Two wildfires grow in Northern and Southern New Mexico– Santa Fe New Mexican, Source New Mexico
A wildfire sparked by lightning in northern New Mexico grew to over 4,200 acres Sunday thanks to heavy winds.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the Indios Fire in the Chama River Canyon Wilderness began on May 19 and remains uncontained. The Santa Fe National Forest has issued an emergency area closure in some areas due to the Indios Fire. And another fire in southern New Mexico has grown to 6,800 acres.
The Blue 2 Fire is north of Ruidoso and is also uncontained. The Forest Service said in a statement there are over 500 personnel working the fire. Aircraft are dropping water and fire retardant and firefighters have been placing sprinklers and hoses around houses.
Source New Mexico’s Patrick Lohmann reports the fires are burning in remote areas, and firefighters said they intend to monitor the Indios Fire but allow it to burn up a predetermined area, to “play its natural role in this fire-dependent ecosystem,” according to NMFireInfo.com.
The next few days are slated to be warmer and drier although there could be a chance for rain in the area of the Indios Fire.
A new service directory aims to help autistic and neurodivergent people finds businesses that fit them – Albuquerque Journal
An online database has launched a directory that aims to help people who are neurodivergent or autistic find local businesses that tailor to their needs.
The Albuquerque Journal reports, this program is part of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Project, or ASAP, that was created by Dr. Rebecca Evanko.
Evanko herself is autistic. She is the co-founder and executive director of Wilderwood, which promotes autistic led programs and research across the state.
She said, one business had concerns for the additional insurance needs to have autistic people on the premises. Evanko explained autistic people are not a liability, but the business still declined to join the directory.
Evanko welcomes any businesses to reach out to Wilderwood if they want to learn more about what they can do to create a friendly environment for people with autism.
Tribes say their future is at stake as they push for Congress to consider Colorado River settlement — Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
Within the heart of the Navajo Nation and in the shadow of the sandstone arch that is the namesake of the tribal capital, a simple greeting and big smiles were shared over and over again Friday as tribal officials gathered: "Yá'át'ééh abíní!"
It was a good morning, indeed, for Navajo President Buu Nygren as he signed legislation in Window Rock, Arizona, outlining a proposed settlement to ensure three Native American tribes have water rights from the Colorado River and other sources — and drought-stricken Arizona has more security in its supply.
The signature came a day after the Navajo Nation Council voted unanimously in favor of the measure. The San Juan Southern Paiute and Hopi tribes also approved the settlement this week.
Now, the three tribes in northeastern Arizona will be working to get Congress' approval for what could be the costliest water rights settlement in U.S. history.
"We've got a tall, tall task," Nygren told the crowd. "But we're going to get it done."
The Navajos have one of the largest outstanding claims in the Colorado River basin, and officials say the needs across the territory exceed the proposed price tag of $5 billion.
Nearly a third of homes in the Navajo Nation — spanning 27,000 square miles (70,000 square kilometers) of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah — don't have running water. Many homes on Hopi lands are similarly situated, and the San Juan Southern Paiute have been left for generations without a reservation — or water rights — to call their own.
Tribal leaders told The Associated Press in an interview Friday that the proposed settlement is about more than just a fundamental right to water. It marks a new path, they say, for cooperation among Native American tribes as they plan for the future amid the worsening effects of climate change.
While efforts to negotiate an agreement have been generations in the making, the leaders said the ongoing drought and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic were among the challenges that drove the latest round of talks.
Navajo Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley said Friday that the importance of having clean, reliable sources of drinking water became even more apparent during the pandemic. She talked about Navajo families who have to drive many miles to pick up water and haul it home and making do with just several gallons a day.
Other non-tribal parties to the settlement must still approve the measure, but tribal officials and their attorneys are hoping that discussions in Congress are well underway before the November election.
Congress has enacted nearly three dozen tribal water rights settlements across the U.S. over the last four decades. According to the U.S. Interior Department, federal negotiation teams are working on another 22 agreements involving dozens of tribes.
Involuntary manslaughter allegation against Alec Baldwin advances toward trial with new court ruling — Morgan Lee, Associated Press
A New Mexico judge has rejected a request by Alec Baldwin to dismiss the sole criminal charge against him in a fatal shooting on the set of the movie "Rust," keeping the case on track for a trial this summer.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer on Friday upheld an indictment charging Baldwin with one count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021. The judge rejected defense arguments that prosecutors flouted the rules of grand jury proceedings to divert attention away from exculpatory evidence and witnesses.
Special prosecutors have denied accusations that the grand jury proceedings were marred and say Baldwin made "shameless" attempts to escape culpability, highlighting contradictions in his statements to law enforcement, to workplace safety regulators and in a televised interview.
Friday's decision removes one of the last hurdles for prosecutors to put Baldwin on trial in July.
"We look forward to our day in court," defense attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said in an email.
During a rehearsal on the set of the Western film, Baldwin pointed a gun at Hutchins when the revolver went off, killing her and injuring director Joel Souza. Baldwin has maintained that he pulled back the gun's hammer but not the trigger.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 1.5 years in prison.
Marlowe Sommer rejected arguments that prosecutors acted in "bad faith" after reviewing transcripts of the January grand jury proceedings, noting that prosecutors are not required to present exculpatory evidence.
"New Mexico law does not require a prosecutor to present exculpatory evidence to a grand jury, or require a grand jury to even consider exculpatory evidence after alerted to its existence," the judge wrote.
She acknowledged that some questions by grand jurors were deferred to a hired expert witness for the prosecution, but she said that didn't prevent the jury from making an independent determination in charging Baldwin.
Court arguments last week on the motion to dismiss stretched for more than two hours, as defense attorneys for Baldwin accused prosecutors of cutting off questions from grand jurors and making little or no effort to communicate with defense witnesses in case they were called upon. Detailed records of the grand jury proceedings are not open to the public.
Lead special prosecutor Kari Morrissey said she ensured jurors had questions answered by witnesses with relevant experience and that the grand jury was shown that it had access to boxes of evidence supplied by the defense. Baldwin did not appear at the hearing.
Prosecutors last year dismissed an earlier involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin after being told the gun he was holding might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. A new analysis of the gun last year enabled prosecutors to reboot the case.
Prosecutors have turned their full attention to Baldwin after a judge in April sentenced movie weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to the maximum of 1.5 years at a state penitentiary on an involuntary manslaughter conviction for Hutchins' death.
The two-week trial of Gutierrez-Reed gave attorneys for Baldwin and the public a unusual window into how the actor's own trial could unfold.
Baldwin figured prominently in testimony and closing arguments that highlighted his authority as a co-producer and the lead actor on "Rust." Both the prosecution and defense in Gutierrez-Reed's trial dissected video footage of Baldwin before the fatal shooting for clues about breakdowns in firearms safety.
Prosecutors said Gutierrez-Reed unwittingly brought live ammunition onto the set of "Rust," where it was expressly prohibited, and failed to follow basic gun safety protocols. Gutierrez-Reed is appealing her conviction but hasn't yet filed detailed arguments.
Man who pleaded guilty to New Mexico double homicide is recaptured after brief escape — Associated Press
A man awaiting sentencing in a double-homicide case was back in custody Sunday after escaping from a juvenile jail in Albuquerque.
Bernalillo County Sheriff's officials said 19-year-old Josef Toney escaped Saturday afternoon from the Youth Detention Center and was taken into custody Sunday morning.
Deputies said video surveillance showed Toney opening a gate at the jail facility and running away. A man who lives in the area saw the escape and alerted authorities.
Court records show Toney pleaded guilty last month to two counts of first-degree murder. He was accused of fatally shooting two people at an apartment complex in northeast Albuquerque in January 2021 and wounding a third person.
Toney was arrested nearly 10 months later in Colorado and extradited to New Mexico.
County prosecutors said Toney was set to be sentenced on June 26 and faced up to 51 years in prison.
He's now facing an additional charge of escape or attempt to escape from jail.
Updated online court documents don't show if Toney has a lawyer and a call to the county public defender's office wasn't immediately returned Sunday.
New Mexico officials warn of health effects from rising temperatures — Associated Press
Health officials in New Mexico are warning residents to take precautions as daytime temperatures are expected to climb over the coming days in eastern and southern parts of the state.
Since April 1, the state Health Department said there have been at least 51 heat-related visits to emergency departments across New Mexico as record high temperatures have been recorded.
The state in 2023 logged more than 900 heat-related hospital visits between April and September — with nearly half of those occurring in July. This marked a sharp increase from previous years, and forecasts for this summer are calling for above-average chances for more hot and dry weather.
So far this year, heat waves have been causing problems around the world — from hundreds of people suffering heatstroke in Pakistan to water shortages in Mexico.
In New Mexico, temperatures are expected to climb to the upper 90s in Roswell and Carlsbad and will remain in the 90s in Las Cruces this week. Authorities there are telling motorists not to leave children or pets in the car, even if the windows are cracked.
State health officials said symptoms of heat-related illnesses can range from rash and sunburn to cramps and exhaustion. Those who are more vulnerable include people who work outside, children, older adults and those with chronic medical conditions.
Former Santa Fe priest accused of sex abuse takes his own life - Santa Fe New Mexican, KUNM News
A former Santa Fe priest accused of child sexual abuse took his own life ahead of a federal court hearing in his case scheduled for this morning.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Daniel Balizan served at Santa María de la Paz Catholic Community before the Archdiocese of Santa Fe removed him in response to allegations of child sex abuse.
He was accused of grooming and sexually abusing a teenager on church property in 2012. He was indicted last year by a federal grand jury on a charge of coercion and enticement of a minor.
Balizan was expected to plead guilty at today’s hearing, but instead Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaymie Roybal announced that he had died by suicide.
The Archdiocese of Santa Fe said in a statement that “his tragic decision to end his life underscores the far-reaching and devastating consequences of the crime of child abuse — affecting victims, their loved ones, and even perpetrators themselves.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.