Biden visits tribal nation and apologizes for the 'sin' of a 150-year boarding school policy - By Aamer Madhani and Josh Boak, Associated Press
President Joe Biden on Friday formally apologized to Native Americans for the "sin" of a government-run boarding school system that for decades forcibly separated children from their parents, calling it a "blot on American history" in his first presidential visit to a tribal nation.
"It's a sin on our soul," said Biden, his voice full of anger and emotion. "Quite frankly, there's no excuse that this apology took 50 years to make."
It was a moment of both contrition and frustration as the president sought to recognize one of the "most horrific chapters" in the national story. Biden spoke of the abuses and deaths of Native children that resulted from the federal government's policies, noting that "while darkness can hide much, it erases nothing" and that great nations "must know the good, the bad, the truth of who we are."
"I formally apologize as president of United States of America for what we did," Biden said. The government's removal of children from their Native American community for boarding schools "will always be a significant mark of shame, a blot on American history. For too long, this all happened with virtually no public attention, not written about in our history books, not taught in our schools."
Democrats hope Biden's visit to the Gila River Indian Community's land on the outskirts of Phoenix's metro area will also provide a boost to Vice President Kamala Harris' turnout effort in a key battleground state. The moment gave Biden a fuller chance to spotlight his and Harris' support for tribal nations, a group that historically has favored Democrats, in a state he won just by 10,000 votes in 2020.
The race between Harris and former President Donald Trump is expected to be similarly close, and both campaigns are doing whatever they can to improve turnout among bedrock supporters.
"The race is now a turnout grab," said Mike O'Neil, a non-partisan pollster based in Arizona. "The trendlines throughout have been remarkably steady. The question is which candidate is going to be able to turn out their voters in a race that seems to be destined to be decided by narrow margins."
Biden has been used sparingly on the campaign trail by Harris and other Democrats since he ended his reelection campaign in July.
But analysts say Biden could help Harris in her appeal with Native American voters — a group that has trailed others in turnout rates.
In 2020, there was a surge in voter turnout on some tribal land in Arizona as Biden beat Trump and became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state since Bill Clinton in 1996.
Biden, whose presidency is winding down, had promised tribal leaders nearly two years ago that he would visit a tribal nation.
For decades, federal boarding schools were used to assimilate children into white society, according to the White House. Not everyone saw the apology as sufficient.
"An apology is a nice start, but it is not a true reckoning, nor is it a sufficient remedy for the long history of colonial violence," said Chase Iron Eyes, director of the Lakota People's Law Project and Sacred Defense Fund.
At least 973 Native American children died in the U.S. government's abusive boarding school system over a 150-year period that ended in 1969, according to an Interior Department investigation that called for a U.S. government apology.
At least 18,000 children, some as young as 4, were taken from their parents and forced to attend schools that sought to assimilate them.
"President Biden deserves credit for finally putting attention on the issue and other issues impacting the community," said Ramona Charette Klein, 77, a boarding school survivor and an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. "I do think that will reflect well on Vice President Harris, and I hope this momentum will continue."
Democrats have stepped up outreach to Native American communities.
Both Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, met with tribal leaders in Arizona and Nevada this month. And Clinton, who has been serving as a surrogate for Harris, last week met in North Carolina with the chairman of the Lumbee Tribe.
The Democratic National Committee recently launched a six-figure ad campaign targeting Native American voters in Arizona, North Carolina, Montana and Alaska through digital, print and radio ads.
Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is locked in a competitive race with Republican Kari Lake for Arizona's open Senate seat, has visited all 22 of Arizona's federally recognized tribes.
Harris started a recent campaign rally in Chandler, near where the Gila River reservation is located, with a shoutout to the tribe's leader. Walz is scheduled to go to the Navajo Nation in Arizona on Saturday.
The White House says Biden and Harris have built a substantial track record with Native Americans over the last four years.
The president designated the sacred Avi Kwa Ame, a desert mountain in Nevada and Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon in Arizona as national monuments and restored the boundaries for Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.
In addition, the administration has directed nearly $46 billion in federal spending to tribal nations. The money has helped bring electricity to a reservation that never had electricity, expand access to high-speed internet, improve water sanitation, build roadways and more.
Biden picked former New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland to serve as his Interior secretary, the first Native American to be appointed to a Cabinet position. Haaland is a member of Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico.
She, in turn, ordered the comprehensive review in June 2021 of the troubled legacy of the federal government's boarding school policies that led Biden to deliver the formal apology.
Thom Reilly, co-director of the Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy at Arizona State University, said both Harris' and Trump's campaigns — and their allies — have put a remarkable amount of effort into micro-targeting in Arizona.
"They are pulling out every stop just to see if they could wrangle a few more votes here and there," Reilly said. "The Indian community is one of those groups that Harris is hoping will overperform and help make the difference."
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Boak reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Graham Lee Brewer in Norman, Oklahoma, contributed to this report.
County clerks urge New Mexico voters to drop off, rather than mail, their absentee ballots - By Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
New Mexico elections officials are asking voters to drop off their absentee ballots at elections offices or in secure drop boxes, rather than posting them to ensure they are received in time to count.
Voters who haven’t already mailed their ballots should not rely on the U.S. Postal Service this close to the election, said Santa Fe County Clerk Katherine Clark said in a media release.
“At this point, mailing your ballot may delay it,” Clark said, urging voters to drop off the ballots at voting centers, open poll sites or in secure drop boxes.
The consensus from New Mexico elections officials is that ballots mailed before this past Tuesday, Oct. 22, will arrive on time.
New Mexico state law requires the clerk’s office to physically receive all mail-in ballots by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5, in order to be counted.
Ballots arriving via mail to the clerk’s office after Election Day cannot be counted.
Mitchell Cox, the voter outreach coordinator for Santa Fe County, said that his office has seen a variety of postmark times on mail-in ballots. Some ballots are arriving after a few days, but often taking longer.
“Generally, it takes a week, each way, for ballots to travel by mail, even within the state,” Cox said.
For years, elections officials throughout the U.S. have been combating election disinformation spread by former President Donald Trump and Republican officials about how absentee ballots are counted, while also balancing concerns about post office delays which has disenfranchised voters across the country.
In a September letter, elections officials nationwide reported receiving “dozens to hundreds of ballots 10 or more days after postmark”
Voting locations are open in New Mexico Monday through Saturday until Nov. 2, and can be found on the New Mexico Secretary of State’s voter portal, or by contacting the local county clerk’s office.
There are no voting centers open on the Sunday or Monday before Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5, when polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.
Judge upholds dismissal of involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in on-set shooting - By Morgan Lee Associated Press
A New Mexico judge has upheld her decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie.
In a ruling Thursday, state District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer stood by her July decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin. She said prosecutors did not raise any factual or legal arguments that would justify reversing her decision.
"Because the state's amended motion raises arguments previously made, and arguments that the state elected not to raise earlier, the court does not find the amended motion well taken," the judge wrote, adding that the request was also untimely.
A spokesperson for Baldwin's lawyers said Friday that they had no immediate reaction to the decision.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey told The Associated Press that she disagrees with the court's analysis and will appeal the ruling. Morrissey was appointed by the Santa Fe district attorney to take over the case in March 2023 after a previous special prosecutor resigned following missteps in the filing of initial charges.
The case was thrown out halfway through trial on allegations that police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense in the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust."
Baldwin's trial was upended by revelations that ammunition was brought into the Santa Fe County sheriff's office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins' killing. Prosecutors said they deemed the ammo unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin's lawyers say investigators "buried" the evidence in a separate case file and filed a successful motion to dismiss.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for "Rust," was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the revolver fired.
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 in Hutchins' death.
Marlowe Sommer last month rejected Gutierrez-Reed's request to dismiss her conviction or convene a new trial on allegations that prosecutors failed to share evidence that might have been exculpatory. She found that the armorer's attorneys didn't establish that there was a reasonable possibility that the outcome of the trial would have been different had the evidence been available to Gutierrez-Reed, who still has an appeal pending with a higher court.
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Associated Press reporter Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque contributed to this report.
In light of recent study, water board wants to hear more about the safety of fluoride —Rodd Cayton, City Desk ABQ
Regulators of the local water system want to hear from experts and members of the public before deciding what to do about fluoride in the Albuquerque area’s drinking water.
Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority staff Wednesday shared with board members background information on the history of fluoridation and the possible future of the practice here.
The looming question is whether the utility should continue to add fluoride to the water, with the balance between the health benefits associated with the additive and its perceived dangers.
Board member and County Commissioner Adriann Barboa said she’d like to hear from experts in the field as well as from the general public. Other members asked staff to investigate what other water providers are doing.
Danielle Shuryn, compliance division manager for the water authority, said staff would initiate the process of gathering public input.
Board Chair Eric Olivas asked for the presentation after a new report released in August found that exposure to high levels of fluoride in drinking water could be associated with lower IQ in children.
Albuquerque and Bernalillo County’s fluoride levels are well below the levels cited in that report, local water officials said at the time, noting that the American Dental Association continues to recommend community water fluoridation — shown to prevent tooth decay in children and adults, even with widespread public access to fluoride from other sources such as toothpaste.
Shuryn said there is some fluoride that’s naturally present in the area’s water, which is supplemented at a treatment plant before going out to customers.
Albuquerque added fluoride to its water from 1972 until 2011, when the Water Authority temporarily suspended the practice pending new federal recommendations on optimal fluoride levels. The practice was re-started in 2018 after the Centers for Disease Control eventually issued a recommended optimal level of 0.7 milligrams per liter.
Shuryn said the average level in the Water Authority’s service area last year was 0.59 milligrams per liter, less than half the level at which the National Toxicology Program found the possible link to lower IQs.
In response to a question from board member and Albuquerque City Councilor Louie Sanchez, she said the amount of fluoride in the Albuquerque area is roughly the same as “one squeeze” of an eyedropper into a 10-gallon tank.
Shuryn said the Water Authority has spent about $356,000 on fluoride since it resumed adding it to the water, along with another $432,00 on equipment maintenance. She said the temporary fluoridation system is scheduled for replacement in the 2030-2031 fiscal year, at a cost of $4 million.
FEMA is aiding Roswell's effort to recover from historic flooding — Associated Press
Federal officials went door to door in Roswell on Thursday to assess the damage from historic flooding last weekend in the southeastern New Mexico community.
The National Guard rescued more than 300 people over the weekend after 5.78 inches (about 14.7 centimeters) of rain fell Saturday, breaking Roswell's previous daily record of 5.65 inches (about 14.6 centimeters) set on Nov. 1, 1901.
Mayor Tim Jennings called it "a 500-year flood" and said Thursday that the death toll remained at two. He declined to release the names and ages of the dead.
"One man drowned and the other person, a woman, was in a car and was rescued but had a fatal heart attack," Jennings said. "We don't have anybody missing. At least, I hope not."
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared an emergency, clearing the way for $1 million in state funding to bolster relief efforts.
Jennings said the Federal Emergency Management Agency arrived on the scene Thursday to assess the damage, which he estimated at $500 million.
"We have lots of damaged homes. They might have to be torn down," Jennings said. "We also lost four huge work trucks that cost $1 million or so each."
City officials said the Roswell Museum sustained at least $12 million in water damage and that pieces of artwork were being sent out of state to be repaired.
Nevada jury hands $5.2 billion verdict against Vegas company in bottled water liver damage lawsuit — Associated Press
A jury in Nevada has delivered a $5.2 billion award in the latest large-sum lawsuit against a former Las Vegas-based bottled water company that was found responsible for causing liver damage in customers before it was recalled from store shelves in 2021.
A 12-day trial ended with the verdict Wednesday in the negligence and product liability case against AffinityLifestyles.com Inc. and its Real Water brand, according to Clark County District Court records. The jury awarded about $230 million in compensatory damages and $5 billion in punitive damages to Hunter Brown and several other plaintiffs.
Attorney Will Kemp, representing plaintiffs, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he expects Real Water's insurance company to fight paying damages because the company has filed for bankruptcy.
Affinitylifestyles.com was headed by Brent Jones, who served as a Republican Nevada state Assembly member from 2016 to 2018. Jones and attorneys for the company did not immediately respond Thursday to emails seeking comment.
Juries have previously delivered separate verdicts against the company, awarding plaintiffs almost $3.1 billion in June, $130 million in February and $228 million in October 2023. Juries have been told that tests found Real Water contained hydrazine, a chemical used in rocket fuel that may have been introduced during treatment before bottling.
Defense attorneys have cast the company as unintentionally negligent, not reckless, because it didn't know hydrazine was in the water and didn't know to test for it.
Kemp represents additional plaintiffs in several more civil lawsuits still pending against the company.
Real Water was sold in distinctive boxy blue bottles as premium treated "alkalized" drinking water with healthy detoxifying properties. It was distributed to stores throughout the Southwest including Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and the Los Angeles area and also was delivered to homes in large bottles before being pulled off shelves in March 2021.
See where state legislative fundraising stands with less than two weeks until Election Day - By Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
Candidates seeking 112 state legislative seats on the ballot this Election Day, including the 63 who are running unopposed, reported raising more than $3 million since mid-September.
All 70 House seats and 42 Senate seats are on the ballot Nov. 5. All told, candidates on the ballot have raised about $10 million and spent $6 million of it, according to a Source New Mexico analysis. That includes long-time, unopposed powerful lawmakers who have amassed hundreds of thousands of dollars in their war chests and hotly contested cases where both candidates are going door-to-door seeking donations.
Candidates were required to submit financial disclosures last week. They’ll also have to report their fundraising activity on Halloween. That’s the last time the public will know where candidates stand, in terms of fundraising, before voting ends in 12 days.
The biggest Senate fundraiser since mid-September was Cindy Nava, a Democrat seeking to represent District 9, which covers the area north of Albuquerque, including Placitas and Bernalillo. Her opponent, Republican Audrey Trujillo, reported raising about $19,000 in the same period. According to Secretary of State data, Trujillo has about $33,867 remaining to spend before Nov. 5, and Nava has $76,000.
In the House, Democrat Sarah Silva raised the most in the last reporting period, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. She’s reported more than $120,000 raised for a contentious House race in Las Cruces. Her opponent, Republican Elizabeth Winterrowd, raised a little more than $27,000.
After the election, candidates will again have to report their final-stretch fundraising activity. Those reports are due in January 2025.
Find charts from Source New Mexico showing where things stand here.