ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A compensation program for those exposed to radiation from years of nuclear weapons testing and uranium mining would be expanded under legislation that seeks to address fallout across the western United States, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan rolled out the measure Tuesday on the 74th anniversary of the Trinity Test.

  SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A candidate seeking the Democratic nomination to an open Senate seat wants to disband U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and turn its responsibilities over to the FBI and others.

New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said Tuesday in a statement that she wants to "abolish ICE" and accused the agency of undermining community safety and stability.

She is competing with U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján in the 2020 election to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Tom Udall.

  Luna County, in far southwestern New Mexico, is one of the poorest counties in one of the poorest states in the nation.

There, the median household income is 30% less than the comparable statewide number. And the number of Luna County residents with heart disease is much higher than the state average: 294 people per 100,000 die of heart disease, compared to New Mexico’s average of 185 per 100,000. 

The picture is much different in  Santa Fe County, where the median household income is 21 % above the state average, and 158 people per 100,000 die of heart disease.

If you're like most people, you put your blue bin out in front of your house every two weeks, packed to the brim with flattened Amazon boxes, aluminum cans, office paper, water and soda bottles, and perhaps a rinsed milk jug or two. Beyond knowing that it all leaves in a truck, and your empty blue bin is ready for another 2 weeks, do you know how exactly your Las Cruces recycling is processed?

The task at hand: locate the underground yellow polypipe gas line, find where it joins to the older, steel piping under La Fonda Drive, update Geographic Information System (GIS) maps, and check for corrosion. The pipe could be 2- to 4-feet underground. A few years ago, this would require digging up a big chunk of the street, but today the Las Cruces Utilities (LCU) crew just pops off a relatively small pavement “keyhole”.

Misa Tran, the recently crowned Miss New Mexico 2019, is an undergraduate athletic training major at New Mexico State University’s Department of Kinesiology and Dance, with plans to use her platform as a way to help veterans and first responders and the Children’s Miracle Network.

Tran, who was born in Albuquerque and raised in Alamogordo, is also applying to NMSU’s athletic training program with hopes of one day working at the high school or collegiate level. She was inspired to attend NMSU by her high school’s athletic trainer, David Maldonado.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Patient enrollment in the state's medical marijuana program has increased by nearly 10% since the start of the year.

Medical marijuana provider Ultra Health on Monday highlighted growth in the market for medical cannabis as the state overhauls cultivation limits, in a statement.

The Department of Health says the number of active patients increased to 74,100 at the end of June. That represents a 1% increase over May enrollment and a 35% expansion since June 2018.

Las Cruces Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information that helps identify the man suspected of burglarizing a local restaurant.

Shortly after 11 a.m. on Sunday, June 16, someone broke into the Chilito’s restaurant, at 2405 S. Valley Dr. and stole an undisclosed amount of cash. The suspect also damaged property when entering the businesses.

Surveillance video shows the suspect rummaging through an office. The video can be seen on the Las Cruces Police Department’s Facebook page.

  Treating inflammation in livestock by supplementing their diet with capsaicin-rich chile peppers. Using industrial hemp to suppress the growth of weeds and soil-borne pathogens. These are potential examples of value-added agriculture that may become a reality as the College of Agricultural, Environmental and Consumer Sciences at New Mexico State University works to develop a Center of Excellence on Sustainable Food and Agricultural Systems at NMSU.