- Navajo Nation reports 30 new COVID-19 cases, 2 more deaths
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation has reported 30 new COVID-19 cases and two more deaths. Navajo Department of Health officials said 17 of the cases were from Saturday with the other 13 reported Sunday. They say the two deaths were reported Saturday. The latest numbers brought the total number of coronavirus-related deaths of the vast reservation to 1,366 since the pandemic began more than a year ago. Health officials said the total number of cases would be announced Monday. It stood at 31,160 cases as of Friday. The reservation is the country's largest at 27,000 square miles and it covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
- Man in hospital gown found dead inside New Mexico police car
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Police in Albuquerque are investigating the death of a man seen dressed in a hospital gown whose body was later found in a campus police car. Albuquerque TV station KOB reports that surveillance video Saturday showed the man wandering over to the University of New Mexico campus before getting into the back of the patrol car. Authorities say the man was found dead about 10 hours later in the vehicle that was parked outside UNM police headquarters. The UNM Hospital is affiliated with the university and is located just north of the school's main campus. The name of the dead man hasn't been released yet. The Office of Medical Investigator said the death wasn't suspicious and the man likely died from dehydration, heat, and/or lack of oxygen.
- New Mexico wilderness area grows with large donation
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is visiting her home state this weekend to celebrate what marks the largest wilderness land donation in the agency's history. The donation from the Trust for Public Land increases the size of the Sabinoso Wilderness in northeastern New Mexico by nearly 50%. Haaland said Saturday that the expansion of the area will mean more public access for outdoor recreation as the Biden administration looks to conserve more land by 2030. The donation includes 15 square miles of rugged canyons, mesas covered by pinon and juniper woodlands, pockets of ponderosa pine trees and sections of grassland.
- Agency: State to take over operations of 2 private prisons
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Department of Corrections says the state plans to convert two privately run state prisons in rural areas into facilities operated by the department. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the the department said Friday that it will take over operations of the Northwest New Mexico Correctional Center in Grants and the Guadalupe County Correctional Facility in Santa Rosa by November. The facility in Grants is operated by CoreCivic, which is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, while the facility in Santa Rosa is operated by Geo Group, which is based in Boca Raton, Florida.
- Stretch of I-10 dedicated as memorial for slain officer
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A stretch of Interstate 10 in Luna County in southwestern New Mexico is now a memorial corridor honoring a New Mexico State Officer killed in the line of duty last February. The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that the State Transportation Commission voted unanimously Thursday to approve the 18-mile memorial for Officer Darian Jarrott. The 28-year-old Lordsburg resident was killed near Deming while conducting a traffic stop of a pickup driven by Omar Felix Cueva, a drug trafficking suspect under investigation by federal Homeland Security Investigations. Cueva opened fire, killing Jarrott. Cueva drove off but was killed in a gunfight with law enforcement officers.
- New Mexico fentanyl deaths double again from 2019 to 2020
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Fentanyl-related deaths in New Mexico more than doubled in 2020 from the previous year, surpassing both heroin and prescription-opioid-related deaths in the state. The New Mexico Department of Health said Friday official data is still being compiled, but preliminary results show fentanyl-related deaths already have risen by 129% from 2019. The rise comes after nearly doubling the year before. Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. It often is mixed with heroin but also mixed into counterfeit opioids, leading to what are believed to be unintentional overdose deaths. The number of overdose deaths attributed to methamphetamine also increased by 11% from 2019 to 2020.
- Mayor: Las Cruces remains in public health emergency
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — The mayor of Las Cruces has issued an emergency proclamation, saying the southern New Mexico city remains in a public health emergency. Mayor Ken Miyagishima's proclamation takes effect Saturday at noon. The city will continue to implement and follow the guidelines of the state's latest public health order that was issued in late June. That means people who have not been vaccinated, or are unable to provide proof of vaccination, must wear face masks while attending City Council meetings. They must also keep distance between one another. The council's next meeting will be Monday. Like elsewhere, New Mexico is seeing an increase in cases.
- Last ethics complaint against New Mexico speaker dismissed
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A State Ethics Commission hearing officer has dismissed the third and final ethics complaint accusing New Mexico House Speaker Brian Egolf of a conflict of interest. The hearing officer says the complaint failed to prove any claim upon which relief can be granted. Retired Judge Sandra Price filed the complaint earlier this year accusing the Santa Fe Democrat of failing to disclose a conflict of interest when he pushed for civil rights legislation approved earlier this year. She claimed Egolf had a conflict because he works as an attorney whose business would benefit from the state Civil Rights Act that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law in April.