- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation on Monday reported eight new COVID-19 cases, but no additional deaths. It marked the seventh time in nine days that no coronavirus-related deaths were reported by tribal health officials. The latest numbers brought the total number of COVID-19 cases on the vast reservation to 31,305 since the pandemic began more than a year ago. The number of known deaths remained at 1,372. The Navajo Nation recently relaxed restrictions to allow visitors to travel on the reservation and visit popular attractions like Canyon de Chelly and Monument Valley. The reservation is the country's largest at 27,000 square miles and it covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico officials are updating masking and vaccine guidance for schools this fall. Masks are still required for elementary school students, who are too young to receive any COVID-19 vaccine. The new rules allow middle and high schools to let vaccinated students ditch masks if they track who's fully vaccinated. Less than half of the state's children aged 12-17 have gotten their shots. Schools will still report COVID-19 cases to the state and test a portion of their unvaccinated staff under the new guidance. School vaccine drives are underway. New Mexico health officials on Monday reported 632 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and three additional deaths, pushing the state totals to more than 209,000 cases and 4,400 deaths.
- FLOOD CHANNEL-VICTIMS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Police in Albuquerque have identified two people who were swept through flood channels during a monsoon storm and died. They are 32-year-old Steven Camp and 31-year-old Alexander Corrie. Officials said Monday they aren't sure whether the two knew each other or had permanent residences in Albuquerque. A third person whose body also was recovered last week from flood channels hasn't been identified. Albuquerque Fire Rescue spokesman Lt. Tom Ruiz says the three fatalities mark the deadliest single flooding event in Albuquerque, at least in recent memory. The National Weather Service says western and central New Mexico have the greatest chances of getting heavy rainfall this week.
- MILITARY BASE-JET FUEL SPILL
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Air Force says it's ready to outline its work to keep a jet fuel leak from reaching Albuquerque's water supply. A report to the New Mexico Environment Department is the next step in what has been a yearslong effort to clean up the fuel. Officials from Kirtland Air Force Base say they'll spend the next several months to a year writing a report. Once the state reviews and approves it, the base can make recommendations for final cleanup. The Air Force has spent $125 million cleaning up soil and water around the base that's next to Albuquerque. The fuel leak was detected in 1999.
- NEW MEXICO UNITED-STADIUM
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — With the backing of Albuquerque's mayor, the New Mexico United soccer team may be one step closer to making a new stadium a reality. Mayor Tim Keller announced he will send a resolution to the Albuquerque City Council to put a bond proposal for a new publicly funded stadium on the November ballot. Keller, along with team owner Peter Trevisani, shared the news over the weekend during a team match. The proposed stadium would serve as a venue for multiple events but New Mexico United would be the primary tenant. The project is estimated to cost at least $70 million. Voters would be asked to consider a $50 million bond.
- MONTANA-WILDFIRE FIGHTERS INJURED
BILLINGS, Montana (AP) — Four firefighters have been released from the hospital and a fifth remains in a burn center after a Montana wildfire overran them last week. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson said Monday that the firefighter still being treated sustained the most injuries of agency personnel involved in Thursday's accident but "is making good progress and is in good spirits." Swirling winds unexpectedly blew the blaze back on the firefighters in the Devils Creek area of Garfield County in central Montana. A Forest Service spokesperson says investigators are trying to better determine what led to the accident.
- MULTIPLE MURDERS-SUSPECT'S TRIAL
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico man accused of fatally shooting five people in 2017, including three family members, is set to go on trial this week for four of the killings. The Albuquerque Journal reports that jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe. Damian Herrera is charged with four counts of first-degree murder, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and other charges. Prosecutors say the trial is expected to last through Aug. 20. Authorities believe the 25-year-old Herrera killed a man a gas station at random after fatally shooting his mother, stepfather and brother in June 2017 at the family home in La Madera in Rio Arriba County.
- MONTANA-WILDFIRE FIGHTERS INJURED
JORDAN, Montana (AP) — Five federal firefighters remain hospitalized in stable condition after sustaining burn injuries when swirling winds blew a lightning-caused wildfire back on them in eastern Montana on Thursday. The five were building a defensive line at the Devil's Creek Fire in Garfield County when the weather shifted. Forest Service spokeswoman Punky Moore says two Forest Service firefighters based at the Quemado Ranger District at New Mexico's Gila National Forest were in stable condition and recovering at an undisclosed location. Forest Service spokesman Kari Cobb says three U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service crew members based in North Dakota also were in stable condition and recovering at an undisclosed burn center.