Another round of attempted telephone scams is reaching residents in Doña Ana County this week, and some would-be thieves are going to great lengths to convince victims their scams are legitimate.

The Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department received numerous phone calls Wednesday from residents who said they were contacted via telephone from people who either identified themselves as a deputy with the sheriff’s department, or a representative from the U.S. Treasury.

Las Cruces Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information that helps identify two young men suspected of cashing a fraudulent check.

Las Cruces Police learned that an 81-year-old woman’s check was stolen from the mail sometime in June, altered from $100 to $402, and then cashed by two young men at a local Family Dollar store.

Surveillance video from the Family Dollar store, at 1690 S. Solano Dr., shows the young men as they entered and left the store at about noon onJune 16.

  Commentary: WASHINGTON, D.C. – Joint Economic Committee Democrats released the first in a series of reports today on education as the foundation for economic success.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The battle over the Trump administration's review of two national monuments in New Mexico is bringing up a historic clash that goes back generations and is tainted by race, heritage and the right to land.

And both sides are framing it as a civil rights issue.

Those who support keeping the monument designation say it is about preserving ancient Native American petroglyphs, helping bring tourism to area battling poverty and setting aside important New Mexico landscape where outlaw Billy the Kid and Apache leader Geronimo once sought refuge.

Las Cruces Utilities (LCU), the department that provides gas, water, wastewater, and solid waste service to the Las Cruces area, is advising that an unknown person may possibly be emailing customers requesting payment for their utility bills. The person or persons sending the emails are not associated with LCU.

Commentary: Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham helped to spearhead a letter to Health & Human Services Secretary Tom Price, requesting an explanation for the decision to unexpectedly cut short the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP) project period from five to three years. This harmful decision could endanger the long-term sustainability of proven programs.

A Las Cruces man has been charged for his involvement in Tuesday afternoon’s incident on Rio Grande Street that left a man hospitalized.

Luke James Macaw, 31, of the 1600 block of Rio Grande Street, is charged with one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

At about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 25, police were dispatched to a suspicious circumstance call at Macaw’s home on Rio Grande Street. Officers arrived to find a 32-year-old man who fled from the home, was wearing one handcuff and appeared to have been beaten.

  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Senate has voted to ban local tree-cutting ordinances, seeking to void existing rules in more than 50 cities statewide.

Wednesday's 17-14 approval came after hours of debate. A final vote is needed before the bill heads to the Texas House.

Gov. Greg Abbott has long opposed tree ordinances, which he's called "socialistic" and confusingly inconsistent from one community to the other. Abbott made banning tree rules one of 20 issues he wants tackled during the ongoing, 30-day special legislative session.

The United States Air Force provides day and night support to troops all around the world, and Holloman Air Force Base's remotely piloted aircraft
training mission is at the forefront.

"We are making the transition from the Block 1 MQ-9 Reaper and Block 15 Ground Control Station to the Block 5 MQ-9 Reaper and the Block 30 GCS,"
said Lt. Col. Alfred Rosales, 6th Attack Squadron commander. "Quite frankly it is a step in the right direction toward the innovation piece that the RPA
community has been founded on."