News

Biden to unveil plan to blunt potential COVID surge this winter

BY: - December 2, 2021

WASHINGTON — Reimbursements for at-home rapid COVID-19 tests. Tougher testing requirements for international travelers. More emergency response teams to aid states combating infection spikes.  And another big push to get Americans vaccinated. Those are the latest steps to fight COVID-19 that President Joe Biden will be announcing today, according to senior administration officials who briefed reporters […]

Protesters rally at Supreme Court as justices hear landmark abortion case

BY: - December 2, 2021

WASHINGTON — Lucia Ruta remembers a time when abortions were illegal. A native of Washington, D.C., she says she received an abortion in a back alley when she was 16, in the 1960s.  “The doctor told me that if I made as so much a whimper, he was going to stop and kick me out,” […]

U.S. Supreme Court considers new limits on abortions in Mississippi case

BY: and - December 2, 2021

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is weighing potentially sweeping changes to the right to an abortion, after two hours of arguments Wednesday morning on a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The court’s conservatives, who hold a 6-3 majority, appeared through their questions to be sympathetic to Mississippi’s arguments that its […]

Abortion is not restricted in NM. But is it protected?

BY: - December 2, 2021

It’s not time to panic. But stay vigilant.  That’s the advice for abortion rights supporters from Jessica Serrano, an attorney with the Southwest Women’s Law Center, for anyone in New Mexico following the Supreme Court hearing Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Oral arguments were presented yesterday on the case, the outcome of which could […]

Getting vaxxed could add 14 years to your life, NM stats show

BY: - December 2, 2021

New Mexico residents could add 14 years to their life if they get the COVID-19 vaccine and still end up hospitalized for the disease, the state’s top health official said Wednesday, Dec. 1. Unvaccinated people die 14 years younger and at much higher rates than the vaccinated, according to data compiled by the N.M. Department […]

After sharp increase in earthquakes, NM announces new requirements for oil and gas drillers

BY: - December 2, 2021

A New Mexico agency overseeing oil extraction in the southern part of the state has issued a new protocol to deal with earthquakes caused by oil and gas production. State data showed an increase in the number of earthquakes in the Permian Basin, according to a report by Capital and Main. The number of magnitude […]

Broadband officials ask lawmakers to trust the process

BY: - December 1, 2021

It’s not moving at the greatest speed, but New Mexico is keeping its own pace with a five-year plan to get internet service to all parts of the state.  The state’s tech officials told lawmakers about progress on the plan during Monday’s meeting of the Transportation Infrastructure Revenue subcommittee. Meeting attendees heard from Matt Schmit […]

NMSU’s local labor board no longer exists

BY: - December 1, 2021

New Mexico State University’s local labor board dissolved after two of its three members resigned in October.  The dissolution means an effort by the school’s graduate students to form a union will instead be considered by the statewide labor board in Santa Fe. Graduate students there see it as a step toward reaching the bargaining […]

Redistricting session to start Monday

BY: - December 1, 2021

The special legislative session re-drawing New Mexico’s political maps will begin Monday, Dec. 6, said Sen. Mimi Stewart, the Senate’s president pro tempore.  Stewart told Source New Mexico that there’s been no formal announcement yet about the session as a “courtesy” to legislators who are fundraising. A state law effective in January 2020 prohibits lawmakers from […]

Interior Department calls for oil and gas leasing updates, but not ending production

BY: - November 30, 2021

The U.S. Interior Department recommended increased fees for oil and gas exploration on federal lands as part of a long-awaited report released Friday that environmental groups said didn’t go far enough in limiting fossil fuels and Republicans derided as an attack on domestic producers. The report, ordered by President Joe Biden during his first week […]

Vaccine mandate for health care workers halted nationwide by Louisiana judge

BY: and - November 30, 2021

WASHINGTON—A federal judge in Louisiana on Tuesday issued a ruling blocking nationwide the Biden administration mandate requiring millions of health care workers be vaccinated against COVID-19. A suit challenging the mandate was led on behalf of multiple states by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican, and U.S. Judge Terry Doughty granted the states’ request […]

House Dems mull how to address Boebert’s anti-Muslim remarks

BY: - November 30, 2021

WASHINGTON—U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday that Democrats are weighing what to do about Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado in connection with anti-Muslim comments she made about a colleague in the House. “We’re considering what action ought to be taken,” said Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, at a briefing with reporters. Hoyer would […]