Nation in brief: Trump employee shot in casino

An employee was shot Wednesday afternoon inside the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort and died soon afterward, and a regular patron who knew him was in custody, state police and the casino’s CEO said.

Ray Kot was a shift manager who had been with the casino since the day it opened in 1990.

“He was the loveliest human being you ever want to meet,” said Mark Juliano, CEO of Trump Entertainment Resorts, which runs the casino. “He didn’t have an enemy in the world.”

Juliano said there did not appear to be a dispute between Kot and the shooter, whose identity wasn’t disclosed.

Jackson, Miss.

Barbour tables presidential talk

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, said Wednesday he has considered a run for president, but is putting off thinking about it.

“I’m not going to think about it anymore until after 2010,” Barbour said Wednesday. “Anybody who’s even thinking about this before the end of 2010, there’s no need to think about it.”

Speculation about whether Barbour will seek his party’s nomination arose after the governor scheduled trips to Iowa and New Hampshire in June.

From wire reports