Tortillas fall flat in New Mexico, but will California add Bigfoot to its list of state symbols?

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A proposal to designate the tortilla as New Mexico's official state bread had unanimous support from lawmakers. On Friday, though, it ended up falling flat.

It wasn't because Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham isn't a fan of the round wraps that have long been a staple of Mexican, Central American and Southwestern U.S. cooking. It was because she believes lawmakers missed opportunities to debate bills that deal with weightier matters as the state faces extraordinary challenges.

“Of course, I enjoy celebrating our unique culture,” she wrote in her veto message, ticking off numerous official state symbols and songs that New Mexico has adopted over the years.

“The question should not be how many more symbols we can collect — but whether we are meeting the moment with the gravity it demands,” she continued. “We are living in perilous and unprecedented times. The stakes for our state have never been higher.”

New Mexico's lawmakers were hardly alone in wanting to pad their state's list of symbols this legislative season. Georgia lawmakers recently passed a bill to recognize cornbread as their state’s official bread. The Oregon Legislature, meanwhile, is considering adopting the T-bone steak as an official symbol. And there’s a proposal in California to name Bigfoot the state’s official cryptid — a creature that has never been proven to exist.

Legislating isn’t always about taxes, tariffs and other serious issues. Lawmakers sometimes yearn for levity and the rare chance to find common ground.

With the push to adopt the tortilla, which was proposed by Las Cruces fourth-grader Adaline McIntosh, lawmakers debated the kinds of flour needed for the perfect specimen. Their conclusion: It depends on the meal. They also got a history lesson from state Sen. Benny Shendo, a member of Jemez Pueblo tribe who explained that the first bread in what is now New Mexico was made by Pueblo people who cooked blue corn paste on a hot stone.

State Sen. Cindy Nava talked about growing up on her mother's homemade tortillas.

“This is much bigger than a simple piece of legislation," Nava told fellow lawmakers. "This is culture and this is cultural awareness that we desperately need.”

Official state symbols date to the late 1800s, as legislatures throughout the U.S. sought to stake cultural claims and foster pride among their residents. First came flowers and flags. Then came fossils and foods, with the practice growing into a clever marketing tool to boost conversation and commerce.

Oregon already has an official state nut, fruit and pie. But adopting the T-bone would recognize the role that cattle has played in the state’s development and its contribution to the economy, supporters say.

It's all about Nashville hot chicken in Tennessee, where a proposal calls for making the popular dish an official state food, joining hot slaw and Memphis barbecue.

Whereas some states adopted milk as their official drink, Nevada is considering a less wholesome option, Picon punch. The home of Sin City is weighing legislation that would add the cocktail that traces its roots to Basque immigrants who settled out West to its list of state symbols.

In North Carolina, lawmakers are considering adopting the Moravian star, a multi-pointed decoration that symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem and has become synonymous with Christmas.

Minnesota might adopt a whole constellation, with legislation pending that would add Ursa Minor to that state's list.

Texas, meanwhile, is considering adding the cannon as an official gun. The Lone Star State already has an official handgun — the Colt Walker pistol. But those who introduced this year's resolution say historic weapons such as the cannon are powerful reminders of the state's struggle for freedom. That includes the first battle of the Texas Revolution, when settlers coined the phrase ”Come and Take It" during a skirmish with the Mexican military over a bronze cannon.

Colorado's list of symbols now includes Agaricus julius, a mushroom once mistaken as “The Prince mushroom" that supporters say plays a vital role in high-elevation spruce and fir forests.

Iowa and Michigan are considering adding butterflies to their lists. There are dueling proposals in Michigan, with black swallowtails and monarchs duking it out.

Minnesota lawmakers are mulling adopting an official state fossil — a giant beaver that was about the size of a small bear and roamed the area during the last ice age. It's part of a campaign led by the Science Museum of Minnesota.

California lawmakers are considering adding two things to their state list: solar energy and Bigfoot. California has the country's largest solar market, according to industry groups. As for the legendary creature, Bigfoot's proponents say it's part of popular culture and inspires searches that boost tourism in rural parts of the state.

FILE -Solar panels line the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in San Bernardino County, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Noah Berger,File)

FILE - Keith Graham sprinkles hot seasoning on an order of chicken at Bolton's Spicy Chicken and Fish restaurant in Nashville, Tenn. on Friday, March 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey,File)

FILE - Cattle that are grass-fed, antibiotic and growth hormone free gather at Kookoolan Farm in Yamhill, Ore., Thursday, April 23, 2015.(AP Photo/Don Ryan,File)

Cornbread is displayed, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Kennesaw. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Locally made tortillas rest on desks of New Mexico legislators at the state Senate debates a bill to designate tortillas a the official state bread in Santa Fe, on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)

Locally made tortillas rest on the desks of New Mexico legislators as the state Senate debates a bill to designate tortillas as the official state bread in Santa Fe, N.M., on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)

Locally made tortillas rest on the desks of New Mexico legislators as the state Senate debates a bill to designate tortillas as the official state bread in Santa Fe, on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)

Locally made tortillas rest on the desks of New Mexico legislators as the state Senate debates a bill to designate tortillas as the official state bread in Santa Fe, N.M., on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)

Stacks of tortillas sit on a grocery store shelf in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

Locally made tortillas rest on the desks of New Mexico legislators as the state Senate debates a bill to designate tortillas as the official state bread in Santa Fe, N.M., on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)

Packages of tortillas line shelves at a grocery store in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

A fresh tortilla covers a large plate at Garcia's Kitchen in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

Stacks of corn and wheat flour tortillas fill grocery store shelves in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

Republican state Sen. Gabriel Ramos of Silver City, N.M., rests the microphone on a stack of locally made tortillas amid debate on a bill to designate tortillas as the official state bread in Santa Fe, N.M., on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)

Republican state Sen. Joshua Sanchez of Bosque, N.M., left, applauds a bill to designate tortillas as the official state bread in Santa Fe, on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)

Jasmine Perez holds up a fresh tortilla while standing at the pickup window inside Garcia's Kitchen in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday in the first verdict from eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle that forced him out of office and other allegations.

Yoon was impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.

The most significant criminal charge against him alleges that his martial law enforcement amounted to a rebellion, and the independent counsel has requested the death sentence in the case that is to be decided in a ruling next month.

Yoon has maintained he didn’t intend to place the country under military rule for an extended period, saying his decree was only meant to inform the people about the danger of the liberal-controlled parliament obstructing his agenda. But investigators have viewed Yoon’s decree as an attempt to bolster and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.

In Friday’s case, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation, and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting and thus depriving some Cabinet members who were not convened of their due rights to deliberate on his decree.

Judge Baek Dae-hyun said in the televised ruling that imposing “a grave punishment” was necessary because Yoon hasn’t shown remorse and has only repeated “hard-to-comprehend excuses.” The judge also restoring legal systems damaged by Yoon’s action was necessary.

Yoon’s defense team said they will appeal the ruling, which they believe was “politicized” and reflected “the unliberal arguments by the independent counsel.” Yoon’s defense team argued the ruling “oversimplified the boundary between the exercise of the president’s constitutional powers and criminal liability.”

Prison sentences in the multiple, smaller trials Yoon faces would matter if he is spared the death penalty or life imprisonment at the rebellion trial.

Park SungBae, a lawyer who specializes in criminal law, said there is little chance the court would decide Yoon should face the death penalty in the rebellion case. He said the court will likely issue a life sentence or a sentence of 30 years or more in prison.

South Korea has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1997 and courts rarely hand down death sentences. Park said the court would take into account that Yoon’s decree didn’t cause casualties and didn’t last long, although Yoon hasn’t shown genuine remorse for his action.

South Korea has a history of pardoning former presidents who were jailed over diverse crimes in the name of promoting national unity. Those pardoned include strongman Chun Doo-hwan, who received the death penalty at a district court over his 1979 coup, the bloody 1980 crackdowns of pro-democracy protests that killed about 200 people, and other crimes.

Some observers say Yoon will likely retain a defiant attitude in the ongoing trials to maintain his support base in the belief that he cannot avoid a lengthy sentence but could be pardoned in the future.

On the night of Dec. 3, 2024, Yoon abruptly declared martial law in a televised speech, saying he would eliminate “anti-state forces” and protect “the constitutional democratic order.” Yoon sent troops and police officers to encircle the National Assembly, but many apparently didn’t aggressively cordon off the area, allowing enough lawmakers to get into an assembly hall to vote down Yoon’s decree.

No major violence occurred, but Yoon's stunt caused the biggest political crisis in South Korea and rattled its diplomacy and financial markets. For many, his decree, the first of its kind in more than four decades in South Korea, brought back harrowing memories of past dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s, when military-backed leaders used martial law and emergency measures to deploy soldiers and tanks on the streets to suppress demonstrations.

After Yoon's ouster, his liberal rival Lee Jae Myung became president via a snap election last June. After taking office, Lee appointed three independent counsels to look into allegations involving Yoon, his wife and associates.

Yoon's other trials deal with charges like ordering drone flights over North Korea to deliberately inflame animosities to look for a pretext to declare martial law. Other charges accuse Yoon of manipulating the investigation into a marine’s drowning in 2023 and receiving free opinion surveys from an election broker in return for a political favor.

A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shouts slogans outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waits for a bus carrying former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs as police officers stand guard outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A picture of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is placed on a board as supporters gather outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)