New Mexico

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Donald Trump lost New Mexico by 8 percentage points in 2016. Last year, his party lost a House seat and the governor’s mansion. Last week, a congressional candidate went viral by taunting the president by name in an ad.

Still, Trump is headed to New Mexico on Monday for a campaign rally that is making some politicos scratch their heads.

UPHAM, N.M. (AP) — Spaceport America is no longer just a shiny shell of hope that space tourism would one day launch from this remote spot in the New Mexico desert.

The once-empty hangar that anchors the taxpayer-financed launch and landing facility has been transformed into a custom-tailored headquarters where Virgin Galactic will run its commercial flight operations.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — When Michelle Otero arrived at an art show featuring Mexican-American women, the first thing she did was scan the room. Two exits. One security guard.

Then she thought to herself: If a shooter bursts in, how do my husband and I get out of here alive?

Otero, who is Mexican-American and Albuquerque’s poet laureate, had questioned even attending the crowded event at the National Hispanic Cultural Center a day after 22 people were killed in a shooting at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The second season of an AMC-TV drama series follows the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and a number of bizarre deaths haunting a community.

“The Terror: Infamy” is set to premiere Monday and stars Derek Mio and original “Star Trek” cast member George Takei as they navigate the forced internment and supernatural spirits that surround them.

By RUSSELL CONTRERAS

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — When President Donald Trump drew widespread condemnation for describing a majority-black congressional district as a “rat and rodent infested mess” and for tweets targeting four Democratic congresswomen of color, it was not the first time a U.S. president attracted such attention.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Twenty years ago, a knock on the door opened the past for Arlinda Valencia.

A relative had come to pay his respects on the death of Valencia’s father. He then revealed a shocking secret: The family was descended from survivors of a 1918 massacre along the U.S.-Mexico border.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — At the center of Jeffrey Epstein’s secluded New Mexico ranch sits a sprawling residence the financier built decades ago — complete with plans for a 4,000-square-foot (372-square-meter) courtyard, a living room roughly the size of the average American home and a nearby private airplane runway.

Known as the Zorro Ranch, the high-desert property is now tied to an investigation that the state attorney general’s office says it has opened into Epstein with plans to forward findings to federal authorities in New York.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Beware the phishing attempts.

An election security official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday warned top state election officials nationwide to safeguard against fraudulent emails targeting state and local election workers.

The emails appear as if they come from a legitimate source and contain links that, if clicked, can open up election data systems to manipulation or attacks.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Nearly 400 claims have been filed against New Mexico’s largest and oldest Roman Catholic diocese as part of a pending bankruptcy case that stems from the clergy sex abuse scandal, church officials announced Friday.

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe reported that 395 people filed claims against the church as of the June 17 deadline. That included 374 claims involving allegations of sex abuse. The remaining 21 were related to other grievances.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Facebook is building a massive solar farm in West Texas that’s believed to be one of the largest solar projects in the nation and the social media giant’s first direct investment in renewable energy.

Boston-based renewable energy developer Longroad Energy recently announced it was partnering with Facebook on the $416 million project, just as Facebook is finishing construction of a data center near Albuquerque.