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Toxic fumes sicken 20 workers at New Mexico cheese plant

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Toxic fumes sicken 20 workers at New Mexico cheese plant


CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) — Investigators are trying to determine what caused a mechanical failure that resulted in 20 workers inhaling toxic fumes at a cheese manufacturing plant in eastern New Mexico.

The Curry County Sheriff’s Office reported that more than a dozen workers were transported to area hospitals by ambulances and private vehicles Monday morning after acid mixed with chlorine to create the fumes. Two of the workers were listed in critical condition.

Crews responded after a strong smell was reported at the Southwest Cheese plant. A hazardous materials crew with the Clovis Fire Department helped to clear the scene and production resumed later that morning.

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Southwest Cheese said in a statement issued Monday that early investigation indicated the cause of the incident was a chemical overflow that occurred due to a mechanical failure in one room at the plant and that the vapors affected employees who were working close by.

The company said the affected area was quickly closed off per its incident response plan.

Southwest Cheese has been operating since 2005. It processes billions of pounds of milk every year, producing more than 588 million pounds (266,712 metric tons) of block cheese and more than 36 million pounds (16,329 metric tons) of whey protein powders.



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New Mexico (NMAA) High School Boys Basketball State Championship Brackets, Schedules – March 7, 2026

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New Mexico (NMAA) High School Boys Basketball State Championship Brackets, Schedules – March 7, 2026


The 2026 New Mexico high school boys basketball state championships begin on Saturday, March 7, with 40 games in the first round of action.

High School on SI has brackets for every classification in the New Mexico high school basketball state brackets. The championship games begin on March 14 at the University of New Mexico – The Pit.

New Mexico (NMAA) High School Basketball State Championship Brackets, Schedule – March 7

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No. 1 Volcano Vista vs. No. 16 Santa Fe – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT

No. 8 Las Cruces vs. No. 9 Albuquerque – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT

No. 5 Hobbs vs. No. 12 Organ Mountain – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT

No. 4 La Cueva vs. No. 13 Atrisco Heritage Academy – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT

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No. 3 Rio Rancho vs. No. 14 Mayfield – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT

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No. 6 Sandia vs. No. 11 Farmington – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT

No. 7 Centennial vs. No. 10 Carlsbad – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT

No. 2 Cleveland vs. No. 15 Alamogordo – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT


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No. 1 Highland vs. No. 16 Grants – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT

No. 8 Belen vs. No. 9 Portales – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT

No. 5 Taos vs. No. 12 St. Pius X – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT

No. 4 Del Norte vs. No. 13 Valencia – 03/07, 7:00 PM MT

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No. 3 Hope Christian vs. No. 14 Pojoaque Valley – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT

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No. 6 Albuquerque Academy vs. No. 11 Goddard – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT

No. 7 Gallup vs. No. 10 Silver – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT

No. 2 Artesia vs. No. 15 Bloomfield – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT


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No. 1 St. Michael’s vs. No. 16 Wingate – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT

No. 8 Tohatchi vs. No. 9 New Mexico Military Institute – 03/07, 3:00 PM MT

No. 5 Santa Fe Indian vs. No. 12 Sandia Prep – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT

No. 4 Navajo Prep vs. No. 13 Hot Springs – 03/07, 3:00 PM MT

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No. 3 Cobre vs. No. 14 Ruidoso – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT

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No. 6 Bosque vs. No. 11 Cottonwood Classical Prep – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT

No. 7 East Mountain vs. No. 10 Robertson – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT

No. 2 Tularosa vs. No. 15 West Las Vegas – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT


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No. 1 Texico vs. No. 16 Clayton – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT

No. 8 Tucumcari vs. No. 9 Mora – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT

No. 5 Mesilla Valley Christian School vs. No. 12 Dulce – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT

No. 4 Santa Rosa vs. No. 13 Eunice – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT

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No. 3 Mesa Vista vs. No. 14 Hozho Charter Academy – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT

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No. 6 Rehoboth Christian vs. No. 11 Oak Grove Classical – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT

No. 7 Escalante vs. No. 10 Menaul – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT

No. 2 Pecos vs. No. 15 Mescalero Apache – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT


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No. 1 Logan vs. No. 16 Quemado – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT

No. 8 Cliff vs. No. 9 To’hajiilee – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT

No. 5 Alamo Navajo vs. No. 12 Grady – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT

No. 4 Melrose vs. No. 13 Elida – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT

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No. 3 Cimarron vs. No. 14 Pine Hill – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT

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No. 6 Roy/Mosquero vs. No. 11 Mountainair – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT

No. 7 Magdalena vs. No. 10 Springer – 03/07, 3:00 PM MT

No. 2 Fort Sumner/House vs. No. 15 Gateway Christian – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT




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Federal fraud trial against former New Mexico lawmaker pushed back to August

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Federal fraud trial against former New Mexico lawmaker pushed back to August


ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The federal fraud case against a former New Mexico state lawmaker is getting delayed again. Former Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton is accused of swindling millions from Albuquerque Public Schools, funneling the money through the district to a robotics company owned by a friend, Joseph Johnson. A judge had scheduled the trial for […]



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New Mexico confirms latest measles case at a local jail

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New Mexico confirms latest measles case at a local jail


The number of confirmed measles cases in New Mexico increased to six after the state’s Department of Health confirmed Wednesday a new case inside a local jail in Las Cruces.

A federal inmate being held in the Doña Ana County Detention Center is the latest person to have tested positive for measles. The New Mexico Department of Health said others may have been exposed to the highly contagious disease from this confirmed case if they visited the U.S. District Court building in Las Cruces on Feb. 24.

State heath officials are now urging anyone who was at the courthouse that day to check their vaccination status and report any measles symptoms from now until March 17 to a health care provider.

“The New Mexico Department of Health continues to urge people to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination,” Dr. Chad Smelser, New Mexico’s deputy state epidemiologist, said in a statement. “Vaccine is the best tool to protect you from measles.”

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Measles spreads through the air and people who contract the virus may experience symptoms such as runny nose, fever, cough, red eyes and a distinctive blotchy rash. These symptoms can develop between one and three weeks after exposure.

All of the six confirmed measles cases in New Mexico so far are federal detainees.

The first measles case was detected in the Hidalgo County Detention Center on Feb. 25, when a detainee, whose vaccination status was unknown, tested positive for the disease by the New Mexico Department of Health’s Scientific Laboratory.

Two days later, a second federal inmate in the same jail tested positive for the virus alongside two detainees in the Luna County Detention Center and another in the Doña Ana County Detention Center.

Both the Luna County and Doña Ana detention centers are local jails that also serve as holding facilities for federal immigration enforcement.

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New Mexico health officials said they are the state’s first confirmed cases of this year, following a statewide outbreak in 2025 that sickened 100 people from mid-February to mid-September.

With two measles cases reported on each of the three local jails, Smelser said that the New Mexico Department of Health has sent vaccination teams to all three facilities.

State health officials are also “coordinating with all the facilities to assure all quarantine, isolation, testing and vaccination protocols are followed to minimize risk of measles spread.”

According to the NBC News measles tracker, more than 1,000 cases have been counted nationwide just in the first two months of this year. That’s nearly half the amount of cases confirmed in the United States in all of last year.

As 2026 already stands as one of the three worst years for measles infections in the country since 2000, another measles outbreak was confirmed this week in Texas inside the nation’s largest immigration detention facility.

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On Wednesday, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson told NBC News that a least 14 cases of measles were confirmed inside Camp East Montana, which is located on the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso.

The people who tested positive for measles have been “cohorted and separated from the rest of the detained population to prevent further spread,” the ICE spokesperson said.



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