THURS: Meta says it could withdraw Facebook and Instagram from New Mexico pending bench trial’s outcome, + More
By KUNM News
April 30, 2026 at 5:57 AM MDT
Meta says it could withdraw Facebook and Instagram from New Mexico pending bench trial’s outcome
—Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
In new filings, attorneys for social media giant Meta said the company will consider pulling the plug on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram in the state of New Mexico if a judge sides with the state’s Department of Justice in a bench trial scheduled to start on Monday.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez during a virtual news conference Thursday dismissed Meta’s warning as a “PR stunt” and said the office will continue to pursue judicial efforts to have the company change how it operates for underage users.
“Meta has a choice, obviously, and the responsible choice and the ethical choice, and frankly, the smart business move, is for them to just go ahead and start doing the hard work of making this a safer product,” Torrez said.
It’s the latest escalation in the legal battle between the state’s top prosecutor and Meta over issues of teen safety.
In December 2023, Torrez sued Meta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, alleging the company’s platforms harmed children’s mental health and exposed them to sexual exploitation.
A Santa Fe jury in March found that Meta had willfully violated New Mexico’s consumer protection laws and ordered the social media giant to pay $375 million in damages to the state. Meta has said it will appeal the verdict.
During the bench trial starting Monday before a state district judge in Santa Fe, the NMDOJ will argue that Meta’s activities constitute a public nuisance and will ask the court for financial penalties and to “fundamentally restructure how Meta operates for children.”
According to court documents, those modifications would include banning infinite scroll, autoplay and push notifications during school and sleep hours, along with capping access for New Mexico children on Meta platforms to 90 hours per month.
Meta’s response, which was originally filed under seal but made public on April 29, claims the state’s demands are “so broad and burdensome, that if implemented it might force Meta to withdraw its apps entirely” from New Mexico.
“It does not make economic or engineering sense for Meta to build separate apps just for New Mexico residents,” the company said in its response. Additionally, attorneys argued that New Mexico has no authority to implement the requested changes to the platforms, and that doing so violates free speech on the platforms. The company also noted that it has made changes to its platform that render New Mexico’s demands as unnecessary.
In a written statement provided to Source NM, a Meta spokesperson called the state’s demands “technically impractical,” and “impossible for any company to meet,” saying the proposed changes “disregard the realities of the internet.”
“While it is not in Meta’s interests to do so, if a workable solution to Attorney General Torrez’s demands is not reached, we may have no choice but to remove access to its platforms for users in New Mexico entirely,” the statement concluded.
Taos family sues New Mexico road department for neglecting 'lethal hazard' at Rio Grande Gorge Bridge
—John Miller, Albuquerque Journal
The family of a Taos teen who died by suicide at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in September filed a wrongful death lawsuit this week against the New Mexico Department of Transportation.
The lawsuit accuses the state of failing to install safety measures at the National Historic Landmark despite dozens of suicides there since it opened in 1965.
Taos County Sheriff’s deputies recovered the body of 15-year-old Noah Salmons below the Gorge Bridge on Sept. 21 — one of seven such deaths recorded at the historic steel arch span, which sits 600 feet above the canyon floor west of Taos.
In a civil complaint filed in 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, the Salmons argued that their son’s death could have been prevented had the state acted upon three feasibility studies that proposed safety measures at the Gorge Bridge in 2009, 2015 and 2018.
The proposals centered on the bridge’s 4-foot tall railings, calling for higher rails, vertical netting that could act as a barrier or chain link fencing, among other solutions.
NMDOT closed the bridge to foot traffic last September following a string of three deaths that month alone. In December the agency announced it would install higher railings and lighter-weight sidewalks, the day after deputies recovered the body of a Colorado woman who also died by suicide at the bridge.
But Albuquerque-based attorney Shayne Huffman said in Monday’s complaint that, for dozens of families whose loved ones have traveled from near and far to take their lives at the Gorge Bridge, the action is too little, too late.
The lawsuit asserts the state failed to address a known “lethal hazard for decades.”
“Despite this knowledge, NMDOT took no meaningful action to implement these deterrents or otherwise ensure the safety of the public at the Bridge prior to the death of Noah Salmons,” the complaint reads.
Asked for comment on Tuesday, agency spokesperson Kristine Mihelcic said NMDOT “does not comment on pending or threatened litigation.”
Huffman in an interview said the civil complaint may be the first of its kind in New Mexico, but the lawsuit refers to national studies demonstrating suicide deterrents to be effective at high bridges that have attracted people in crisis elsewhere in the U.S.
He referred to two oft-cited examples where higher railings have greatly reduced instances of suicide: The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Royal Gorge Bridge outside Colorado Springs.
He said that higher railings were installed in both instances, removing a certain path to suicide for people in distress and a source of trauma and cost for those communities.
“People aren’t finding ways to get around these railings, right?” he said. “Because suicide, it’s an impulsive thing that happens for somebody in a moment of crisis.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. The New Mexico Crisis and Access Line can also be reached at 855-662-7474 (855-NMCRISIS).
UNM announces three finalists for provost
—Natalie Robbins, Albuquerque Journal
The University of New Mexico on Wednesday announced three finalists to be its next provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
According to the university, the provost serves as UNM's chief academic officer, providing leadership for the university's academic programs, faculty affairs, research enterprise and student success initiatives.
The finalists are:
Avery August, deputy provost at Cornell University. August is a professor of immunology. He has a bachelor’s degree in medical technology from California State University at Los Angeles and a doctorate in immunology from Cornell. His research focuses on understanding the immunological basis for the balance of inflammation and pathology.
Charles Martinez, dean of the College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin. Martinez is a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology. He is the founding director of the Center for Research and Community Impact, which studies disparities in education and health. His work focuses on the positive development of Latino youth and their families. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pitzer College and a master’s and doctorate from the California School of Professional Psychology.
Barbara Rodriguez, interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at UNM. Rodriguez served as senior vice provost and chair of the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences. Her research focuses on bilingual language development in young children, particularly in Spanish speakers. Rodriguez holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UNM and earned her doctorate in speech-language pathology from the University of Washington. She grew up in Española and joined the faculty of UNM in 1999.
The nationwide search to replace former provost James Holloway began in late January. Holloway left UNM in July after six years to become president of the University of Toledo in Ohio.
Rodriguez has been serving in Holloway’s position in the interim.
After a replacement is selected in May for President Garnett Stokes, who will be retiring in July, the new university president will help select the new provost, according to UNM spokesperson Ben Cloutier.
Candidates for provost will visit the campus for open forums in early May. All forums will be held in the Student Union Building, Lobo A/B, from 10:05 to 11:05 a.m.
August will visit Friday, May 1; Martinez will visit Wednesday, May 6; and Rodriguez will visit Thursday, May 7. Surveys will be available for the public to offer its feedback following each finalist’s visit on the UNM website.
Still to come are campus visits from the remaining three finalists for president: Eric Barker from Purdue University, Steven Goldstein from the University of California, Irvine, and Eric Link from the University of North Dakota. The presidential finalists will visit May 11-13, after which the search committee will announce its choice.
Asbestos detected in Lindy’s Diner after wall collapse
—Nakayla McLelland, Albuquerque Journal
A city assessment performed after the partial collapse of Lindy's Diner in Downtown Albuquerque has found that the historic building contains asbestos.
A city of Albuquerque Code Enforcement team conducted an evaluation of the structure after its walls collapsed Monday afternoon, the city said Wednesday in a news release.
An asbestos test found that fibrous minerals were detected in “portions of the piping and flooring adhesive,” according to Tim Walsh, spokesperson for the city. The debris pile from the collapse did not contain signs of asbestos.
The hazardous materials were secured, he added.
An initial review of the Bliss Building was completed, Walsh said, and city officials await a second opinion from an independent structural engineer to verify the findings.
Lindy's Diner owner Steve Vatoseow was not aware of the asbestos, adding that he had not been informed of the city’s findings until he was notified by the Journal.
“I should be aware of any findings they have,” he said. “It’s not due diligence on their part.”
Vatoseow stated that the asbestos was most likely due to the building's age, adding that the property had been tested before a movie was filmed inside the diner, and production crews determined that the building was asbestos-free.
“That’s how they constructed things back then, and it was built in 1905,” he said. “I would assume there’s asbestos in nearly every building Downtown. I don’t think it’s unique to my building.”
Vatoseow believes the asbestos may have come from the diner's second story, which has been vacant since around 1975, when it operated as the Elgin Hotel, which housed 22 rooms.
He told the Journal in 2025 that he has not touched the upper portions of the building since the hotel closed down because it was out of code and would take a “considerable investment” to repair.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency prohibited a majority of asbestos products in 1989, with the ban finalized in 2022. The Bliss Building, at 500 Central SW, was constructed in the early 1900s.
Vatoseow said Tuesday his goal is to preserve the building if possible.
The second review — set to be completed Thursday — will determine whether the property can be salvaged or will need to be demolished.
“Once that review is complete, the city will share the confirmed results with the public,” Walsh said.
Sparks fly after judge issues order in lawsuit targeting universal child care program – Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham blasted a Republican gubernatorial candidate for touting a preliminary legal victory in his lawsuit challenging one of the governor’s signature achievements — state-subsidized child care for all New Mexico families.
In a blistering statement, the Democratic governor, who is stepping down at the end of this year after two terms in office, accused Duke Rodriguez of misrepresenting an order by a state judge.
The order gave Early Childhood Education and Care Department Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky a 30-day deadline to show why rules governing the universal child care program — launched last year by the governor — should not be struck down.
“A third-tier Republican candidate for governor — who lives in Arizona — is using a frivolous lawsuit in a despicable attempt to mislead New Mexico families and generate headlines for a campaign that is going nowhere,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement late Tuesday.
Rodriguez, who is one of three GOP candidates vying for the party’s nomination in this year’s open race for governor, filed the lawsuit challenging the universal child care initiative this month.
In his lawsuit, Rodriguez specifically argued the governor’s administration illegally launched the state-subsidized child care program before getting approval from the Legislature to do so.
District Court Judge Elaine Lujan did not rule on the merits of the lawsuit in her order this week but directed the Lujan Grisham administration to either file a timely response or halt enforcement of the program.
Groginsky, who was appointed by the governor in 2019 to lead the state’s new early childhood department, said her agency was already working on a response and expressed confidence the state would ultimately prevail in the case.
“Families should rest assured that we remain fully committed to protecting access to the services they need and rely on,” Groginsky said. “We will not waver in our mission to make quality child care accessible to families across New Mexico.”
That statement was released several hours after Rodriguez claimed the judge had ordered the state to “shut down” its illegal child care program. He also said the order represented a victory for transparency in state government.
“I filed this suit because New Mexicans deserve more from their government,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “With the court’s order in hand, the governor can now do the right thing and start over, or she can continue to create chaos for families.”
Rodriguez, a former state Cabinet secretary who founded New Mexico’s largest cannabis company, has faced legal challenges of his own during this year’s electoral cycle.
Specifically, he has weathered two separate lawsuits challenging his eligibility to run for governor due to a residency requirement in the state Constitution.
Rodriguez, who owns houses in both Albuquerque and Scottsdale, Arizona, voted in both the 2022 and 2024 general elections in Arizona, where he first registered to vote in 2001, according to Maricopa County records obtained by the Journal.
But he has brushed off the residency concerns, saying he is eligible to run for governor and has resided continuously in New Mexico for more than 50 years.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez’s lawsuit targeting the universal child care program is his latest in a series of court challenges against the Lujan Grisham administration. The outgoing governor and Rodriguez actually served together as Cabinet secretaries in former Gov. Gary Johnson’s administration.
New Mexico’s first-of-its-kind universal child care program drew national attention after it was announced last fall — including a mention on “Saturday Night Live” — and the state published the rules governing the program in October.
Lawmakers then approved a bill codifying the program in state law and setting financial safeguards — including possible copays and wait lists — during this year’s 30-day session. That law is set to take effect May 20 and authorizes up to $700 million to be taken from an early childhood trust fund over the next five years to help pay for universal child care.
The other two Republicans running for governor in the June primary, outgoing Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull and small business owner Doug Turner of Albuquerque, have not weighed in directly on Rodriguez’s lawsuit targeting the universal child care program.
That prompted state Democratic Party chairwoman Sara Attleson to issue a “challenge” Wednesday by calling on Hull and Turner to clarify their stances on the issue.
New Mexico House commission hires Albuquerque firm in Epstein probe - Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
The bipartisan New Mexico House investigatory subcommittee tasked with documenting the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s activity at his Santa Fe County Zorro Ranch property has hired an Albuquerque law firm to assist in the investigation.
The committee on Tuesday announced the appointment of Fadduol, Cluff, Hardy & Conaway, P.C., a law firm with offices in both New Mexico and Texas, to serve as the special counsel. According to the state’s request for proposals for the work, the firm will provide legal services for the commission, gather evidence for its Epstein investigation and manage any collaborations with the New Mexico Department of Justice.
Shawna Casebier, the director of the Legislative Counsel Service, told Source NM Wednesday that 10 firms sought the contract for the subcommittee. The contract caps payments to the law firm for its services at $750,000.
In a news release, the commission said the appointment of special counsel ensures that investigation will be “thorough, transparent and legally sound,” and that public meetings will be scheduled later in the year.
“The Truth Commission has a responsibility to pursue the facts with care and credibility,” subcommittee chair state Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe) said in a statement. “Engaging experienced legal counsel ensures that our work is conducted with the rigor and independence necessary to build public trust and deliver meaningful accountability.”
The subcommittee was established unanimously by the New Mexico House in the most recent legislative session. It has a budget of $2 million from a 2023 settlement with the state and several financial services companies for failing to identify the abuses at the ranch.
Attorney Joshua Conaway, a partner at the firm with more than two decades of experience, said in a statement the subcommittee’s work “is both significant and sensitive, and we are committed to helping ensure that its efforts are conducted with integrity, diligence, and respect for all involved.”
A call to Conaway Wednesday was not immediately returned.
In February, NMDOJ announced it was reviving an investigation into Epstein and Zorro Ranch. Former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas previously told Source NM his office was investigating Epstein until federal prosecutors in 2019 asked him to shelve the query. Earlier this month, NMDOJ investigators searched the sprawling 7,500-acre property that Epstein bought from former New Mexico Gov. Bruce King in the 1990s.
The commission is scheduled to make an interim report on the investigation to the House of Representatives by July 31, and a final report by the end of 2026.
10 current and former Mexican officials accused in US indictment of aiding drug trafficking - By Megan Janetsky, Michael R. Sisak and Larry Neumeister, Associated Press
The governor of Sinaloa and nine other current and former Mexican officials were charged with drug trafficking and weapons offenses in a U.S. indictment unsealed Wednesday in New York, accused of aiding in the massive importation of illicit narcotics into the United States.
Some officials were members of Mexico's progressive ruling party, Morena, posing a political conundrum for Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum as she seeks to offset mounting pressures from the Trump administration. Some of those politicians called the indictment a political attack on their party.
U.S. federal officials announced the charges in a news release. None of the defendants were in custody, but Mexico's government said shortly afterward that it had received multiple extradition requests from the U.S. without identifying those requested. It did not say how it would respond.
Morena party members indicted
The 10 people charged in Manhattan federal court are current and former government or law enforcement officials in Sinaloa, including Rubén Rocha Moya, 76, who has been governor of Mexico's Sinaloa state since November 2021.
Charges against Moya included narcotics importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices, along with another conspiracy count. If convicted, he could face life in prison or a mandatory minimum of 40 years behind bars.
Rocha was a staunch ally of Sheinbaum's mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The governor enthusiastically backed the ex-president's "Hugs, Not Bullets" policy, which involved avoiding direct confrontation with powerful drug cartels. López Obrador built a political platform by railing against endemic corruption plaguing Mexican politics.
Rocha, the highest profile official charged, said he "categorically and completely rejects" the accusations as baseless and called them an "attack" on Mexico's ruling party and its leaders.
"It is part of a perverse strategy to violate (Mexico's) constitutional order, specifically on national sovereignty, " he wrote in a post on X on Wednesday afternoon. "We will show them that this slander doesn't have any sort of foundation."
Later in the day, he told reporters that he planned to stay in Sinaloa and wasn't worried.
Ties to Sinaloa Cartel
Some of those named, according to the indictment, have themselves participated in the Sinaloa Cartel's campaign of violence and retribution.
Those charged included a Mexican senator, a Sinaloa state deputy attorney general, a former Sinaloa secretary of public security, a former deputy director of the Sinaloa State Police and the mayor of Culiacan.
According to the indictment, the defendants shielded cartel leaders from investigation, arrest, and prosecution, fed the cartel with sensitive law enforcement and military information, directed members of state and local law enforcement agencies to protect drug loads and let the cartel commit brutal drug-related violence without consequence. In return, it said, the defendants received millions of dollars in drug money.
The indictment alleged that they were closely aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel faction known as "Los Chapitos," which is run by the sons of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the ex-cartel leader now serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.
Authorities said the defendants played critical roles in helping the cartel ship fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine from Mexico into the U.S. The Sinaloa Cartel is among eight Latin American crime groups designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.
"As the indictment lays bare, the Sinaloa Cartel, and other drug trafficking organizations like it, would not operate as freely or successfully without corrupt politicians and law enforcement officials on their payroll," U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a release.
The indictment of Rocha, who was born in the same town as "El Chapo," was particularly notable because the governor was embroiled in a scandal in 2024 involving the Sinaloa Cartel. His name was published in a letter written by a then-Sinaloa Cartel capo who was kidnapped by leaders of a rival faction of the cartel and handed off to law enforcement in the U.S. In the letter, the capo said that when he was kidnapped he believed he was on his way to meet with Rocha.
In the years since, the cartel's two warring factions have ravaged the northern Mexican state in their struggle for territorial control.
Among those indicted, at least three officials — Rocha, the mayor of Sinaloa's capital, and a senator — were affiliated with Sheinbaum's party, Morena. A number of other officials held positions unaffiliated with Mexican parties.
It's not the first time the U.S. has brought drug trafficking charges against ranking Mexican officials. Genaro García Luna — a former Mexican public security secretary under former President Felipe Calderón — was convicted by a U.S. court and sentenced to 38 years in prison after he was accused of taking bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel. He denied the allegations and is appealing his conviction.
Another balancing act for Sheinbaum
The indictment unsealed Wednesday come after U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson last week said that the U.S. administration would launch an anti-corruption campaign targeting Mexican officials he said were linked to organized crime.
"Corruption not only hinders progress, it distorts it. It increases costs, weakens competition, and erodes the trust upon which markets depend. It is not a problem without victims," Johnson said.
Sheinbaum responded Monday by saying her government has not seen "any evidence" of the charges of corruption.
"Any investigation in the United States against any person in Mexico must have evidence reviewed by the (Mexican) Attorney General's Office," Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum's government has already detained several local officials across Mexico in its ongoing crackdown against the cartels, fueled by pressure by the Trump administration.
The indictment has once again forced the Mexican leader to walk a political tightrope, said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Washington-based Brookings Institution who specializes in organized crime.
If Sheinbaum doesn't go after Rocha, it will put strain on relations with the U.S. ahead of renegotiations of a free-trade agreement with the U.S. crucial to the Mexican economy, the analyst said. If she does arrest him, "it carries tremendous consequences for her politically" ahead of next year's midterm elections in Mexico.
"Is she going to move to arrest Gov. Rocha and the other eight indicted politicians and attempt to extradite him to the United States? This is certainly what the United States wants," Felbab-Brown said.
___
This story has been corrected to show the scandal that embroiled Rocha was in 2024, not 2023.
Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writers María Verza and Fabiola Sánchez in Mexico City and Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed.
Los Lunas community members are upset about proposed road extensions - Valencia County News-Bulletin
A public meeting in Los Lunas Thursday will focus on a controversial road extension proposal in the El Cerro community.
The Valencia County News-Bulletin reports around 160 people from the area gathered earlier this month to organize against the construction of a four-lane highway that could cut through the heart of their community.
The plans would involve continuing the current Los Lunas Boulevard project, which is now underway, so it connects to the Manzano Expressway.
The community has begun mobilizing, researching the project, gathering public records, and focusing on public outreach.
In a Valencia County commission meeting held on February 18th, the public raised concerns about the loss of open spaces, trees, and backyards, increased traffic, and removal of homes.
The Mid-Region Council of Governments estimates that the project could push over 13,000 vehicles on average onto the new east side extension every weekday.
Valencia County Grant Director Jeremias Silva said the project is nowhere near being finalized. The grant he proposes allocates $750,000 for evaluating the east side road extension.
The public meeting at Ann Parish Elementary in Los Lunas starts at 6 pm Thursday.
—Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
In new filings, attorneys for social media giant Meta said the company will consider pulling the plug on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram in the state of New Mexico if a judge sides with the state’s Department of Justice in a bench trial scheduled to start on Monday.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez during a virtual news conference Thursday dismissed Meta’s warning as a “PR stunt” and said the office will continue to pursue judicial efforts to have the company change how it operates for underage users.
“Meta has a choice, obviously, and the responsible choice and the ethical choice, and frankly, the smart business move, is for them to just go ahead and start doing the hard work of making this a safer product,” Torrez said.
It’s the latest escalation in the legal battle between the state’s top prosecutor and Meta over issues of teen safety.
In December 2023, Torrez sued Meta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, alleging the company’s platforms harmed children’s mental health and exposed them to sexual exploitation.
A Santa Fe jury in March found that Meta had willfully violated New Mexico’s consumer protection laws and ordered the social media giant to pay $375 million in damages to the state. Meta has said it will appeal the verdict.
During the bench trial starting Monday before a state district judge in Santa Fe, the NMDOJ will argue that Meta’s activities constitute a public nuisance and will ask the court for financial penalties and to “fundamentally restructure how Meta operates for children.”
According to court documents, those modifications would include banning infinite scroll, autoplay and push notifications during school and sleep hours, along with capping access for New Mexico children on Meta platforms to 90 hours per month.
Meta’s response, which was originally filed under seal but made public on April 29, claims the state’s demands are “so broad and burdensome, that if implemented it might force Meta to withdraw its apps entirely” from New Mexico.
“It does not make economic or engineering sense for Meta to build separate apps just for New Mexico residents,” the company said in its response. Additionally, attorneys argued that New Mexico has no authority to implement the requested changes to the platforms, and that doing so violates free speech on the platforms. The company also noted that it has made changes to its platform that render New Mexico’s demands as unnecessary.
In a written statement provided to Source NM, a Meta spokesperson called the state’s demands “technically impractical,” and “impossible for any company to meet,” saying the proposed changes “disregard the realities of the internet.”
“While it is not in Meta’s interests to do so, if a workable solution to Attorney General Torrez’s demands is not reached, we may have no choice but to remove access to its platforms for users in New Mexico entirely,” the statement concluded.
Taos family sues New Mexico road department for neglecting 'lethal hazard' at Rio Grande Gorge Bridge
—John Miller, Albuquerque Journal
The family of a Taos teen who died by suicide at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in September filed a wrongful death lawsuit this week against the New Mexico Department of Transportation.
The lawsuit accuses the state of failing to install safety measures at the National Historic Landmark despite dozens of suicides there since it opened in 1965.
Taos County Sheriff’s deputies recovered the body of 15-year-old Noah Salmons below the Gorge Bridge on Sept. 21 — one of seven such deaths recorded at the historic steel arch span, which sits 600 feet above the canyon floor west of Taos.
In a civil complaint filed in 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, the Salmons argued that their son’s death could have been prevented had the state acted upon three feasibility studies that proposed safety measures at the Gorge Bridge in 2009, 2015 and 2018.
The proposals centered on the bridge’s 4-foot tall railings, calling for higher rails, vertical netting that could act as a barrier or chain link fencing, among other solutions.
NMDOT closed the bridge to foot traffic last September following a string of three deaths that month alone. In December the agency announced it would install higher railings and lighter-weight sidewalks, the day after deputies recovered the body of a Colorado woman who also died by suicide at the bridge.
But Albuquerque-based attorney Shayne Huffman said in Monday’s complaint that, for dozens of families whose loved ones have traveled from near and far to take their lives at the Gorge Bridge, the action is too little, too late.
The lawsuit asserts the state failed to address a known “lethal hazard for decades.”
“Despite this knowledge, NMDOT took no meaningful action to implement these deterrents or otherwise ensure the safety of the public at the Bridge prior to the death of Noah Salmons,” the complaint reads.
Asked for comment on Tuesday, agency spokesperson Kristine Mihelcic said NMDOT “does not comment on pending or threatened litigation.”
Huffman in an interview said the civil complaint may be the first of its kind in New Mexico, but the lawsuit refers to national studies demonstrating suicide deterrents to be effective at high bridges that have attracted people in crisis elsewhere in the U.S.
He referred to two oft-cited examples where higher railings have greatly reduced instances of suicide: The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Royal Gorge Bridge outside Colorado Springs.
He said that higher railings were installed in both instances, removing a certain path to suicide for people in distress and a source of trauma and cost for those communities.
“People aren’t finding ways to get around these railings, right?” he said. “Because suicide, it’s an impulsive thing that happens for somebody in a moment of crisis.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. The New Mexico Crisis and Access Line can also be reached at 855-662-7474 (855-NMCRISIS).
UNM announces three finalists for provost
—Natalie Robbins, Albuquerque Journal
The University of New Mexico on Wednesday announced three finalists to be its next provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
According to the university, the provost serves as UNM's chief academic officer, providing leadership for the university's academic programs, faculty affairs, research enterprise and student success initiatives.
The finalists are:
Avery August, deputy provost at Cornell University. August is a professor of immunology. He has a bachelor’s degree in medical technology from California State University at Los Angeles and a doctorate in immunology from Cornell. His research focuses on understanding the immunological basis for the balance of inflammation and pathology.
Charles Martinez, dean of the College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin. Martinez is a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology. He is the founding director of the Center for Research and Community Impact, which studies disparities in education and health. His work focuses on the positive development of Latino youth and their families. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pitzer College and a master’s and doctorate from the California School of Professional Psychology.
Barbara Rodriguez, interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at UNM. Rodriguez served as senior vice provost and chair of the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences. Her research focuses on bilingual language development in young children, particularly in Spanish speakers. Rodriguez holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UNM and earned her doctorate in speech-language pathology from the University of Washington. She grew up in Española and joined the faculty of UNM in 1999.
The nationwide search to replace former provost James Holloway began in late January. Holloway left UNM in July after six years to become president of the University of Toledo in Ohio.
Rodriguez has been serving in Holloway’s position in the interim.
After a replacement is selected in May for President Garnett Stokes, who will be retiring in July, the new university president will help select the new provost, according to UNM spokesperson Ben Cloutier.
Candidates for provost will visit the campus for open forums in early May. All forums will be held in the Student Union Building, Lobo A/B, from 10:05 to 11:05 a.m.
August will visit Friday, May 1; Martinez will visit Wednesday, May 6; and Rodriguez will visit Thursday, May 7. Surveys will be available for the public to offer its feedback following each finalist’s visit on the UNM website.
Still to come are campus visits from the remaining three finalists for president: Eric Barker from Purdue University, Steven Goldstein from the University of California, Irvine, and Eric Link from the University of North Dakota. The presidential finalists will visit May 11-13, after which the search committee will announce its choice.
Asbestos detected in Lindy’s Diner after wall collapse
—Nakayla McLelland, Albuquerque Journal
A city assessment performed after the partial collapse of Lindy's Diner in Downtown Albuquerque has found that the historic building contains asbestos.
A city of Albuquerque Code Enforcement team conducted an evaluation of the structure after its walls collapsed Monday afternoon, the city said Wednesday in a news release.
An asbestos test found that fibrous minerals were detected in “portions of the piping and flooring adhesive,” according to Tim Walsh, spokesperson for the city. The debris pile from the collapse did not contain signs of asbestos.
The hazardous materials were secured, he added.
An initial review of the Bliss Building was completed, Walsh said, and city officials await a second opinion from an independent structural engineer to verify the findings.
Lindy's Diner owner Steve Vatoseow was not aware of the asbestos, adding that he had not been informed of the city’s findings until he was notified by the Journal.
“I should be aware of any findings they have,” he said. “It’s not due diligence on their part.”
Vatoseow stated that the asbestos was most likely due to the building's age, adding that the property had been tested before a movie was filmed inside the diner, and production crews determined that the building was asbestos-free.
“That’s how they constructed things back then, and it was built in 1905,” he said. “I would assume there’s asbestos in nearly every building Downtown. I don’t think it’s unique to my building.”
Vatoseow believes the asbestos may have come from the diner's second story, which has been vacant since around 1975, when it operated as the Elgin Hotel, which housed 22 rooms.
He told the Journal in 2025 that he has not touched the upper portions of the building since the hotel closed down because it was out of code and would take a “considerable investment” to repair.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency prohibited a majority of asbestos products in 1989, with the ban finalized in 2022. The Bliss Building, at 500 Central SW, was constructed in the early 1900s.
Vatoseow said Tuesday his goal is to preserve the building if possible.
The second review — set to be completed Thursday — will determine whether the property can be salvaged or will need to be demolished.
“Once that review is complete, the city will share the confirmed results with the public,” Walsh said.
Sparks fly after judge issues order in lawsuit targeting universal child care program – Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham blasted a Republican gubernatorial candidate for touting a preliminary legal victory in his lawsuit challenging one of the governor’s signature achievements — state-subsidized child care for all New Mexico families.
In a blistering statement, the Democratic governor, who is stepping down at the end of this year after two terms in office, accused Duke Rodriguez of misrepresenting an order by a state judge.
The order gave Early Childhood Education and Care Department Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky a 30-day deadline to show why rules governing the universal child care program — launched last year by the governor — should not be struck down.
“A third-tier Republican candidate for governor — who lives in Arizona — is using a frivolous lawsuit in a despicable attempt to mislead New Mexico families and generate headlines for a campaign that is going nowhere,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement late Tuesday.
Rodriguez, who is one of three GOP candidates vying for the party’s nomination in this year’s open race for governor, filed the lawsuit challenging the universal child care initiative this month.
In his lawsuit, Rodriguez specifically argued the governor’s administration illegally launched the state-subsidized child care program before getting approval from the Legislature to do so.
District Court Judge Elaine Lujan did not rule on the merits of the lawsuit in her order this week but directed the Lujan Grisham administration to either file a timely response or halt enforcement of the program.
Groginsky, who was appointed by the governor in 2019 to lead the state’s new early childhood department, said her agency was already working on a response and expressed confidence the state would ultimately prevail in the case.
“Families should rest assured that we remain fully committed to protecting access to the services they need and rely on,” Groginsky said. “We will not waver in our mission to make quality child care accessible to families across New Mexico.”
That statement was released several hours after Rodriguez claimed the judge had ordered the state to “shut down” its illegal child care program. He also said the order represented a victory for transparency in state government.
“I filed this suit because New Mexicans deserve more from their government,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “With the court’s order in hand, the governor can now do the right thing and start over, or she can continue to create chaos for families.”
Rodriguez, a former state Cabinet secretary who founded New Mexico’s largest cannabis company, has faced legal challenges of his own during this year’s electoral cycle.
Specifically, he has weathered two separate lawsuits challenging his eligibility to run for governor due to a residency requirement in the state Constitution.
Rodriguez, who owns houses in both Albuquerque and Scottsdale, Arizona, voted in both the 2022 and 2024 general elections in Arizona, where he first registered to vote in 2001, according to Maricopa County records obtained by the Journal.
But he has brushed off the residency concerns, saying he is eligible to run for governor and has resided continuously in New Mexico for more than 50 years.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez’s lawsuit targeting the universal child care program is his latest in a series of court challenges against the Lujan Grisham administration. The outgoing governor and Rodriguez actually served together as Cabinet secretaries in former Gov. Gary Johnson’s administration.
New Mexico’s first-of-its-kind universal child care program drew national attention after it was announced last fall — including a mention on “Saturday Night Live” — and the state published the rules governing the program in October.
Lawmakers then approved a bill codifying the program in state law and setting financial safeguards — including possible copays and wait lists — during this year’s 30-day session. That law is set to take effect May 20 and authorizes up to $700 million to be taken from an early childhood trust fund over the next five years to help pay for universal child care.
The other two Republicans running for governor in the June primary, outgoing Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull and small business owner Doug Turner of Albuquerque, have not weighed in directly on Rodriguez’s lawsuit targeting the universal child care program.
That prompted state Democratic Party chairwoman Sara Attleson to issue a “challenge” Wednesday by calling on Hull and Turner to clarify their stances on the issue.
New Mexico House commission hires Albuquerque firm in Epstein probe - Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
The bipartisan New Mexico House investigatory subcommittee tasked with documenting the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s activity at his Santa Fe County Zorro Ranch property has hired an Albuquerque law firm to assist in the investigation.
The committee on Tuesday announced the appointment of Fadduol, Cluff, Hardy & Conaway, P.C., a law firm with offices in both New Mexico and Texas, to serve as the special counsel. According to the state’s request for proposals for the work, the firm will provide legal services for the commission, gather evidence for its Epstein investigation and manage any collaborations with the New Mexico Department of Justice.
Shawna Casebier, the director of the Legislative Counsel Service, told Source NM Wednesday that 10 firms sought the contract for the subcommittee. The contract caps payments to the law firm for its services at $750,000.
In a news release, the commission said the appointment of special counsel ensures that investigation will be “thorough, transparent and legally sound,” and that public meetings will be scheduled later in the year.
“The Truth Commission has a responsibility to pursue the facts with care and credibility,” subcommittee chair state Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe) said in a statement. “Engaging experienced legal counsel ensures that our work is conducted with the rigor and independence necessary to build public trust and deliver meaningful accountability.”
The subcommittee was established unanimously by the New Mexico House in the most recent legislative session. It has a budget of $2 million from a 2023 settlement with the state and several financial services companies for failing to identify the abuses at the ranch.
Attorney Joshua Conaway, a partner at the firm with more than two decades of experience, said in a statement the subcommittee’s work “is both significant and sensitive, and we are committed to helping ensure that its efforts are conducted with integrity, diligence, and respect for all involved.”
A call to Conaway Wednesday was not immediately returned.
In February, NMDOJ announced it was reviving an investigation into Epstein and Zorro Ranch. Former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas previously told Source NM his office was investigating Epstein until federal prosecutors in 2019 asked him to shelve the query. Earlier this month, NMDOJ investigators searched the sprawling 7,500-acre property that Epstein bought from former New Mexico Gov. Bruce King in the 1990s.
The commission is scheduled to make an interim report on the investigation to the House of Representatives by July 31, and a final report by the end of 2026.
10 current and former Mexican officials accused in US indictment of aiding drug trafficking - By Megan Janetsky, Michael R. Sisak and Larry Neumeister, Associated Press
The governor of Sinaloa and nine other current and former Mexican officials were charged with drug trafficking and weapons offenses in a U.S. indictment unsealed Wednesday in New York, accused of aiding in the massive importation of illicit narcotics into the United States.
Some officials were members of Mexico's progressive ruling party, Morena, posing a political conundrum for Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum as she seeks to offset mounting pressures from the Trump administration. Some of those politicians called the indictment a political attack on their party.
U.S. federal officials announced the charges in a news release. None of the defendants were in custody, but Mexico's government said shortly afterward that it had received multiple extradition requests from the U.S. without identifying those requested. It did not say how it would respond.
Morena party members indicted
The 10 people charged in Manhattan federal court are current and former government or law enforcement officials in Sinaloa, including Rubén Rocha Moya, 76, who has been governor of Mexico's Sinaloa state since November 2021.
Charges against Moya included narcotics importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices, along with another conspiracy count. If convicted, he could face life in prison or a mandatory minimum of 40 years behind bars.
Rocha was a staunch ally of Sheinbaum's mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The governor enthusiastically backed the ex-president's "Hugs, Not Bullets" policy, which involved avoiding direct confrontation with powerful drug cartels. López Obrador built a political platform by railing against endemic corruption plaguing Mexican politics.
Rocha, the highest profile official charged, said he "categorically and completely rejects" the accusations as baseless and called them an "attack" on Mexico's ruling party and its leaders.
"It is part of a perverse strategy to violate (Mexico's) constitutional order, specifically on national sovereignty, " he wrote in a post on X on Wednesday afternoon. "We will show them that this slander doesn't have any sort of foundation."
Later in the day, he told reporters that he planned to stay in Sinaloa and wasn't worried.
Ties to Sinaloa Cartel
Some of those named, according to the indictment, have themselves participated in the Sinaloa Cartel's campaign of violence and retribution.
Those charged included a Mexican senator, a Sinaloa state deputy attorney general, a former Sinaloa secretary of public security, a former deputy director of the Sinaloa State Police and the mayor of Culiacan.
According to the indictment, the defendants shielded cartel leaders from investigation, arrest, and prosecution, fed the cartel with sensitive law enforcement and military information, directed members of state and local law enforcement agencies to protect drug loads and let the cartel commit brutal drug-related violence without consequence. In return, it said, the defendants received millions of dollars in drug money.
The indictment alleged that they were closely aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel faction known as "Los Chapitos," which is run by the sons of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the ex-cartel leader now serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.
Authorities said the defendants played critical roles in helping the cartel ship fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine from Mexico into the U.S. The Sinaloa Cartel is among eight Latin American crime groups designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.
"As the indictment lays bare, the Sinaloa Cartel, and other drug trafficking organizations like it, would not operate as freely or successfully without corrupt politicians and law enforcement officials on their payroll," U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a release.
The indictment of Rocha, who was born in the same town as "El Chapo," was particularly notable because the governor was embroiled in a scandal in 2024 involving the Sinaloa Cartel. His name was published in a letter written by a then-Sinaloa Cartel capo who was kidnapped by leaders of a rival faction of the cartel and handed off to law enforcement in the U.S. In the letter, the capo said that when he was kidnapped he believed he was on his way to meet with Rocha.
In the years since, the cartel's two warring factions have ravaged the northern Mexican state in their struggle for territorial control.
Among those indicted, at least three officials — Rocha, the mayor of Sinaloa's capital, and a senator — were affiliated with Sheinbaum's party, Morena. A number of other officials held positions unaffiliated with Mexican parties.
It's not the first time the U.S. has brought drug trafficking charges against ranking Mexican officials. Genaro García Luna — a former Mexican public security secretary under former President Felipe Calderón — was convicted by a U.S. court and sentenced to 38 years in prison after he was accused of taking bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel. He denied the allegations and is appealing his conviction.
Another balancing act for Sheinbaum
The indictment unsealed Wednesday come after U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson last week said that the U.S. administration would launch an anti-corruption campaign targeting Mexican officials he said were linked to organized crime.
"Corruption not only hinders progress, it distorts it. It increases costs, weakens competition, and erodes the trust upon which markets depend. It is not a problem without victims," Johnson said.
Sheinbaum responded Monday by saying her government has not seen "any evidence" of the charges of corruption.
"Any investigation in the United States against any person in Mexico must have evidence reviewed by the (Mexican) Attorney General's Office," Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum's government has already detained several local officials across Mexico in its ongoing crackdown against the cartels, fueled by pressure by the Trump administration.
The indictment has once again forced the Mexican leader to walk a political tightrope, said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Washington-based Brookings Institution who specializes in organized crime.
If Sheinbaum doesn't go after Rocha, it will put strain on relations with the U.S. ahead of renegotiations of a free-trade agreement with the U.S. crucial to the Mexican economy, the analyst said. If she does arrest him, "it carries tremendous consequences for her politically" ahead of next year's midterm elections in Mexico.
"Is she going to move to arrest Gov. Rocha and the other eight indicted politicians and attempt to extradite him to the United States? This is certainly what the United States wants," Felbab-Brown said.
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This story has been corrected to show the scandal that embroiled Rocha was in 2024, not 2023.
Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writers María Verza and Fabiola Sánchez in Mexico City and Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed.
Los Lunas community members are upset about proposed road extensions - Valencia County News-Bulletin
A public meeting in Los Lunas Thursday will focus on a controversial road extension proposal in the El Cerro community.
The Valencia County News-Bulletin reports around 160 people from the area gathered earlier this month to organize against the construction of a four-lane highway that could cut through the heart of their community.
The plans would involve continuing the current Los Lunas Boulevard project, which is now underway, so it connects to the Manzano Expressway.
The community has begun mobilizing, researching the project, gathering public records, and focusing on public outreach.
In a Valencia County commission meeting held on February 18th, the public raised concerns about the loss of open spaces, trees, and backyards, increased traffic, and removal of homes.
The Mid-Region Council of Governments estimates that the project could push over 13,000 vehicles on average onto the new east side extension every weekday.
Valencia County Grant Director Jeremias Silva said the project is nowhere near being finalized. The grant he proposes allocates $750,000 for evaluating the east side road extension.
The public meeting at Ann Parish Elementary in Los Lunas starts at 6 pm Thursday.