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The planned ruling would eliminate protection for the top predators, but scientists and conservationists say the proposal is flawed. Federal authorities intend to remove endangered species protections for all gray wolves in the Lower 48 states, carving out an a exception for a small pocket of about 75 Mexican wolves in the wild in Arizona and New Mexico, according to a draft document obtained by The Times.

Overwhelming demand for a book offering clues to a hidden treasure chest worth millions has taken over a New Mexico store. The book, “Thrill of the Chase,” is the autobiography by Forrest Fenn, who first described his treasure last month on TODAY.

The New Mexico teen accused of killing his parents and three siblings is portrayed in charging documents as a boy haunted by homicidal and suicidal thoughts that included fantasies of killing his girlfriend's parents and gunning down random people at a Wal-Mart.

A drug-sniffing dog now is the only certified member of the police force in the small eastern New Mexico town of Vaughn. Police Chief Ernest "Chris" Armijo decided to step down Wednesday after news stories reported that he wasn't allowed to carry a gun because of his criminal background.

Two cousins who admitted to accidentally starting the largest wildfire in Arizona history by leaving a still-smoldering campfire unattended were each sentenced to 48 hours in jail on Wednesday and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service. Caleb Malboeuf, 27, and David Malboeuf, 25, were also placed on five years' probation by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Aspey in Flagstaff, Arizona, for the raging wildfire that torched 840 square miles in eastern Arizona and New Mexico last summer, according to assistant U.S. attorney Patrick Schneider.

While nationally the two rivals are locked in a dead heat, in 12 expected battleground states — Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin — Obama leads by eight points in the survey.

One person was dead as massive wildfires in drought-parched Colorado and New Mexico burned out of control, while Western lawmakers pleaded for updates to an aging U.S. aerial firefighting fleet needed to combat a fire season that lasts year-round.

Firefighters on Sunday were fighting wildfires that have spread quickly in parched forests in Colorado and New Mexico, forcing hundreds of people from their homes and the evacuation of wolves from a sanctuary.

Several lightning-sparked wildfires blazed around the state as dry thunderstorms moved in Sunday and Monday.

Experts say a massive wildfire that has become the largest blaze in New Mexico history may just be a preview of what's to come after months of drought.