Update

The conclusion of a criminal case against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer clears the way for a related civil lawsuit by relatives of the deceased woman and efforts to depose the actor under oath, attorneys for plaintiffs in the civil suit said Tuesday.

Special Prosecutor Kari Morrissey withdrew on Monday the appeal of a July decision at trial to dismiss the charge. The decision to drop the appeal solidifies the decision by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer halfway through trial to dismiss the case on allegations that police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense.

Among the first items on the New Mexico Senate’s agenda when the Legislature meets in the new year will be choosing whether to confirm the governor’s picks to lead state agencies. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, will likely see her nominees approved because her party holds a majority in the Senate.

Now that a judge has struck down a federal regulation that limited compensation only to economic losses from the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire, a New Mexico legal aid attorney is urging fire victims to try to articulate the fire’s emotional toll, if only for themselves.

In a letter on Thursday, New Mexico’s congressional delegation urged President Biden to designate the Caja del Rio a national monument in his administration’s final days.

As the Biden administration comes to a close, Interior Sec. Deb Haaland is considering running for New Mexico governor. But, she’s not the only New Mexican in Washington D.C. eyeing the state’s executive branch. U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich is too.

Political turmoil erupted at one of the largest Native American tribes in the U.S. on Monday as the attorney general for the Navajo Nation announced that an investigation had cleared the Navajo president of sexual harassment allegations by the vice president.

The deadline is this Friday, Dec. 20, to file an initial claim for damages from the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon fire.

Federal regulators determined this week that Los Alamos National Laboratory and the county’s municipal system will require stricter regulation due to high levels of pollution running off during storms tainted waters downstream, including the Rio Grande. Pus, the Governor’s Office Friday announced Robert Doucette, Cabinet Secretary for the General Services Department, will step down from his position at the close of the year.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will push the Legislature to boost spending on housing, behavioral health, water protection and child welfare in the upcoming session, according to a proposed $10.9 billion budget her office released Thursday afternoon.