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Navajo Nation Pre-Spill Soil Conditions, Suspects Indicted In Shooting

Marisa Demarco / KUNM
The San Juan River near Shiprock, New Mexico when it was closed in the aftermath of the Gold King Mine spill.

Secretary Of State Accused Of Embezzlement, Money Laundering - The Associated Press

New Mexico's Democratic attorney general has filed a complaint in state district court, accusing Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran of embezzlement, money laundering and other campaign-finance violations.

Attorney General Hector Balderas' office filed the 64-count complaint in Santa Fe late Friday afternoon.

According to the document, the attorney general's investigators say they uncovered behavior that included the transferring of large amounts of cash from Duran's personal and campaign accounts as well as cash expenditures at casinos throughout the state.

Duran did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

This marks the latest in an ongoing feud between Balderas and Duran over the reporting and enforcement of the state's campaign finance laws.

In February, the two announced a joint task force to study the issue, but months later Duran accused Balderas of submitting three late campaign finance reports.

 

3 Suspects Indicted In Shooting Death Of Albuquerque Teen - The Associated Press

A Bernalillo County grand jury has indicted three suspects in the fatal drive-by shooting of an Albuquerque teenager two months ago.

The county District Attorney's Office says all three suspects were indicted Friday on first-degree murder and other charges and remain held without bond pending their arraignment hearings.

One of the suspects is 18-year-old Donovan Maez, who is the son of Democratic Rep. Stephanie Maez of Albuquerque.

Authorities say the other two suspects are 21-year-old Christopher Cruz and a 16-year-old boy who already was in custody on unrelated charges.

Albuquerque police say shots were fired from a vehicle at a home on June 26 and 17-year-old Jaydon Chavez-Silver was killed.

Police believe the shooting may have been motivated by retaliation over a fight a month earlier at the home.

 

Soil On Navajo Nation Trending To Pre-Spill Conditions - The Associated Press

Federal officials say the concentration of metals in the San Juan River on the Navajo Nation is returning to what it was before the release of toxic sludge from a gold mine.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released new data Friday of surface water and soil samples from nearly a dozen locations on the reservation. The EPA says iron and other metals peaked in the week following the Aug. 5 spill at the Gold King mine but since have declined.

The EPA says off-reservation communities have reopened the San Juan and Animas rivers to recreation, agriculture and livestock watering based on similar data sets.

Navajo President Russell Begaye has cleared the Fruitland Irrigation canal for reopening. Other tribal irrigation systems along the San Juan have not reopened.