Regional

  LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A Las Cruces man is facing up to 4 1/2 years in prison after being convicted of hiding video cameras in bathrooms and capturing video of children showering and changing clothes.

Prosecutors say 55-year-old Paul Ikard was found guilty Wednesday of one count of sexual exploitation of children and two counts of voyeurism.

He's expected to be sentenced in about 30 days.

Ikard was arrested in May 2016 and accused of secretly recording children in a bathroom with hidden cameras from January 2014 to August 2015.

The City of Las Cruces (City) has announced it was recently awarded $1,162,664 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Fiscal Year 2017 Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response Grants. Here is a statement from the city:

Guests to downtown Las Cruces now have help navigating the area.  Here is a statement from the The City of Las Cruces about installation of two interactive outdoor kiosks:

The kiosks are designed to engage tourists and connect locals by promoting events, shops, restaurants and attractions while providing wayfinding solutions that will showcase downtown businesses.

One of the kiosks is at the entrance of the Visit Las Cruces offices on the corner of Main Street and Amador Avenue. The second unit is on the west exterior wall of the stage at Plaza De Las Cruces.

A man wanted on charges related to a stabbing that happened two months ago in Anthony was arrested Wednesday in El Paso.    

Ezequiel Gonzales, 25, is charged with aggravated battery causing death or bodily harm.

Doña Ana County Sheriff’s detectives say the charge stems from an incident that happened early Saturday morning, Aug. 25, when deputies responded to a residence in the 800 block of Golf Course Road. Witnesses said there was a large gathering at the house. Sometime after 1 a.m., several people saw a gray four-door vehicle drive up to the residence.

A Wednesday evening stabbing resulted in the hospitalization of one man and the arrest of another who was initially detained by churchgoers.

Nicholas Bravo, 22, is charged with one count each of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence.

PHOENIX, N.M. (AP) — Arizona wildlife officials say authorities are investigating the deaths of three endangered Mexican gray wolves, including one found in southwestern New Mexico.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department announced this week that male wolves belonging to the Bear Wallow and Saffel packs were found dead in Arizona in September. The packs are known to roam parts of Arizona's Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.

The wolf found dead in New Mexico was a member of the SBP pack.

  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump mischaracterized his immigration-law achievements, the plight of children taken from parents at the Mexico border and what's known about Russia's interference in the 2016 election in his wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press.

A look at his comments on those subjects Tuesday:

IMMIGRATION

TRUMP: "We have the worst laws in the history of the world on immigration and we're getting them changed one by one. We've made a lot of progress in the last couple of weeks even, but we're getting them changed one by one."

A new Ph.D. program being developed at New Mexico State University will give students the opportunity to earn a doctoral degree in food science and human nutrition, and will benefit New Mexico-based food processors and human nutrition organizations through innovative research.

New Mexico State University Department of Civil Engineering Assistant Professor Ehsan Dehghan Niri has received a United States Department of Energy grant. This is a three-year award for $400,000 and is a collaboration with Arizona State University. 

Dehghan Niri is the principal investigator on the research project that will focus on creating a bio-inspired robot – the Lizard-inspired Tube Inspector – to inspect tubular structures for cracking and corrosion in coal power plants.

ALBUQUERQUE – Cody Payton, 25, of Las Cruces, N.M., made his initial appearance today in federal court on a criminal complaint charging him with fleeing from a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint at a high rate of speed.  Payton remains in federal custody pending a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing, both of which are scheduled for Oct. 22, 2018.

Road closures associated with this year’s Las Cruces Country Music Festival begin at 7 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 18. Hadley Avenue from N. Hermosa Street to N. Walnut Street will be closed to through traffic until midnight on Sunday, Oct. 21.

N. Hermosa will be used as a detour from 7 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 18 until 2 p.m. Friday, Oct.19.

At 2 p.m., Friday, Oct.19, Hadley from N. Walnut to Solano Avenue will be closed to through traffic until midnight, Oct. 2. N. Hermosa will be closed from Las Cruces Avenue to Hadley on a rolling basis through the same period.

  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A popular language-learning app is adding Navajo to its portfolio.

KOB-TV reports that Duolingo has begun offering Navajo, or Dine, as a language option for learning on the mobile app.

Clayton Long, who is the head of the bilingual education for San Juan School District in Utah, tells the station that he and his students collaborated to develop the language lessons on the app.

The first of the courses were unveiled last week.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities say a pilot and passenger are dead after a small plane crashed while preparing to land at an airport west of Albuquerque.

The names of the two victims weren't immediately released.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford says the single-engine Cessna 182 went down northwest of the Route 66 Casino about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

He says the pilot reported encountering icing on the plane and loss of engine power shortly before the crash.

Las Cruces Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information that helps identify the person responsible for firing several rounds in an alleyway on Oct. 4.

Las Cruces police learned that about 1 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4, someone drove through an alleyway near the 1000 block of Montana Avenue and fired multiple rounds from a gun. Some of the rounds struck a vehicle parked nearby. No injuries were reported.

Investigators have reason to believe the shooter is a man who was driving a gray 4-door sport utility vehicle.

  SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Democratic gubernatorial contender Michelle Lujan Grisham sought to tie her Republican rival to Trump's policies, while Congressman Steve Pearce warned against a return to Democratic "corruption and cronyism" of the past.  The debate will be rebroadcast on KRWG-TV Sunday at 6 p.m.

Reps. Lujan Grisham and Pearce faced off Tuesday night in a rancorous town-hall style debate -- the first since early voting started Oct. 9. They are competing to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.

  SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Democrat Beto O'Rourke abandoned his usual message of unity and optimism on Tuesday and laid into Ted Cruz, hoping to reverse polls that show him fading against the Republican incumbent during the second debate of a Texas Senate race that's become one of the nation's most closely watched.

  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities have seized the credit card records of former University of New Mexico Athletic Director Paul Krebs as they search for evidence of possible money laundering, fraud and embezzlement.

The Albuquerque Journal reported Tuesday that the state Attorney General's Office served a search warrant on Krebs' credit card company.

According to the newspaper, authorities are trying to determine whether Krebs made a $25,000 donation to cover the school's loss on a 2015 Scotland fundraising golf trip.

  SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Steve Pearce and his wife published summary pages of their 2017 tax returns on Tuesday, offering a new glimpse into the personal finances of a Republican congressman and former oilfield entrepreneur.

Two pages from the couple's federal tax return show a total tax assessment of $33,111 on taxable income of $255,620. Adjusted gross income was $431,114.

Between 2007 and 2012, the number of beginning farmers – principal operators who were on their current operation for 10 years or less – in the United States declined by about 20 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s most recent census data.

CLOVIS, N.M. – The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH), and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA) have been informed by Cannon Air Force Base that Per- and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), chemicals associated with fire-fighting foams - used by Cannon Air Force Base personnel - have been detected in groundwater on and off base.  PFAS are emerging chemicals that may be associated with an increased risk of cancer and other health ailments.

  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Democrat Xochitl Torres Small raised more than three times as much money from July through September as Republican Yvette Herrell in a closely watched U.S. House race in southern New Mexico, according to newly released federal numbers.

Federal Election Commission filings released this week show attorney Torres Small pulled in around $1.9 million while Herrell raised $564,000.

According to the filings, Torres Small took in $1,883,667 from July 1 to September 30. Her campaign reported that she had $1,085,381 cash on hand.