News on the go: Oct. 25, 2013

Carrie Blazina

A National Guardsman in Tennessee opened fire Thursday at an armory outside a U.S. Navy base and wounded two soldiers before being subdued, officials said. Police said other soldiers apprehended the shooter, and the Navy said the injured soldiers did not have life-threatening wounds. The Naval Support Activity Mid-South base just outside where the shooting occurred was put on lockdown briefly as a precaution, but that was lifted in the afternoon. read full story

Contractors who built the health-insurance-marketplace portals for President Barack Obama’s administration said Thursday the site’s problems are because of insufficient testing and changes made by officials just before going live. Thursday’s congressional hearing about what went wrong dealt with issues of website architecture and testing, but it also reignited a partisan battle about the Affordable Care Act itself. The marketplaces are supposed to allow uninsured consumers to compare packages and shop for coverage, but the websites have had problems since launching Oct. 1.

Students in Danver, Mass. on Thursday mourned the loss of a popular high school math teacher who authorities say was killed by a 14-year-old student Tuesday night. Students said Philip Chism had just moved to the district at the start of this school year and was a top scorer on the junior varsity soccer team; officials said there was no motive as of Thursday. Other students remembered Colleen Ritzer, 24, as a caring, friendly and supportive teacher. read full story

European leaders chastised the United States on Thursday at a European Union gathering because of reports of widespread U.S. spying on its allies. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said hearing her cellphone was tapped has shattered her trust in the Obama administration despite assurances from the president it is not being monitored now. European leaders from Sweden to the Netherlands to Austria all expressed outrage, with the Italian premier saying it is “not in the least bit conceivable that activity of this type could be acceptable.”