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New Mexico Marks First Indigenous Peoples' Day, Albuquerque Police Fatally Shoot Suspect

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Albuquerque Police Fatally Shoot Suspect In Domestic DisputeAlbuquerque Journal, Associated Press

Albuquerque police say a SWAT team shot and killed an armed suspect in a domestic dispute who was holed up in his apartment.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that authorities confirmed the shooting at the scene Monday morning.

Police spokesman John Ross says officers received reports of a dispute around 2 a.m.

They found an armed man and called for a SWAT team.

Ross says investigators later served a search warrant and an arrest warrant on the apartment. He says the other person involved in the dispute was inside.

SWAT officers ended up firing on the suspect, who was pronounced dead.

His identity was not released.

The incident marks the third officer-involved shooting with Albuquerque police in two months.

New Mexico Forecast To Lead US In Pecan Production In 2019Associated Press

New Mexico is expected to lead the U.S. in pecan production this year as growers prepare for the upcoming harvest.

The U.S. Agriculture Department's statistics service says production in the Southwest state is forecast at a record high 97 million pounds. That would mark a 6% increase over 2018.

Production in Georgia is expected to hit about 76 million pounds, followed by Texas at 47 million pounds.

Pecan production in the United States overall is expected to increase this year by more than 20%, with growers harvesting an estimated 281 million pounds.

New Mexico agricultural officials say they've been working to build relationships with pecan buyers in other countries amid a tariff war with China.

2 San Juan County Men Accused In Arson, Insurance Fraud CaseFarmington Daily Times, Associated Press

Two men from San Juan County are accused of committing arson and insurance fraud while allegedly setting up another man to take the fall.

County sheriff's officials say 54-year-old Patrick Roller and 46-year-old Louis Lawrence allegedly worked together to set a pickup truck on fire and collect insurance money.

Roller is accused of felony counts of false insurance application and solicitation to commit arson and a misdemeanor count of making a false police report.

A criminal complaint shows Lawrence is accused of a felony counts arson, conspiracy to commit arson and tampering with evidence plus a misdemeanor count of illegal dumping.

It's unclear if either man has a lawyer yet.

The Farmington Daily Times reports Roller waived his right to a preliminary hearing while Lawrence's preliminary hearing is scheduled Thursday.

New Mexico Man In Baby Shooting Case To Get New Attorney Gallup Independent, Associated Press

A New Mexico man who reportedly admitted to accidentally shooting an infant girl and tried to arrange the killing of the baby's mother and a key witness is getting a new attorney.

The Gallup Independent reports two attorneys formerly involved in the Tyrell Bitsilly's baby shooting case have switched jobs, creating a conflict of interest. The case is expected to be reassigned.

The 21-year-old Bitsilly and the baby's mother, Shayanne Nelson, had told police the infant girl's 3-year-old brother found a gun left in a Gallup, New Mexico, motel room and accidentally fired the gun.

Gallup police announced last week Bitsilly is facing new charges after authorities say he tried to arrange the killings of Nelson and a retired military medic who helped saved the infant girl's life.

Does Technology Make Moving Nukes Safe? Depends Whom You Ask - By Scott Sonner Associated Press

A fight is raging in courts and Congress over where radioactive materials should be stored and how to safely get the dangerous remnants of decades of bomb-making and power generation to a permanent resting place.

Nationwide, spent fuel rods lie in temporary cooling ponds at commercial nuclear power reactors without a permanent storage destination. Plutonium also awaits processing for nuclear weapons of war.

As federal officials insist they can move tons of lethal material without disaster, critics ask how much risk is acceptable and how far technology has come to safely ship nuclear waste.

El Malpais Monument Closes Cave To Protect Hibernating BatsAssociated Press

Junction Cave at El Malpais National Monument is closed for the season.

Monument officials said Friday that the closure is expected to be in effect until April to ensure the bats that hibernate inside the cave over the winter months will not be disturbed.

Eric Weaver, the monument's branch chief of natural resources, says Junction Cave has the largest known hibernaculum in the monument for Townsend's big-eared bats. The species is of special concern in New Mexico.

He says human disturbance during hibernation can cause significant impacts to bats and may even result in the abandonment of the cave as a hibernaculum.

Big Skylight, Giant Ice, Four Windows and Xenolith caves remain accessible to cavers through the winter.

Some US States Marking Their First Indigenous Peoples' Day - By Russell Contreras Associated Press

A handful of states are celebrating their first Indigenous Peoples' Day as part of a trend to move away from a day honoring Christopher Columbus.

New Mexico is scheduled Monday to mark its statewide Indigenous Peoples' Day with an invocation by several tribal leaders in unison in their Native languages. There also will be a parade and traditional dances at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque.

State offices in Maine also are scheduled to close in honor of the holiday. Maine, home to four federally recognized tribes, ditched Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous People's Day with an April bill signing by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.

Several states —from Minnesota to Vermont — have done away with Columbus Day celebrations in deference to Native Americans, though the federal Columbus holiday remains in place.

Balloons Soar Across Albuquerque On Final Morning Of Fiesta - KOB-TV, Associated Press

Hundreds of balloons filled the sky on the final morning of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Winds remained calm at the park Sunday morning for the Mass Ascension event and it was warmer than the almost freezing temperatures Saturday morning.

Organizers say almost 1 million guests attended this year's Balloon Fiesta.

The nine-day event draws pilots from around the world and from 41 U.S. states.

The spectacle has grown over nearly five decades and infuses millions of dollars into the economy each year.

New Mexico's Largest District Still Has Teacher Shortage - KOB-TV, Associated Press

New Mexico's largest school district continues to struggle with a shortage of teachers and substitute teachers.

KOB-TV reports Albuquerque Public Schools is looking to hire 200 full-time teachers and 900 substitute teachers.

According to the district, they need 685 substitutes a day but currently have less than 500.

Officials say the district is working with a temp agency to recruit more substitutes and educational assistants.

The shortage comes as school districts in the state struggle to find qualified teachers amid retirements and low pay.

Jury Finds Truck Company Negligent In New Mexico Collision - Associated Press

A jury has found a trucking company to be negligent in a deadly 2017 highway collision and awarded $40.5 million in damages to the family of a Deming woman who died in the wreck.

Court documents confirm the jury's decision Friday against Nebraska-based trucking company Werner Enterprises in a New Mexico state district court. An attorney for the company was unavailable for comment.

Kathryn Armijo died when her vehicle collided with a truck on an interstate highway outside Las Cruces in February 2017.  Her family accused Werner in a civil lawsuit of failing to provide proper training to its student drivers.

Plaintiffs' attorney Craig Sico said in a news release that the verdict provides a greater understanding of insufficient training and recklessness by the trucking industry.

Report: New Mexico Construction Job Boom Driven By Oil, Gas - Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press

A surge in construction jobs continues in New Mexico thanks in large part to the oil and gas boom in the southeastern corner of the state.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the Associated General Contractors of America says New Mexico added 4,300 construction jobs in a one-year period beginning in August 2018 to reach 51,100 construction jobs.

The group's analysis of U.S. Department of Labor statistics found that top construction job-growth states all have strong mining/petroleum sectors.

Nearly all the job growth is in support of the oil and gas boom in Lea and Eddy counties and their hub cities, Hobbs and Carlsbad.

North Dakota had the top year-over-year percentage job growth in August followed by Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming and Alaska.