TRINITY SITE – The white haze of wildfire smoke mixed with high thready clouds veiled the Sacramento Mountains in white, softening both shadows and the sun. Follow Highway 380 crossing Valley of Fires lava flows, the stark black basalt crowned in yucca, lies the mark of the atomic age. Olive creosote stretches for miles, but it is far from desolate. A golden eagle captures a bull snake, vultures lurch on thermals above.
People lived and still live here. In July, 78 years ago, the first atomic bomb shattered the peace; the fallout has rippled through the present.
‘People have been dying ever since’: Anger mixes with hope for NM Downwinders
The Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium represents families in Southern New Mexico communities who lived in places touched by the bomb. These people and their descendants were marked by diseases without family histories – including leukemia and other cancers. They’re called Downwinders.
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Since 2005, they’ve been fighting for recognition and payment for their medical bills and the 800 deaths that the group attributed to cancers and other diseases associated with radiation exposure since the detonation.
Downwinders gathered Saturday at the Tularosa High School and at the Stallion Gate, the entrance of the Trinity Site. They held signs and offered pamphlets on their fight to be recognized and compensated by the federal government who bombed them.
Each year, the military opens The Trinity Site to the public. Once in April and again in October, the military allows for self-guided tours to the basalt obelisk commemorating Ground Zero and the outside of the McDonald Ranch House, where the plutonium core was assembled in 1945.
Visitation was “just under 4,000” people, said John Drew Hamilton, a spokesperson for the White Sands Missile Range. That’s slightly higher than the 3,000-person average, but smaller than the expected crowds with the recent release of “Oppenheimer.”
Early in the morning, with the gates to the site shut, thousands of attendees sat in line, traffic snaking for several miles. After the gates opened, the highway cleared.
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‘We’ve never been this close before,’ Downwinders cheer RECA amendment in defense bill
As the generation who witnessed the bomb ages, and they and their families die, “the hope for justice waivers,” said Tina Cordova, one of the founders of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium.
An effort to expand a federal fund for victims of radiation exposure to include New Mexicans for the first time is their current hope.
An amendment in the National Defense Authorization Act would extend the life of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act – nicknamed RECA – beyond its 2024 expiration. The amendment to the $800 billion bill which funds military and defense programs passed the Senate but would need a bill after a conference with the House, to fully pass.
‘If you do something wrong, you should make it right’
Marissa Lillis, in a tie-dye cap, proffered her sign reading “Trinity killed my Grandpa.”
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Lillis, 10, traveled from Pennsylvania with her mother Cynthia Lillis and grandmother Christine Pino to speak about Greg Pino, the grandfather she never met.
“I feel like they should just support us because they hurt our family members,” said Marissa Lillis. “That hurts us for generations past – like for my grandpa, my mom and now me because I never really got to meet him.”
Pino lived on a ranch outside of Carrizozo, about 40 miles east of the Trinity site, his younger brother Paul said. He was asleep at the ranch when the bomb detonated in the early hours of July 16, 1945.
Cynthia Lillis said her father’s death in 2007 at 68 was sudden, coming just months after a diagnosis of stomach cancer.
“We want to do anything we can to help,” she said. “My father may have passed, but there are so many people living with cancer.”
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She said the demonstration is just one way to introduce people to Downwinders.
“We don’t want to be too in their face, but hopefully when people see the signs, they look it up, and it builds awareness that they can call their representatives, they can help people with their medical bills,” Cynthia Lillis said.
Marissa Lillis said she’s never met any lawmakers, but said she would tell them: “If you do something wrong, you should make it right. We could be asking honestly for so much more from all they’ve done.”
But the harm stretches way beyond Tularosa Basin. A study released this year, shows the cloud of fallout from Trinity spread across much of the United States, and into Canada and Mexico.
Others touched by nuclear contamination joined with the Downwinders.
Sabrina Mathues Manygoats, 24, took radiation readings from the site as part of a project documenting the nuclear industry in New Mexico and on the Navajo Nation. Manygoats (Diné & Chichimeca) said her grandmother and family had to deal with health and environmental legacies of copper and uranium mining.
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“We have our own history and our own poisoning of the land with Church Rock and abandoned uranium mines,” Manygoats said, describing the 1979 disaster where a radioactive tailings pool breached the dam, contaminating water and land.
For one visitor, the site brought complex emotions.
Harvard Holmstadt, 18, visited the site. Originally from Wisconsin, he stopped after visiting the Trinity Site to take photos of some of the Downwinder signs.
“It was moving because to think that something so destructive started just five miles that way,” he said.
Holmstadt said he is pursuing a nuclear science degree at the University of New Mexico, “because despite its tainted past, I do think it’s the best way forward we have for powering a clean environment.”
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He said the whole experience was moving
“It’s tragic, they’ve been nothing but nice, very kind, and they want to help people understand the darker side of nuclear power and nuclear technology in general,” he said.
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.
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.
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.
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.
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.
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:
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?”
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?”