NATION BRIEFS

NEW HAMPSHIRE / 14-year-old shoots self

A 14-year-old shot himself in the face in a New Hampshire elementary school cafeteria filled with dozens of students eating lunch, officials said Friday. The teen, identified by a relative and fellow students as Hunter Mack, was hospitalized after shooting himself around 11 a.m. at Walpole Elementary School in southwestern New Hampshire. Police locked down the school for several hours, but no one else was injured. Cheshire County Attorney Peter Heed told The Associated Press the student might have been upset about a "relationship issue" with a girl.

NEW JERSEY / Jail for killing over CDs

A dispute over some Nicki Minaj CDs led to a man's death, and now a Newark man faces jail for the crime. An Essex County jury on Friday convicted Ahmad Taylor in the shooting of Amir McLean a year ago. Prosecutors say McLean tossed some of the CDs out of a house window during a fight with his girlfriend. Taylor wanted to hear the CDs and told McLean to go outside in the snow and get them. When McLean refused, Taylor shot him multiple times. The jury convicted Taylor of passion/provocation manslaughter. Prosecutors had sought a murder conviction. Taylor faces a 10-year sentence but could serve longer for using a gun and for his violent record as a juvenile. Taylor had been released on parole two weeks before the killing.

FLORIDA / Blast kills worker, horse

Authorities say an apparent spark within the high-oxygen chamber of a Florida equine sports medicine center triggered a massive explosion, collapsing a corner of the building and killing a worker and a horse. The Marion County Sheriff's office said Erica Marshall, 28, died in the Friday explosion at Kesmarc Florida in Ocala. A second worker was taken to a Gainesville hospital with serious injuries. Authorities say the workers were in a hyperbaric chamber with the horse as part of the animal's rehabilitation. Officials say it is not clear what caused the spark.