Posted inWestside Albuquerque

Supreme Court rules totality of circumstances must be considered in police shootings

By Justin Jouvenal — Supreme Court rules totality of circumstances must be considered in police shootings. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that the totality of circumstances must be considered when determining whether a police shooting is justified, not just the split seconds before an officer opens fire. The broader standard is likely to make […]

Posted inWestside Albuquerque

Supreme Court grapples with nationwide orders blocking birthright citizenship ban

By Ann E. Marimow — The Supreme Court appeared divided Thursday about whether to scale back nationwide orders that have blocked President Donald Trump’s ban on birthright citizenship, in a case with implications for judicial power and what it means to be an American. After more than two hours of oral argument, it was unclear […]

Posted inHousing & Homelessness, Westside Albuquerque

Sandoval County reports first measles cases

By Kevin Hendricks The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) has confirmed the first measles cases in Sandoval County, involving an adult with unknown vaccination status and an unvaccinated child under the age of four. Potential public exposures have been identified at several locations in Rio Rancho, Albuquerque and Cedar Crest. According the NMDOH, the […]

Posted inWestside Albuquerque

Revved up for hockey

This story was originally published in The Paper. By Michael Hodock It isn’t exactly a quick drive from Albuquerque to the Rio Rancho Events Center, the city’s largest entertainment venue located on the far west end of the metro area, but residents are willing to make the drive for concerts and other special attractions. Historically, […]

Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Westside Albuquerque

Congress grills RFK Jr. on budget cuts, measles vaccine

By Lauren Weber, Rachel Roubein — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended his messaging on vaccines amid a growing measles outbreak, the firing of thousands of federal health workers, and major cuts to the health agencies he oversees as he faced lawmakers Wednesday on Capitol Hill. The secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services […]

Posted inWestside Albuquerque

Plastic may be warming the planet more than we thought

By Nicolás Rivers — Scientists have long known that making plastic warms the planet. But plastic may be heating the Earth even more than we realized, according to a report released Wednesday. The Plastics & Climate Project, a nonprofit research group that studies how plastic contributes to climate change, analyzed hundreds of published research papers […]

Posted inWestside Albuquerque

EPA plans to weaken rule curbing forever chemicals in drinking water

By Amudalat Ajasa — The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that it plansto rescind and reconsider limits on four “forever chemicals” under a landmark drinking water standard implemented last year by President Joe Biden. The drinking water rules were adopted as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to limit public exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl […]

Rio Rancho retains March elections and Voter ID after ordinance fails

By Kevin Hendricks March municipal elections and voter identification requirements will remain in place in Rio Rancho after the Governing Body voted against eliminating them and opting into statewide elections at its May 8 meeting. Ordinance 13 failed in a 3-3 tie vote following public opposition. The power of the people was on full display […]

Posted inWestside Albuquerque

Proposed GOP cuts could jeopardize SNAP users, farmers and state budgets

By Mariana Alfaro, Daniel Wu — The federal government has fully paid for benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program since it was created in 1939 as a way to fight food insecurity amid the Great Depression. But now, Republicans in Congress are looking into forcing states to pay for 5 to 25 percent of […]