NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
_1 Library shooting: Authorities on Tuesday identified the gunman accused of opening fire inside a New Mexico public library as a 16-year-old who they say killed a youth librarian and a second employee while wounding four, including a 10-year-old boy. Witnesses said the teen seemed to fire randomly during the rampage. Nathaniel Jouett will face two counts of first-degree murder, four counts of assault with intent to commit a violent felony, four counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and one count of child abuse, said Clovis Police Chief Douglas Ward. Investigators had not uncovered evidence that Jouett knew the victims, he said. Authorities said they plan to request the case’s transfer to adult court.
2 Campus scare: Princeton University says an out-of-uniform police officer with a holstered gun led to a warning about an armed man on campus. Just before noon Tuesday, the school said it had a report of a person with a weapon on campus and told people to lock their doors and “remain inside for safety.” But officials with the school quickly determined the man was an officer escorting a group of teens on a tour of the university’s art museum. School officials say the officer was wearing a badge. The school says the officer didn’t alert museum staff to his presence in advance.
3 Turtle warning: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says three people in Connecticut are among dozens nationwide who have contracted a salmonella infection linked to turtles. CDC officials said Tuesday that 37 people across 13 states became sick with infections stemming from contact with pet turtles. No deaths have been reported, but 16 people have been hospitalized. The CDC says the illnesses began to appear March 1 and diagnoses continued until Aug. 3. Almost half of the 33 people interviewed by the CDC said they had come in contact with a turtle or its environment.
4 Professor fired: The University of Tampa has fired a visiting teacher who tweeted that Hurricane Harvey’s destruction is “instant karma” for Texas because it voted Republican. Sociology Assistant Professor Kenneth L. Storey posted the tweet and two responses Sunday before removing the thread and his profile photo. A university spokesman said Storey was fired after an outpouring of online outrage over the comments.
5 Suit dismissed: A federal judge Tuesday tossed out a defamation lawsuit by Sarah Palin against the New York Times, saying the former Alaska governor failed to show the newspaper knew it was publishing false statements in an editorial before quickly correcting them. The ruling by Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said the lawsuit seeking unspecified damages “fails on its face to adequately allege actual malice.” The onetime Republican vice presidential nominee sued over an editorial published in June after a gunman opened fire on Republican lawmakers. The editorial was corrected twice when readers complained that it appeared to blame a political action committee belonging to Palin for “political incitement.”