- New Mexico research group adds ExxonMobil as sponsor
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A research group focused on the potential for reusing wastewater produced during oil and gas operations is getting some support from ExxonMobil. New Mexico State University announced this week that the company has been added as a sponsor. University Chancellor Dan Arvizu said research sponsors are critical to advancing new and innovative technologies necessary for New Mexico to ensure that produced water can be safely used for applications outside of the oil and gas industry. As a member of the consortium, ExxonMobil engineers and scientists will participate in the consortium's research and engineering working groups and projects.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
New Mexico sets priorities for who gets first vaccine doses
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's initial batch of 17,500 vaccine doses from drug maker Pfizer is slated to go to medical facilities and long-term care centers with an emphasis on people within those facilities who have high or medium exposure to the virus. The state on Thursday also set a new record for the number of coronavirus-related deaths in a single day at 44. The state's plan for vaccine distribution hews closely to nonbinding guidelines adopted this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.New Mexico's lieutenant governor wants educators to be be among the first people to get vaccine access.
- New Mexico governor to lead Democratic governors group
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has been selected as the new chair of the Democratic Governors Association for 2021. The first-term governor previously served as the group's vice chair and was among those seen as possible candidates for the U.S. Cabinet post of health and human services secretary in the Biden administration. The vote by the nation's Democratic governors came Thursday during the group's annual meeting. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper will serve as vice chair. Outgoing chair New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy was picked to serve as the group's finance chair.
- New Mexico lawmakers consider slimmer child welfare budgets
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's child welfare agencies are presenting their budget requests to state lawmakers. From emergency internet access and welfare checks to a strained child care system, the needs of children and parents have increased due to the pandemic. But state revenues are down and agencies are trimming budgets by 5% for the next fiscal year that starts in July 2021. The Early Childhood Education and Care Department oversees childcare and prekindergarten programs. It's asking for just over $400 million. The Children, Youth, and Families Department requested over $200 million to continue work to protect children from abuse and neglect.
- Medical officials serving Navajo make urgent plea: Stay home
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Medical professionals serving the Navajo Nation made an urgent plea to residents Thursday to stay home as coronavirus cases rise. The numbers are testing the limits of health care on the vast reservation that already is scrambling to find places to transport critically ill patients. The tribe is seeing more cases daily now than it did in the spring when it was a national hotspot. The difference now is that cases are rising in all the states that border the reservation, and the tribe no longer can draw on the resources it once did. Indian Health Service officials say the agency is at serious risk of running out of hospital beds, nurses and supplies.
- Ruling: Threat to get warrant can make searches involuntary
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico Supreme Court decision says a person's consent to a search wasn't voluntary if a law enforcement officer threatens to obtain a search warrant but lacks probable cause to get a judge to issue a warrant. The decision Thursday in a man's drug case says that the trial judge should not have allowed marijuana and methamphetamine handed over during the search to be used as evidence because the search was coerced and involuntary. The unanimous decision said consent is involuntary when a person believes refusal to consent would be futile. The ruling sends the case back to trial court for further proceedings.
- New Mexico to delay winter high school sports until February
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Activities Association's board of directors has delayed the start of high school sports by four weeks until February as coronavirus cases continue to increase across the state. Association Executive Director Sally Marquez said the board voted Wednesday that Feb. 1 is the latest the association would be able to get all sports played this academic year. The new schedule allows fall sports including football, cross-country, volleyball and soccer to begin preseason workouts on Feb. 1. The decision is dependent on Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who can approve or deny the start dates for activities.
- Report: Endangered mouse nears 'zero' in southern New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A report on a rare mouse found only in the U.S. Southwest says the rodent's population in one stretch of southern New Mexico is near zero. Environmentalists are pointing to the study issued in November, saying the U.S. Forest Service needs to do more to protect the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse and its stream-side habitat. The Center for Biological Diversity is asking for an investigation, saying hundreds of grazing violations on the Lincoln National Forest have pushed the mouse closer to extinction. Forest officials say the latest study aims to set the stage for long-term habitat planning for the mouse.