- ASYLUM-WAITING IN MEXICO
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Biden administration says it plans to reinstate a Trump-era border policy next month to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court, complying with a judge's order. It hinges on approval from the Mexican government, which has raised concerns that U.S. officials say they are working to address. According to a court filing late Thursday, Mexico wants cases to generally conclude within six months and ensure that asylum-seekers have timely and accurate information about hearing dates and times. Mexico also wants better access to legal counsel and coordination on when and where asylum-seekers are returned.
- REDISTRICTING-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An advisory board on political redistricting is deciding on recommendations to the state Legislature for realigning the boundaries of U.S. House and state legislative seats across New Mexico. Scheduled for Friday afternoon, the recommendations of the Citizens Redistricting Committee are nonbinding. Several states, including New Mexico and Indiana, are using citizen advisory boards to temper political inclinations without taking redistricting powers away from state lawmakers. New Mexico's heavily Latino and Native American population presents unusual challenges in efforts to unite communities of interest and give minority voters a fair shot to elect candidates of their choice.
- MARIJUANA-SMALL BUSINESS LOANS
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Small-scale marijuana businesses in New Mexico could soon have access to publicly financed loans of up to $250,000 in an effort to promote social and economic fairness. The New Mexico Finance Authority on Thursday proposed a $5 million line of credit to licensed cannabis microbusinesses in a presentation to a panel of state legislators. Lawmakers declined declined to endorse the proposal immediately. Loans would be made available to cannabis "microbusinesses" that can be licensed to cultivate and sell marijuana from up to 200 plants. In legalizing recreational marijuana, New Mexico wants to promote business opportunities for communities that were penalized disproportionately by past criminal enforcement of marijuana laws.
- METOO-FOUR YEARS IN
NEW YORK (AP) — The #MeToo reckoning hits its four-year mark this week, and Charlotte Bennett credits the movement for creating the conditions that emboldened her to come forward with her story of sexual harassment by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. She says, "I'd like to think that now, we are believed." A new poll shows that Bennett is not alone in feeling a shift in attitudes. Just over half of Americans — 54% — say they personally are more likely to speak out if they're a victim of sexual misconduct, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. And 58% say they would speak out if they witnessed it.
- AP-US-RACIAL-INJUSTICE-MIT
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is grappling with the legacy of one of its pivotal presidents who also played a key role in the displacement of Native American tribes. Francis Amasa Walker helped propel the Cambridge college into prominence as its third president. But the former Civil War general also authored "The Indian Question," a treatise on Native Americans that helped cement the country's tribal reservation system. Native Americans students want MIT to rename Walker Memorial, one of the campus' most iconic buildings, as part of their broader push to get the school to atone for its past and do more for Indigenous students.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation on Thursday reported 64 more COVID-19 cases and one additional death. The latest numbers pushed the tribe's totals to 34,670 confirmed COVID-19 cases from the virus since the pandemic began more than a year ago. The known death toll now is at 1,464. Tribal officials still are urging people to get vaccinated, wear masks while in public and minimize their travel. All Navajo Nation executive branch employees had 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 (70,000 square kilometers) and it covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
- VACCINES-NATIONAL LAB
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Scientists and other workers at one of the nation's premier nuclear weapons laboratories face a deadline Friday — be vaccinated or prepare to be fired. Dozens of workers at Los Alamos National Laboratory are suing over the mandate, saying exemptions have been unduly denied and that their constitutional rights are being violated. Their lawsuit also alleges that lab management has been harassing employees and has created a hostile work environment. The plaintiffs include nuclear engineers, project managers, research technicians and others who have high security clearances for the specialized work they do. The lab has declined to comment on the lawsuit or reveal the current vaccination rate among workers.
- CATTLE GRAZING-SETTLEMENT
PHOENIX (AP) — Federal land-management agencies have agreed to do more to keep cattle from grazing in habitat that threatened and endangered species need to survive in the Verde River watershed. The agreement approved by a federal judge on Wednesday settles a lawsuit filed by environmental groups. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service agreed to regularly inspect riparian areas near grazing land and promptly take steps to return any cattle to their owners and fix broken fencing. It is the third agreement this year to protect sensitive areas in the state.