- VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHILD ABUSE-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A sharp decline in reports of child abuse and neglect in New Mexico at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic is prompting concerns that problems are going unnoticed while children stay home from school. The accountability office of the Legislature said Monday that hotline reports of suspected child abuse and neglect declined by 42% in April and 33% in May compared with the prior year. Across the U.S., about one-fifth of suspected child abuse complaints originate from school staff. Analysts says its too soon to conclude whether hardships of the pandemic are influencing rates of child abuse.
- ELECTION 2020-SENATE-NEW MEXICO
RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján and Republican Mark Ronchetti's campaigns are feuding over the number of TV debates in the race for the U.S. Senate, agreeing to two so far. The campaigns recently announced they will take part in a debate sponsored by KOAT-TV and the Albuquerque Journal and one by PBS-affiliate KNME-TV. But Ronchetti has accepted offers for debates sponsored by KOB-TV and KRQE-TV _ something Luján has shunned. Ronchetti says Luján is "hiding" from voters by avoiding debates on the state's two biggest stations. Ronchetti is a former meteorologist for the Albuquerque-based KRQE-TV.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and a group of defense lawyers are suing the state, claiming officials aren't doing enough to protect the health of inmates amid the coronavirus pandemic. The lawsuit filed Monday alleges that the government refuses to enforce social distancing and other mandates. The groups contends that prison conditions are intolerable and constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Corrections officials say there have been just over 500 confirmed cases among state inmates since the pandemic began and that 25 cases remain active. They say testing continues and that weekly hygienic supplies have been doubled for every inmate.
- ELECTION 2020-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A state senator says the top elections official in eastern New Mexico's rural Roosevelt County has passed away amid preparations for the Nov. 3 general election. Republican Senate minority leader Stuart Ingle of Portales confirmed on Monday the death of County Clerk Stephanie Hicks at her home the previous day. Hicks was running unopposed as the Republican incumbent in the fall general election. Election officials across the state are preparing to print ballots on an early-September deadline, with absentee voting scheduled to begin Oct. 6. Ingle said he confirmed through a county official that Hicks was found unresponsive at home. More information was unavailable.
- ELECTION 2020-RNC-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A half-dozen delegates from New Mexico are attending the Republican National Convention with hopes that President Donald Trump can reverse a progressive political shift at home. State Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce on Sunday said Trump is well-positioned to assemble a silent majority in New Mexico by winning over people who voted in 2016 for Libertarian former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. Trump lost the 2016 vote in the state by 8 percentage points to Hillary Clinton. Trump on Monday cast doubt on the integrity of the fall election in a surprise opening day appearance at the scaled-down convention. Pearce expects the convention to highlight Trump's approach to civil liberties.
- OPERATION LEGEND
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — President Donald Trump and his attorney general have touted Operation Legend as a much-needed answer to spiking crime. Trump claims it's caused, at least in part, by the police reform movement and protests that have swept across the U.S. since George Floyd's death in May. Trump also claims he's countering rising crime in cities run by Democrats. But to the 300 federal investigators deployed to nine cities, and the local law enforcement getting help, Operation Legend isn't about politics. It's about reducing crime, working to solve outstanding cases and prioritizing the arrest of violent criminals.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — Navajo Nation health officials have reported a dozen new confirmed cases of COVID-19 but no additional deaths. That brings the total number of people infected to 9,547 with the known death toll still at 493 as of Sunday night. The figures were tallied as another 32-hour lockdown on the reservation ended at 5 a.m. Monday. The Navajo Nation lifted its stay-at-home order on Aug. 16, but is asking residents to leave their homes only for emergencies or essential activities. Much of the Navajo Nation has been closed since March as the coronavirus swept through the vast reservation that extends into New Mexico, Utah and Arizona.
- AP-US-VIRUS-OUTBREAK
Thousands of oil and gas operations and other sites have won permission to stop monitoring for hazardous emissions or otherwise break government rules because of the coronavirus outbreak. The findings come in an investigation by The Associated Press. The Trump administration announced the first nationwide, extended easing of environmental enforcement in March. Oil and gas companies had complained that the pandemic was complicating compliance with pollution rules. Facilities won permission more than 3,000 times to skimp on compliance during the sweeping government clemency. The Environmental Protection Agency says its clemency was not a license for increased pollution.