Grandma gets honorary degree for aiding New Mexico community
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An 84-year-old woman has received an honorary degree from Northern New Mexico College for her contributions to the small community north of Española. The degree was awarded Saturday to Socorro Herrera. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the great grandmother and is known for feeding the elderly, singing at weddings and running Socorro's Restaurant, a staple of the little town whose customers have included former President Barack Obama and famed actor John Travolta. Herrera was born in the same house in Hernández where she operates the restaurant for the past 28 years. She married at 16, had the first of her four children by the time she was 17 and didn't graduate from high school back then. Herrera now is on her way to holding a diploma from the Peñasco Independent School District.
US report details church-state collusion on Native schools
A new Interior Department report underscores how closely the U.S. government collaborated with churches in operating boarding schools for Indigenous children. The federal government saw churches as useful in Christianizing Native children as part of a project to sever them from their culture, their identities and ultimately their land. The role of churches forms part of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report, released Wednesday after a yearlong review that found Indigenous children were sent to at least 408 schools from 1819 to 1969. Catholic and Protestant church groups ran many of the schools.
New Mexico governor seeks more US aid for wildfire response
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's governor is asking for additional federal assistance to respond to wildfires burning across the state's north, including one that is the second-largest in the state's history and that officials estimate has destroyed hundreds of homes. The governor said Friday in a letter to President Joe Biden that New Mexico needs more help than is being provided under a recent disaster declaration. Officials said Saturday that weather conditions still included unhelpful high temperatures and low humidity but that less smoke allowed firefighting aircraft to take to the skies for a second straight day. Elsewhere, a fire burning southwest of Colorado Springs grew to 1.5 square miles overnight.
Proposed revision of Mexican wolf management plan draws fire
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. wildlife managers want to see at least 320 Mexican gray wolves roaming the Southwest within the next several years. While a population cap would be eliminated under a proposed management rule, environmentalists say the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service isn't going far enough to ensure the recovery of the endangered species. They're pushing for the release of more captive wolves — specifically bonded pairs with pups. Federal officials on Friday released their proposed management plan for the wolves and a related environmental review. A court order required the revised plan to be finalized by July 1.
Menaced by flames, nuclear lab peers into future of wildfire
LOS ALAMOS N.M. (AP) — Lighter winds allowed for the most intense aerial attack this week on multiple wildfires in New Mexico, including the biggest U.S. wildfire burning northeast of Santa Fe. In Southern California, where a fire that has destroyed at least 20 homes in the coastal community of Laguna Niguel, the mandatory evacuation area was scaled back Friday from 900 residences to 131. West of Santa Fe, residents remain on alert as a fire slowly creeps toward the city of Los Alamos. That's where scientists at a U.S. national security lab are charged with assessing apocalyptic threats, including wildfires. Public schools remained closed there Friday as many residents prepared for possible evacuations.
Family demands murder charge for officer in fatal shooting
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A Las Cruces family's attorney says they're demanding that the police officer who fatally shot a 75-year-old family member be charged with murder and that they plan to sue the city. The officer shot Amelia Baca when she stepped forward after not responding to commands made in English to drop two knives when the officer responded to a 911 call from a family member about threatening behavior by Baca. The family says she spoke only Spanish and police body camera video shows family members telling the officer entering the home April 16 that Baca was mentally ill and experienced a form of dementia. The city said Thursday that an investigation of the incident was ongoing.
'Like an inferno:' US West burning at furious pace so far
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. (AP) — Wildfires in the West are on a furious pace early this year. Wind-driven flames tearing through vegetation that is extraordinarily dry from years-long drought exacerbated by climate change has made even small blazes a threat to life and property. A fast-moving blaze in Southern California is the latest example, where 20 multimillion-dollar homes lay in smolders Thursday. In New Mexico, the largest blaze burning in the U.S. has now consumed an area bigger than Dallas. That fire east of Santa Fe has churned through mountainous forests for more than a month. Nationally, more than 2,000 square miles already have burned this year. That's the most at this point since 2018.
Film producers defend safety in Alec Baldwin shooting
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A film production company is contesting sanctions by New Mexico officials for alleged workplace safety violations on the set of "Rust," where actor and producer Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer in October. In a filing made public Wednesday, Rust Movie Productions is challenging a $137,000 fine against the company by state occupational safety regulators who say production managers failed to follow standard industry protocols for firearms safety. Rust Movie Productions says misfires prior to the fatal shooting did not violate safety protocols and corrective action was taken. In October 2021, Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during setup for filming when the firearm discharged.