SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham removed the head of the state's Public Education Department on Monday while expressing dissatisfaction with progress on sweeping reforms.

Karen Trujillo was dismissed as public education secretary about six months after being tapped by the first-year Democratic governor to overhaul the state's lagging public education system.

New Mexico State University Assistant Professor of Rangeland Restoration Ecology Akasha Faist and her collaborators have begun a new research project in the Chihuahuan desert to test novel restoration techniques, such as creative seed mixes using native seeds, to identify ways to overcome barriers to ecological restoration success. 

The ultimate goal of this project in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences is to develop and communicate tools for land managers and owners to use in future restoration projects. 

The Indian Resources Development, a program housed in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University, connects Indigenous students in the state of New Mexico with opportunities for internships, on-the-job experiences and education. The program has received a Think Indian Community Awareness Grant from the American Indian College Fund. The grant was used during the Dream Keepers summer camp that ran from June 16-28. 

  SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A Democratic contender for U.S. Senate in New Mexico staged a live-broadcast reading on social media Monday of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, highlighting her support for immediate impeachment proceedings against President Trump.

  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican officials said Monday they have uncovered an industrial-scale migrant smuggling ring using tractor-trailer rigs disguised as freight deliveries for major companies.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said authorities found a tractor-trailer disguised with the logo of a major grocery store chain. But instead of groceries, it was carrying about 150 migrants.

'The (grocery) company has filed a complaint, because it was fake, it was camouflage to transport migrants," Lopez Obrador said.

  SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Trump administration is expanding the authority of immigration officers to deport migrants without requiring them to appear before judges ahead of deportation.

The Homeland Security Department said Monday that fast-track deportations will apply to anyone in the country illegally less than two years.

Until now those deportations applied only to people caught crossing the U.S. border by land and not entering by boat or plane.

  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico will receive more than $2 million as part of a settlement between Equifax and the U.S. government over a massive 2017 data breach.

Attorney General Hector Balderas' office announced in a news release Monday that New Mexico residents are among consumers who will receive restitution.

The $700 million settlement includes up to $425 million for consumers and $175 million for various states.

The company will also extend credit monitoring services for 10 years for impacted consumers.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — U.S. government hospitals placed Native American patients at increased risk for opioid abuse and overdoses, failing to follow their own protocols for prescribing and dispensing the drugs, according to a federal audit made public Monday.

The report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General does not draw conclusions about actual abuse or overdoses. But it said all five Indian Health Service hospitals that were reviewed had patients who were given opioids in amounts exceeding federal guidelines.