In the Nation

PORTLAND, Ore. - The gunman who killed two people and himself in a shooting rampage at an Oregon mall was 22 years old and used a rifle stolen from someone he knew, authorities said Wednesday.

Jacob Tyler Roberts had armed himself with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and had several fully loaded magazines when he arrived at a Portland-area mall Tuesday, said Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts.

The sheriff said the rifle jammed during the attack, but the gunman managed to get it working again. He later shot himself. Authorities don't yet have a motive but don't believe he was targeting specific people.

Two people - a 54-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man - were killed. Kristina Shevchenko, 15, was wounded and in serious condition on Wednesday.

- AP

PHOENIX - A federal judge sentenced a Phoenix man Wednesday to nearly five years in prison for buying firearms for a Mexican drug cartel, triggering a chain of events that included the death of a Border Patrol agent and the unraveling of the federal gun-tracking operation called "Fast and Furious."

Jaime Avila Jr., 25, was a "straw purchaser" of firearms for the cartel. His purchases included two rifles found at the scene of the death of agent Brian Terry, who died two years ago in the desert south of Tucson.

Avila bought 52 firearms over 10 months. Federal Judge James Teilborg sentenced Avila to 57 months in prison. Avila struck a deal with the federal government and pleaded guilty to a variety of weapons counts.

The Fast and Furious investigation allowed weapons to be illegally sold in the United States so they could be tracked across the border to Mexico to cartels there. The intent was to arrest cartel leaders, but most firearms disappeared.

- Los Angeles Times

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Jerry Brown is being treated with radiation for early-stage prostate cancer, his office announced Wednesday. Brown, 74, is receiving a short course of conventional radiotherapy for "localized prostate cancer," the statement said.

Brown's "prognosis is excellent, and there are not expected to be any significant side effects," oncologist Eric Small said.

Radiation will be completed the week of Jan. 7, and Brown will continue to work a full schedule, the statement said.

It is the governor's second bout with cancer. He underwent minor surgery in spring 2011 to remove a cancerous growth on his nose.

- AP

Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was appointed to the Senate Banking Committee by the Democratic Steering Committee. The appointment had been strongly opposed by some in the financial services industry.