Governor-Elect Of New Mexico Begins Appointments – Associated Press
Democratic New Mexico Gov.-elect Michelle Lujan Grisham has appointed Cabinet secretaries at three major agencies that oversee state finances, Medicaid and subsidized nutrition programs, and the regulation of energy and mining industries.
Lujan Grisham on Friday emphasized commitments to expanding the state's clean-energy economy and shoring up health care access in announcing the Cabinet appointments.
Sarah Cottrell Propst will lead the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department that oversees oil and natural gas regulation and incentives for renewable energy.
Olivia Padilla-Jackson moves from Albuquerque city government to lead the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration.
University of New Mexico medical professor David Scrase will lead the Human Services Department that administers some $7 billion in federal and state funds for Medicaid other services for low-income individuals and families.
Man Faces Numerous Felonies In Human Trafficking Case– Associated Press
The New Mexico attorney general's office says a man accused of human trafficking, kidnapping and other sex crimes will remain in custody pending trial on numerous charges.
Prosecutors announced Friday that they have secured the preventive detention of Mario Morales, who was extradited to New Mexico following his arrest in Arizona last month.
The attorney general's office says Morales was indicted this week on more than a dozen charges, nearly all of them felonies.
An arraignment has been scheduled in state district court for Dec. 21.
Man Linked To Baby Shooting Had Previous Gun Charges– Associated Press
A man facing child abuse charges after a 3-year-old boy allegedly shot his 8-month-old sister in a New Mexico motel also is facing gun charges in another case involving the same children.
The Gallup Independent reports Tyrell Bitsilly was arrested in October after police say he fired a gun during an argument inside a car in downtown Gallup, New Mexico. Police say the 3-year-old boy, the baby, and the children's mother, Shayanne Nelson, were inside the car.
The 21-year-old Bitsilly was charged with child abuse and aggravated assault in that case and ordered to stay away from the children and the 18-year-old Nelson.
Nelson told police she and Bitsilly were in a motel shower on Saturday when her boy found a gun and accidentally shot the baby in the face.
Bitsilly was ordered Wednesday held on $70,000 bail.
Construction Work On Massive Cavity Expected To Last 2 Years– Associated Press, Carlsbad Current-Argus
Construction work on a 600-foot-deep (183-meter-deep) cavity in Carlsbad began this month as crews re-positioned access routes and brought materials to the site ahead of February's predicted remediation start date.
The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports the Carlsbad Brine Well, located directly underneath the South Y junction of U.S. Highway 285 and U.S. Highway 62/180, was deemed unstable in 2008, and its collapse was estimated to cause potentially $1 billion in damages and litigation.
The Wood Group was contracted earlier this year to design and implement a project to fill the cavity with grout, while pulling out the remaining brine water.
Records show the cavity is 720 feet (219.5 meters) long, 450 feet (137.2 meters) wide, 200 feet (61 meters) deep and lies about 425 feet (129.5 meters) beneath the surface.
Officials expect the entire process to take two years.
The Latest: Migrant Girl's Death Raises Questions – Associated Press
The U.S. Border Patrol says a 7-year-old girl who died while she was in custody appeared to be in good health when she was first detained along a remote stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border.
An intake form signed by the girl's father said she wasn't sick, wasn't sweating and seemed mentally alert. The form was obtained by The Associated Press.
Immigration officials briefing reporters say the girl's father told officials that she was sick and vomiting when they were on a bus heading to a Border Patrol station. When they arrived 90 minutes later, the girl wasn't breathing.
Emergency personnel revived her twice, and she was sent to an El Paso hospital via helicopter at 7:40 a.m. She died Dec. 8. An autopsy is pending.
Crime Lab Clears Rape Kit Backlog – Associated Press
Gov. Susana Martinez says the state crime lab has cleared its backlog of nearly 1,400 rape kits ahead of schedule.
In her announcement Friday, the governor said a combination of $1.2 million in grant funding and the hiring of two temporary forensic scientists helped officials clear the backlog of evidence kits that had been in the state's lab.
A 2015 audit of New Mexico law enforcement agencies found at the time that there were 5,300 total untested rape kits in the state. Three-quarters of them, however, were in Albuquerque police's crime lab, which operates separately from the state lab.
Martinez says remaining grant funding will be provided to Albuquerque to help clear its backlog of rape kits. Experts say each kit can cost law enforcement $600 to $1,000 to examine.
8-Year-Old Girl Dies In Mobile Home Blaze– Associated Press
An 8-year-old New Mexico girl died in a mobile home fire that also critically injured two other children.
The Gadsden Independent School District released a statement identifying the child as Marisa Munoz, a third-grade student at Desert View Elementary.
The school district identified two other children in the home as Julian Duran, a fifth-grade student at Desert View, and Jasmine Valenzuela, a seventh-grade student at Santa Teresa Middle School. The district says Duran and Valenzuela were airlifted to a burn center in Lubbock, Texas, and are in critical condition.
Sunland Park City Hall spokesman Peter Ibarbo says the home was completely engulfed in flames when local firefighters responded.
Ibarbo says four other family members were transported to local hospitals.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.