Santa Fe, NM – The City of Alamogordo last week paid more than $250,000 to an unknown scam artist, and recovery of that public money is likely to be difficult if not impossible. In light of that scam, State Auditor Wayne Johnson is reminding all of the state’s government entities to be extremely cautious and aware when it comes to e-mail communication from any vendors.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M University leaders say Energy Secretary Rick Perry wasn't involved in a $2.5 billion nuclear weapons lab contract that partly went to his alma mater.

Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp said Tuesday the National Nuclear Security Administration had favorably scored their proposal to manage Los Alamos National Laboratory near Santa Fe, New Mexico, before the former Texas governor signed off. Sharp and Perry were college friends at Texas A&M.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An Albuquerque woman has pleaded guilty to assaulting three U.S. Postal Service employees last December and could be facing a federal prison sentence of up to 20 years.

Prosecutors say 25-year-old Jackie Herron entered her guilty plea Tuesday without a plea agreement.

Herron was arrested in February on a three-count indictment charging her with assaulting the postal employees in Bernalillo County last Dec. 22.

According to the indictment, Herron assaulted one employee by threatening to run her over and pointed a firearm at her.

 ALBUQUERQUE – Michael Anthony Estrada, 24, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced yesterday afternoon in federal court to 30 months in prison for his conviction on a felony information charging him with using interstate communications to threaten the lives and safety of children at a Las Cruces public elementary school.  Estrada will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

Commentary: WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján, Steve Pearce and Michelle Lujan Grisham urged the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) to reverse the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Canadian newsprint, which threaten to devastate local newspapers across New Mexico. In a letter sent to USITC Chairman David S.

Using field notebooks and their eyes and ears, undergraduate students from New Mexico State University have partnered with the University of Texas at El Paso and five other universities under a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation. The project, which began in May, allows students to get firsthand experience in qualitative research. 

The focus of this team has been immigration policies on the U.S./Mexico border.

ALCALDE – Lavender is a promising high-value alternative crop for small-scale growers in the arid West and Southwest, especially if agricultural researchers can find a way to lessen the number one problem for the growers – root disease.

A study at New Mexico State University’s Sustainable Agriculture Science Center at Alcalde may have found several lavender varieties that have a natural resistance against root disease.

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — Leaders from the Navajo Nation say they've begun negotiations with a potential new owner of a coal-fired power plant on their land.

The Navajo Generating Station near Page is scheduled to shut down in December 2019.

The plant's coal supplier has been leading an effort to find a new owner.

Navajo President Russell Begaye says the tribe is negotiating with New York-based Avenue Capital for ownership and one of its subsidiaries, Middle River Power, as an operator.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A runway at Las Cruces International Airport will be closed for the next 30 days.

City officials say Runway 12-30 was being shut down Tuesday to address clearing the Runway Object Free Area and improving safety at the airport.

The issue was identified by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector after an inspection in May.

Access to runways 8-26 and 4-22 will be unaffected by the Runway 12-30 closure.