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Abducted 3-Year-Old Found Safe, Missing Skiers Found Uninjured

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3-Year-Old Albuquerque Girl Found Safe After Carjacking – The Albuquerque Journal, The Associated Press

A 3-year-old girl who was in a car that was stolen from outside an Albuquerque grocery store is home safe.

The Albuquerque Journal reports Caraline Leon-Alcocar was found in an empty parking lot around 1 a.m. Sunday.

Police spokesman Daren DeAguero says the girl was "very cold and very scared" but otherwise unharmed.

She was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

According to police, the child's mother had stopped to fill water jugs outside the store around 8:30 p.m. when a male suspect drove off in the running car with Caraline buckled up inside.

DeAguero says police first found the car but she was not inside.

Police continue to look for the suspect, who is described as Hispanic, between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-9 and with short brown hair.

Missing Skiers At Ski Apache Resort Found Uninjured – KOAT-TV, The Associated Press

Two skiers who went missing at a southern New Mexico have been found.

KOAT-TV in Albuquerque reports that the two men were found Saturday uninjured.

The men, ages 23 and 27, were last seen Friday at Ski Apache in Mescalero.

They were reported missing after they never made it back to their vehicle by 4 p.m.

Officials say authorities have made contact with them and are working to safely get to them. They did not say where they were found.

Ski Apache resort is operated by the Mescalero Apache Tribe and is known for its 11 lifts including the state's only passenger gondola.

Oil Fueling Eddy County's Economic Future – The Carlsbad Current-Argus, The Associated Press

Stakeholders in New Mexico's oil and gas industry, particularly in Eddy County, are bracing for where crude oil prices will land in this new year.

The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports that the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association says the state had a record producing year but a drop in prices in 2015 had many wondering if it was the end of a boom.

In the past year, oil has dropped to a seven-year low and a 40-year-old oil export ban was lifted.

Association spokesman Wally Drangmeister says federal agencies are reviewing multiple new regulations for New Mexico and the Carlsbad area specifically.

Drangmeister says the regulations may lead to greater operating costs.

Carlsbad officials say this year's budget is based on oil revenue from last year.

Influx Of Teen Migrants Leads US To Open 3 More Shelters - Colleen Slevin, Associated Press

The U.S. government plans to open new shelters in Colorado, Florida and New Mexico to house young Central American immigrants as part of an effort to deal with a renewed influx of unaccompanied children coming across the border.

Plans for the three new shelters follow the opening of shelters outside Dallas earlier this month to deal with an increase of young migrants that is expected to intensify in the spring and summer.

Up to 1,000 children will be housed in a warehouse in the sprawling Federal Center complex outside Denver, 800 at a Job Corps site in Homestead, Florida, and 400 at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.

The government is trying to avoid a repeat of the summer of 2014 when so many children crossed the border that they were forced to stay in Border Patrol facilities.

Major Albuquerque Off-Ramp To Shut Down For 1 Month - The Albuquerque Journal, The Associated Press

A major Albuquerque freeway off-ramp will be closed for a month later this year for a multimillion-dollar reconstruction project.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that an off-ramp that takes drivers from Interstate 40 to Louisiana Boulevard will be off-limits starting in mid-March.

The state Department of Transportation says a $3.7 million project will include improving that ramp.

Improvements will include a third left-turn lane where the ramp meets Louisiana to ease congestion.

The ramp is near one of the city's most popular shopping districts.

The closure of the eastbound I-40 exit is expected to last 30 days.

Completing US-Mexico Border Wall Would Be Daunting Task - The Associated Press

Republican presidential candidates insist they'll finish building a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico boundary. But what already stands in Texas is a fragmented series of fencing, with large gaps in between.

While 1,254 miles of border occur in Texas, the state has only some 100 miles of wall.

Adding to the Texas wall may be difficult, courtesy of the border's sheer length, the fact that it sits in the center of the snaking Rio Grande, and because international treaties with Mexico prevent either country from constructing within the river's flood plains. And unlike in other southwestern states, most border land in Texas is privately owned.

Finishing the some 1,300 miles of border fencing would also be expensive, costing billions of dollars to complete.

New Mexico Lawmakers Seek Extension Of Solar Tax Credit - The Associated Press

More than $31 million — that's how much New Mexico homeowners and businesses spent on rooftop solar and solar heating systems in 2015 under an incentive program offered by the state.

All the data has yet to be entered, but that's the preliminary number crunched by the agency that oversees a key tax credit that has bolstered the solar industry over the last decade.

Since the credit is set to expire at the end of 2016, a bipartisan contingent of New Mexico lawmakers is pushing to extend the program through 2024.

They say the credit amounts to a relatively modest investment when considering the return.

According to state figures, nearly $14 million in credits were issued and owners spent more than $140 million on solar equipment between 2008 and 2014.

Authorities ID 2 In Roswell Found Dead After Snow Storm - The Roswell Daily Record, The Associated Press

Authorities have identified two men in Roswell found dead in the aftermath of last weekend's snow storm.

The Roswell Daily Record reports that Chaves County Sheriff Britt Snyder says 64-year-old John Spain died while shoveling snow.

Snyder says Spain was working Sunday when he apparently suffered a heart attack.

Roswell police say a mobile home park employee found 60-year-old Ronald Schneider buried in snow Tuesday.

Police spokesman Todd Wildermuth says the worker dug Schneider out and called 911.

Schneider was pronounced dead at the scene.

Wildermuth says investigators are trying to determine what led to his death and that Schneider died between Saturday and Tuesday.

The storm slammed New Mexico, dropping 18 inches of snow just in parts of Roswell.

A Blanco Man Is Accused Of Molesting His Girlfriend's Mother - The Farmington Daily Times, The Associated Press

The Farmington Daily Times reported Friday that court records show 26-year-old Jonathan Valencia is out on bond.

He was charged last month in Aztec Magistrate Court with counts of criminal sexual penetration, misdemeanor criminal sexual contact and petty larceny.

He is currently out on bond but does not yet have an attorney.

According to an arrest affidavit, the victim told police her daughter's boyfriend had been harassing her for some time.

She alleges that Valencia came into her bedroom and put his hand down her pants to forcibly grope her.

He then fled with several pairs of her underwear.

Police say the victim's phone shows explicit and harassing texts from Valencia.

Valencia is expected to appear in court Thursday.