Milly Gonzales, 31, who works with domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking survivors, supports abortion rights. She said the repeal of Roe v. Wade in 2022 was “devastating.” (Baylor Spears / Wisconsin Examiner) Editor’s note: This story is the second in a series about a group of people from Wisconsin trying to come up with policies to address abortion and its root causes that could be applied nationwide. Their larger goal is to find common ground on one of the most divisive issues in America. MADISON, Wis. — For the 14 abortion-rights opponents and supporters recent ..read more

The Rio Grande flows near Albuquerque as the sun rises over the Sandia Mountains. (Photo by Diana Cervantes for Source NM) The Rio Grande Compact Commission meeting on Friday had a small portion dedicated to describing future meetings with six Middle Rio Grande Pueblos to get tribal perspective on governing the state’s largest river. The three-member commission met for its annual meeting Friday, hearing from legal advisors and New Mexico State Engineer Mike Hamman on the proposal. The commission is made up of appointees from Colorado, Texas and New Mexico and a non-voting chair from the feder ..read more

Coal accounted for just 16% of U.S. electric generation in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In 1990, by comparison, it comprised more than 54% of power generation. (Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released a sweeping set of rules aimed at cutting air, water and land pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. Environmental and clean energy groups celebrated the announcement as long overdue, particularly for coal-burning power plants, which have saddled hundreds of communities across the country with dir ..read more

Dozens of anti-Trump protesters gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court on April 25, 2024, while the justices heard arguments about whether former President Donald Trump has immunity from prosecution on criminal charges related to his actions while in office. (Photo by Jane Norman / States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical Thursday of former President Donald Trump’s argument he is immune from criminal charges that he tried to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. But conservatives who dominate the court appeared open to returning key questions to a trial court ..read more

Typically, 17 million students submit the form each year, but applications were down 40 percent nationwide as of March 29, according to the U.S. Department of Education. (Photo by Anna Padilla for Source NM) Maureen Ford has already been accepted to nine colleges and universities as she waits to graduate from Navajo Preparatory School on May 20. She wants to be the first generation in her family to graduate from college. But first she needs to get her federal financial aid fixed as the clock ticks toward a May 1 deadline. Like many students across the country, Ford will rely heavily on financ ..read more

Recent campaign filing reports show that the fundraising of two New Mexico lawmakers in particular puts in sharp relief how special interest money follows power. (Photo by Anna Padilla for Source NM) As this year’s legislative session kicked off, the public was blind to the total amount of money lawmakers raked in from special interests in 2023. That’s because state law doesn’t require timely reporting for contributions that come at the end of a non-election year. Reports showing those final 2023 collections came in on April 8, the deadline for the first 2024 primary election report ..read more

The Wisconsin Citizen Solutions on Abortion and Family Well Being has brought together 14 residents from a diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints to create proposals for state lawmakers on abortion. (Baylor Spears / Wisconsin Examiner) MADISON, Wis. — Thomas Lang, 61, is white, deeply Catholic and opposes abortion. “Each one of us has a beginning, and that unique beginning … is conception,” Lang said. “And I would go back to the lack of personhood in slavery and how that personhood can be manipulated. … And I’m saying, no, that child has rights. … And yet we are going to allow for the killin ..read more

The House Chambers inside the Roundhouse on Jan. 10, 2024. (Photo by Anna Padilla for Source NM) Two long-time Gallup lawmakers and one from Elephant Butte have the most money to spend in the New Mexico Legislature as they and their opponents gear up for upcoming primaries. Sen. George Muñoz and Rep. Patti Lundstrom, both Democrats, and Sen. Crystal Diamond Brantley, a Republican, have the top three biggest campaign fund balances, according to filings candidates provided earlier this month to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office. Lundstrom’s filings show she has more than $280,000 on ha ..read more

The group of superintendents filed the suit in the 9th Judicial District Court in Curry County where the districts of four of the superintendents are located. (Photo by Anna Padilla for Source New Mexico) A group of local school district superintendents last week filed a lawsuit against the New Mexico Public Education Department and Secretary Arsenio Romero over a new rule that requires public and charter schools to have at least 180 instructional days each school year. The lawsuit, filed April 18 by The New Mexico School Superintendents Association and dozens of superintendents from New Mexi ..read more

The Torrance County Commission met on April 24, 2024 to vote on a four-month extension to the county's immigration detention contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Screenshot courtesy of Torrance County) Torrance County’s elected officials unanimously voted to extend the contract that allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to incarcerate asylum seekers at the Torrance County Detention Facility in Estancia. Commissioners Ryan Schwebach, Kevin McCall and Samuel Schropp on Wednesday morning voted in favor of allowing County Manager Janice Barela to sign an amendment ex ..read more