- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
GALLUP, N.M. (AP) — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has extended to Thursday the closure of all roads to nonessential traffic in Gallup, one of the largest communities bordering the Navajo Nation, where a surging coronavirus outbreak has already prompted widespread restrictions and weekend lockdowns. Lujan Grisham's extension of the order, which was issued Sunday, also required that businesses in Gallup close from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. in the city of about 20,000 people along Interstate 40, which remained open to through traffic. Also on Sunday, health officials reported 12 more coronavirus-related deaths in New Mexico, pushing the state total to 152.
- ELECTION 2020-HOUSE-NEW MEXICO
RIO RANCHO, N.M, (AP) — A Super PAC working to elect Tea Party-leaning candidates in U.S. House races is spending $100,000 to help a southern New Mexico hopeful. Political Moneyline, a website that tracks outside spending on races, reports that the House Freedom Action Super PAC is funding digital ads in support of former state lawmaker Yvette Herrell. She is locked in a contentious GOP primary against oil executive Claire Chase and Las Cruces businessman Chris Mathys. All three are vying for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small of Las Cruces. Torres Small defeated Herrell in 2018 by less than 3,000 votes to flip a traditionally Republican seat.
- DRAG RACING STING
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque police have arrested five and issued several citations in connection with a sting to fight drag racing in the city. KRQE-TV reports police conducted stings on Friday and Saturday evenings aimed at curbing reckless driving and racing on a popular street. The Albuquerque Police Department gave out more than 100 citations and made arrests around drunken driving and drug possession. Illegal drag racing operations pop up occasionally around the Albuquerque area.
- SOUTHWEST FATAL ACCIDENT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A mural is honoring a New Mexico woman killed in a 2018 Southwest airline flight accident. KRQE-TV reports the permanent solar-powered mural dedicated to Jennifer Riordan was recently unveiled in Albuquerque. The mural uses Riordan's credo which was to "be kind, loving, caring and sharing." The New Mexico bank executive was killed when an engine explosion sent shrapnel into her flight. She died by blunt impact trauma to her head, neck and torso and her death was ruled accidental.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO GRADUATION
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — High schools in New Mexico's second largest city will conduct their graduations as drive-thru ceremonies, with graduates picking up their diplomas while in cars with family members. Las Cruces Public Schools says processions for Class of 2020 graduates of six high schools will be scheduled May 21 and May 22 in parking lots at the Field of Dreams sports stadium. Superintendent Karen Trujillo says the plan resulting from gatherings restrictions due to the coronavirus outbreak satisfies law enforcement officials and will give the graduates "a one-of-a-kind celebration." The New Mexico Supreme Court on Monday will hear arguments in a case related to state prisons and the coronavirus pandemic.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A city that is a modern-day trading post on the outskirts of the Navajo Nation was on lockdown under the watch of National Guard troops and state police to discourage nonessential travel and commerce as local coronavirus infections soar. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham invoked the state Riot Control Act as she ordered Gallup residents to stay home over the weekend except for emergencies. Roads leading in and out of town were blocked to nonessential travel and vehicles carrying more than two people. The restrictions were welcomed by local and state officials who have watched COVID-19 infections spread to nursing homes and homeless populations. Officials reported over 3,700 positive cases of COVID-19 statewide as of Saturday, with 139 deaths.
- AP-US-OBIT-BOBBY-LEE-VERDUGO
Bobby Lee Verdugo, one of the leaders of the 1968 East Los Angeles high school walkout to protest discrimination and dropout rates among Mexican American students, has died. His daughter, Monica Verdugo, announced on Facebook that her father died peacefully Friday surrounded by his wife and his family. He was 69. Born in East Los Angeles, Verdugo was a key figure in the 1968 student movement of Mexican Americans who faced physical punishment for speaking Spanish in class and discrimination from white administrators and teachers. The beatings of high school students seeking fair treatment generated anger around the U.S. and encouraged Mexican American students in Texas and New Mexico to stage their own walkouts.
- CHACO CANYON-DRILLING
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The clock is ticking but Native American leaders say they're in the midst of a health crisis and unable to weigh in on a proposal by U.S. land managers that will guide oil and gas development for years to come in an area held sacred by some Southwest tribes. The chairman of the All Pueblo Council of Governors was joined Friday by U.S. Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico and others in renewing calls for the Bureau of Land Management to extend the comment period on a management plan for the area surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The agency has yet to respond.