Vaccines, Broadband Access, Mysterious Bird Deaths | 12.18.20

This week on New Mexico in Focus… Of the nearly six thousand missing and murdered Indigenous women reported each year in the U.S., many are never identified. This is due in part to an outdated database.  Correspondent Gwyneth Doland talks to UNM professor Heather Edgar, who has been working with Native tribes and experts to find a respectful, high-tech solution. Wildlife experts believe there were many factors that caused a massive die-off of birds migrating through New Mexico early this autumn. Correspondent Laura Paskus talks with NMSU professor Martha Desmond about why the bird carcasses were severely emaciated and what that might mean for the future. Gene Grant and The Line opinion panelists weigh good news against bad news in an update on the pandemic’s effect on New Mexico. While COVID-19 vaccines have started to arrive in the state and case numbers have been easing, there’s still the holiday break to get through and hospitals are still overwhelmed. The Line also debates problems with rural broadband and looks at the state’s U.S. Supreme Court victory in a water battle with Texas.