News of the day from across the nation, May 24
New Mexico on Monday became the first state to sue the federal government and the owners of two mines over the release of 3 million gallons of wastewater from a southern Colorado mine, seeking tens of millions of dollars for environmental and economic damage caused by the spill.
New Mexico wants compensation for its immediate response to the August 2015 disaster and funding for long-term monitoring, lost revenue and a marketing campaign to undo the stigma left behind by the plume of arsenic, lead and other heavy metals that fouled rivers in three Western states.
Five people died in a plane crash Monday on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, officials said.
The small plane went down at 9:30 a.m. during a skydiving tour just outside Port Allen Airport, the Kauai Fire Department said in a statement.
The National Transportation Safety Board will work with officials to determine the cause of the crash.
Public health officials in Los Angeles County ordered Southern California Gas Co. to stop cleaning the homes of thousands of residents uprooted by a huge gas leak over concerns that protocols were not being followed.
The work was halted Sunday after officials concluded that a contractor for the utility was not properly trained or equipped to carry out the cleanup in the Porter Ranch area.