Wednesday’s Top Stories
- A matter of life and death at Albuquerque Public Schools
- One person dead after shooting in southwest Albuquerque
- Fast food joint on Central has enough with ongoing crime after latest break-in
- What role does a forensic artist play in an FBI investigation?
- Albuquerque man who injured 2 in shooting sentenced to 4 years in prison
- Effort to stop future mining across parts of northern MM watershed gains momentum
- Maine mass shooter’s troubling behavior raised concerns for months, documents show
- Israeli airstrikes crush apartments in Gaza refugee camp, as ground troops battle Hamas militants
Wednesday’s Five Facts
[1] BCSO addresses federal investigation into former NM law enforcement officials – BCSO spoke about a recent federal indictment implicating former Sheriff Manny Gonzales and Laguna Pueblo Police Chief Rudy Mora, in a gun-running scheme. The indictment details a multi-state conspiracy involving firearms dealers and law enforcement officials to import automatic weapons that are illegal to buy and sell in the U.S. except for law enforcement purposes. According to federal investigators, gun dealers were getting police chiefs and sheriffs to write letters requesting those guns to get approval from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and Explosives. The indictments lists almost 130 letters, known as “law letters,” written by Gonzales from 2015 to 2020 requesting almost 600 machine guns. Gonzales and Mora are not facing charges at this point.
[2] Winter shelter opens at Gateway Center in Albuquerque for men – City of Albuquerque officials say they are expanding services at the Gateway Center to help keep the homeless warm. For the past year, the center has been a transitional housing facility for up to 50 women. Now, the addition of 35 spaces for men, brings the facility’s total to 85.
[3] Warming trend through weekend around New Mexico – Wednesday will be a sunny and quiet day with warmer temperatures. Highs will only climb a few more degrees, but all of the state will be in the 50s and 60s. Temperatures will continue to climb back to “normal” on Thursday, and warmer than normal temperatures return Friday through next week. Skies will stay dry, statewide, through the weekend.
[4] Toys for Tots in-person registration – An in-person registration event for Toys for Tots is scheduled Wednesday morning at the Cesar Chavez Community Center from 9 a.m. – noon. Families can register to receive toys from Toys for Tots. Online registration is available through December 10 for anyone that cannot make it to an in-person event.
[5] El Kookooee burned in the South Valley – After being postponed because of high winds, residents in the South Valley were able to come together for the burning of El Kookooee. This year, El Kookooee was named “Oppenheimer” and was built as an atomic bomb. One of the founders of the event said they have been doing this for 34 years.
