE DISQUALIFIED
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A Republican candidate for Congress in northern New Mexico was disqualified from the race after failing to use a legally prescribed petition form to collect voter signatures. The Albuquerque Journal reported that the secretary of state's office disqualified Anise Golden-Morper. Officials say the proper forms have been readily available since October. Golden-Morper's campaign office released a statement Thursday accusing the Democratic secretary of state of politicizing the office, and vowing to take legal action. The seat is currently held by Democrat Ben Ray Lujan, who is running for U.S. Senate.