ALBUQUERQUE — An enrolled member of the Navajo Nation appeared in federal court July 9 for arraignment on an indictment charging him with a second-degree murder that occurred in March.

According to the indictment and other court records Blaine Morgan, 35, of Crownpoint, N.M. attended a small gathering March 29 in a trailer within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation in Church Rock, N.M.

An argument started between Morgan and the victim and the two left the trailer and went outside. Morgan reportedly fought with the victim and stabbed the victim several times.

The victim was later pronounced dead at Gallup Indian Medical Center.

The FBI arrested Morgan July 6. He is in custody pending...

Vetoes ‘PET PROJECTS,’ ‘frivolous SPENDING’

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer approved portions of two separate resolutions that address the use of federal CARES Act funding for the Navajo Nation on July 4.

The Nez-Lizer Administration approved the following funds through Resolution CJN-46-20:

• $20 million for special duty pay for frontline workers and other essential personnel whose duties are substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

• $10 million for Personal Protective Equipment for frontline workers and other essential personnel whose duties are substantially...

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. —  The Diné Hatalii Association contends they are the original first responders and their position is supported by recent academic research entitled, “Nihe’iina’ Náás Yiilyéél (Perpetuating Our Way of Life): Diné Local Governance from Tradition to COVID-19,” written by the Diné Policy Institute at Diné College. The paper was published June 16 in the Tribal College: Journal of American Indian Higher Education.

“The Diné Hataałii Association are in reality, the first responders and essential, front line public health workers who have always assisted the Navajo Nation,” as expressed in the statement. Further, the association shared...

Week ending Friday, July 10, 2020


Hotter Longer

Almost every part of the planet, down to the local level, is now experiencing longer and more frequent heat waves than during the 1950s, new research reveals. A team of global scientists writes in the journal Nature Communications that the amount of excess heat is increasing globally on average by 1 to 4.5 degrees Celsius each decade. But in some places, such as the Middle East and parts of Africa and South America, the trend is increasing by up to 10 degrees per decade.

The central United States is the only inhabited region where this trend has not been observed.

Earthquakes

The Indian capital of New Delhi was jolted by another in a...