New Mexico
Timothy Busfield dropped by talent agency as he makes first court appearance in New Mexico child sex abuse case
Embattled actor Timothy Busfield was dropped by his talent agency on the same day that he appeared inside a New Mexico courtroom for the first time in his child sex abuse case.
Innovative Artists, which is based in Los Angeles and New York, released the 68-year-old actor and director as a client as of Wednesday, Deadline reported.
The agency offered a “fair-sized” team to represent the “West Wing” actor during his several years with the group, according to the outlet.
Busfield’s career hit came after he entered no plea in his first court appearance on disturbing allegations he sexually abused two young boys on the set of a FOX show he directed.
The alleged abuse began in 2022, when the boys were 7 years old on the set of “The Cleaning Lady” in New Mexico.
The ‘Field of Dreams’ actor is accused of inappropriately touching one of the boys three or four times, and the other five or six times, according to the arrest warrant filed Friday.
A criminal investigation began in 2024 when a physician notified police about suspected sexual abuse after examining one of the children at the University of New Mexico Hospital, according to the complaint.
Attorneys for Warner Bros., which produced “The Cleaning Lady,” told cops that a prior independent investigation into the allegations found no evidence to support the claims, the complaint alleged.
Busfield, who is married to former child star Melissa Gilbert, turned himself in to the Albuquerque Police Department on Tuesday.
Busfield was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. He has denied those allegations.
“Tim Busfield denies the allegations in the criminal complaint and maintains they are completely false,” the 68-year-old’s lawyer, Larry Stein, said in a statement to The Post Wednesday.
Follow The Post’s coverage on Timothy Busfield
A third alleged victim, a 16-year-old girl in Sacramento, California, accused Busfield of sexual abuse “several years ago,” according to a motion filed by prosecutors in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, on Jan. 14.
Colin Swift, the alleged victim’s father, reported the incident to investigators on Jan. 13, according to the motion, which was filed to request pretrial detention and was obtained by The Post. Busfield has not been charged in connection with the 16-year-old’s claim.
The father claims Busfield kissed his daughter during an audition with the director before he put his hands down the teen girl’s pants and “touched her privates,” at the B Street Theatre, the motion alleges.
Busfield founded the B Street Theatre, which opened as the Theatre for Children in Sacramento in 1986.
The director allegedly begged for the family to not report the incident to police “if he received therapy,” according to the motion.
Swift, a therapist, agreed “that was the best thing to do” at the time.
The third abuse claim was made the same day Busfield was arrested.
The actor was ordered held without bail and is currently at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque.
New Mexico
Florida bans shelter animal imports from Texas and New Mexico over flesh-eating screwworm
Screwworm concerns change animal shelter protocol
Florida agriculture officials implemented an emergency ban restricting rescue groups and animal shelters from bringing dogs and cats into the state from Texas and New Mexico after a flesh-eating parasite emerged out West. FOX 13’s Briona Arradondo reports.
TAMPA, Fla. – Florida agriculture officials implemented an emergency ban restricting rescue groups and animal shelters from bringing dogs and cats into the state from Texas and New Mexico after a flesh-eating parasite emerged out West.
Florida agriculture ban
What we know:
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson expanded screwworm restrictions on Wednesday, blocking the import of shelter and rescue animals from areas impacted by the New World screwworm.
Courtesy: United States Department of Agriculture
This parasitic, flesh-eating fly has been detected in Texas livestock and inside a dog in New Mexico.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture dashboard lists nine reported cases of the parasite so far.
Broken containment
Timeline:
“[It] was eradicated from the United States in the 1960s, and then eradicated from Mexico and Central America down south past the Darien Gap in Panama in the early 2000s,” said Edwin Burgess, an assistant professor of veterinary entomology at the University of Florida. “It’s recently broken containment from the region in Panama and has slowly made its way northward towards the U.S. border over the past two years.”
Previous Florida cases
The backstory:
Florida successfully defeated an outbreak of the same parasite a decade ago.
Screwworm cases popped up in Key Deer in the Florida Keys in 2016 and 2017.
During that outbreak, state and federal agencies launched a rapid response and quickly contained the flesh-eating flies.
Animals at highest risk
Why you should care:
Stray animals face the highest risk because they spend long periods outside and often suffer injuries that attract flies, Burgess said.
The fly larvae eat living flesh, making infestations incredibly painful for animals.
If travelers visit infected states, a well-maintained pet is unlikely to contract the parasite, but owners should watch for crawling larvae and a foul smell from a wound.
Tampa animal shelters
Local perspective:
Local operations around the Tampa area do not expect major disruptions from the state restrictions.
Organizations such as SPCA Tampa Bay and the Humane Society of Tampa Bay rarely bring in pets from outside Florida, typically doing so only during disaster relief situations.
Even then, local workers put every animal through strict health checkups.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from an interview with University of Florida veterinary entomologist Edwin Burgess and reviewed data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture dashboard by FOX 13’s Briona Arradondo.
The first case is about 2.5 months earlier than the first case last year.
SANTA FE, N.M. – The New Mexico Department of Health reports a Santa Fe County woman died from plague in the state’s first human case of 2026.
NMDOH said it has contacted people close to the woman and will conduct an environmental assessment to check for ongoing risk and make sure no other close contacts have symptoms.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the friends and family of the woman who passed away due to plague,” said Erin Phipps, state public health veterinarian for NMDOH. “This tragedy emphasizes the need for heightened community awareness and for taking measures to prevent plague infections.”
What is plague?
Plague is a bacterial disease carried by rodents across much of the western United States, according to NMDOH. People can get it through bites from infected fleas from wild rodents or household pets, through direct contact with infected animals and, in lung infections, through coughing.
NMDOH said symptoms in people include sudden fever, chills, headache and weakness. The agency said people may also have painful swelling of a lymph node in the groin, armpit or neck, and doctors who suspect plague should promptly report it to the department.
How is plague treated or prevented?
The agency said prompt diagnosis and antibiotic treatment can greatly reduce the fatality rate in people and pets. NMDOH urged people to avoid sick or dead rodents and rabbits, clean up places near homes where rodents live, use DEET or permethrin products outdoors, use veterinarian-approved flea control for pets, get sick pets checked quickly and see a doctor for unexplained illness tied to sudden severe fever.
The department said more information and fact sheets in English and Spanish are available on the plague page of the NMDOH website.
Recent cases of plague
New Mexico recorded three human plague cases in 2025 and one in 2024, which was fatal. NMDOH also said three dogs have been diagnosed with plague in 2026 after one cat and four dogs tested positive in 2025.
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