- NAVAJO COAL MINE
FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — A Navajo Nation company is taking over the operation of a coal mine it owns in northwestern New Mexico. The Navajo Transitional Energy Co. has owned the Navajo Mine near Farmington since 2013 but had contracted with the North American Coal Corp. to run it. The Navajo company will take over Friday. Chief executive Clark Moseley says the company will retain the nearly 400 employees. About 85% of whom are Native American. The Navajo Mine feeds the adjacent Four Corners Power Plant.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation on Thursday reported 88 more COVID-19 cases, but no additional deaths. The latest numbers pushed the tribe's totals to 33,995 confirmed COVID-19 cases from the virus since the pandemic began more than a year ago. The known death toll remains 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. Navajo officials are urging people to get vaccinated, wear masks while in public and minimize their travel.
- NAVAJO VOTING-UTAH CANDIDATE
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Supreme Court has tossed out a lawsuit filed by a Republican candidate trying to overturn the victory of a Navajo commissioner in a county dogged by allegations of discrimination against Navajo voters. Kelly Laws filed a lawsuit in January 2019, after losing the race to Democrat Willie Grayeyes in San Juan County. He claimed that Grayeyes was not truly a Utah resident. The high court ruled Thursday that Laws did not have standing to challenge his victory. Laws' attorney Peter Stirba did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
- 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.
- DOG BARKS-FATAL SHOOTING
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An arrest warrant has been issued for an Albuquerque man accused in the fatal shooting of another man after the victim's service dog was shot and wounded after reportedly barking at the gunman. The warrant seeks 22-year-old Xavier Marquez on charges of murder and other crimes. According to a criminal complaint, witnesses told investigators that 34-year-old Shawn Lynch was walking his dog on a street where they encountered Marquez as he sat in a truck. The complaint says Marquez got out of the truck and yelled at the dog before shooting and wounding the animal. Witnesses told police that Lynch was shot when he objected.
- 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.