ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Over the next few days, we’re going to be hard pressed for a lot of precipitation due to a high-pressure ridge.

As we get to next Thursday, that pattern may change. For now, we are going to see more record heat and very warm temperatures as we get to Balloon Fiesta.

Wednesday, funny enough, started with much cooler temperatures. That was due to a backdoor cold front that also brought canyon winds.

We’ll see lots of sunshine, warm and dry conditions, less wind and some virga showers in a few places but not many.

Meteorologist Kira Miner shares all the details in her full forecast in the video above.

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Snapchat failed to act on “rampant” reports of child grooming, sextortion and other dangers to minors on its platform, according to a newly unredacted complaint against the company filed by New Mexico’s attorney general.

Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed the original complaint on Sept. 4, but internal messages and other details were heavily redacted. Tuesday’s filing unveils internal messages among Snap Inc. employees and executives that provide “further confirmation that Snapchat’s harmful design features create an environment that fosters sextortion, sexual abuse and unwanted contact from adults to minors,” Torrez said in a news release.

For instance, former trust and safety employees complained there was “pushback” from management when they tried to add safety mechanisms, according to the lawsuit. Employees also noted that user reports on grooming and sextortion — persuading a person to send explicit photos online and then threatening to make the images public unless the victim pays money or engages in sexual favors — were falling through the cracks. At one point, an account remained active despite 75 reports against it over mentions of “nudes, minors and extortion.”

Snap said in a statement that its platform was designed “with built-in safety guardrails” and that the company made “deliberate design choices to make it difficult for strangers to discover minors on our service.”

“We continue to evolve our safety mechanisms and policies, from leveraging advanced technology to detect and block certain activity, to prohibiting friending from suspicious accounts, to working alongside law enforcement and government agencies, among so much more,” the company said.

According to the lawsuit, Snap was well aware, but failed to warn parents, young users and the public that “sextortion was a rampant, ‘massive,’ and ‘incredibly concerning issue’ on Snapchat.”

A November 2022 internal email from a trust and safety employee says Snapchat was getting “around 10,000” user reports of sextortion each month.

“If this is correct, we have an incredibly concerning issue on our hands, in my humble opinion,” the email continues.

Another employee replied that it’s worth noting that the number likely represents a “small fraction of this abuse,” since users may be embarrassed and because sextortion is “not easy to categorize” when trying to report it on the site.

Torrez filed the lawsuit against Santa Monica, California-based Snap Inc. in state court in Santa Fe. In addition to sexual abuse, the lawsuit claims the company also openly promotes child trafficking and the sale of illicit drugs and guns.

The Anna, Age Eight Institute, part of the Department of Extension Family and Consumer Sciences at New Mexico State University, has been nominated for a Rocky Mountain Emmy Award. The documentary, “On the Road to 100% Chaves,” was nominated in the category “Special Concerns Content.” The award presentation will be held Nov. 16 in Phoenix, Arizona.

“On the Road to 100% Chaves” is part of a series focusing on NMSU’s 100% New Mexico initiative, which identifies challenges facing New Mexicans and showcases local champions uniting to create innovative solutions.

“Our hope is that the video series brings much-needed attention to the root causes of so many of the problems we face in New Mexico: Adverse Childhood experiences and Social Determinants of Health,” said Katherine Ortega Courtney, Anna, Age Eight co-director. “Our ‘The Road to 100%’ video series showcases the amazing work that our county initiatives are taking on as we start this journey toward 100%. These videos really capture the energy and sense of community that fuel the 100% New Mexico initiative.” 

Developed by the 100% New Mexico initiative co-creators Courtney and Dominic Cappello and directed by Vladimir Chaloupka of VladFilms, the documentary highlights the importance of socially engaged filmmaking in addressing societal challenges.

“The 100% New Mexico initiative is an innovative framework that operationalizes the social determinants of health in an understandable and accessible way,” Courtney said. “The 100% New Mexico initiative is active in over half of the counties in New Mexico. The initiative aims to ensure that all families have access to 10 essential services crucial for surviving and thriving – services that are currently inaccessible to many children, students and families in the state. Eliminating the barriers to these services is the best way to improve health, education and well-being outcomes for kids and families in New Mexico.”

To learn more about NMSU’s Anna, Age Eight Institute, visit https://annaageeight.nmsu.edu/index.html.
 

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CUTLINE: A documentary from New Mexico State University’s Anna, Age Eight Institute, “On the Road to 100% Chaves,” was nominated for a Rocky Mountain Emmy Award. Director Vladimir Chaloupka, from left, Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello, 100% New Mexico initiative co-creators, developed the documentary. (Courtesy photo)