Cops find workplace shooter dead

Workplace shooting

During a shift change last night at the Ben E Keith food distribution warehouse in Albuquerque, police say Waid Anthony Melton opened fire, critically injuring three of his coworkers. Melton, 30, was at large throughout the night. Just after 7 am today, police said they'd found Melton dead in his car in Placitas. Investigators will try to determine a motive.

Fake news?

Republican candidate Yvette Herrell has questioned the vote count in her 2nd Congressional District race. In an appearance on Jeanine Pirro's Fox News show over the weekend, Herrell said that 4,000 uncounted absentee ballots had been "magically found" by the county clerk. In reality, the county's 8,000 absentee ballots hadn't been added to the vote tallies. Doña Ana County is heavily Democratic. Herrell also claimed about 100 people had made "documented complaints" about the process. Herrell hasn't conceded the race, nor has she provided evidence of complaints ($). The secretary of state says there have not been any formal complaints filed. Yesterday, Doña Ana County completed a tally of its provisional and hand-counted ballots, expanding Xochitl Torres Small's lead to 3,500 votes, or just shy of a 2 percentage point margin.

The Nation

The Navajo Nation has fired its elections director, reports the Navajo Times' Arlyssa Becenti, after at least 16 chapters ran out of ballots as the tribe elected a new president and other officials. The Board of Election Supervisors has also directed elections officials to hand-count ballots ($) that hand been in question on election night. That doesn't seem likely to impact the presidential race, where Jonathan Nez won.

Here comes the nug

Could New Mexico become the 11th state to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults? With a strong Democratic majority in both chambers of the Legislature and a new governor who says she can get behind legal pot as long as there are some protections, it seems likely. SFR is, as you might expect, on it. Interestingly, Aaron Cantú found at least one Republican who isn't for the measure, but says the writing is on the wall and he'll work to create a program that has appropriate safeguards.

Granted

St. Baldrick's, the foundation established to benefit kids fighting cancer, has awarded the University of New Mexico $60,000 to help with clinical trials. That's after various head-shaving events around Albuquerque raised $92,000.

Live and nationwide

Farmington teen Chevel Shepherd sang live last night on NBC's The Voice. She sang a song by The Judds, which the Hollywood Reporter thinks could peel off voters from country singer Blake Shelton's team and oh my word I never thought I'd know this much about The Voice. The show returns tonight, where Shepherd will learn if she's one of the top 13 singers to advance to the next round.

Back off

Expect the brutal cold overnight temperatures to ease over the next few days. The sun is back out in Santa Fe and many other spots around New Mexico after some early morning fog in spots. Temperatures should rise into the high 30s around town and warmer in Albuquerque and spots further south. They'll climb once more tomorrow. We could also start to see smoke from the California wildfires in the next couple of days.

Thanks for reading! The Word hopes you find a warm beverage today. Please look after the pets around you and check in on those who might be susceptible to cold.

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