New Mexico

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) — On past deployments Army National Guard Spc. Michael Stockwell surveilled a desolate section of the U.S.-Mexico border during a migrant surge, and guarded a ring of checkpoints and fences around New Mexico’s state Capitol after the January 2021 insurrection in Washington.

On his current mission, Stockwell helps students with assignments as a substitute science teacher at Alamogordo High School.

MEXICO CITY, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Various events have been held in Mexico to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Mexico.

The Mexican Senate Monday celebrated bilateral ties with an event attended by various Mexican authorities, legislators and academics, as well as Chinese diplomats.

Mexico and China continue to endorse "a mutual commitment of loyalty and trust" after half a century of diplomatic relations, said Olga Sanchez Cordero, president of the Mexican Senate, when addressing the event.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Legislators are introducing competing proposals to do away with New Mexico’s tax on income from Social Security benefits as Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham throws her political weight behind the idea in an election year.

About a dozen states tax Social Security benefits in some fashion. In New Mexico, personal income taxes apply to Social Security benefits while following federal rules for exempting lower-income residents. A full exemption applies to individuals earning up to $25,000 and joint tax filers earning up to $32,000.

TAOS, N.M., Jan 6 (Reuters) - New Mexico authorities on Thursday said they were working with police in New York state to obtain material from actor Alec Baldwin's cellphone relating to a probe into the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of Western movie "Rust."

The Santa Fe Sheriff's Office and New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney's Office are "actively working" with the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department, New York, and Baldwin's lawyers to get any materials on the phone pertaining to their investigation, according to a press release.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico House on Friday passed a bill for funneling federal pandemic relief funding to improve broadband internet improvement projects and the state’s road infrastructure after a committee added more spending items to the bill.

An amendment put in the bill by the House Appropriations and Finance Committee calls for using $50 million to build a rural hospital. While a location for the hospital has not been determined, some legislators were leaning toward building it in Valencia County, south of Albuquerque.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities pursued new leads Tuesday on possible sources of live ammunition involved in actor Alec Baldwin’s fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the New Mexico set of a western movie, as they searched the premises of an Albuquerque-based firearms and ammunition supplier.

The search took place after a provider of firearms and ammunition to the ill fated movie production for “Rust” told investigators that he “may know” where live rounds came from, describing ammunition he received from a friend in the past that had been “reloaded” by assembly from parts.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Voters in New Mexico’s largest city and the state capital of Santa Fe were deciding Tuesday whether to reelect progressive mayors or to back more conservative challengers within the Democratic Party.

Tuesday’s local elections are a preamble to statewide and congressional contests in 2022, when Democrats hope to prolong their hold on all statewide offices, including governor and majorities in the Legislature.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Hours before actor Alec Baldwin fired a fatal gunshot from a prop gun that he had been told was safe, a camera crew for the movie he was filming walked off the job to protest conditions and production issues that included safety concerns.

Disputes in the production of the Western film “Rust” began almost from the start in early October and culminated with seven crew members walking off several hours before 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is defending her authority to decide how the state will spend more than $1 billion federal pandemic aid — without the approval of the Legislature.

In a written court briefing Friday, Lujan Grisham said a state Supreme Court decision nearly 50 years ago upheld the governor’s discretion over federal funding at universities and should hold true today more broadly regarding federal pandemic relief funds.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Three Albuquerque police officers were shot and another was injured while responding to a robbery Thursday, leaving law enforcement officials and elected leaders frustrated as New Mexico’s largest city continues to grapple with a record-setting year of deadly violence.