in the news

Climate hawks in Congress had mixed reactions yesterday to the Biden administration’s expected effort to expand domestic production of critical minerals by invoking the Defense Production Act. Some were cautiously optimistic. Others downright apprehensive. Still others were looking for more action on other priorities. Taken together, those...

A $1.5 trillion federal spending plan included dollars for local projects throughout eastern New Mexico supporting services like public safety, water infrastructure and the military. President Joe Biden signed the bill, known as the “omnibus bill” into law earlier this month after it passed the U.S. House and Senate. The...

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) joined with four other senators in urging the administration of President Joe Biden, via a recent letter, to support the nation’s shift away from fossil fuels in light of the recent energy crisis brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. After the events in Ukraine, world leaders -- including...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico will be the new location for training pilots and other crew members to operate a type of large attack planes flown by the Air Force Special Operations Command, a member of the state’s congressional delegation announced Friday. The establishment of...

SOCORRO – After years of community advocacy, the Eagle Picher Battery Superfund site is set to receive $19 million in federal funds to clean it up, with the money split into $3 million for soil excavation and building demolition, and $16 million for a pump-and-treat remedy for the contaminated groundwater. The New Mexico Environment...

The Electrifying America’s Future Resolution (S. Res. 224) addresses the renewable energy on the demand side of the United States energy economy. This piece of legislation works to incentivize the electrification of homes, businesses and buildings while creating jobs and modernizing the grid. POW Alliance Members Caroline...

A privately managed migrant detention facility in Estancia, N.M. was drubbed for unsanitary living conditions and poor staffing in a newly released report by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general. The Torrance County Detention Facility houses detainees in the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, known as...

Santa Fe braces for evictions A statewide prohibition on evictions—enacted by New Mexico’s Supreme Court two years ago at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic—will end soon and, alongside it, the City of Santa Fe’s moratorium also will cease. Local housing advocates foresee a coming wave of evictions as a result,...

Some of New Mexico’s political leaders voiced opposition Monday to a new federal report’s recommendation for future closure of several veterans health clinics in the state where enrollment has declined. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Asset and Infrastructure Review, released Monday, said the agency should centralize services...

New Mexico Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., said her very first actions as a congresswoman are reflected in the $1.5 trillion 2022 omnibus spending package that was approved by Congress last week. Stansbury said she learned hours before her swearing-in ceremony June 14 that she would immediately need to submit proposals for federal funding for...

Guadalupe, Lincoln and Torrance counties are now collectively supporting the electricity needs of nearly 1 million people through a massive new wind farm and transmission line in central New Mexico. Pattern Energy officially dedicated its Western Spirit wind project in late February after more than a decade of development. The project includes four...

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – The Senate’s $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill includes funds for improvements at two New Mexico international ports of entry, a lawmaker says. The Columbus Port of Entry is slated to get $1 million for drainage work that includes the construction of berms to prevent flooding on both sides of...

With the tragic, illegal, and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin, the world has been turned upside down. There is a hardening resolve among peace-loving nations and people around the globe to support Ukraine and isolate the Putin regime. The U.S. is leading this effort alongside our allies, reaffirming historic bonds in the...

DONA ANA COUNTY, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — The Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office will be receiving a US Government Appropriation for $350,000 to intensify their Rapid DNA Machine, which in turn, will help them solve crimes, according to Sheriff Kim Stewart. "One of the values of that is that DNA that can be collected at crime scenes now...

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, announced almost $160 million in Congressionally Directed Spending he worked to secure for 75 local projects across New Mexico in the historic bipartisan Omnibus Appropriations Agreement for Fiscal Year 2022. The legislation will now need to be voted on by both...

A bipartisan effort to block storage of spent nuclear fuel took the form of a bill introduced in Congress by New Mexico Democrats and Texas Republicans as private companies hope to build such facilities along the border of both states. Holtec International proposed building a facility that could ultimately hold up to 100,000 metric tons of the...

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – US Senators Ben Ray Lujan and Martin Heinrich have asked congress to extend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. The act set to expire in July provides financial compensation to people who were exposed to radiation from aboveground nuclear weapons tests and those who work with uranium. Both groups continue to...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. senators from New Mexico and Texas are proposing legislation that could affect efforts by private companies to build temporary storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel from commercial power plants around the U.S. as the federal government has yet identify a permanent solution for the...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Supreme Court is scheduled Tuesday to hear arguments in a case over whether the public has a right to fish or float on streams and other waterways that flow through private property. While the debate over stream access has been ongoing across the West for years, the New Mexico court could...

New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich joined a bipartisan group of senators on legislation that would require federal agencies to quickly develop plans for their employees to return to their workstations. The Return Employees To Understaffed Worksites to Reopen Now Act, or RETURN Act, would direct federal agencies to quickly develop plans to resume...