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Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta brings colorful displays to the New Mexico sky

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Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta brings colorful displays to the New Mexico sky


A balloon pilot waves to the crowd as he takes off during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta on Saturday in Albuquerque, N.M. Roberto E. Rosales/Associated Press

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta has brought colorful displays to the New Mexico sky in an international event that attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators every year.

The event started Saturday with a drone light show before sunrise followed by a mass ascension of hot air balloons. Over nine days, residents and visitors will be treated to a cavalcade of colorful and special-shaped balloons.

The annual gathering has become a major economic driver for the state’s biggest city. The Rio Grande and nearby mountains provide spectacular backdrops to the fiesta that began with a few pilots launching 13 balloons from an open lot near a shopping center on what was the edge of Albuquerque in 1972.

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The fiesta has morphed into one of the most photographed events in the world, now based at Balloon Fiesta Park. Balloon designs have featured cartoon animals, Star Wars characters, and even the polar bear found on Klondike bars.

“But they’re still all about the basics,” said fiesta director Sam Parks, who flies a globe-style balloon modeled after one flown by the fiesta’s late founder Sid Cutter. “You add heat to a big bag of air and you go up.”

Nearly 830,000 people from around the world attended last year’s event. Scheduled nighttime events include fireworks and balloon glow, in which hot air balloons are inflated and lit up from the ground.

The launch window opens Saturday evening for what is billed as one of the biggest events in aviation: the Gordon Bennett competition. The winner of the gas balloon race is the one who flies the farthest distance.

Some 550 balloon pilots are registered to fly this year, seeking to take advantage of a phenomenon known as the “Albuquerque box,” when the wind blows in opposite directions at different elevations, allowing skillful pilots to bring a balloon back to a spot near the point of takeoff.

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Visitors to the event also can pay to go aloft for views of the Sandia Mountains to the west and New Mexico’s capital, Santa Fe, farther north.

“It has become part of the culture,” Parks said. “The thread, if you will, of those here.”

Elizabeth Wright-Smith, who is flying the Smokey Bear balloon this week, said she reunites with friends from all over the country at the fiesta that she would not see otherwise. As of early Saturday afternoon, she had already run into 30 people she had met from various balloon races, safety seminars, and other events across the country.

“It’s a big reunion,” she said.

Her favorite part of the fiesta is watching and interacting with the thousands of spectators who flock to Balloon Fiesta Park, which grows smaller as she ascends in her balloon. The sky was clear Saturday – a contrast from last year, when off-and-on rain left parts of the fiesta soggy.

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“Pictures don’t do it justice, videos don’t do it justice,” Wright-Smith said. “You’ve got to be standing there watching them to really get it.”

Stern is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Follow Stern on X, formerly Twitter: @gabestern326.


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Early voting kicks off in Indiana, New Mexico, Ohio, Wyoming

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Early voting kicks off in Indiana, New Mexico, Ohio, Wyoming


Four more states began their early voting processes on Tuesday: Indiana, New Mexico, Wyoming and the major swing state of Ohio.

Here is everything you need to know about casting a ballot in each of the states.

All eyes on the Senate race in Ohio

Ohio is home to one of the most competitive Senate races on the map.

Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown has won the Midwestern state three times, but with Trump pushing White working-class voters toward the GOP and record spending from both parties, this is set to be a tight race. Brown faces Republican businessman Bernie Moreno.

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Republicans have made inroads in the northeastern and heavily industrial areas bordering Pennsylvania. Trumbull County flipped to the GOP in 2016, and Trump increased his margin to 10 points in 2020; Mahoning County flipped in 2020 by almost two points. These counties played a key role in Trump’s statewide wins.

Democrats are performing better than ever in the “three C’s”: Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. These areas have the highest percentages of college-educated voters. President Biden won the counties home to these cities by double-digit margins in 2020, with roughly 30-point wins in Franklin (Columbus) and Cuyahoga (Cleveland).

Unlike in other competitive states, Republicans still hold up in Ohio’s suburban and exurban areas, particularly those surrounding Cincinnati.

Ohio’s Senate race is a toss-up and the presidential race is ranked Likely R on the Fox News Power Rankings.

Vice President Harris and former President Trump are neck and neck in the polls. (Getty Images)

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Meanwhile, New Mexico is also in the “likely” column, both at the presidential and senate level. The state delivered Biden an 11-point win in 2020, but Latino or Hispanic voters made up 35% of the state’s electorate in the 2020 election, and those voters’ support for the Democrat ticket has wavered in recent polls.

Republicans would need to run up their margins with these voters all across the state and keep Harris at bay in places like Doña Ana County, home to Albuquerque and which last voted for Biden by 18 points, to pull off a victory.

Key downballot races in today’s early voting states

Voting also begins today in four House districts ranked Lean or Toss Up on the Fox News Power Rankings. For a full list of competitive races, see the latest Senate and House rankings.

  • Indiana’s 1st District: Democrat Rep. Frank Mrvan has held this northwest Indiana district since the last presidential election; he won it by 5.6 points in the midterms. This year, he faces Republican Lake County Councilman Randy Niemeyer. It’s Lean D in the Power Rankings.
  • New Mexico’s 2nd District: New Mexico’s 2nd District occupies most of the southwest land area of the state. It includes Las Cruces and parts of Albuquerque, but it also has a chunk of the rural vote. Democrat Rep. Gabe Vasquez won the district by just 1,350 votes in the midterms; this year, he faces the seat’s former Republican occupant, Yvette Herrell. This is a Power Rankings Toss Up.
  • Ohio’s 9th District: This northwestern Ohio seat has been held by populist Democrat Rep. Marcy Kaptur since 1983, but her margins have shrunk as Ohio has drifted right. She faces conservative Republican state Rep. Derek Merrin on the ballot this year; it’s another Power Rankings Toss Up.
  • Ohio’s 13th District: Finally, the northeastern 13th District includes Youngstown and parts of Akron; it has been represented by Democrat Rep. Emilia Sykes since 2023. Sykes faces Republican former state Sen. Kevin Coughlin this year. It’s also a Toss Up.

How to vote in Indiana

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Indiana.

Voting by mail

Indiana began absentee voting on Tuesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse in order to receive a ballot. State officials must receive a ballot request by Oct. 24, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5.

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Early in-person voting

Indiana offers early in-person voting beginning Oct. 8 and running through Nov. 4.

Voter registration

Indiana residents must have registered to vote by Oct. 7.

Polling place in 2009

A voter arrives at a polling location. Indiana began absentee voting on Tuesday.  (REUTERS/Joel Page)

How to vote in New Mexico

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for New Mexico.

Voting by mail

New Mexico began absentee voting on Tuesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse in order to receive a ballot. State officials must receive a ballot request by Oct. 22, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5.

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Early in-person voting

New Mexico offers early in-person voting beginning Oct. 8 and running through Nov. 2.

Voter registration

New Mexico residents must register to vote by the end of Tuesday.

How to vote in Ohio

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Ohio.

Voting by mail

Ohio began absentee voting on Tuesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse in order to receive a ballot. State officials must receive a ballot request by Oct. 29, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5.

Early in-person voting

Ohio offers early in-person voting beginning Oct. 8 and running through Nov. 3.

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Voter registration

Ohio residents must have registered to vote by Oct. 7.

Election 2024 Trump

Republican presidential nominee former President Trump returns to speak at a campaign rally at the site of his July 21 attempted assassination in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

How to vote in Wyoming

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Wyoming.

Voting by mail

Wyoming began absentee voting on Tuesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse in order to receive a ballot. State officials must receive a ballot request by Nov. 4, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5.

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Early in-person voting

Wyoming offers early in-person voting beginning Oct. 8 and running through Nov. 4.

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Voter registration

Wyoming residents must register to vote by mail by Oct. 21. They can register to vote in person at any time during early voting or on election day.



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New Mexico man who shot Native American protesting statue takes plea deal

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New Mexico man who shot Native American protesting statue takes plea deal


A New Mexico man has accepted a plea deal in the 2023 shooting of a Native American activist protesting a conquistador statue, lawyers said on Monday, in a case that highlighted rising political violence in the United States.

Ryan Martinez pleaded no contest to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault for shooting activist Jacob Johns and pointing his handgun at Malaya Peixinho, another demonstrator, according to his lawyer Nicole Moss. He will serve four years in state prison.

“He is still maintaining that he acted in self-defense,” Moss said, adding that Martinez would likely serve under three years in prison by accruing good time, followed by five years probation.

Mariel Nanasi, a lawyer representing Johns and Peixinho, called the shooting “a racially motivated hate crime by a MAGA-proud gun-toting crazed man who came to a peaceful prayer ceremony with a fully loaded live gun.”

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Martinez was at the protest wearing a red cap with the Donald Trump slogan “Make America Great Again.” He was originally charged with attempted murder, which carries up to 15 years in prison.

“This is a continuation of colonial violence. Unfortunately, this criminal process is reflective of the systemic white supremacy that indigenous people face,” Johns said in a statement, adding that as a Native American he would have been sentenced to life imprisonment for shooting someone at a MAGA rally or a Christian prayer service.

New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack Altwies offered the plea deal to Martinez.

“The resolution is in the best interests of justice and the community,” she said in a statement.

Johns, a global climate activist and artist, was shot as he tried to prevent Martinez from pushing his way into the vigil in Espanola, New Mexico, opposing reinstallation of the statue of a 16th century Spanish colonial ruler.

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The Juan de Onate bronze was removed in 2020 from a site just north of Espanola during nationwide anti-racism protests and was to be reinstated at a county complex in the town.

Peixinho called the plea deal inappropriately light.

“However it shows our desire for conflict resolution,” Peixinho said in a statement.

The shooting marked the latest violence around Onate statues put up in the 1990s to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Spaniards to New Mexico.

The monuments have long outraged Native Americans and others who decry his brutal 1598 colonization. Onate is known for the 1599 massacre of a Pueblo tribe, leading a group of Spanish settlers into what is now New Mexico.

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Some descendants of Spanish colonial settlers, known as Hispanos, say Onate should be celebrated as part of New Mexico’s Hispanic heritage.



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Poll: Vasquez leads Herrell in New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District race

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Poll: Vasquez leads Herrell in New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District race


ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A new KOB 4/SurveyUSA poll shows that incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez has a solid lead over Republican challenger Yvette Herrell.

We asked voters in New Mexico’s Second Congressional District, “If the election was held today, who would you vote for?” Here were the results:

  • Gabe Vasquez: 51%
  • Yvette Herrell: 42%
  • Undecided: 8%

582 likely voters surveyed. Credibility interval of +/- 4.5 percentage points

This race is a rematch of two years ago when Vasquez beat Herrell when she was the incumbent. Vasquez has served CD-2 since winning in 2022, representing much of southern New Mexico, including communities like Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Silver City and Las Cruces, and parts of the Albuquerque metro like the West Side and the South Valley.

We asked voters, “What is your opinion on Gabe Vasquez?”

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  • 45% have a favorable opinion of him
  • 31% have an unfavorable opinion
  • 18% are neutral
  • 5% have no opinion

582 likely voters surveyed. Credibility interval of +/- 4.5 percentage points

We also asked voters about their opinion on Yvette Herrell:

  • 34% have a favorable opinion
  • 41% have an unfavorable opinion
  • 20% are neutral
  • 6% have no opinion

582 likely voters surveyed. Credibility interval of +/- 4.5 percentage points

There are many issues that are playing into elections across the board so we asked CD-2 voters, “Which of these issues will have the most influence on your vote for the U.S. House of Representatives?”

  • Immigration and border: 28%
  • Abortion: 17%
  • Inflation: 16%
  • Crime: 12%

582 likely voters surveyed. Credibility interval of +/- 4.5 percentage points

Jumping off of that question, we also asked about how much of a deciding issue immigration and the border is:

  • Conservatives: 48%
  • Moderates: 22%
  • Liberals: 5%

And about how much of a deciding issue abortion is:

  • Conservatives: 5%
  • Moderates: 15%
  • Liberals: 42%



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