Nation in brief: Agency promises jaguar habitat

Albuquerque, N.M. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday it will set aside critical habitat for the endangered jaguar and develop a recovery plan for the elusive animal once thought to have disappeared from the United States.

The agency said it will review which lands the big cats need to survive and will put together a plan by early next year.

Conservationists had been anxiously awaiting the decisions on the recovery plan and critical habitat since last Friday, when a federal court had imposed a deadline for the agency. The court granted a last-minute extension, giving the Fish and Wildlife Service until the end of Tuesday.

The largest cats native to the Western hemisphere, jaguars live primarily in Mexico, Central and South America. They once inhabited an extensive area that spanned California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana.

Former employee opens fire, kills 2

Kennesaw, Ga. – A disgruntled ex-employee stormed a truck rental business in camouflage and opened fire with a handgun, killing two people and critically wounding three others at his former workplace, police said.

The lone gunman fled the scene in a pickup truck and was arrested after police stopped him about a mile from the Penske Truck Rental facility, said Cobb County Police Officer Joe Hernandez.

As of late Tuesday, police had not released the name of a suspect. However, Cobb County police arrested 60-year-old Jessie James Warren near the site of the shooting.