MISSING MAN FOUND DEAD
Missing Albuquerque man found dead in Gila National Forest
SILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) — Authorities say a missing Albuquerque man has been found dead in the Gila National Forest in Silver City.
New Mexico State Police say 24-year-old Phillip Cook apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
They say the official cause of death will be determined after an autopsy is done.
State Police say Cook was reported missing by his parents who said he was schizophrenic, not on his medication, and may be in possession of a handgun.
Cook's vehicle was found abandoned off a forest road on June 22.
State Police say Cook's body was found last Saturday and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
PRISONER TRANSPORT-SEX ASSAULTS
Ex-prison transport officer indicted after 3 sexual assaults
PHOENIX (AP) — A federal grand jury in Phoenix has indicted a former prison transport officer who's accused of sexually assaulting three female prisoners while threatening them with a gun.
U.S. Department of Justice officials say 49-year-old Eric Scott Kindley was arrested June 1 in Stockton, California.
They say Kindley operates a company that jails hire to transport people who have been arrested on out-of-state warrants.
Prosecutors say Kindley assaulted the women separately while transporting them between states on separate occasions between January and May.
The transports were California to Arizona, Alabama to Arizona and Mississippi to New Mexico.
Kindley is accused of stopping in secluded locations, attacking the handcuffed women, threatening them and warning them no one would believe them if they complained.
It was unclear Thursday if Kindley has a lawyer.
SUSPICIOUS DEATHS
New Mexico State Police: 2 found dead inside vehicle on I-40
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico State Police say they're investigation the suspicious deaths of a man and a woman found inside a vehicle west of Albuquerque.
They say a State Police officer was providing traffic control for a hazmat incident on Interstate 40 about 9 a.m. Thursday.
The officer saw a pickup truck with a camper shell parked on a shoulder of Interstate 40 and found the two occupants both dead inside the vehicle.
Authorities say the deaths are suspicious in nature and the State Police investigations bureau has been called to the scene.
State Police say the identities of the two dead still are being determined and the manner of death remains under investigation.
FOOD AID
New Mexico confronts new criticism on welfare delays
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Attorneys for welfare recipients in New Mexico say thousands of residents have gone without emergency food assistance or heath care coverage under Medicaid because of processing delays at the state Human Services Department.
A federal court judge heard testimony Thursday on the agency's progress in meeting court orders related to a backlog of food and medical assistance claims.
The New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty says one in 10 applicants for emergency aid are unable to buy food within the required seven-day period. That left 2,046 people without emergency food assistance in May, up from 1,167 the previous month.
The center also says many newborn babies are not being added by the state to Medicaid within the required three-day period, leaving them without medical coverage outside hospitals.
ENDANGERED WOLVES-RECOVERY PLAN
Feds release long-awaited recovery plan for Mexican wolves
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — After repeated failures over decades, U.S. wildlife officials have finally drafted a recovery plan for endangered wolves that once roamed parts of the American Southwest and northern Mexico.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is under a court order to complete the plan by the end of November.
The draft document released Thursday calls for focusing recovery of the Mexican gray wolves in core areas of the predators' historic range. That means south of Interstate 40 in the two states and in Mexico. The document also addresses threats, such as genetic diversity.
The recovery plan is a long time coming as the original guidance for how to restore wolves to the Southwest was adopted in 1982.
The lack of a plan has spurred numerous legal challenges by environmentalists as well as skirmishes over states' rights under the Endangered Species Act.
TOXIC ALGAE-NEW MEXICO
Elephant Butte Lake managers warn of possible toxic algae
ELEPHANT BUTTE, N.M. (AP) — Elephant Butte Lake State Park managers are warning the public that toxic blue-green algae might be present in the lake.
KOAT-TV reported Wednesday that boating manager Salvador Gonzalez says the algae might have bloomed in the shallow areas of Elephant Butte Lake along Three Sisters Cove.
Officials say the algae could be harmful if consumed by humans and could be deadly if dogs ingest it.
Managers are still working to confirm whether or not the algae is toxic, though. They put notices up around the potentially impacted areas, as thousands of people are expected to head to the park for the Fourth of July weekend.
WILDFIRES-NEW MEXICO
Fast-moving fire in New Mexico grows amid hot conditions
SAN MARCIAL, N.M. (AP) — Officials say a fast-moving wildfire in central New Mexico has grown to nearly 8 square miles (21 square kilometers).
Authorities say the lightning-sparked blaze expanded Thursday but is now 40 percent contained.
The fire is burning grass, brush and salt cedar on private land near San Marcial in Socorro County. The resulting plume of smoke could be seen by motorists along Interstate 25 and by weather forecasters on their radar systems.
Officials say lightning started the inferno Monday on private land.
Missing Albuquerque man found dead in Gila National Forest
SILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) — Authorities say a missing Albuquerque man has been found dead in the Gila National Forest in Silver City.
New Mexico State Police say 24-year-old Phillip Cook apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
They say the official cause of death will be determined after an autopsy is done.
State Police say Cook was reported missing by his parents who said he was schizophrenic, not on his medication, and may be in possession of a handgun.
Cook's vehicle was found abandoned off a forest road on June 22.
State Police say Cook's body was found last Saturday and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
PRISONER TRANSPORT-SEX ASSAULTS
Ex-prison transport officer indicted after 3 sexual assaults
PHOENIX (AP) — A federal grand jury in Phoenix has indicted a former prison transport officer who's accused of sexually assaulting three female prisoners while threatening them with a gun.
U.S. Department of Justice officials say 49-year-old Eric Scott Kindley was arrested June 1 in Stockton, California.
They say Kindley operates a company that jails hire to transport people who have been arrested on out-of-state warrants.
Prosecutors say Kindley assaulted the women separately while transporting them between states on separate occasions between January and May.
The transports were California to Arizona, Alabama to Arizona and Mississippi to New Mexico.
Kindley is accused of stopping in secluded locations, attacking the handcuffed women, threatening them and warning them no one would believe them if they complained.
It was unclear Thursday if Kindley has a lawyer.
SUSPICIOUS DEATHS
New Mexico State Police: 2 found dead inside vehicle on I-40
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico State Police say they're investigation the suspicious deaths of a man and a woman found inside a vehicle west of Albuquerque.
They say a State Police officer was providing traffic control for a hazmat incident on Interstate 40 about 9 a.m. Thursday.
The officer saw a pickup truck with a camper shell parked on a shoulder of Interstate 40 and found the two occupants both dead inside the vehicle.
Authorities say the deaths are suspicious in nature and the State Police investigations bureau has been called to the scene.
State Police say the identities of the two dead still are being determined and the manner of death remains under investigation.
FOOD AID
New Mexico confronts new criticism on welfare delays
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Attorneys for welfare recipients in New Mexico say thousands of residents have gone without emergency food assistance or heath care coverage under Medicaid because of processing delays at the state Human Services Department.
A federal court judge heard testimony Thursday on the agency's progress in meeting court orders related to a backlog of food and medical assistance claims.
The New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty says one in 10 applicants for emergency aid are unable to buy food within the required seven-day period. That left 2,046 people without emergency food assistance in May, up from 1,167 the previous month.
The center also says many newborn babies are not being added by the state to Medicaid within the required three-day period, leaving them without medical coverage outside hospitals.
ENDANGERED WOLVES-RECOVERY PLAN
Feds release long-awaited recovery plan for Mexican wolves
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — After repeated failures over decades, U.S. wildlife officials have finally drafted a recovery plan for endangered wolves that once roamed parts of the American Southwest and northern Mexico.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is under a court order to complete the plan by the end of November.
The draft document released Thursday calls for focusing recovery of the Mexican gray wolves in core areas of the predators' historic range. That means south of Interstate 40 in the two states and in Mexico. The document also addresses threats, such as genetic diversity.
The recovery plan is a long time coming as the original guidance for how to restore wolves to the Southwest was adopted in 1982.
The lack of a plan has spurred numerous legal challenges by environmentalists as well as skirmishes over states' rights under the Endangered Species Act.
TOXIC ALGAE-NEW MEXICO
Elephant Butte Lake managers warn of possible toxic algae
ELEPHANT BUTTE, N.M. (AP) — Elephant Butte Lake State Park managers are warning the public that toxic blue-green algae might be present in the lake.
KOAT-TV reported Wednesday that boating manager Salvador Gonzalez says the algae might have bloomed in the shallow areas of Elephant Butte Lake along Three Sisters Cove.
Officials say the algae could be harmful if consumed by humans and could be deadly if dogs ingest it.
Managers are still working to confirm whether or not the algae is toxic, though. They put notices up around the potentially impacted areas, as thousands of people are expected to head to the park for the Fourth of July weekend.
WILDFIRES-NEW MEXICO
Fast-moving fire in New Mexico grows amid hot conditions
SAN MARCIAL, N.M. (AP) — Officials say a fast-moving wildfire in central New Mexico has grown to nearly 8 square miles (21 square kilometers).
Authorities say the lightning-sparked blaze expanded Thursday but is now 40 percent contained.
The fire is burning grass, brush and salt cedar on private land near San Marcial in Socorro County. The resulting plume of smoke could be seen by motorists along Interstate 25 and by weather forecasters on their radar systems.
Officials say lightning started the inferno Monday on private land.
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