Wisconsin school shooter identified and Russian general killed: Morning Rundown
A 15-year-old female student is named as the suspect in a Wisconsin school shooting that left three dead. Authorities try to tamp down on worries over drone sightings. And a daughter speaks out after learning her father’s remains were sent for medical research before she even knew he was dead.
Here’s what to know today.
Teacher and teen student killed in Wisconsin school shooting
A 15-year-old female was identified as shooter of a teacher and one of her fellow students at Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin. The teenager is also dead. Six people were injured, including two students in critical condition with “life-threatening injuries,” Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said yesterday evening.
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The shooting occurred during study hall in a classroom at the campus east of downtown Madison, police said. A second grade student called 911 at 10:57 a.m. to report the shooting, Barnes said. Just three miles away, a group of officers were gathered for a special emergency training, Banes said — “so what began as a training day became an actual thing.”
Madison police identified the shooter as Natalie Rupnow, who went by the name Samantha. Investigators are still working to determine a motive in the shooting, and it is not clear whether the teacher and student who were killed were targets. Police searched the shooter’s home, and they’re also looking into a document online that was reportedly about the shooting.
Explosion kills Russian general in Moscow
Lt. General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense Forces, was killed in an explosion early this morning in Moscow, Russian officials said.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it was behind the detonation of an explosive device planted in a scooter next to the entrance of an apartment building in Moscow, according to a Ukrainian source briefed on the matter who asked for anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about sensitive operations.
Kirillov had been charged in absentia by a Ukrainian court a day earlier over the use of banned chemical weapons during Russia’s invasion of the country, according to The Associated Press. Here’s what else we know.
Feds try to tamp down worries about drone sightings
Federal authorities sought to quell concerns about drone sightings in New Jersey and other states, as President-elect Donald Trump spoke out and lawmakers proposed the deployment of drone-tracking devices. Meanwhile, conspiracy theories are spreading online.
In a joint statement released last night, the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Defense Department said the numerous drone sightings do not pose “a national security or public safety risk,” echoing a similar message released last week. Commercial, hobbyist and law enforcement drones, as well as other aircraft and stars, were among the objects identified from more than 5,000 tips authorities received in recent weeks. About 100 tips required further review, the agencies said. Read more about federal authorities’ reaction to the drones.
Trump, speaking at his first press conference since winning the 2024 election, criticized the Biden administration for not sharing more information. “Something strange is going on,” he said, “For some reason, they don’t want to tell people.” Trump also said he canceled a weekend trip to his New Jersey golf club after saying some drone sightings were “very close to Bedminster.” Read more about his comments.
Over the weekend, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the Homeland Security Department should send special drone-detection technology to New York and New Jersey. However, the radars, from Netherlands-based Robin Radar Systems, “can’t tell you who’s flying it [or] what country it’s from,” said the company’s general manager, Kristian Brost. Here’s what to know about the drone-detecting technology.
A veteran’s corpse was sent across state lines — before his family knew he was dead
Last year, Karen Wandel received an alarming message: Her father, Libero Marinelli Jr., had died more than five months earlier in a South Carolina hospital and, when no family claimed his body, the hospital sent it to be used for medical research.
Wandel hadn’t spoken to her father in years, but she wasn’t hard to find. Neither were Marinelli’s brother or sister, who had kept in touch on birthdays and holidays. But they all learned of his death only after Marinelli’s brother sent him a Christmas card that was returned unopened.
Wandel remains stunned by the treatment of her father, who, as a former Army service member, was entitled to be buried in a veterans’ cemetery but whose corpse instead was first sent to a body broker in another state.
Supplying unclaimed bodies for medical research is widely considered unethical, and most major medical schools — and a few states — have halted the practice. And it yet continues.
Politics in Brief
Dismissal denied: A New York judge denied Trump’s bid to vacate the guilty verdict in his hush money trial on presidential immunity grounds.
RFK Jr. in D.C.: Robert F. Kennedy, Trump’s pick for health and human services secretary, will likely face tough questions about his anti-vaccine rhetoric and his plans to reshape the health care industry as he meets with dozens of Republican senators this week. A key figure to watch in his battle for confirmation: Mitch McConnell.
Impending ban: TikTok has asked the Supreme Court to block a law that could ban the social media app in the U.S. If justices grant TikTok’s application, they will then have to make a final decision on whether the law is constitutional. If justices reject the application, the law would go into effect on Jan. 19 as planned.
Committee leadership: A powerful panel of congressional Democrats recommended Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly over Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for the top Democratic post on the House Oversight Committee. Here’s how other votes played out for other leadership spots.
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Read All About It
- A woman who was accused of being a stowaway on a New York-to-Paris flight last month has been arrested while trying to cross the Canadian border, authorities said yesterday.
- Did you know the bald eagle isn’t the national bird of the United States? Well, not yet at least — but one man’s mission to fix that omission is finally paying off.
- Hannah Kobayashi said she is only now learning of the widespread attention she received after her family reported her missing.
- Jay-Z’s lawyer said he expects the hip-hop mogul to soon be “cleared” from a lawsuit that accuses him and rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping a minor in 2000.
- Several thousand people are feared dead after Cyclone Chido tore through Mayotte, a French territory around 500 miles off southeast Africa.
Staff Pick: Seeking change from within in ‘Squid Game’ season 2
The main character of “Squid Game,” Player 456, may be returning to the Netflix show’s second season in the same iconic green tracksuit, but he has an entirely new focus: ending the game. Actor Lee Jung-jae, who plays last season’s winner Seong Gi-hun, said that by immersing himself in his character, his own values also started to shift. “‘Squid Game’ really talks about justice and how to bring people together. And I really thought about that a lot, too,” Lee told NBC News. — Kayla Hayempour, platforms intern
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
If you have extra money in your FSA, it’s time to spend it. Our editors found FSA-eligible items that you can buy on Amazon. Plus the best last-minute gifts that will arrive before Christmas or Hanukkah.
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