Your Source NM Week in Review

By Julia Goldberg | Editor-in-Chief

Good morning, folks. Happy Saturday. A hot and potentially stormy weekend is underway. The state health department this week issued some guidance for avoiding heat illness as a hot summer continues to unfold (stay cool is the short version). We’ve got lots of other stories from the week for you below, and even more online at sourcenm.com. See you Monday!

Slot machine gamblers will face more scrutiny as NM tries to nix federal food program errors

As New Mexico Health Care Authority officials try to avoid a massive federal penalty by reducing errors in the state’s management of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, they are increasingly seeking data to help verify that every SNAP dollar goes to people who need it. The authority’s latest target for that data collection is slot machine gambling.

New emails allege New Mexico probation officer ICE referrals more widespread than previously known

New documents in a lawsuit against New Mexico Corrections Department Secretary Alisha Tafoya Lucero allege that state probation officers’ practice of referring undocumented probationers to federal agents for deportation occurred more extensively than previously known, and continued well after state lawmakers banned such referrals in 2025.

New Mexico AG Torrez says feds impeding criminal Epstein investigation

New Mexico AG Raúl Torrez on Thursday said the U.S. Department of Justice is withholding records the state needs for its investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's activities at Zorro Ranch in Santa Fe.

New Mexico AG to investigate ‘alleged fraudulent’ letters supporting Project Jupiter data center

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez opened an investigation Thursday into allegations that written public comments supporting a pending air quality permit application for Project Jupiter, the Oracle and OpenAI data center campus under construction in Doña Ana County, were “fraudulently” submitted under residents’ names without their knowledge or consent.

Medicaid and the Road Ahead: Spending Cuts, Work Requirements and What's Next for States, Providers and Families

As a Direct from the Source subscriber, enjoy EARLY REGISTRATION for this public policy briefing from KFF and States Newsroom. Thursday, July 23; 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. MST. (Zoom link provided with registration)

Significant changes to Medicaid are expected to put new pressures on states, healthcare providers and those who depend on the coverage. Join healthcare policy experts from KFF and journalists from States Newsroom who cover these issues at the state and national level for an in-depth discussion on the impacts that federal funding cuts, work requirements and state policy are having on healthcare in the U.S. They’ll explain the latest developments and discuss the political debate around these changes. Audience Q&A to follow.

ICYMI

Thanks for reading!

We're reading (and gifting) a Washington Post story about the exhibition,
“Stretching the Canvas: Ten Decades of Native Painting,” (which centers New Mexico in important ways) now at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

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