Activists say they will protest a planned police shooting contest in Albuquerque — with water guns. A coalition of groups has scheduled a march and rally Sunday where advocates are slated to shoot mock targets with water guns and Nerf darts. The city and its police department are hosting the four-day-long National Rifle Association competition beginning Saturday for law enforcement members who can "select to fire in just one match or fire in all of the championship match events." Advocates want the event canceled. In recent months, Albuquerque has been rocked by angry protests and a U.S. Justice Department investigation over more than 40 police shootings since 2010.
The Santa Fe County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to put a marijuana decriminalization advisory question on the November ballot. The move comes one day after the Bernalillo County Commission voted to put a nearly-identical question on November's ballot, and two weeks after the Santa Fe City Council voted 5-4 to decriminalize marijuana possession. The advisory question simply poses the idea of marijuana decriminalization to county voters. Proponents say the measure will provide county commissioners and city council members with a reference point for future decisions on the matter. Opponents call it a political ploy to increase voter turnout.
Federal safety investigators say an air ambulance got the wrong fuel at a New Mexico airport before it took off and crashed, killing all four people aboard. A National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report says the twin-engine aircraft was refueled with 40 gallons of jet fuel instead of aviation gasoline at the Las Cruces airport on August 27th. The plane crashed after taking off on a flight to Phoenix. All three crew members and one patient were killed. The NTSB report does not say whether the wrong fuel caused the crash. However, it says a crew member reported they were returning because smoke was coming from the right engine. A Las Cruces city spokesman said the airport contracts for fueling services. The contractor, Southwest Aviation Incorporated, had no immediate comment.
New Mexico's most populous border county has joined a movement prohibiting local officials from going out of their way to enforce federal immigration laws. Dona Ana commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to make their area a "safe county" and restrict county employees from asking residents about immigration status. The move comes after commissioners received a petition in February with 10-thousand signatures. The resolution calls for county departments and employees not to enforce federal immigration laws unless required by federal and state statues. Counties across the nation have passed similar measures following a federal court ruling in April. The court ruled a woman's constitutional rights were violated after Oregon authorities kept her beyond her release date so she could be transferred to immigration agents.
Democratic gubernatorial challenger Gary King says he's returning more than 30-thousand dollars’ in contributions from companies affiliated with a wealthy financier who is a convicted sex offender in Florida. King said in a statement Tuesday his campaign fundraising staff missed the connection between the contributions and Jeffrey Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 in Florida to a charge of soliciting prostitution. Epstein served just over a year in jail. King's campaign received 35-thousand, 600 contributions from six companies with a Virgin Islands address listed by Epstein on a New York sex offender registry. The New Mexican first reported the contribution link to Epstein, who owns a ranch near Stanley and bought the land from King's family two decades ago.
A new report shows New Mexico needs to improve education for a number of residents to help boost employment. KSFR news reporter Charles Maynard has the story. ***** (Text unavailable)
In national news:
President Barack Obama addresses the nation tonight, outlining how he wants to combat militants in Syria and Iraq. Obama will ask Congress to give him authority to arm moderate Syrian opposition forces fighting President BasharAssad. And administration officials say Obama could also plan for wide-ranging airstrikes in Iraq and possibly Syria.
A 19-year-old suburban Denver woman is expected to plead guilty today to trying to help the Islamic State militant group in Syria. Shannon Conley was arrested at the Denver airport in April as she boarded a flight she hoped would get her to Syria. Documents say Conley told FBI agents that she wanted to use her skills as a nurse's aide to help the militants.
Student loan debt can follow some people into retirement. A Government Accountability Office report says in 2010, four-percent of Americans ages 65 to 74 still owed money on federal student loans. Eighty percent of that number owed money on their own loans, and 20 percent were loans they took out for their children. The report says the number of older Americans who have money taken out of their Social Security checks to pay on their student loan debt has increased about fivefold from 2002 to 2013.
Santa Fe Weather; Mostly sunny today, with the high near 76. Tonight: Partly cloudy with the low down to 50. Tomorrow: Partly sunny with the high near 77. There’s a 10-percent chance for shower and thunderstorms today through tomorrow.