Facebook parent sued by New Mexico alleging it has failed to shield children from predators - Associated Press
Facebook and Instagram fail to protect underage users from exposure to child sexual abuse material and let adults solicit pornographic imagery from them, New Mexico's attorney general alleges in a lawsuit that follows an undercover online investigation.
"Our investigation into Meta's social media platforms demonstrates that they are not safe spaces for children but rather prime locations for predators to trade child pornography and solicit minors for sex," Attorney General Raul Torrez said in a statement Wednesday.
The civil lawsuit filed late Tuesday against Meta Platforms Inc. in state court also names its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, as a defendant.
In addition, the suit claims Meta "harms children and teenagers through the addictive design of its platform, degrading users' mental health, their sense of self-worth, and their physical safety," Torrez's office said in a statement.
Those claims echo a lawsuit filed in late October by the attorneys general of 33 states, including California and New York, against Meta that alleges Instagram and Facebook include features deliberately designed to hook children, contributing to the youth mental health crisis and leading to depression, anxiety and eating disorders. New Mexico was not a party to that lawsuit.
Investigators in New Mexico created decoy accounts of children 14 years and younger that Torrez's office said were served sexually explicit images even when the child expressed no interest in them. State prosecutors claim that Meta let dozens of adults find, contact and encourage children to provide sexually explicit and pornographic images.
The accounts also received recommendations to join unmoderated Facebook groups devoted to facilitating commercial sex, investigators said, adding that Meta also let its users find, share, and sell "an enormous volume of child pornography."
"Mr. Zuckerberg and other Meta executives are aware of the serious harm their products can pose to young users, and yet they have failed to make sufficient changes to their platforms that would prevent the sexual exploitation of children," Torrez said, accusing Meta's executives of prioritizing "engagement and ad revenue over the safety of the most vulnerable members of our society."
Meta, which is based in Menlo Park, California, did not directly respond to the New Mexico lawsuit's allegations, but said that it works hard to protect young users with a serious commitment of resources.
"We use sophisticated technology, hire child safety experts, report content to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and share information and tools with other companies and law enforcement, including state attorneys general, to help root out predators," the company said. "In one month alone, we disabled more than half a million accounts for violating our child safety policies."
Company spokesman Andy Stone pointed to a company report detailing the millions of tips Facebook and Instagram sent to the National Center in the third quarter of 2023 — including 48,000 involving inappropriate interactions that could include an adult soliciting child sexual abuse material directly from a minor or attempting to meet with one in person.
Critics including former employees have long complained that Meta's largely automated content moderation systems are ill-equipped to identify and adequately eliminate abusive behavior on its platforms.
Heinrich calls for better oversight of Israel’s use of U.S. weapons to harm Palestinian civilians - By Nash Jones, KUNM News
As the U.S. ramps up its military aid to Israel in its war against Hamas, New Mexico senior U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich and four of his colleagues have sent a letter to President Joe Biden calling for stepped-up efforts to ensure Israel is following U.S. policy and international law when it uses American weapons.
Heinrich signed onto the letter Tuesday with fellow Democrats Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley, Tim Kaine and Independent Bernie Sanders.
Following a condemnation of Hammas’s October attack on Israel, the Senators laid out reasons behind their concern: That the majority of the over 15,000 Palestinians who Israel has killed were civilians, that human rights groups say many of those deaths were preventable, and that Israel has repeatedly targeted designated “safe zones,” refugee camps, and hospitals.
The Senators wrote that, “The risk of violating international law and our own standards increases as Israel uses explosive weapons in densely populated areas.” They noted the U.S. has provided weapons without setting any conditions for how Israel uses them.
The lawmakers also highlighted difficulties Congress faces in sussing out which Israeli weapons came from the United States, and therefore whether U.S. assistance is “contributing to disproportionate civilian harm.”
To help address their concerns and better inform them of his administration’s efforts, the Senators asked Biden to respond to a list of questions by Dec. 20.
At tribal summit, Biden says he's working to 'heal the wrongs of the past' and 'move forward' - By Colleen Long, Susan Montoya Bryan And Hallie Golden Associated Press
President Joe Biden told Native American nations gathered for a summit Wednesday that his administration was working to heal the wrongs of the past as he signed an executive order that seeks to make it easier for Indigenous peoples to access federal funding, and have greater autonomy over how to spend it.
Biden also threw his support behind a request to allow Haudenosaunee Confederacy to compete under its own flag in the 2028 Olympics in lacrosse, a sport they invented.
Historically, federal policies attacked Native people's rights to self-governance and caused lasting economic damage. Biden said the actions at the summit were "key steps" that would help usher in an new era of tribal sovereignty. "A new era grounded in dignity and respect that recognizes your fundamental rights to govern and grow on your own terms," he said.
"It's hard work to heal the wrongs of the past and change the course, and move forward," Biden said.
Yurok Tribal Council Member Phillip Williams described Biden's speech as inspirational.
"It felt like our highest official in the land acknowledges the crimes of the past," he said. "His contribution to society is to help to heal the tribal nations."
Biden signed the order as members of his administration and tribal nation leaders stood behind him on stage at the Department of the Interior. The order in part creates a clearinghouse for Native American and Alaska native tribes to find and access grants and it requests that federal agencies ensure that funding is accessible and equitable. It also gives them more authority over how to spend the money.
That news was welcomed by Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren, who said the funding they get from the federal government to help the hundreds of thousands of people on their reservation that extends across Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, can be difficult to spend.
"There's so much policies and things that are attached to it and requirements that are attached to it that sometimes it's just overwhelming to try to get it done," he said.
Tyson Johnston, self governance executive director for the Quinault Indian Nation in northwest Washington state, who is responsible for coordinating the relocation of their villages in the face of dangerous sea level rise, highlighted the importance of this type of autonomy when it comes to climate change.
In July, the Biden administration announced $120 million in grant funding for tribes in the U.S. to boost their resiliency to climate change.
"All of us are going to have different adaptation strategies and different priorities moving forward. So boxing us in and keeping us in kind of bureaucratic red tape is really not going to work if we want to continue to make meaningful change," he said.
Biden hosted the summit in person last year and virtually the year before. This year, White House officials said, the goal was to provide an opportunity for tribal leaders to have more meaningful conversations directly with members of Biden's Cabinet.
While the federal government has an obligation to consult with tribal governments, some Native American and Alaska Native leaders have complained that federal agencies often treat the process as a check-the-box practice despite efforts by Haaland to make changes.
From Nevada to Alaska, permitting decisions over mining projects, oil and gas development and the preservation of sacred areas, for example, have highlighted what some leaders say are shortcomings in the process.
The Democratic administration also announced more than 190 agreements that allow tribes to manage federal lands, waters and natural resources and a new study to help better interpret and tell the history of Native Americans, particularly during periods of federal reform.
"Yes, there are parts of our history that are painful, but there are also those that we celebrate and that show our resilience, strength and our contributions," said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna.
Biden said he was throwing his support behind the effort to allow the confederacy to play under its own flag at the Los Angeles Olympics. The International Olympic Committee would have to make an exception to a rule permitting only teams playing as part of an official national Olympic committee to compete in the Games. The Haudenosaunee have competed as their own team at a number of international events since 1990.
The Haudenosaunee Nationals Lacrosse Organization, established in 1983, is among the best in the world. The confederacy is made up of six different nations, the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas and Tuscarora Nation. It spans the border between the U.S. and Canada.
"Their circumstances are unique," Biden said. "They should be granted an exception to field their own team at the Olympics."
The Department of the Interior is also working on final revisions to a rule overhauling how human remains, funerary objects and sacred objects are repatriated. The new rules streamline the requirements for museums and federal agencies to identify possible items for repatriation.
Officials also announced that the White House Council on Native American Affairs, which is co-chaired by Haaland and Tanden, has published a guide outlining best practices and procedures for the management, treatment and protection of sacred sites. The document was recently finalized after taking into account feedback from tribal leaders.
In Nevada, Arlan Melendez, chairman of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, said Tuesday that promises about meaningful consultation haven't materialized as several tribes have fought to halt construction of one of the largest lithium mines in the world. The tribes say the mine is being built illegally near the sacred site of an 1865 massacre along the Nevada-Oregon line.
"Consultation has to happen in the early stages," he said. "If you do consultation after the project is already rolling, it doesn't do you so much good at that point. So we are little bit disappointed in them."
New Mexico hires Bronco Mendenhall as its new football coach; formerly coached BYU and Virginia - Associated Press
New Mexico hired Bronco Mendenhall as its new head football coach Wednesday.
The 57-year-old Mendenhall compiled a 135-81 record over 17 seasons at BYU and Virginia and was 7-7 in bowl games before he stepped away from coaching following the 2021 season.
Mendenhall moved to Montana with his wife Holly and spent time fishing and horseback riding before deciding to return to college football.
He's the 33rd head coach in New Mexico's football history and succeeds Danny Gonzales, who was fired Nov. 25 after a 4-8 season at his alma mater. Gonzales had an 11-32 record over four seasons with the Lobos, who haven't had a winning season since 2016.
Albuquerque TV station KOB reported that Mendenhall signed a five-year contract with the Lobos. A news conference was scheduled for Thursday morning.
In a statement Wednesday, Mendenhall said he welcomed "the challenge and opportunity of building a program of excellence" and added that he and his wife were excited to be returning to Albuquerque after 25 years.
"Throughout this process, we were looking for not just a proven winner, but a leader of men that has a clear vision for what our program can be," athletic director Eddie Nuñez said in a statement. "Coach Mendenhall has twice taken over programs that were struggling, turning them into winning, championship programs."
All 11 of Mendenhall's BYU teams went to a bowl and he guided Virginia to three bowl games, including the Orange Bowl in 2019.
BYU won Mountain West Conference championships in 2006 and 2007 under Mendenhall and he was named the Mountain West coach of the year in 2006.
Mendenhall, who played safety and linebacker at Oregon State from 1986-87 and was a team captain, started his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Beavers before becoming a position coach or defensive coordinator at Utah's Snow College, Northern Arizona and Louisiana Tech.
New Mexico governor proposes $500M to treat fracking wastewater - By Morgan Lee Associated Press
New Mexico would underwrite development of a strategic new source of water by buying treated water that originates from the used, salty byproducts of oil and natural gas drilling, and help preserve its freshwater aquifers in the process, under a proposal from the state's Democratic governor.
The initiative from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, announced Tuesday from the international climate conference at Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, would set water purification standards and purchase treated water that originates from oil fields as well as the state's vast natural underground reservoirs of brine. It requires legislative approval.
The idea is to create a government-guaranteed market for the commodity — treated water — and attract private enterprise to build desalinization and treatment facilities, securing new sources of water for industrial applications. The administration hopes to make the water available to businesses ranging from microchip manufacturers to hydrogen fuel producers that separate the element from water in an energy-intensive process.
Lujan Grisham said she'll ask the Legislature to set aside $500 million to underwrite acquisition of treated water. The arrangement would harness the state's bonding authority and financial reserves held in its multibillion-dollar Severance Tax Permanent Fund. The trust, founded in the 1970s, is sustained by taxes on the extraction of oil, natural gas and other minerals from state land.
"We're going to turn water — this waste, which is a problem — into a commodity," Lujan Grisham said at the conference. "We give a fixed, long-term, (let's) say 30-year contract to any number of companies that can provide the technology to identify that water, to clean that water up, and to use it in chip manufacturing, solar manufacturing."
She said the goal is avoid a reckoning on fresh-water supplies as the Rio Grande and underground fresh-water aquifers recede. The state also has extensive underground reservoirs of salty water that have been of limited use.
That brackish water is a crucial component in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and advanced drilling techniques that have helped turn New Mexico into the No. 2 oil production state in the U.S. The state's oil wells draw out far more water than oil, by several multiples, according to oil field regulators.
State Environment Secretary James Kenney said the goal is to move water from the "waste to the commodity side of the ledger," noting that minerals such as lithium might be recovered during water treatment for commercial purposes. He acknowledged that the environmental implications are complex and offered assurances of adequate oversight through a 2019 law regarding oil industry water uses.
"We'll have that carrot and stick approach," Kenney said "We need that carrot approach to continue to move the economic needle while preserving our freshwater resources."
Democratic state Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth of Santa Fe signaled enthusiasm for the ideas in a social media post.
"Creating a state reserve of treated water for renewable energy projects merits serious consideration in the upcoming session," Wirth said.
New Mexico state government is navigating an unprecedented financial windfall from record setting oil production centered in the Permian Basin that extends across southeastern New Mexico and portions of western Texas. The state currently anticipates a $3.5 billion general fund surplus for the coming fiscal year — equal to roughly one-third of current annual spending commitments.
Still, it's unclear how the water initiative will be received when the Democratic-led Legislature convenes in January.
Lawmakers within the Democratic Party have clashed in recent years over strategies for modernizing the electric grid, transportation and water infrastructure to address climate change, wary of disrupting an oil industry that is a major source of private employment and government spending.
Republican state Rep. Larry Scott of Hobbs, an oil industry engineer, expressed skepticism that the state can quickly scale up water treatment and dispose of massive amounts of salt.
"Anybody that comes to me with a project to make the desert bloom, my first question has to be, what are you going to do with salt?" he said. "It's monumental. And unless you solve that problem, produced water will continue to be a waste product."
Vexus Fiber completes first step in massive high speed ABQ broadband network - Bryce Dix, KUNM News
The Albuquerque metro area is now one step closer to faster broadband.
After breaking ground on its new 100% fiber optic network in March, Vexus Fiber has finished the first phase of the project – launching service to over 1,000 homes and businesses north of I-40 and West of I-25.
Eventually, the network will span all of Albuquerque by 2028.
Fiber-optic internet, commonly called fiber internet or simply “fiber,” is a broadband connection that can reach speeds of up to 10 Gigabits per second.
The technology uses fiber-optic cable, which can send data as fast as 70% the speed of light.
“Bringing reliable high-speed fiber internet to our city will help bridge the digital divide for Albuquerque families so they have the tools they need to learn and work,” said Mayor Tim Keller in a press release. “This is also a powerful tool for businesses that will help with ongoing economic development to create new opportunities in our community.”
Other parts of the city are already under construction for the high-speed internet. By the end of the year, Vexus plans to make the service available to 3,000 homes and businesses.