New Mexico governor signs crime and behavioral health bills - By Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed three pieces of legislation on Thursday that she called a “monumental achievement” and a thoughtful effort to address crime, “the most serious issue our state is facing.”
At a packed signing ceremony and news conference on the Roundhouse’s fourth floor on Thursday morning, Lujan Grisham signed into law House Bill 8, known as the crime package, along with Senate Bill 1 and Senate Bill 3, known as the behavioral health package.
Lujan Grisham said the new laws come as the result of atypical cooperative legislative work, where lawmakers in both the House and Senate committed to making them the first priority for the 60-day session.
The new laws follow a failed and contentious special session on public safety last summer, after which the governor embarked on a statewide tour of town halls, gathering public support for her agenda.
House Speaker Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque) said lawmakers promised last summer to listen to various interests, and worked with both parties and both chambers to come up with “the best path possible” to care for the most vulnerable and keep communities safe.
“I’m not one of the older dudes in the room, but from what I understand from my Senate colleagues, this is the first time that this level of cooperation has happened,” Martínez said. “And keep in mind: it happened over the course of 30 days on a set of very, very difficult issues.”
Senate Majority Floor Leader Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) said the new laws are the commitment lawmakers made when the special session in 2024 “did not go the way I know the governor wanted it to go.”
“With Senate Bill 3, the stars really aligned when you take on something this big, doing it in any session would be challenging, but doing on an expedited basis was something that I am very proud of,” Wirth said. “This is a little different. I guess I am the old dude on this.”
The governor on Thursday did not sign Senate Bill 2, which would give $140 million to 13 state agencies for grants and improvements from housing service providers to reading clinics and paying for treatment, because the money proposed in that bill was included in House Bill 2, the state budget for the upcoming fiscal year, Wirth said.
House Judiciary Chair Rep. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos) said House Bill 8 contains vetted approaches to deter crime worked on for hundreds of hours, and she is particularly proud of the provisions dealing with competency, which Lujan Grisham “really elevated for us.”
Chandler said the new law creates two pathways: one for people who are seriously ill and potentially dangerous, and the other for those who may get treatment and have their issues addressed more appropriately than in the past.
Senate Bill 3 makes the state court system responsible for making plans for what the specific behavioral health needs are in each region, and for providing case management. With the bill signed into law, New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice David Thomson said the judicial branch will immediately start implementing it.
“Both the Supreme Court and the Administrative Office of the Courts are committed to doing that,” Thomson said. “The government works when the branches come together.”
Lujan Grisham also outlined her priorities for the remainder of the session, including pretrial detention, civil commitment, changes to the Children’s Code and gun violence.
“I don’t know if I’m willing to say it’s like a step on the moon but we’re in a rocket,” she said. “Now I need us to land and do more stuff.”
FUTURE SPECIAL SESSION WOULD DEPEND ON FEDERAL ACTION
The U.S. House GOP’s budget resolution, which President Donald Trump has endorsed, calls for the federal House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees the Medicaid and Medicare health programs, to find at least $880 billion in cost savings to aid Republicans in paying for other parts of the bill.Congressional Democrats have argued that Medicaid would bear the brunt of those cuts because there’s no other way to find those savings.
Lujan Grisham said at an event in Albuquerque on Wednesday she is likely to call a special session in October, depending on whether the federal government cuts Medicaid.
When asked on Thursday how she envisions what New Mexico could do about possible federal budget cuts, she said she would expect a “great deal of agreement” if New Mexico needs to adjust its budget before a federal budget would take effect.
“I’m not worried about the willingness of this body to protect New Mexicans from draconian, unfair federal changes,” she said.
Medicaid is how most New Mexican children get health care, she said, and cuts to the program would be catastrophic.
“You take out Medicaid, it all collapses,” she said. “Every hospital, every behavioral health clinic, every federally qualified health center.”
She said she and legislative leaders have New Mexicans’ backs “to the highest degree that we can.”
“We have to wait and see what that is, when that is, where that is,” she said. “Special sessions, right now, are for emergencies. These are very serious issues that the federal government is creating, that we would attend to.”
Heinrich and Vasquez ask attorney general to investigate clinic for denying care – By Megan Kamerick, KUNM News
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich and U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez want the New Mexico Department of Justice to investigate a health center in southern New Mexico that turned away people who could not provide proof of citizenship.
The lawmakers sent a letter Thursday to Attorney General Raúl Torrez asking him to look into whether the Ben Archer Health Centers violated federal or state law and “to take appropriate legal action pursuant to those findings.”
The company operates 11 clinics in Southern New Mexico. At least three are based in schools. On Wednesday morning, an employee at a Las Cruces clinic posted a sign warning that “any ineligible alien who entered the United States illegally or is otherwise unlawfully present in the United States does not qualify for federally funded services at Ben Archer Health Center.”
It cited an executive order that President Donald Trump signed directing all members of his cabinet to identify ways in which federal funds are being spent on “illegal aliens.”
Heinrich and Vasquez note the clinics are funded by federal, state and county money and are thus obliged to provide quality primary care to all New Mexicans. The letter notes a diabetic patient was unable to refill their insulin and another could not get their psychotropic medication.
Heinrich and Vasquez write that the clinic removed its signs after receiving calls from the New Mexico Department of Health and the Primary Care Association of New Mexico. But they add that Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Ignacio Ruiz talked with Ben Archer’s chief financial officer, who said the clinics will continue to demand proof of citizenship.
Ruiz told KUNM on Wednesday he worried these actions would make families fearful of seeking care. A call to Ben Archer Health Centers by KUNM for comment was not immediately returned.
Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were dead for some time, warrant shows - By Susan Montoya Bryan, Felicia Fonseca And Brian Melley, Associated Press
Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, his wife and one of their dogs were apparently dead for some time before a maintenance worker discovered their bodies at the couple's Santa Fe home, investigators said.
Hackman, 95, was found dead Wednesday in a mudroom, and his 65-year-old wife, Betsy Arakawa, was found in a bathroom next to a space heater, Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office detectives wrote in a search warrant affidavit. There was an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on a countertop near Arakawa.
Denise Avila, a sheriff's office spokesperson, said there was no indication they had been shot or had any wounds.
The New Mexico Gas Co. tested the gas lines in and around the home after the bodies were discovered, according to the warrant. At the time, it didn't find any signs of problems and the Fire Department found no signs of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning. A detective wrote that there were no obvious signs of a gas leak, but he noted that people exposed to gas leaks or carbon monoxide might not show signs of poisoning.
The gruff but beloved Hackman was among the most accomplished actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.
"He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa," his daughters and granddaughter said in a statement Thursday. "We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss."
WORKER FOUND BODIES OF HACKMAN AND HIS WIFE
According to the search warrant affidavit, a maintenance worker reported that the home's front door was open when he arrived to do routine work Wednesday, and he called police after finding the bodies.
But in a 911 call, the maintenance worker said he was unable to get inside when the operator asked whether the people in the house were breathing.
"I have no idea," the subdivision's caretaker said. "I am not inside the house. It's closed. It's locked. I can't go in. But I can see she's laying down on the floor from the window."
He and another worker later told authorities that they rarely saw the homeowners and their last contact with them had been about two weeks ago.
Hackman appeared to have fallen, a deputy observed. A cane was nearby.
A dead German shepherd was found in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, police said. Two healthy dogs were found on the property — one inside and one outside.
Sheriff's officials said autopsies conducted on both bodies did not determine the manner and cause of death, noting that carbon monoxide and toxicology test results were pending.
The search warrant affidavit suggests that police appear to have a working theory that "some kind of gas poisoning" happened, but that they don't know yet and aren't ruling anything out, Loyola Marymount University law professor Laurie Levenson said.
"They don't have clear evidence that it's any type of homicide, but they're asking for blunt instruments or other weapons that could be used," said Levenson, who has no connection to the investigation. "It doesn't also look like some kind of planned double-suicide."
William & Mary Law School professor Jeffrey Bellin said the request for a search warrant was somewhat unusual because investigators who file one usually believe a specific crime was committed. In this case, no alleged crime was mentioned, Bellin said.
Police tend to overstate what they know, but this is the opposite, said Bellin, who also isn't tied to the investigation.
"It just struck me as very careful in a way that search warrant affidavits often are not," he said.
ACTOR KNOWN FOR HIS VERSATILITY
Hackman routinely showed up on Hollywood lists of greatest American actors of the 20th century. He could play virtually any kind of role, from comic book villain Lex Luthor in "Superman" to a coach finding redemption in the sentimental favorite "Hoosiers."
Hackman was a five-time Oscar nominee who won best actor in a leading role for "The French Connection" in 1972 and best actor in a supporting role for "Unforgiven" two decades later. His death comes just four days before this year's ceremony.
Tributes quickly poured in from Hollywood.
"There was no finer actor than Gene," actor-director Clint Eastwood, Hackman's "Unforgiven" co-star, said in a statement. "Intense and instinctive. Never a false note. He was also a dear friend whom I will miss very much."
HACKMAN AND ARAKAWA SETTLED IN SANTA FE
Hackman met Arakawa, a classically trained pianist who grew up in Hawaii, when she was working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s. They soon moved in together and relocated to Santa Fe by the end of the decade.
Their Southwestern-style ranch on Old Sunset Trail sits on a hill in a gated community with views of the Rocky Mountains. The sprawling four-bedroom home on 6 acres (2.4 hectares) was built in 1997 and had an estimated market value of a little over $4 million, according to Santa Fe County property tax records.
Hackman and his wife also owned a more modest home next door.
Hackman also co-wrote three novels, starting with the swashbuckler, "Wake of the Perdido Star," with Daniel Lenihan in 1999, according to publisher Simon & Schuster. He then penned two by himself, concluding with "Pursuit" in 2013, about a female police officer on the tail of a predator.
In his first couple of decades in New Mexico, Hackman was often seen around the historic state capital, known as an artist enclave, tourism destination and retreat for celebrities.
He served as a board member of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in the 1990s.
HACKMAN'S LATER YEARS
In recent years, he was far less visible, though even the most mundane outings caught the attention of the press. There were articles about him attending a show at a performing arts center in 2018, as well as pumping gas, doing yard work and getting a chicken sandwich at Wendy's in 2023.
Aside from appearances at awards shows, he was rarely seen in the Hollywood social circuit and retired from acting about 20 years ago. His was the rare Hollywood retirement that actually lasted.
Hackman had three children from a previous marriage. He and Arakawa had no children together but were known for having German shepherds.
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This story was updated to correct Arakawa's age. Authorities initially listed her as 63 years old, but records show she was 65. It was also corrected to show that Hackman spoke to Empire magazine in 2009, not 2020.
Where are federal jobs affected by DOGE cuts? A look at congressional districts across the US - By Meg Kinnard and Kevin S. Vineys Associated Press
Civilian federal jobs are being cut by the thousands, as Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency continues to shrink the government workforce at the behest of President Donald Trump.
That's brought a lot of churn and uncertainty in the nation's capital, where 20% of the country's more than 2 million civilian — or nonmilitary — federal workers are located.
It's also affecting workers and communities outside the Washington, D.C. area, where about 80% of that workforce is based. Those cuts mean that members of Congress are now facing potential angst among the out-of-work federal employees in their districts across the country.
The precise locations of all of the thousands of federal employees now out of work isn't yet known, but a look at the areas with the highest concentrations of civilian U.S. government jobs gives a glimpse at some places that could be most affected.
Here's a breakdown of federal government jobs across the country by the numbers, surveying data from a Congressional Research Service analysis of Census Bureau estimates, as of 2023:
D.C. AREA, REPRESENTED BY DEMOCRATS, HAS HIGHEST FEDERAL WORKER CONCENTRATION
It's no surprise that the District of Columbia has the highest percentage of federal workers, who account for 18.5% of the total workforce.
And the areas immediately outside the city, in what's known as the DMV — which includes Washington and parts of Maryland and Virginia — are next up with the highest concentrations of federal workers, with the top nine districts where percentages of federal workers range from 18.2% down to 8.4%. Most of those districts are represented by Democrats, meaning that some of the areas — albeit those in the D.C. area — likely to have the most significant impacts from DOGE cuts are represented by that party in the U.S. House.
The one with the highest percentage of federal workforce is Maryland's 5th District, represented by Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer. There, about 18.2% of all workers are employed by the federal government.
REPUBLICAN DISTRICTS ARE AFFECTED, TOO
After the districts closest to Washington, D.C., there are GOP-represented areas with high federal worker percentages.
Virginia's 2nd District, represented by Republican Rep. Jennifer Kiggans — along the state's southeastern border with North Carolina — is the GOP area with the highest concentration of federal workers, at 8.1%. Home to Virginia Beach, and a large U.S. Navy presence, it's considered among the nation's most politically competitive districts.
Central Oklahoma's 4th District, represented by GOP Rep. Tom Cole, has a workforce where 7.7% is employed by the federal government. The district is home to Fort Sill Army Post and Tinker Air Force Base, the latter of which includes the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex. Oklahoma's largest single-site employer, according to Tinker's website, the complex provides support for dozens of other Air Force Bases.
Federal employees make up 7.6% of the workforce in Alabama's 5th District, which includes Huntsville and is represented by Republican Rep. Dale Strong. The area encompasses NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, which has had a role in rocket engineering and U.S. space exploration efforts from the Saturn rockets integral to moon missions, the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station's laboratory modules.
The data examined here doesn't pertain directly to military jobs. Thousands of civilian government employees across the country work in areas near or attached to military installations.
ALASKA, REPRESENTED BY AN AT-LARGE REPUBLICAN, HAS A HIGH CONCENTRATION
Alaska's sole U.S. House member, Rep. Nick Begich, represents a state with a total federal worker percentage of 6.3%.
Scott Goldsmith, an economist at the University of Alaska Anchorage, has described the state's economy as a "three-legged stool" kept balanced by three components: the oil and gas industry, the federal government, and then all other industries combined.
The federal government manages a significant amount of land in Alaska. Workers are employed by the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Fish and Wildlife Service, among others.
NEW MEXICO HAS HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF FEDERAL WORKERS ACROSS ALL DISTRICTS
All three of New Mexico's House districts are represented by Democrats, and all of them have significant federal workforces.
Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory, two major federal research institutions, are located in the state, where the federal government is the No. 2 largest employer, according to the New Mexico Partnership.
Percentages of federal workers across the districts range from 6.3% in Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez's 3rd District to 6.2% in Rep. Gabriel Vasquez's 2nd District. In the 1st District, represented by Rep. Melanie Ann Stansbury, the workforce is 6.8% federal employees.
Diamond Tail, Rancho Viejo opponents urge legislators to require siting review - By Hannah Grover, New Mexico Political Report
An attempt to require the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission to develop rules regarding siting and permitting of renewable energy facilities that generate more than 5 megawatts of electricity failed to pass its first committee, likely killing the bill’s chances of becoming a law.
A motion to move HB 435 forward failed on a 4-6 vote in the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday and the bill was subsequently tabled.
While that does not necessarily mean the legislation is dead, it is unlikely that it will move forward this session.
HB 435 came as a response to the controversial Diamond Tail and Rancho Viejo solar projects as well as transmission lines such as the Western Spirit Transmission Line, which nearby residents say are in areas where energy projects should not be located.
“We don’t have any state public oversight over renewable facilities above a certain level, and that level is 5 megawatts, which is the maximum for a community solar installation,” bill sponsor Rep. Matthew McQueen, D-Galisteo, said.
Outside of the community solar sphere, the PRC currently only weighs in on siting of projects that exceed 300 megawatts in generation capacity.
In addition to asking the PRC to develop rules for siting of renewable projects, McQueen said HB 435 would also ask the PRC to develop rules for where transmission lines that don’t cross statelines are located.
McQueen said when the developers of Western Spirit Transmission Line heard concerns from the public that the project could impact the views from an archaeological site near Mountainair, the developers chose to move the project.
“But the fact remains that the process there is one where large corporations are basically saying, ‘trust us’ without a formal process,” McQueen said.
The Diamond Tail and Rancho Viejo solar projects are both located off of New Mexico Highway 14, which is a scenic byway known as the Turquoise Trail. Nearby residents have rallied against both projects. Diamond Tail would be located in a small pocket of Sandoval County in the East Mountains. Rancho Viejo would be located near Santa Fe.
Nearby residents that oppose the two projects say they are concerned about fire dangers associated with battery storage as well as impacts to views, traffic and water resources.
Dennis Kellogg, an East Mountains resident and vocal opponent of the Diamond Tail project, was among the members of the public urging legislators to support HB 435.
“What we’ve seen in these facilities going across the state…is there’s a huge gap in knowledge and ability in siting from one county, one city to another,” he said.
McQueen said the Diamond Tail project, while it is located in Sandoval County, will likely primarily impact residents of Santa Fe County.
Some members of the committee expressed concerns that HB 435 could limit local control or take authority away from local governments.
“I think the real question is…isn’t the local community better suited when it comes to site selection?” Rep. Rod Montoya, R-Farmington, said. “Is the local community better off making the determination as to listening to the concerns of the people in that community who don’t want it here or don’t want it there. It just feels like people who want to stop a project will now have two bites at the apple.”
Democratic governors pitch state jobs to federal workers cut by Trump - By Anthony Izaguirre, Associated Press
Some of America's governors — mostly Democrats — have a message for the wave of fired federal workers: We want you.
The governors are welcoming former federal staffers who lost their jobs in the Trump administration's widespread cost-cutting agenda to apply for government jobs in their states. Some places are holding job fairs, while Hawaii's governor says the state is fast-tracking hiring for these applicants.
The effort amounts to a small level of resistance against the Republican president and potentially a bit of political maneuvering from the leaders in blue states, eager to be seen as the party helping workers in need. In most cases, the governors are trying to fill up long lists of job openings in their states, and in some the effort involved simply directing people to an online jobs page.
But if it ends up helping laid-off workers get new jobs, the outreach could be a way for the politicians to win over voters ahead of elections at home — as well as to troll Trump.
"The federal government might say, 'You're fired,' but here in New York, we say, 'You're hired.' In fact, we love federal workers," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement this week while announcing a recruitment effort to hire ex-federal workers.
The job cuts, carried out by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency with the stated goal of slashing bloated government bureaucracy, have already hit vast swaths of the federal government.
There is no exact list on the total number of firings but the job losses are estimated to be in the thousands and have reached just about every part of the country, given that the large majority of the federal government's 2.4 million civilian workers are based outside of Washington.
Hochul's announcement contained a link to the state's existing online jobs website, which offered no additional material for federal workers who have lost their jobs. Her office later said there are efforts to set up an enhanced jobs website for the former federal workers.
Hawaii Democratic Gov. Josh Green has gone a little further, signing an executive order this month to fast-track hiring to help the state employ newly laid-off federal workers. The initiative accelerates hiring so qualified candidates can receive a conditional job offer within 14 days.
Green said his state needs conservationists, engineers, nurses, information technology professionals, accountants and others.
Hawaii has about 4,000 open positions across state government, or about 24% of its civil service positions. The state's labor department also had a job fair last week to scoop up some federal workers and plans another this week in Honolulu.
Colin Moore, a University of Hawaii political science professor, said the state has difficulty filling positions because it often pays less than the private sector and the federal government.
"There's no way that state of Hawaii could lose," Moore said. "There's going to be a large number of highly skilled federal employees that the state would probably not be in a position to hire away from the federal government but for all of these layoffs."
In New Mexico, Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has encouraged former federal workers to apply for unemployment insurance and attend job recruitment events held by state agencies, as well as state-sponsored job training and educational opportunities.
State agencies can only provide hiring preferences to military veterans, but the governor shared a website with guidance for federal workers on how to file unemployment insurance claims, a hotline number to talk with a state government recruiter, along with information on career training and college scholarships.
In Virginia, which is home to a large number of federal workers and other voters who this year will elect a new governor, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin is reaching out. He announced a new jobs page that includes both public and private openings, as well as a separate page meant help ex-federal workers in Virginia apply for unemployment, prepare for their job hunts, among other resources.
Youngkin, in a speech announcing the program, said that the federal government needs to become more financially efficient and that change is necessary, but added that the "workforce is not at fault."
Youngkin is term limited but his growing national profile has stirred speculation about a future run for president. Virginia voters this year also will elect a new lieutenant governor, attorney general and all 100 members of the House of Delegates.
"We have a lot of federal workers in the Commonwealth, and I want to make sure that they know we care about them and we value them," Youngkin said. "And we want them to find that next chapter should they experience job dislocation here in Virginia because we have that next great opportunity for them."
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Associated Press writers Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, Hawaii, contributed to this report.
A Texas child who was not vaccinated has died of measles, a first for the US in a decade - By Devi Shastri and Amanda Seitz, Associated Press
A child who wasn't vaccinated died in a measles outbreak in rural West Texas, state officials said Wednesday, the first U.S. death from the highly contagious — but preventable — respiratory disease since 2015.
The school-aged child had been hospitalized and died Tuesday night amid the widespread outbreak, Texas' largest in nearly 30 years. Since it began last month, a rash of 124 cases has erupted across nine counties.
The Texas Department of State Health Services and Lubbock health officials confirmed the death to The Associated Press. The child wasn't identified but was treated at Covenant Children's Hospital in Lubbock, though the facility noted the patient didn't live in Lubbock County.
"This is a big deal," Dr. Amy Thompson, a pediatrician and chief executive officer of Covenant Health, said Wednesday at a news conference. "We have known that we have measles in our community, and we are now seeing a very serious consequence."
In federal response, RFK Jr. appears to misstate several facts
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation's top health official and a vaccine critic, said Wednesday that the U.S. Department of the Health and Human Services is watching cases and dismissed the Texas outbreak as "not unusual."
He appeared to misstate a number of facts, including a claim that most who had been hospitalized were there only for "quarantine." Dr. Lara Johnson at Covenant contested that characterization.
"We don't hospitalize patients for quarantine purposes," said Johnson, the chief medical officer.
Kennedy also seemed to misspeak in saying two people had died of measles. A spokesman — Andrew Nixon, for the Department of Health and Human Services — later clarified that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified only one death.
The federal government is providing vaccines as well as technical and laboratory support in West Texas, but the state health department is leading the response, Nixon said.
The CDC has said it will provide only weekly updates on the measles outbreak, and had not yet updated its public webpage to reflect the child's death. Texas health department data shows that a majority of the reported measles cases are in children.
In rural Texas, some patients have needed oxygen or intubation
The virus has largely spread among rural, oil rig-dotted towns in West Texas, with cases concentrated in a "close-knit, undervaccinated" Mennonite community, state health department spokesperson Lara Anton said.
Gaines County, which has reported 80 cases so far, has a strong homeschooling and private school community. It is also home to one of the highest rates of school-aged children in Texas who have opted out of at least one required vaccine, with nearly 14% skipping a required dose last school year.
More than 20 measles patients have been hospitalized at Covenant, including the outbreak's first identified case, hospital officials said.
Some patients' respiratory issues progressed to bacterial pneumonia, and they needed an oxygen tube to breathe, Johnson told The Associated Press. Others had to be intubated, though Johnson declined to say how many due to privacy concerns.
"Unfortunately, like so many viruses, there aren't any specific treatments for measles," she said. "What we're doing is providing supportive care, helping support the patients as they hopefully recover."
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said through a spokesman that his office is in regular communication with the state health department and epidemiologists, and that vaccination teams are in the "affected area."
"The state will deploy all necessary resources to ensure the safety and health of Texans," said spokesman Andrew Mahaleris, calling the child's death a tragedy.
Later Wednesday, the state health department confirmed a new measles case in Rockwall County, east of Dallas. The person had traveled internationally and is not related to the West Texas outbreak.
Vaccines are safe and effective, and measles was once considered eliminated
The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is safe and highly effective at preventing infection and severe cases. The first shot is recommended for children ages 12 to 15 months, and the second for ages 4 to 6 years.
The vaccine series is required for kids before entering kindergarten in public schools nationwide. Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.
Vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic, and most states are below the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners — the level needed to protect communities against measles outbreaks.
Last week, Kennedy vowed to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule that prevents measles, polio and other dangerous diseases, despite promises not to change it during his confirmation hearings.
The U.S. had considered measles — a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours — eliminated in 2000, which meant there had been a halt in continuous spread of the disease for at least a year. Measles cases rose in 2024, including a Chicago outbreak that sickened more than 60.
In the current outbreak, Lubbock's first case was in an unvaccinated child who sat in an emergency room with a kid who had measles, said Katherine Wells, director of the local health department, calling it a testament to how quickly the virus spreads.
"When you see it in real life, you really realize how contagious it is," said Wells, noting she expects more local cases, with a couple under investigation as of Wednesday. "An entire household gets sick so quickly. Whole families are getting sick with measles."
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AP writers Jim Vertuno and JoNel Aleccia contributed to this report. Seitz reported from Washington.
Southern NM clinic briefly turned away undocumented patients, citing Trump executive order - By Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico, KUNM News
A Southern New Mexico medical clinic turned undocumented patients away Wednesday morning, but quickly reversed course after receiving guidance from a state primary care association, according to state and federal officials.
Ben Archer Health Centers operates 11 clinics in Southern New Mexico. On Wednesday morning, an employee at a Las Cruces clinic posted a sign warning that “any ineligible alien who entered the United States illegally or is otherwise unlawfully present in the United States does not qualify for federally funded services at Ben Archer Health Center.”
The announcement cited an executive order that President Donald Trump signed Feb. 19, which directed all members of his cabinet, not rural health clinics like Ben Archer, to identify within 30 days ways in which federal funds are being spent on “illegal aliens.”
A constituent sent a photo of the sign to the office of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), who posted it on social media. A spokesperson said in a news release that Heinrich’s office verified that the clinic was also turning away patients at its school-based health clinics, and in an interview with Source New Mexico said that patients were unable to fill prescriptions or get seen at previously scheduled appointments.
According to the center’s website, which contains information for patients in both English and Spanish, the center has clinics in schools in Truth or Consequences and Las Cruces.
The nonprofit clinic’s executive director, Mary Alice Garay, did not respond to a request for comment from Source New Mexico on Wednesday afternoon. According to the center’s most recent tax filings, it received more than $50 million in revenue last fiscal year, including about one-third of it from government sources. The clinic employs three doctors and a dentist, according to the filings.
The clinic reversed its policy within hours after receiving guidance from the New Mexico Primary Care Association, New Mexico Health Department spokesperson Robert Nott said in an email. The association is a nonprofit that represents health care facilities in the state and works as a liaison between members and government agencies, Nott said.
The association did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
According to the news release from Heinrich’s office, New Mexico and federal law require clinics like Ben Archer to provide healthcare to all residents, regardless of their immigration status.
“What Ben Archer was pulling at its health clinics wasn’t just wrong, it was illegal. I am glad they reversed course, and that they did it quickly,” Heinrich said in the news release. “Let this be a lesson to all health care providers that we will hold you accountable for following the law.”