- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — County jails across New Mexico are contending with a high-risk environment for COVID-19 infection at the same time that many more beds are filling with inmates. County governments' association attorney Grace Philips warned legislators on Wednesday that overall coronavirus vaccination rates among staff at county detention centers are lower than the statewide average — 61% versus about 71% for adults in general. Inmates are far less likely to be vaccinated as they arrive in increasing numbers at county detention facilities. The statewide county jail population has increased by more than a quarter since May 2020.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation on Wednesday reported 67 more COVID-19 cases and five additional deaths. The latest numbers pushed the tribe's totals to 33,907 confirmed COVID-19 cases from the virus since the pandemic began more than a year ago. The known death toll now is at 1,447. Based on cases from Sept. 10-23, the Navajo Department of Health issued an advisory for 40 communities due to an uncontrolled spread of COVID-19. The tribe's reservation is the country's largest at 27,000 square miles (70,000 square kilometers) and it covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
- SLAIN SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The trial against a U.S. Air Force airman has reached its scheduled halfway point. Mark Gooch is charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in the death of Sasha Krause early last year. Jurors heard from one of Gooch's older brothers Wednesday, along with the medical examiner and employees of the state crime lab and the Coconino County Sheriff's Office. Krause disappeared from the Mennonite community she was living in near Farmington, New Mexico, while gathering material for Sunday school. Her body was found more than a month later in a forest clearing outside Flagstaff, Arizona.
- EDUCATION SAT SCORES
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico high school juniors should expect to take the SAT next spring. Officials are requiring the test as a replacement for an old test. The switch is coming a year late after required testing was cancelled due to the pandemic. College counsellors are encouraging students to take the test early and often, as some did even during the pandemic. While not required by many universities anymore, SAT scores can still help students get scholarships or bypass remedial English and math classes when they are undergraduates. In 2021, fewer Indigenous students have taken the SAT than their peers.
- EDUCATION SOCIAL STUDIES
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Public Education Department is asking for public comment on a new social studies curriculum. The department is overhauling what children K-12 learn in history, civics and geography. It's the first major update since 2001, and would add events like the 9/11 attacks and the global coronavirus pandemic. It would also require more learning of the history and cultures of Indigenous peoples, and add new topics to high school history, including the civil rights struggles of LGBTQ people. The public has a little over a month to submit comments on the changes.
- VIRGIN GALACTIC
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Virgin Galactic says the Federal Aviation Administration has cleared it to resume launches after an investigation into why its spaceship veered off course while descending during a July flight over New Mexico with founder Richard Branson aboard. The company said Wednesday it was advised by the FAA that corrective actions proposed by Virgin Galactic have been accepted. It says a larger area will be designated as protected airspace to ensure there is room for a variety of possible flight trajectories. The company will also incorporate additional steps in its flight procedures to ensure real-time mission notifications to FAA air traffic control.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Students at one of New Mexico's largest public universities will be disenrolled if they don't comply with a vaccine mandate or opt to get tested regularly. The move is part of the University of New Mexico's policy for having all students inoculated, whether they're taking classes in-person or online. New Mexico State University isn't going that far but disciplinary measures include suspension. Overall, about 70% of New Mexicans 18 and over are fully vaccinated, and U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich is among those pushing federal officials to move ahead with vaccines for younger children. Some parents have raised concerns, saying more time is need to determine the effects of the shots on young children.
- AP-US-NAVAJO-VOTING-RIGHTS-ADVOCATE
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — A Navajo weaver who successfully challenged the constitutionality of Arizona's in-person voting procedures and restrictive identity requirements for Native Americans has died. Navajo Nation Council officials say Agnes Laughter died Sunday, but no cause was immediately released. Laughter was born in 1932 in a traditional Navajo hogan. She was 16 when Native Americans got the right to vote in Arizona. In 2006, she was part of a lawsuit that led to the U.S. Justice Department expanding the list of documents that can serve as tribal identification at polling places. In 2008, the agency revised procedures to provide a broader list of documents that may serve as tribal IDs to vote.