Court Blocks New Mexico Food Stamp Changes - The Associated Press
A state court has temporarily stopped Gov. Susana Martinez's administration from imposing work-related requirements on about 80,000 low-income New Mexicans to qualify for food stamps.
District Judge Sarah Singleton's ruling on Friday blocks the Human Services Department from implementing the food stamp changes on Saturday.
The judge scheduled a hearing next Thursday to decide whether to keep her order in place longer while the court considers whether the agency's planned food stamp requirements are valid.
The ruling came in a lawsuit by the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, the Southwest Organizing Project and several food stamps recipients. They sued this week, contending that the department didn't follow proper procedures for adopting regulations to change the food stamp program.
NM Candidates Shine Light On Domestic Violence - The Associated Press
Domestic violence has come into focus in the final stretch of New Mexico's election season.
First-term U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, a Democrat, is running ads touting his support for anti-domestic violence and anti-stalking legislation.
Former prosecutor Susan Riedel, a Republican vying to be New Mexico's next top cop, says she has a plan for helping victims.
Domestic violence has been in the national spotlight thanks to high-profile cases involving athletes, but political observers say the issue can be powerful for candidates looking to win over undecided voters before Election Day.
And advocates throughout the state say they're grateful for increased public awareness.
Nationally, 1 in 4 women will be severely assaulted by an intimate partner. Federal statistics also show the prevalence of domestic violence is slightly higher in New Mexico.
New Mexico Offers Support After Rocket Explosion - The Associated Press
Officials with the New Mexico Spaceport Authority say they're saddened by news that a rocket ship being developed by Virgin Galactic exploded over the California desert during testing Friday.
Authority staff said they were sending their thoughts and prayers to the crew's family members and the team that has been working for years to develop the ship. Authorities say one pilot was killed and another was seriously injured.
Going forward, New Mexico space officials vowed to continue working with and lending their support to Virgin Galactic.
The company, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, had plans to launch space tourism flights from the quarter-billion-dollar Spaceport America in southern New Mexico once it finished developing its ship.
Officials say it's too soon to say what effect Friday's incident will have on the spaceport.
New Mexico Wraps Up Early Voting - The Associated Press
Saturday marks the final day for early voting around New Mexico.
Voters can go to satellite polling places across the state to cast their ballots. If they don't make it Saturday, they'll have to wait until Tuesday, which is Election Day.
Four years ago when New Mexico voters last elected a governor, 49 percent of ballots were cast before Election Day with absentee and early voting. Election Day voting accounted for the remainder of balloting.
Republican Gov. Susana Martinez planned to attend a rally in Albuquerque's South Valley on Saturday afternoon as part of a 17-city bus tour.
Democrat Tom Udall, who is vying to keep his U.S. Senate seat, planned to campaign in Las Vegas and Mora after voting early in Santa Fe.
Marker Honors Site Of New Mexico Train Explosion - The Associated Press
A highway marker will commemorate the site of a massive train explosion that wiped out an entire town in Roosevelt County 70 years ago.
The Clovis News Journal reports that the New Mexico Preservation Department has approved the marker's placement 2 miles from where the town of Tolar once stood.
Randy Dunson, a retired railroader who applied for the marker, says incident should be recognized.
Dunson says a train carrying 160 bombs caught fire Nov. 30, 1944 and stopped in Tolar.
The ensuing explosion killed one person and destroyed nearly every town building.
Historians say the death toll was low because most residents were at work or out of town.
The marker, along with a bent railroad track from the explosion, will be dedicated in a ceremony Nov. 21.