City Of Española Trespassing On Santa Clara Pueblo—Associated Press
A civil complaint says Española is trespassing on Santa Clara Pueblo land because the city failed to renew its rights of way for its public water and sanitary sewer lines.
The complaint filed Friday by the U.S. Attorney's Office said the northern New Mexico city obtained rights of way from the pueblo in the early 1980s but those have expired years ago.
Federal officials want Española to comply with the Indian Right-of-Way Act by renewing its rights of way and compensating the pueblo for the unauthorized use of the land.
Court documents say Santa Clara Pueblo and the city have tried for a decade to renegotiate a renewal.
Frank Coppler, an attorney for Española, did not immediately return on email from The Associated Press.
The Latest On The Mother Who Pleaded Guilty In One Of The State's Most High-Profile Child Abuse Deaths—Associated Press
An Albuquerque mother who pleaded guilty in one of the state's most high-profile child abuse deaths has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.
An emotional Synthia Varela-Casaus was sentenced Friday in the 2013 kicking death of her 9-year-old son, Omaree, in a case that sparked a number of state reforms.
Last month, she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges.
An autopsy found Omaree died from severe internal bleeding caused by blunt-force trauma. Prosecutors say Omaree tried unsuccessfully to get help from authorities because of previous abuse.
Court records show that Varela-Casaus had initially told police her son fell from a toy spring horse.
Omaree's stepfather was sentenced in November after a jury found him guilty on charges that included tampering with evidence and acting with reckless disregard for not calling 911 sooner.
The Latest On Developments Related To The Abduction And Killing Of An 11-Year-Old Girl In New Mexico—Associated Press
Schoolmates of an 11-year-old girl who was kidnapped and killed on the Navajo Nation this week are preparing to run roughly a mile in her honor as part of the Shiprock Marathon.
School and race officials say about 75 students from Ojo Amarillo Elementary School will lead the first wave of 450 children in an honor run Friday evening.
At the end, they'll release 500 yellow balloons. Yellow was one of fifth-grader Ashlynne Mike's favorite colors.
Authorities say she was abducted Monday along her school bus route in an isolated, agricultural community near Shiprock, New Mexico.
Her body was found the next day in the desert about 25 miles away. A 27-year-old man has been arrested in her death.
Local school district spokesman James Preminger says last year, Ashlynne participated in the run that's now being dedicated in her memory.
Frank Coppler, an attorney for Espanola, did not immediately return on email from The Associated Press.
Navajo Code Talker Dies In New Mexico At Age 92—Associated Press
Navajo Nation officials announced Friday that Bill Henry Toledo died Thursday in Grants.
Toledo enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942, helping use the Navajo language to outsmart the Japanese in World War II.
He served in the Pacific corridor during the war and spent three years as a Code Talker.
Toledo's daughter, Sharon Webb, says her father never disclosed he was a Code Talker until she and her mother discovered his honorary discharge papers in 1972.
Webb says her father was active in the Navajo Code Talker Association later in life.
Toledo also is survived by two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Tribal officials say he will be buried Tuesday at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe.