Helping your furry friend cope with July 4th fireworks — By Nash Jones, KUNM News
While July Fourth fireworks can be a highlight of the holiday for many humans, it’s rare to find a pet — particularly a dog — who enjoys them. Bernalillo County’s Animal Care Services recommends keeping your four-legged friend inside this Independence Day.
The department says it picks up more dogs during the summer holiday than any other time of the year. This is because fireworks can spark confusion and fear and pets left outdoors can jump walls and fences to escape.
Before they take off, there are some ways to support the furry companions who have sensitive hearing and don’t understand what fireworks are.
The county instructs owners to not only keep dogs inside, but create a comforting environment for them. Animal Care Services suggests turning on a TV or radio (89.9 FM is always a dog-friendly option). There are also treats and pheromones that calm dogs’ anxiety, and tight-fitting clothing like “thunder shirts” can also help.
The American Kennel Club recommends creating a cave-like environment for the den animals to hunker down in, which could be in a crate or closet. The owner can then sooth the animal with a calm tone and their favorite toys and treats. If the anxiety is severe, the Kennel Club also recommends talking to a vet about medication before the fireworks get going.
The county encourages dog owners to also microchip their pet beforehand in case they do run away.
The county says those who have lost their pet should check social media sites as well as 24petconnect.com, where they can also file a report on the missing animal. Albuquerque residents can also call 311 and Bernalillo County residents outside city limits can dial 505-314-0281.
US forest managers urge revelers to swap fireworks for Silly String, but some say not so fast - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
Smokey Bear said it best: "Only you can prevent wildfires."
Following in the footsteps of their famous mascot, U.S. Forest Service managers in the drought-stricken Southwest are urging people to swap their fireworks this Fourth of July for glow sticks, noisemakers and cans of red, white and blue Silly String.
Not so fast, say some environmentalists. While it's worth encouraging folks not to use fireworks amid escalating wildfire danger, they say it's kind of silly that federal land managers would suggest using aerosol cans of sticky party string out in nature.
The advice began to pop up in recent weeks, with regional forest officials and the New Mexico State Forestry Division pumping out public service announcements offering alternatives aimed at curbing human-sparked blazes.
They used a template that echoed similar advice from the National Fire Protection Association and even American Red Cross chapters in other states.
"These are alternatives for children and young people to do in lieu of fireworks in their neighborhood or on their property. That way we'd like to keep things contained to your property and your neighborhood," said George Ducker, a spokesman for the State Forestry Division. "We're certainly not advocating folks go out into the forest and, you know, shoot off Silly String."
But if they do, the Forest Service has one request: Leave no trace.
However people choose to celebrate, the rules and regulations need to be followed if they are on national forest land no matter if it's July Fourth or any other day, said John Winn, a spokesman for the federal agency.
"That includes but is not limited to the restricted use of fireworks, properly disposing of garbage in garbage bins, maintaining quiet hours and cleaning up after camping or day-use activities," he said.
Cleaning up spray streamers fits in that category, he added.
While the spray can party favors have been around since the 1970s, manufacturers keep their recipes under wraps. In general, the string is made of a polymer resin, a substance that makes the resin foam up, a solvent, some coloring and the propellant that forces the chemicals out of the can.
Authorities in Los Angeles decided to ban aerosol party streamers in 2004 on Hollywood Boulevard every Halloween because partygoers were using the empty cans as projectiles and many were left littering the streets and clogging gutters.
Towns in Massachusetts and Alabama also have adopted ordinances restricting the use of the string, pointing to problems during special events. In one New York town, firefighters who participated in a parade complained that the string was damaging the paint on their trucks.
Rebecca Sobel with the group WildEarth Guardians said party string is just one of the hundreds of seemingly benign products that pervade daily life.
"We have to be more vigilant about the chemicals in 'everyday' things," she said. "Maybe the Forest Service should have known better, but it's also hard to know what chemicals some products contain."
She pointed to recent headlines about 'forever chemicals' found in firefighting foam and other common products, saying consumers have a responsibility to be aware of threats but they can't do that if regulatory agencies aren't being transparent or reading labels themselves.
Some consumer product sites say party string is not biodegradable. While many cans are labeled as non-toxic, the string can damage vinyl surfaces or the clear coat on vehicles.
The labels also suggest that if ingested, medical attention might be in order. That goes for humans and pets, as some of the ingredients can contain gastrointestinal irritants.
"All of this makes it inappropriate for use at our national forest recreation sites," says Madeleine Carey, WildEarth Guardians' Southwest conservation manager. "Many seemingly fun party products like Silly String are extremely harmful to our forests and wildlife. Mylar balloons, noisemakers and glitter are also on the list."
The bottom line for state and federal forest managers is to prevent human-caused wildfires, Ducker said.
While some parts of the West had record snowfall over the winter and enjoyed a wet spring, forest managers said it's uncertain whether the monsoon will keep fire danger at bay. For that reason, the messaging will continue, Ducker said.
"All it takes is a couple of weeks of really hot, dry weather and all of that stuff gets desiccated and it just becomes fuel," he said of the vegetation that sprouted in the spring.
Overall, more than 22,000 fires have burned nearly 1,000 square miles in the U.S. since the start of the year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Authorities investigate vandalism at an eastern New Mexico mosque - Associated Press
Authorities are investigating after vandals trashed a mosque in eastern New Mexico multiple times over recent weeks.
Police in Portales said they have had reports of damage that is similar at other vacant buildings in the area. Chief Christopher Williams told television station KRQE that while it's more than likely not a hate crime, officers were following up on possible leads and the area was being monitored.
"Our investigators are continuing to investigate this incident regardless of if it is or is not a hate crime," he said. "In New Mexico, if a crime is determined to be committed out of hate, then it is a sentencing enhancement and not a separate criminal charge."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national advocacy group, issued a statement Friday condemning the vandalism. The group urged law enforcement to investigate a possible bias motive and to step up patrols around the Portales Islamic Center.
Ahmed Benssouda, the center's director, said vandals first put holes in the walls and ripped up a Quran and poured beer on it. He said they also destroyed furniture and left trash everywhere.
The vandals returned later and damaged the building's air conditioning unit. On Thursday, he reported that vulgar language –– including racial slurs –– were spray-painted on a wall.
"I feel that, honestly, with the respect that this is an example of not caring about the law," he said.
Witness fears industry retaliation for testimony in fatal shooting on Alec Baldwin production - Associated Press
Special prosecutors in the shooting death of a cinematographer on the set of the Alec Baldwin film "Rust" asked Friday to shield the name of a witness from public disclosure as they pursue charges against a movie weapons specialist.
Prosecutors said in court filings that the witness is prepared to testify that film set armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed handed off a small bag of narcotics to the witness after returning from an interview at a police station. But they said the witness worries about being harassed by media and blacklisted by the industry.
Gutierrez-Reed is fighting charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering as the sole remaining defendant in the case after prosecutors dropped an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April. Prosecutors can still refile charges against him, however.
Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal when it went off, killed her and injured director Joel Souza on Oct. 21, 2021.
In a new court filing, prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis said the testimony about a drug transfer will support allegations that Gutierrez-Reed attempted to prevent law enforcement from obtaining evidence related to the handling of the firearm prior to the shooting.
The witness is afraid that if they testify, they could be shut out by the film industry "for coming forward with information about the defendant," the court filing said. "They wish to keep their identify from the public for as long as possible."
The evidence tampering charge was filed last week against Gutierrez-Reed. Prosecutors have alleged that she was drinking and smoking marijuana in the evenings during the filming of "Rust" and was likely hungover on the day a live bullet was loaded into the gun Baldwin used.
Gutierrez-Reed's attorney Jason Bowles criticized prosecutors' efforts to bring forward a "secret witness."
"A secret witness appears 20 months later? With no actual corroboration or evidence? And the state won't identify the person?" he said. "This is a throwback to the secret, star chamber prosecutions in England in the 15th century that were abolished."
Bowles has called tampering accusations against his client "retaliatory and vindictive" and an example of "character assassination."
Police officer injured in shooting in New Mexico tourist town - Associated Press
An exchange of gunfire between a police officer and a suspect in Taos on Saturday wounded both and forced authorities to divert traffic along a main road in the tourist enclave, authorities said.
Town manager Andrew Gonzales confirmed in a statement to The Associated Press that the officer and suspect were both taken to a hospital and that the suspect was likely to succumb to their injuries.
He declined to release more information, saying the shooting would under go a full investigation.
"Please keep our officers, first responders and community in your prayers," Gonzales said.
It's unclear what led to the shooting, which happened in a commercial district about a half-mile south of the historic Taos Plaza. The area includes a grocery store, a barber shop, restaurants and other businesses.
Rare lizard found in major US oil patch proposed as endangered species - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
U.S. wildlife managers on Friday proposed federal protections for a rare lizard found only in parts of one of the world's most lucrative oil and natural gas basins.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the dunes sagebrush lizard should be listed as an endangered species due to the ongoing threats of energy development, mining and climate change in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. The agency will be collecting public comments on the proposed listing through Sept. 1.
Environmentalists have been pushing for protections for the reptile for decades, resulting in petitions and lawsuits. There have also been conservation agreements, but some groups have criticized them for not doing enough to protect the lizard's habitat.
The Center for Biological Diversity sued in 2022, accusing the agency of stalling on issuing a decision. The Fish and Wildlife Service, as part of a court-approved agreement, faced a June 29 deadline for making a determination on whether listing was warranted.
"The dunes sagebrush lizard is marvelously adapted for life in extreme environments but it needs our help to survive the oil and gas industry's destruction," Michael Robinson, with the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. "The Service needs to move quickly to implement these long-overdue protections."
Robinson said the 2.5-inch (6.4-centimeter) long lizard has the second smallest range of any lizard in North America.
Biologists aren't able to say how many lizards might exist because there are so few of them and they're hard to detect, making precise counts very difficult. However, they note there are fewer lizards detected in areas where there are more oil and gas wells or areas where habitat has been disturbed.
Light brown and spiny, the lizard lives in sand dunes and among shinnery oak, where it feeds on insects and spiders and burrows into the sand for protection from extreme temperatures.
Much of the lizard's remaining habitat has been fragmented, preventing the species from finding mates beyond those already living close by, according to biologists.
Oil and gas operators and ranchers in the Permian Basin have strongly opposed listing the reptile as an endangered species, saying doing so could disrupt businesses and add extra costs. They have argued that oil and gas companies already have spent millions of dollars on conservation efforts, including through voluntary agreements reached with wildlife managers.
Environmentalists first petitioned for the lizard's protection in 2002, resulting in a 2010 finding by federal officials that the species warranted protection. That prompted an outcry from some members of Congress and communities in both states that rely on oil and gas development for jobs and tax revenue.
Several GOP congressional members sent a letter to officials in the Obama administration asking to delay a final decision.
In 2012, federal officials decided not to bestow protections on the reptile. Then-U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said at the time that the much-anticipated decision over the lizard was based on the "best available science" and because of voluntary conservation agreements in place in New Mexico and Texas.
In New Mexico and Texas, federal officials said around 100 ranchers and 100 oil and gas companies have enrolled in voluntary conservation agreements. The enrollments cover nearly 85% of the lizard's range within New Mexico.
The Fish and Wildlife Service said Friday that the current determination that a listing was warranted came after "a rigorous review of the best available scientific and commercial information."
The agency also said it would be prudent to set aside habitat for the lizard but did not comment further.
The Biden administration guaranteed attorney access for all migrant screenings. Most don't have it - By Elliot Spagat Associated Press
As the Biden administration prepared to launch speedy asylum screenings at Border Patrol holding facilities this spring , authorities pledged a key difference from a Trump-era version of the policy: Migrants would be guaranteed access to legal counsel.
Nearly three months and thousands of screenings later, the promise of attorney access appears largely unfulfilled, based on advocacy group reports and interviews with people directly involved, some of whom spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the effort publicly.
A coterie of involved attorneys estimate that perhaps 100 migrants have secured formal representation, and only hundreds more have received informal advice through one-time phone calls ahead of the expedited screenings.
Jones Day, one of the world's largest law firms, has partnered with the administration to provide free legal advice to migrants. Its phone bank handled 460 informal phone consultations, each one typically lasting about two hours, as of June 21, according to one of the people who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. Jones Day itself had only two formal clients, the person said.
Four other advocacy groups that offer free advice and whose names are posted on the immigration court system's website have handled far fewer phone consultations, partly because they started much later, the person said. Representatives from those four groups declined to comment or did not respond to requests from the AP.
That represents a mere fraction of the thousands of expedited screenings since early April, though a precise percentage couldn't be determined. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, whose asylum officers conduct the interviews, didn't answer questions about attorney representation.
U.S. authorities aim to complete screenings in 72 hours — the limit on holding someone under Border Patrol policy. The Homeland Security Department said the accelerated timeline is meant "to provide relief more quickly to those who are eligible and to more quickly remove those who are not." AP has repeatedly requested to visit a screening facility to better understand the process.
During the screenings, known as "credible fear interviews," migrants must convince an asylum officer that they have a "significant possibility" of convincing a judge that they face persecution in their home countries on grounds of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a social group. If they pass, they are typically released in the U.S. while their case winds through the system.
The percentage of people who passed asylum screenings fell to 52% during the second half of May as the fast-track process picked up, down from 77% the second half of March, just before it began.
The government figures give no explanation and do not say how many expedited screenings occurred in Border Patrol custody without access to legal counsel. Administration officials have attributed lower approval rates in part to a new policy that severely limits asylum for people who travel through another country, like Mexico, to reach the U.S. border.
A lawsuit filed last month in federal court in Washington seeks to end the screenings in Border Patrol custody, noting that applicants get as little as 24 hours to find attorneys after often-harrowing journeys. The lawsuit contends that "leaves virtually no time or ability for noncitizens to consult with anyone or meaningfully prepare for these often life-or-death interviews.
Even migrants who pass are reluctant to discuss their experiences as they to continue pursuing asylum cases. U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, a California Democrat, said in a statement that reports of lacking attorney access at Border Patrol facilities are "troubling and disappointing."
The administration won't say how many of the screenings it has done at Border Patrol facilities, which prohibit in-person attorney visits, though it is easily thousands. The Homeland Security Department said June 5 that asylum officers did more than 11,500 screenings on the border in the first three weeks after pandemic-related asylum restrictions ended, though some may have been at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement centers, which do allow attorney visits.
Normally, about three in four migrants pass credible fear interviews, though far fewer eventually win asylum. But the results roughly flipped during the five months of the Trump-era program of expedited screenings: Only 23% passed, while 69% failed and 9% withdrew, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Biden ended Trump's fast-track reviews within a month of Democrats occupying the White House, part of an executive order aimed at "restoring and enhancing asylum processing at the border."
Renewed screenings began in Texas' Rio Grande Valley and expanded the following week to similarly sprawling tent complexes in Laredo and El Paso in Texas; Yuma, Arizona; and San Diego — all temporary Border Patrol detention centers built since 2021 with hundreds of phone booths for interviews.
For about three weeks in April, Jones Day attorneys were able to prepare all migrants who sought informal legal advice by phone but were soon overwhelmed, according to one person with direct knowledge of the effort.
Some legal service providers wrestled with whether to participate in the "Enhanced Expedited Removal" program as the screenings process is called. They don't get paid and some worried it might imply approval and lend legitimacy.
Americans for Immigrant Justice joined the Jones Day-led effort because the interviews carry "life-and death" stakes, said Cindy Woods, national policy counsel.
"It's a difficult situation to be in, especially because the way that this new iteration has been laid out," she said.
Calls that come in at night or on weekends are missed, and attorneys say they have no reliable way to respond to messages.
Obtaining formal representation for the screening may require a signature, which requires assistance from agents who may be unavailable. One of Woods' clients was on the phone for five hours while waiting for an agent to print a consent form and fax it back to the attorney with the migrant's signature.
The National Immigrant Justice Center, which takes clients through the Jones Day-led phone bank, said in a report that only six of 23 clients had access to pen and paper to take notes.
Jones Day attorneys occupied the highest ranks of the Trump administration, including White House counsel Don McGahn. Despite ties to the former president, who called asylum "a sham," the firm built a robust practice representing asylum-seekers for free known as the "Border Project," operating from an office it opened in 2017 on the banks of the Rio Grande in Laredo.
Jones Day says it has provided legal education to more than 10,000 migrants. More than 1,100 lawyers have spent more than 280,000 hours on their cases — an unrivaled investment among major firms.
The firm has declined to comment publicly on its role providing legal advice for the expedited screenings.