- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Top New Mexico officials are elated that the state is meeting its benchmarks when it comes to addressing the coronavirus pandemic with lower case counts and reduced rates of spread. But they also warned Thursday that the recent progress will have to be sustained to clear the way for more public health restrictions to be eased. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in a tweet also mentioned the risk of residents letting their guard down. The state's public health order will expire before the end of the month, and officials confirmed that discussions about possible options and alternatives are underway.
- AP-US-TRUMP-ADVISER-ARREST
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he ripped off donors trying to fund a southern border wall. The plea happened Thursday, hours after Bannon was pulled from a yacht off the coast of Connecticut and arrested. He becomes the latest in a long list of Trump allies to be charged with a crime. The charges were contained in an indictment in Manhattan federal court. Prosecutors say the organizers of the "We Build The Wall" group raised more than $25 million from thousands of donors and pledged that 100% of the money would be used for the project.
- BORDER WALL-Q&A
President Donald Trump is trying to keep his promised border wall with Mexico in the public eye during his reelection bid, touting it this week on a trip to Yuma, Arizona. But the wall brought Trump unwanted attention Thursday when former White House adviser Steve Bannon was arrested on charges that he and three associates ripped off donors to an online fundraising effort that aimed to build a privately funded barrier. Trump distanced himself from Bannon while claiming he knew nothing about the project and never supported it.
- AP-US-TRUMP-PUBLIC-LANDS
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock is asking a federal court to take swift action to remove the Trump administration's chief steward of public lands. Thursday's request from the Democratic governor comes as former industry attorney William Perry Pendley continues to hang onto his post atop the U.S. Bureau of Land Management post despite the White House saying his nomination would be withdrawn. The Associated Press reported earlier this week that Pendley remains in charge of the bureau under an arrangement that Pendley himself set up months ago. Bullock and other Democrats say Pendley is undermining land conservation efforts by opening areas to more oil, gas and mineral extraction.
- ELECTION 2020-SENATE-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Mark Ronchetti, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate in New Mexico, has released his first general election commercial. The forward-looking ad released this week focuses on Ronchetti's support for law enforcement, fighting crime, and small businesses. The former television meteorologist vows in the ad to "never support defunding the police." Ronchetti is facing Democrat U.S. Senate hopeful Ben Ray Luján for New Mexico's open Senate seat. Earlier this month, Luján released a television ad touting his support for expanding Medicaid while pointing to his father's fight with cancer. The commercial highlighted Luján's father, Ben Luján, the late Speaker of the New Mexico House, and his access to insurance.
- RACIAL INJUSTICE-LAS CRUCES
A New Mexico city has agreed to pay $6.5 million to the family of Mexican American man who was choked to death by a police officer. A settlement agreement made public by the city of Las Cruces, New Mexico this week calls for the city to pay the family of Antonio Valenzuela within 30 days and embark on police reforms. Police say then-Las Cruces Officer Christopher Smelser applied the chokehold after Valenzuela fled during a traffic stop in February. Valenzuela died at the scene. Smelser was later fired and faces a murder charge. His lawyer says the charge was a political move.
- ELECTION 2020-DNC-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The governor of a major state for energy production praised Joe Biden for his approach to combating climate change and supporting the clean energy sector. She made the comments in an online appearance Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham stood amid a solar panel array in northern New Mexico to assure voters that Biden would renew U.S. participation on cooperative international efforts to combat global warming if elected. Lujan Grisham has helped set aggressive mandates for increasing electricity production from renewable sources such as solar and wind. New Mexico state government remains heavily dependent on income from the oil sector.
- AP-US-ELECTION-2020-VOTING-BALLOT-DEADLINES
ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. Postal Service warnings that it can't guarantee ballots sent by mail will arrive on time have put a spotlight on the narrow time frames most states allow to request and return those ballots. The deadlines are tight in the best of times. But many more ballots are at stake this year with tens millions of Americans likely to vote by mail because of concerns about the coronavirus. Some state election officials are altering their deadlines, while others are being forced to do so by legal challenges. Other states are staying put, saying it's too late to make a change.