- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico hospital officials are updating the public on the overburdened healthcare system as cases and hospitalizations remain high. They're begging the public to cancel social visits, wear a mask and wash hands to drive down the COVID-19 cases. They're working to manage congested hospitals and exhausted medical staff. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has set the table for legal protections for a scenario in which hospitals have to triage, or ration, medical care due to being swamped by COVID-19 patients. Hospital officials in Albuquerque are begging the public to prevent viral spread, saying they don't want to ration medical care.
- FENN TREASURE
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A grandson of the late author and art dealer Forrest Fenn has confirmed that a medical school student from Michigan found an over $1 million treasure chest that Fenn stashed in the wilds of Wyoming more than a decade ago. Shiloh Forrest Old wrote Monday on a website dedicated to the treasure that 32-year-old Jonathan "Jack" Stuef found the treasure in June. Stuef had met with Fenn soon after finding the treasure. Stuef also identified himself to Daniel Barbarisi for an article published Monday by Outside Magazine. Fenn left clues to finding the treasure in a poem in his memoir, "The Thrill of the Chase."
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — Navajo Nation officials say nearly all intensive care unit beds on the reservation are being are used as COVID-19 cases surge and warned the tribe is nearing a point where health care workers will have to make difficult decisions about providing care with limited hospital resources. Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said there are few options to transport patients to other regional hospitals that are near full capacity. The tribe has extended its stay-at-home order to stop the spread of the virus. Officials reported 177 additional COVID-19 cases and no deaths related to the virus as of Sunday.
- CIVIL RIGHTS PROPOSAL
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A proposed New Mexico Civil Rights Act that would allow legal claims to be filed in state court over alleged infringements on free speech, freedom of religion and other constitutional rights is getting mixed reviews. Some members of the state's nine-member Civil Rights Commission are predicting that the proposed law would increase local governments' insurance costs and lead to law enforcement officers leaving New Mexico. The measure had its first vetting before a legislative panel earlier this week. It's expected to generate a contentious debate during the 60-day legislative session that begins in January.
- AP-US-NATIVE-AMERICANS-DATA
PHOENIX (AP) — The lack of visibility of Native Americans in exit poll data on network television hit a nerve in Indian Country in the days following the election. Some Natives responded with an outcry while others turned to humor to address what many describe as a longstanding problem. Native Americans make up less than 2% of the U.S. population and often are listed as "other" or denoted with an asterisk in datasets. Even when surveyed, the results can be considered statistically insignificant because the sample size isn't large enough or the margin of error is too great to accurately reflect the population.
- ENERGY REVENUE DECLINE
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Payments to western U.S. states have plummeted for oil, natural gas and coal extracted by private companies from U.S. lands. The revenue drop comes after low crude prices and the pandemic idled drilling in many areas in 2020. Federal data shows payments to states for drilling on public lands and in U.S. waters were down by $630 million, or about 26%, in this fiscal year. New Mexico and Wyoming took the biggest fiscal hits. Companies pay the U.S government for the right to drill for fossil fuels on public lands and in U.S. waters. The money is split with the states where drilling occurs.
- AP-US-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-FAILING-GRADES
The first report cards of the new school year are arriving with a lot more Fs than usual, and it's not just parents who are getting distressed. School districts from coast to coast have reported the number of students failing classes has risen by as many as two or three times — a sign of the struggles many students are having with distance learning, particularly English language learners, those with disabilities and other disadvantaged students. Educators see a number of factors at play: Students learning from home skip assignments — or school altogether. Internet access is limited or inconsistent, making it difficult to complete and upload assignments.
- OUTSIDE INVESTIGATORS-POLICE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The city of Albuquerque and the Department of Justice are inching closer to an agreement to bring in outside investigators to probe police misconduct. The special counsel for the Department of Justice's civil rights division, Paul Killebrew, said Friday that his office is in the process of negotiating with the city to file the measures in January. The efforts come after a scathing report was released by an independent police monitor of the city police department which said law enforcement was failing to police itself.