New Mexico politicians grapple with oil windfall from Iran war that's both 'awesome' and awkward - By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
The global oil bottleneck in the Strait of Hormuz has generated an enviable — and politically sensitive — financial windfall on the other side of the world in New Mexico, a rare Democratic-dominated state where fossil fuels are a bedrock of progressive social services.
New Mexico produces more oil than any other state besides Texas, and the state's revenue from taxes, royalties and lease sales helps cover the cost of college tuition, all school meals, health insurance and a new initiative for free universal child care.
Now that oil prices are surging from the conflict with Iran, money is flooding into the state treasury and creating an uncomfortable situation for Democrats who oppose the war and would rather reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.
"It's hard for people to think about, 'Oh great, we have this windfall,' and children are getting killed on the other side of the world," said Deb Haaland, the former U.S. Interior Department secretary running for governor.
Haaland is one of two Democrats running to succeed Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is wrapping up her second term in office. A former congresswoman and state party chair, Haaland worked to limit unfettered oil and gas exploration while serving in President Joe Biden's Cabinet.
Now she wants to use money amid the energy boom to increase New Mexico's child tax credit and boost the refundable working families tax credit, payouts that would most benefit people with low incomes.
"We have obligations to try to have a better world overall," said Haaland, a tribal member of Laguna Pueblo who could become the first female Native American governor in the U.S. "I think we can do that."
Her rival for the Democratic nomination, Albuquerque-based District Attorney Sam Bregman, said he wants to offset inflation with one-time $500 checks from the state to residents making less than $200,00 a year. He also wants to waive personal income taxes on residents 65 and older.
"It is the resources of the people that's generating that revenue," he said. "We ought to give it back to the people."
For every $1 fluctuation in the average annual price of oil, New Mexico sees a roughly $59 million swing in state government income.
That means the state is likely to see a $850 million surge in annual state government income for the budget year ending in June alone based on war-time price changes — equivalent to 12% of annual general fund spending, according to the state Legislature's budget and accountability office.
New Mexico sends much of its relatively heavy crude oil from its patch of the Permian Basin to Texas distribution hubs and refineries along the Gulf Coast. Prices could remain high with no end in sight for the war despite a fragile ceasefire.
A nest egg that moderates dependence on oil
In New Mexico, surges in oil income automatically flow into a series of trust accounts designed to gradually reduce the state's reliance on fossil fuels, helping the state generate investment income to underwrite Medicaid, early childhood education, infrastructure projects and an expansion of mental healthcare.
The strategy has tempered discomfort among many Democrats with dependence on oil income, in a state with entrenched swaths of extreme poverty and the nation's highest enrollment rate in Medicaid.
"For New Mexico and New Mexicans and especially the progressive left — which sort of controls the state — it's always something they really don't want to admit or talk about or get angry about," said Lonna Atkeson, a political science professor who has analyzed voting behavior in New Mexico and directs the LeRoy Collins Institute at Florida State University. "Like, 'We should not be funding our stuff with that money.' I've heard those arguments."
The winner of this year's governor's race will take the helm of a state investment council overseeing a roughly $68 billion state nest egg, including investments that defray costs for K-12 public education.
New Mexico is not alone in reaping the financial benefits of the war. In Alaska, the state forecast an additional $1.05 billion for the current fiscal year and the one beginning July 1.
"It really is this small group of energy-reliant states like North Dakota, Alaska, New Mexico and Wyoming that are going be affected most directly," said Justin Theal, who researches state fiscal trends as a senior officer for The Pew Charitable Trusts. He described the situation as "a double-edged sword."
"It raises costs for households and businesses which can potentially dampen consumer spending and reduce sales taxes that almost every state relies on as well," Theal said.
Wartime oil prices hold silver lining for New Mexico
Three contenders for the Republican nomination are advocating for even more aggressive tax relief while oil prices are riding high.
"Republicans are using the 'e-word' — eliminate income taxes," said Albuquerque-based pollster Brian Sanderoff, president of Research and Polling Inc. A Republican last won election to statewide office in 2016.
At the same time, they're questioning whether universal childcare will be financially sustainable.
The program is coming under direct fire in a lawsuit from cannabis entrepreneur and Republican candidate for governor Duke Rodriguez. He previously served as human service secretary under former Gov. Gary Johnson, a crusader for limited government who unsuccessfully ran for president as a Libertarian.
The lawsuit alleges the childcare program was implemented in November by Lujan Grisham without required authorization from the Legislature — though supporting legislation was passed this year. A court has ordered the administration to respond within 30 days.
Reflecting on the state's oil income, Rodriguez says, "We don't have a resource problem, what we have is a real results problem. We just spend and spend and spend with no accountability."
Republican businessman Doug Turner describes war-time oil prices as an opportunity to overhaul the state tax code and wants means testing for childcare benefits. He lost the 2010 Republican primary to then-district attorney Susana Martinez, who went on to serve two terms as governor.
Gregg Hull, a former three-term mayor of Rio Rancho on the outskirts of Albuquerque, wants New Mexico to join the ranks of states with no personal income tax like Texas and Wyoming. Personal income taxes account for about $2.2 billion in annual state government income, offsetting about a fifth of annual general fund obligations.
Hull said he wants to double down on the oil economy by funneling budget surpluses to infrastructure projects in the state's main oil-production zone.
"This morning, when I was looking at a price of a barrel of oil, I said, 'Well, that's not great for consumers, but it's awesome for New Mexico,'" Hull said.
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Associated Press writer Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, contributed to this report.
New Mexico Department of Justice rests case in second phase of Meta child safety lawsuit - Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
Lawyers for the New Mexico Department of Justice on Wednesday rested their case in the second phase of the state’s lawsuit against social media giant Meta.
In a bench trial with no jury, they’ve argued that Meta’s actions should be considered a public nuisance, a term that typically refers to actions that affect common spaces such as air quality, and have asked First Judicial District Judge Bryan Biedscheid to enforce an injunction that would “fundamentally restructure how Meta operates for children.” The state’s case also seeks a court-appointed monitor to oversee the company’s compliance with that restructuring, which includes banning “addictive” features such as infinite scrolling.
New Mexico economist Kelly O’Donnell testified on Wednesday that over the course of 15 years, an abatement plan for Meta could carry a price tag of $3.7 billion. The majority of that figure — about $2.8 billion — accounted for treatment for children who have experienced abuse on Meta’s platforms.
Earlier in the trial, Harvard Assistant Professor of Health Decision Sciences Zachary Ward testified that young girls, in particular, are more likely than boys to have suicide “risk factors” derived from social media use. Middle school-aged girls who use social media are also much more likely to develop eating disorders, he said.
“When I remove social media exposure, the risk of having any disordered eating behavior drops substantially for girls,” he said. “So, 45% of girls who are experiencing disordered eating behaviors would not have had those problems but for their social media exposure.”
Another expert witness testified this week that virtual sexual abuse often “has the same impact” on survivors as “face-to-face” abuse.
“I did a study and it shows over 90% of commercial sexual exploitation that police are picking up is happening via technology and is technology-facilitated,” University of Texas at Arlington Associate Professor of Social Work Jennifer O’Brien said.
In court Wednesday, Meta’s attorneys argued that the company has already implemented many of the NMDOJ’s desired safety measures, including blocking adults from messaging children with whom they aren’t connected, and limiting adults from sending “unreasonable” amounts of friend requests or messages to underage users.
A Meta spokesperson wrote in a statement to Source NM that the NMDOJ’s arguments ignore “the hundreds of other apps teens use daily.”
“Rather than providing comprehensive protections, the state’s proposed mandates infringe on parental rights and stifle free expression for all New Mexicans,” the statement said. “Regardless, we remain committed to providing safe, age-appropriate experiences and have already launched many of the protections the state seeks, including 13 safety measures this past year.”
Previously, a Santa Fe jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in damages to the state based on 75,000 violations of the state’s Unfair Practices Act. The jury found that the company misled the public on the risks of mental health and sexual exploitation that Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp created for youth users.
Meta officials previously said they would consider ceasing Facebook and Instagram operations in New Mexico if the judge granted the state’s request. A news release Wednesday from NMDOJ said Meta is expected to complete presenting its case by May 22, after which the parties will present further arguments to the court.
US overdose deaths fell again in 2025, but some worry about policy and drug supply changes - By Mike Stobbe, AP Medical Writer
About 70,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year — about 14% fewer than the previous year, according to preliminary government data.
It was the third straight annual drop, making it the longest decline in decades, according to federal data released Wednesday. The 2025 total is about the same as the tally in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Declines were seen across a number of drug types, including fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine. Overdose deaths fell in the vast majority of states, although seven saw at least slight increases, including jumps of 10% or more in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico, the preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed.
"I'm cautiously optimistic that this represents really a fundamental change in the arc of the overdose crisis," said Brandon Marshall, a Brown University researcher who studies overdose trends.
But the number of Americans dying from overdoses is still high, and deaths declined at a slower pace last year. A number of things could cause deaths to rise again — including government policy changes or a shift in the drug supply, Marshall and other researchers say.
"If deaths are going down rapidly, that means they can increase just as rapidly if we take our foot off the gas," Marshall said.
Overdoses rose during the height of the pandemic
U.S. overdose deaths were generally rising for decades, but they shot up dramatically during the pandemic, peaking at nearly 110,000 in 2022. The pandemic spike was associated with social isolation and difficulties accessing addiction treatment.
Deaths declined as the pandemic waned. Researchers have pointed to numerous possible factors: an increase in the availability of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, expanded addiction treatment, shifts in how people use drugs, and the growing impact of billions of dollars in opioid lawsuit settlement money.
Some research also suggests the number of people likely to overdose has been shrinking, as fewer teens take up drugs and many illicit drug users have died. Another theory suggests regulatory changes in China a few years ago appear to have diminished the availability of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl.
The nation's decades-long overdose epidemic has played out at different paces in different parts of the country, due at least in part to differences in the illicit drug supply and what people are using. The death increases last year in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico could stem from more combined use of fentanyl and methamphetamine recently in those places, Marshall guessed.
New substances are showing up in the US drug supply
Health and law enforcement officials in recent months have been sounding alarms about newer drugs that were increasingly detected in 2025.
Alex Krotulski is director of the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education, a federally funded toxicology lab in Horsham, Pennsylvania, that is an important part of a national illicit drug early warning system.
In all of last year, the lab identified 27 new drugs. Less than five months into 2026, the lab already has identified 23, he said.
Among the drugs on the lab's radar is cychlorphine, a potent synthetic opioid described as up to 10 times stronger than fentanyl. Experts say it is being used as a cutting agent, added to other illicit drugs, without the buyer's knowledge.
"The drug supply continues to change and evolve," Krotulski said.
Trump administration cuts some programs
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has been cutting programs designed to reduce overdose deaths and infections tied to drug use. In a letter last month, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration notified federal grant recipients that the government would no longer pay for test strips and kits that help drug users see if their drugs contain highly-lethal additives.
Officials say they are shifting away from services that facilitate illicit drug use, including clean syringes and hotlines that people can dial into while they use drugs.
Last week, a group of women who lost children to overdoses spoke with reporters to protest government policies that emphasize punishment and incarceration.
Kimberly Douglas founded one group, Black Moms Against Overdose, after her 17-year-old son died.
"We are starting to see overdoses go down in some places and that's because of harm reduction" services like those being targeted by the Trump administration, she said.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
New Mexico pueblos sue Kalshi, alleging prediction market violates tribal gaming sovereignty - Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico Three New Mexico pueblos and one tribe on Tuesday sued the prediction market platform Kalshi, alleging the app enables sports gambling on tribal land and, in doing so, violates gaming compacts and federal law.
In an announcement Wednesday, the plaintiffs — the Mescalero Apache Tribe, as well as the Pojoaque, Sandia and Isleta Pueblos — said Kalshi provides anyone over age 18 access to sports gambling in New Mexico, which deprives tribes of revenues they receive for schools and other services in accordance with hard-fought tribal compacts and state and federal law.
“The use of prediction markets for gambling purposes diverts essential revenue away from our governments, provides an end-run around regulation of gaming on our lands, and allows gaming by underage people,” Sandia Pueblo Gov. Stuart Paisano said in a statement. Only people aged 21 and over in New Mexico can gamble at tribally owned casinos under state gaming compacts and federal law.
The lawsuit, filed by a Washington-based law firm, alleges that Kalshi, which is based in New York City, could and should have created a “geofence” to prevent its app from being used within tribal boundaries. It also says that by operating on tribal land, the company is violating the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and infringing on tribal rights to self-determination that the United States Supreme Court first recognized in 1987.
As one piece of evidence, the lawsuit contains a screenshot of the platform allowing New Mexico users to gamble on the University of New Mexico Lobos men’s basketball game against the New Mexico State University Aggies last November.
The lawsuit marks the latest escalation in local pueblos’ campaign against the prediction markets. Last month, U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) visited a school on Isleta Pueblo land that received most of its funding from tribal gaming revenues.
Isleta Gov. Eugene Jiron told Vasquez that the pueblo anticipated “a lot of impact down the road” as a result of prediction markets enabling sports gambling. Vasquez said he is working on legislation prohibiting markets like Kalshi and Polymarket from offering sports betting services.
Last July, Mescalero Apache Tribe Vice President Duane Duffy urged state lawmakers to help crack down on the markets. Duffy, in the statement Wednesday announcing the lawsuit, said Mescalero and other tribes and pueblos in New Mexico “fought hard to protect their inherent sovereign right to operate and regulate casinos on tribal lands. We cannot sit by idly as the laws that enshrine this right are ignored.”
Duffy did not return Source NM’s request for additional comment Wednesday. Representatives for Kalshi also did not respond to an emailed request for comment Wednesday.
At least one other tribe has sued Kalshi for similar allegations. The Ho-Chunk Nation in Wisconsin sued Kalshi last August, alleging the company illegally provides sports betting on tribal land.
A federal judge on Monday denied the tribe’s request for an immediate prohibition on the company from operating in Wisconsin, but he did affirm that the tribe had shown a “likelihood of success” as it pursues a lawsuit against the company for potential violations under federal Indian gaming laws. The tribe hailed the ruling as a “major” win in a news release Tuesday.
According to the latest figures, 14 tribes and pueblos in New Mexico reported generating more than $266 million in “adjusted net win” in the last quarter of 2025, a figure that includes the revenue made from gaming machines minus the amount paid out in prizes and regulatory fees. It’s not clear from New Mexico Gaming Control Board figures how much of that money came from sports gambling specifically.
NM environment officials, U.S. Air Force agree to PFAS cleanup plan around Cannon - Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
Top U.S. Air Force and New Mexico environment officials this week announced a verbal agreement to expedite clean up of toxic chemicals in Curry County aquifers surrounding Cannon Air Force base.
Officials said the agreement marks a “thawing” in what has been a tense and litigious relationship, as the U.S. Air Force has agreed to pay for the state’s efforts and offer technical support to collect water samples and clean up the pollution around the base.
The contamination was first discovered in 2015, when the state identified what is now a 4-mile-long plume of firefighting foams containing per-and-polyflouroalkyl substances, known as PFAS. These manmade chemicals resist breaking down and can accumulate in water, soils and the bodies of humans and animals around the world — including in Clovis. Since then, the U.S. Air Force says it has spent $74 million treating the contamination.
Due to the spread of the PFAS plume into private wells, Highland Dairy, with help from the state, dumped thousands of gallons of PFAS-contaminated milk and euthanized 3,600 dairy cows in 2022.
In March, state environment officials struck a deal with four Curry County dairy farmers to test and possibly treat their private wells for PFAS contamination, which State Environment Secretary James Kenney told Source NM was the “catalyst” that created the opening for a meeting with U.S. Air Force top brass.
“Dairy farmers surrounding the base have agreed to allow the state access to their property for the characterization and remediation of the plume, which the Air Force has not been able to achieve or attain with the landowners to this point,” Kenney said.
The agreement came as the result of a May 8 meeting in Washington, D.C. brokered by New Mexico Lt. Gov. Howie Morales — who chairs the state’s military base planning commission — Department of the Air Force Assistant Secretary for Energy, Installations and Environment Michael Borders Jr. and Kenney.
In a statement, Morales said his priority is to “sustain strong partnerships” with military installation and communities.
“This verbal agreement not only supports that mission, but ensures New Mexican farmers can live, work, and support their families in Curry County for generations to come,” Morales said.
Borders said in a statement the agreement “marks an important step in advancing PFAS response efforts and strengthening our partnership with the communities surrounding Cannon Air Force Base.”
The state remains in litigation with the U.S. Air Force in Denver federal appeals court over New Mexico’s authority to require the federal government follow state hazardous waste laws.
Kenney told Source NM the verbal agreement offers “optimism after eight years of pessimism” in the state’s relationship with the Pentagon.
“We have gained a little bit more certainty on what the future looks like for Curry County, and on what the future looks like for Cannon Air Force Base,” Kenney said. “While we’re still in litigation, it does feel remarkably more positive to have an agreement like this.”
Kenney said he plans to head back to Washington D.C. next week to get the verbal agreement in writing.
NM U.S. Sen. Luján, Rep. Leger Fernández sponsor bill to prevent ICE from detaining Native Americans — Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
Two members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation introduced bipartisan legislation this week that aims to prevent federal immigration officials from questioning, detaining or arresting Native Americans amid President Donald Trump’s mass deportation push.
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján and U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, both New Mexico Democrats, are among four congressional sponsors of the “Respect Tribal IDs Act,” which would require the federal Department of Homeland Security to develop training for federal immigration officers on how to identify tribal identification documents and interact with enrolled tribal members. It would also require reminders of the federal government’s treaty obligations to federally recognized tribes.
“Under the Trump administration, we’ve seen disturbing incidents where Tribal members were stopped, questioned, and harassed by ICE officers simply because of their appearance or because officers failed to recognize their Tribal IDs,” Luján said in a statement Tuesday. “That is unacceptable and deeply wrong.”
In New Mexico, leaders of both the Mescalero Apache and Navajo reservations reported that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents questioned Indigenous residents about their citizenship within a week of President Donald Trump’s inauguration for his second term.
Leger Fernández, in a letter to president Trump on Jan. 28, 2025, which was just eight days after he took office, noted that Native Americans received citizenship in 1924 and comprise “quintessentially American communities.”
Larry Wright, executive director of National Congress of American Indians, said in a statement the bill “affirms the validity of Tribal governments and strengthens the federal trust responsibility.”
U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas) and Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) are also co-sponsors. The bill will be heard first in the House Judiciary Committee, though a hearing data has not been set.
Behavioral health manager at Santa Fe Alternative Response Unit resigns – Santa Fe New Mexican
The behavioral health manager for Santa Fe’s Alternative Response Unit has resigned and says it no longer has the resources it needs to be successful.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Nicole Ault’s departure now leaves the unit with five employees, down from 13 at its peak.
The Unit was created in 2021 to respond to low-threat calls that did not require an arrest. It worked with many people with behavioral health challenges and offered ongoing case management.
But over the years it has responded to fewer calls and Ault says the team has struggled with a lack of administrative support. In January, the Santa Fe Fire Department removed EMS captains from the unit.
Ault told the New Mexican that without a licensed medical provider on the teams they could not transport patients directly to a hospital.
City spokesperson Peter Olson said the city remains committed to the Alternative Response Unit and is looking at “evolving” the program to ensure it is meeting the community’s needs.