A New Mexico judge on Friday rejected a request by dozens of workers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory to block a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The mandate, which took effect on Friday afternoon, was challenged by a total of 114 workers at the laboratory, which was the birthplace of the atomic bomb. The plaintiffs claimed that Triad National Security LLC, the contractor that runs the lab for the U.S. Department of Energy, is violating their constitutional rights and that some exemptions for the mandate, which was first announced in August, had been unduly denied. The employees also alleged that some had been harassed by lab management for not being vaccinated against COVID-19, creating a hostile work environment. One employee was allegedly screamed at and told he and his family deserved to die for being unvaccinated. Attorneys for the Los Alamos National Laboratory argued in court on Thursday that being vaccinated …