New Mexico Democrats seek new gun restrictions, enforcement
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Responses from public officials to the killing of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, are falling along partisan lines in New Mexico when it comes to proposals to improve public safety and regulating access to guns. Democratic candidates for the state's top law enforcement job say New Mexico needs new gun control legislation, more enforcement resources for gun safety or both. A top Republican Party official said Thursday that gun control is not the appropriate answer. Since 2019, New Mexico has enacted a raft of Democratic-backed legislation that restricts access to guns, including an extension of background-check requirements.
Boeing capsule lands back on Earth after space shakedown
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Boeing's astronaut taxi has returned to Earth from the International Space Station, completing a repeat test flight with a mannequin on board. The Starliner capsule parachuted into the New Mexico desert just four hours after leaving the orbiting lab Wednesday. Aside from a few snags, Starliner appears to have clinched its high-stakes shakedown cruise 2 1/2 years after its botched first attempt. That means NASA test pilots will fly next, perhaps by year's end. NASA wants two competing U.S. companies ferrying astronauts to and from the space station. SpaceX is already the established leader.
Firefighters rescue 'Cinder' the elk calf from fire's ashes
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Firefighters have rescued an abandoned newborn elk calf from the ashes of the nation's largest wildfire as calving season approaches its peak in early June and fires rage across the American Southwest. Missoula, Montana-based firefighter Nate Sink says he happened upon the motionless calf on the floor of a fire-blackened forest in New Mexico as he extinguished smoldering trees. Elk are seldom outrun by wildfire, and the rescue of the singed calf dubbed "Cinder" evoked events 70 years ago in New Mexico involving a scalded black bear cub and the fire prevention mascot "Smokey Bear." Crews made significant progress battling the blaze Wednesday ahead of worsening conditions into the weekend.
Rain, snow slow New Mexico fire, but hot, dry weather looms
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Light rain and a bit of snow in the mountains of northern New Mexico helped slow the largest wildfire in North America. But nearly 3,000 firefighters are continuing to scramble to clear flammable vegetation and deploy aircraft to douse flames ahead of a worsening fire forecast into the weekend. The Memorial Day weekend traditionally marks the beginning of the primary wildfire season across many parts of the Southwest. But wildland blazes already have burned an area larger than the state of Delaware this year in extremely dry conditions created by lingering drought and climate change. A new fire that broke out Wednesday briefly forced some evacuations near Flagstaff, Arizona.
Border agency plans vehicle pursuit policy to raise safety
DONNA, Texas (AP) — The head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection says he's working on a new policy for vehicle pursuits with an eye toward increasing safety after a spate of deaths. Commissioner Chris Magnus, who took over the nation's largest law enforcement agency in December, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he expects the policy to be finalized soon. It will rely on extensive discussion with people inside and outside the Border Patrol, data analysis and a review of practices at other law enforcement agencies. He told agents about the upcoming change during a visit to Texas' Rio Grande Valley.
Heightened wildfire threat prompts stricter restrictions
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona's national forests and some local governments and land management agencies are implementing stricter campfire and smoking restrictions because of the heightened wildfire threat. Heightened restrictions ordered by the Apache-Sitgreaves, Coconino, Coronado, Kaibab, Prescott and Tonto national forests take effect either Wednesday or Thursday. Along with restricting campfires and smoking, the forests' heightened restrictions prohibit or impose limits on various activities. Those include shooting, welding, using chain saws, running generators and driving motor vehicles off roads. An Apache-Sitgreaves statement said the restrictions "are necessary to reduce human-caused wildfires during periods of high fire danger and persistent severe fire conditions." .
3 Texans die in New Mexico highway crash involving towed SUV
DEMING, N.M. (AP) — Authorities say three West Texas residents were killed when the SUV they were riding in while it was being towed on a New Mexico highway rolled after both vehicles ran off the road . A New Mexico State police spokesman said Monday that eight people were in two SUVs headed east on Interstate 10 outside the small southern New Mexico city of Deming when the accident happened Saturday night. The three men who died were not wearing seat belts and were ejected from a Nissan SUV. The Nissan driver was badly injured and four people in the SUV that had been towing the Nissan were also hurt. Two of the dead were from El Paso and the third from the nearby community of Anthony.
Cooler New Mexico weather aids big wildfire fight -- for now
MORA, N.M. (AP) — Cooler weather is helping nearly 3,000 firefighters in New Mexico prevent the nation's largest active wildfire from growing. Fire officials said Monday night that they took advantage of better conditions to expand contingency firebreaks northeast of Santa Fe ahead of a return to hotter, windier weather by the end of the week. The blaze started as two fires and burned into one large conflagration now larger than the city of Los Angeles. A rural sheriff warned at a community briefing Monday night that "just because we've had a few good days of weather ... it doesn't mean we are out of the woods yet."