- INTERIOR-LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is moving the headquarters of the Bureau of Land Management back to the nation's capital after two years in Colorado. Haaland is reversing a decision made by former President Donald Trump's administration. The bureau lost nearly 300 employees to retirement or resignation when its headquarters was relocated to Grand Junction, Colorado, in 2019. The agency has broad influence in the West, managing public lands for uses ranging from fossil fuel extraction, renewable power development and grazing, to recreation and wilderness. Haaland says the agency's current space in Grand Junction will become its western headquarters.
- SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Top New Mexico leaders say they're open to almost anything that would prevent spent nuclear fuel and other high-level waste from being stored indefinitely in the state. That includes the consideration of legislation similar to a measure adopted by Texas last week to prevent the shipping and storage of such waste. The renewed criticism this week of planned storage facilities in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico comes as federal regulators just granted a license for the proposed operation in Texas. New Mexico officials already have submitted comments in opposition to both the multibillion-dollar proposal on their side of the state line and to the Texas project.
- WEST NILE-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State health officials say they have identified five cases of West Nile virus infections across New Mexico and that wet weather may be a factor. The Department of Health said no deaths have been reported so far this year but that the five cases were reported among residents of Bernalillo, Dona Ana and Taos counties. According to the department, recent rains have left areas of standing water that make good breeding grounds for mosquitos that spread the disease, The department recommends that residents regularly drain containers or places of standing water such as empty cans, clogged gutters and wading pools. West Nile symptoms can include fever, headache and fatigue.
- AIR FORCE-WAR GAMING
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Construction has started at Kirtland Air Force Base for a new digital laboratory for advanced wargaming and other simulation and analysis work involving laser weapons and space vehicles. Officials said the Air Force Research Laboratory's $6 million Wargaming and Advanced Research Simulation Laboratory is intended to spur strategies involving innovation, speed and partnerships within the laboratory. Col. Eric Felt says digital engineering will allow lab personnel to explore more concepts faster without waiting for hardware. The lab will replace a facility more than 15 years old and is expected to be ready for occupancy in the spring of 2023.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation on Thursday reported 54 more COVID-19 cases and two additional deaths. The latest numbers pushed the tribe's totals to 33,394 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,428 known deaths from the virus since the pandemic began more than a year ago. Navajo officials are urging people to get vaccinated, wear masks while in public and minimize their travel. Officials said all Navajo Nation executive branch employees will need to be fully vaccinated against the virus by the end of September or submit to regular testing. The tribe's reservation is the country's largest at 27,000 square miles. It covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
- BORDER-MIGRANT CAMP
DEL RIO, Texas (AP) — A US official says the Biden administration plans on the widescale expulsion of Haitian migrants in a small Texas border city on flights to Haiti starting Sunday. The move represents a swift and dramatic response to thousands who suddenly assembled under and around a bridge in Del Rio. The official tells The Associated Press that details are not finalized but will likely involve five to eight flights a day. San Antonio may be among the departure cities. U.S. authorities closed traffic to vehicles and pedestrians in both directions at the Del Rio's only border crossing with Mexico.
- REDISTRICTING-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An advisory committee to the New Mexico Legislature on redistricting is deciding on a set of conceptual maps to circulate for public comment. The Citizens Redistricting Committee met Thursday to advance a long list of conceptual maps. The actual line-drawing will be done by the state's Democrat-led Legislature, which could ignore the commission and use its overwhelming majorities to create districts that help Democrats continue to win elections for years to come. States, including New Mexico and Indiana, are using citizen advisory boards on redistricting to temper political inclinations without taking powers away from state lawmakers.
- PRETRIAL RELEASES-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New findings by University of New Mexico researchers indicate that just under 5% of Albuquerque-area defendants awaiting trial commit violent crimes while free from jail. A senior state courts official said the research indicates that the vast majority of defendants don't commit new crimes pending trial but the top prosecutor for Bernalillo County and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham say its still troubling that some defendants commit crimes while free. The Albuquerque Journal reports that the university's Institute for Social Research analyzed more than 10,000 felony cases in Bernalillo County amid debate over the state's system of releasing felony defendants.