ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — One of the five commissioners responsible for overseeing New Mexico’s horse racing industry has been ousted over comments she made regarding changes in the way horses are tested for certain medications. The governor’s office confirmed Friday that Freda McSwane was removed from the Racing Commission earlier this week after she refused a request to resign. McSwane …

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Trump administration will not pursue lethal measures such as euthanasia or selling horses for slaughter to deal with what officials say is an ecological and fiscal crisis caused by too many wild horses on rangelands in the U.S. West, an official said Thursday. U.S. Bureau of Land Management Acting Director Casey Hammond told the Wild …

Recently, we read in disbelief the state headline, “Abortion politics help fuel NM film boom.” The headline is flat-out wrong about the reason behind Hollywood’s presence in our state. The film business is just like any corporate enterprise. While studio executives and film stars may support our state’s social policies, ultimately everything revolves around the bottom line. Hollywood is here …

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Supreme Court has set aside the death penalty for the final two inmates awaiting execution after the state’s 2009 repeal of capital punishment. In a divided opinion on Friday, the state’s highest court concluded that sentences against Timothy Allen and Robert Fry were disproportionate in comparison with comparable murder cases.The cases were …

SUNLAND PARK, N.M. (AP) — A border suburb of El Paso, Texas, has issued a cease-and-desist order against construction of a privately funded border barrier. A spokesman for Sunland Park, New Mexico, said Tuesday that the barrier being erected by We Build The Wall Inc. on private property doesn’t comply with city ordinances. City spokesman Peter Ibarbo says the company …

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Seven more New Mexico counties have filed federal lawsuits against more than two dozen manufacturers and distributors of opioid medications. Cibola, Valencia, Catron, Sierra, Curry, Lincoln and Socorro counties filed near-identical complaints late last month in U.S. District Court, joining other counties and the Navajo Nation, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports . The lawsuits are …

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — Burgeoning numbers of Cubans are trying to get into the U.S. by way of the Mexican border, creating a big backlog of people waiting on the Mexican side for months for their chance to apply for asylum. The surge over the past several months has been propelled in part by loosened travel restrictions in Central …

A Hobbs man who allegedly shot and killed a Lovington man in early February after reportedly kidnapping the victim with a group of men has been charged with murder. Justin P. Bates, 24, forcibly took Josue Orosco to a field off Stiles Road between Hobbs and Lovington on Feb. 3 where he battered and murdered Orosco, according to a criminal …

DALLAS (AP) — The production of oil and natural gas in West Texas is booming but it’s coming at a cost to residents who are regularly exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to a report issued by an environmental group. The Environmental Integrity Project noted in a report released Thursday that the Permian Basin, which extends into New …

SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — Chevron won’t increase its buyout offer for Anadarko, cutting short a potential bidding war with Occidental Petroleum. Occidental challenged Chevron’s initial bid last month, offering $57 billion in cash and stock, including debt and book value of non-controlling interest. Chevron’s offer was worth about $50 billion by the same metric. Occidental’s bid gained momentum two …