SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A Republican-led attempt to challenge a new gun safety law with a statewide referendum was rejected Thursday by New Mexico's top election regulator, who said such petitions don't apply to public safety legislation.

In a letter to Republican House minority leader James Townsend of Artesia, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said the new law to expand background checks to nearly all private gun sales was designed to improve public safety and therefore falls under an exemption from petition referendums.

  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A.J. Harris had an easy layup for the tie. He wanted a win for New Mexico State.

It didn't work out, but boy-oh-boy, what a way for the Aggies to go down swinging Thursday against fifth-seeded Auburn in the NCAA Tournament.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's congressional delegation wants the federal government to set up the planned new space agency in the Land of Enchantment.

All five members of the New Mexico delegation recently wrote a letter to Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan to argue the new Space Development Agency should be established in the state.

The delegation cited White Sands Missile Range, Spaceport America and the national laboratories as reasons for New Mexico as a good home.

  SAN DIEGO (AP) — Scheduling glitches led an immigration judge to deny the Trump administration's request to order four Central American migrants deported because they failed to show for initial hearings Wednesday in the U.S. while being forced to wait in Mexico.

The judge's refusal was a setback for the administration's highly touted initiative to make asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their cases wind through U.S. immigration courts.

  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — University of New Mexico officials have moved to dismiss an effort to form a faculty union, arguing its scope and inclusion present significant issues.

The Albuquerque Journal reports the university filed its first response Monday on the faculty effort to the university's Labor Management Relations Board.

  Today, alongside tribal leaders, wildlife advocates, and northern New Mexico elected officials, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, announced his plans to introduce legislation establishing Bandelier National Park and Preserve.  Here is a statement from the Senator's office:

"When I talk to people about what makes New Mexico so unique, it always comes back to our breathtaking scenery, our deep and complex history, and our unique cultures," said Heinrich. "Bandelier National Monument encapsulates each of these in unrivaled ways. That's why I am so proud to work with communities in northern New Mexico to introduce legislation to make Bandelier our nation's newest national park. I look forward to working with all New Mexicans to ensure Bandelier's cultural treasures in particular, and northern New Mexico's history and natural beauty as a whole, finally receive the recognition and protection they have long deserved."

Las Cruces residents who are New Mexico State University basketball fans are invited to watch the Aggies’ first-round NCAA Tournament game against Auburn University at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 21, 2019 in Council Chambers at City Hall, 700 N. Main St.