Teacher and a teenage student killed in a shooting at a Christian school in Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A 15-year-old student killed a teacher and another teenager with a handgun Monday at a Christian school in Wisconsin, terrifying classmates including a second grader who made the 911 call that sent dozens of police officers rushing to the small school just a week before its Christmas break.

The female student, who was identified at a press conference Monday night, also wounded six others at a study hall at Abundant Life Christian School, including two students who were in critical condition, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said. A teacher and three students had been taken to a hospital with less serious injuries, and two of them had been released by Monday evening.

“Every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever. ... We need to figure out and try to piece together what exactly happened," Barnes said.

Barbara Wiers, director of elementary and school relations for Abundant Life Christian School, said students “handled themselves magnificently.”

She said when the school practices safety routines, which it had done just before the school year, leaders always announce that it is a drill. That didn’t happen Monday.

___

Things to know about the shooting at a Christian school in Wisconsin

Two people were killed and others were injured Monday in a shooting at a private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin. The shooting happened days before the Christmas break. Police said a student who opened fire, identified as a 15-year-old girl, was also dead.

Here are some things to know about the shooting in Wisconsin's capital city:

The shooting occurred late Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School. Police said Monday night that a second-grade student called 911 to report the shooting.

Police Chief Shon Barnes said Natalie Rupnow, who went by the name Samantha, opened fire during a study hall, killing another student and a teacher, and wounding six others.

The teacher and student were pronounced dead at the scene, he said. Their names have not yet been released. Two students who were hurt remained in critical condition Monday night, police said. A teacher and three students were taken to a hospital with less serious injuries, and two of them had been released by Monday evening.

___

Judge rejects Trump’s bid to toss hush money conviction because of Supreme Court immunity ruling

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge Monday refused to throw out President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money conviction because of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling on presidential immunity. But the overall future of the historic case remains unclear.

Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan's decision blocks one potential off-ramp from the case ahead of the former and future president's return to office next month. His lawyers have raised other arguments for dismissal, however. It's unclear when — or whether — a sentencing date might be set.

Prosecutors have said there should be some accommodation for his upcoming presidency, but they insist the conviction should stand.

A jury convicted Trump in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels in 2016. Trump denies wrongdoing.

The allegations involved a scheme to hide the payout to Daniels during the final days of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign to keep her from publicizing — and keep voters from hearing — her claim of a sexual encounter with the married then-businessman years earlier. He says nothing sexual happened between them.

___

Ukraine and US say some North Korean troops have been killed fighting alongside Russian forces

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s military intelligence agency and the Pentagon said Monday that some North Korean troops have been killed during combat against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk border region.

These are the first reported casualties since the U.S. and Ukraine announced that North Korea had sent 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia to help it in the almost 3-year war.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said around 30 North Korean troops were killed or wounded during battle with the Ukrainian army over the weekend.

The casualties occurred around three villages in Kursk, where Russia has for four months been trying to quash a Ukrainian incursion, the agency, known by its acronym GUR, said in a public post on the Telegram messaging app.

At least three North Korean servicemen went missing around another Kursk village, GUR said.

___

Negotiators say Israel and Hamas are inching toward a ceasefire deal. This is what it may look like

After months of deadlock, Israel and Hamas appear to be moving closer toward a ceasefire to end their 14-month war.

Top officials from the U.S., Qatar and Egypt have resumed their mediation efforts in recent weeks and reported greater willingness by the warring sides to wrap up a deal. In a key concession, Hamas officials say they are prepared to show more “flexibility" on the timing of an Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza, and Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said Monday that a deal is closer than ever.

Officials on all sides have cautioned that key details must still be worked out. But there is a general sense of optimism that has been lacking for many months.

The changing sentiment appears to be the result of several factors. Israel has inflicted heavy damage on Hamas over the course of the war. The group is more isolated after Hezbollah’s ceasefire with Israel, and Iran, a key backer of both militant groups, has suffered a number of setbacks, highlighted by the downfall of its close ally, Syria’s Bashar Assad.

In the U.S., both the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump have signaled they want a deal completed before the Jan. 20 inauguration.

___

Trump weighs in on NY mayor, vaccines and drones in freewheeling press conference at Mar-a-Lago

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — In a freewheeling press conference at his Mar-a-Lago club, President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he would consider pardoning embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams, declared the country was “not going to lose" the polio vaccine and weighed in on the flurry of drone sightings over New Jersey.

Holding court with reporters for the first time since he won the election and secured a second term, Trump also called on the Biden administration to stop selling off unused portions of southern border wall, threatening legal action.

“We’re going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on building the same wall we already have,” he railed. “It’s almost a criminal act.”

Trump's performance Monday underscored how he has already forced his return to the center of the national political conversation, weeks before he is set to return to the Oval Office. The session was notably less combative than some of the more heated exchanges he held with reporters during the campaign. Trump, looking relaxed at the lectern, joked with those he recognized and talked about how much easier the transition has been than after his first election.

“The first time everybody was fighting me,” he said. “This time everyone wants to be my friend.”

___

Is that a drone or a plane? Experts help explain the differences

Up in the sky, is that a drone, a plane or a helicopter?

Experts who study unmanned aircraft systems — better known as drones — say it can be tough to tell from miles away. But there are clues.

A light in the sky at night can easily be misinterpreted, according to John Slaughter, director of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Research and Operations Center at the University of Maryland.

“You can’t just walk outside and say, ‘Oh, that’s not a drone,’ or ‘That is one.’ All you can really factually say is ‘I saw a light in the sky,’" Slaughter said.

Dozens of mysterious nighttime flights first spotted in New Jersey last month and now being seen across the U.S. have raised concerns among residents and officials. Part of the worry stems from the flying objects initially being spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a U.S. military research and manufacturing facility, and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster.

___

Australian state proposes ban on protests at places of worship to fight rising antisemitism

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian state government on Tuesday proposed new restrictions on protesters in response to rising antisemitism, including a ban on demonstrations outside places of worship.

Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan proposed the new laws after arsonists damaged a Melbourne synagogue this month and protestors kept fearful worshippers trapped inside a Sydney synagogue for three hours a week earlier.

“That’s not peaceful protest. It’s menacing behavior,” Allan said.

“Antisemitism is a cancer and we must leave no stone unturned to fight the evil of antisemitism, to fight the evil of this racism in all of its forms and also to continue to work to help heal our multicultural community, to help build on that social cohesion and continue to support our strong, united Victoria,” she added.

The new laws would protect the right of people to “gather and pray free from fear, harassment and intimidation,” her office said in a statement.

___

Canada's finance minister resigns as unpopular Trudeau faces biggest test of his political career

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced the biggest test of his political career after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, long one of his most powerful and loyal ministers, resigned from the Cabinet on Monday.

The stunning move raised questions about how much longer the prime minister of nearly 10 years — whose popularity has plummeted due to concerns about inflation and immigration — can stay on as his administration scrambles to deal with incoming U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

“The Great State of Canada is stunned as the Finance Minister resigns, or was fired, from her position by Governor Justin Trudeau," Trump posted on Truth Social. “Her behavior was totally toxic, and not at all conducive to making deals which are good for the very unhappy citizens of Canada. She will not be missed!!!”

Trump previously trolled Trudeau by calling Canada a state. And during his first term in his office — when he renegotiated the free trade deal with Canada and Mexico — Trump said Freeland wasn't liked.

Trudeau swiftly named longtime ally and close friend Dominic LeBlanc, the pubic safety minister who recently joined him at dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, to replace Freeland. Freeland did not make that trip.

___

TikTok asks the Supreme Court for an emergency order to block a US ban unless it's sold

WASHINGTON (AP) — TikTok on Monday asked the Supreme Court to step in on an emergency basis to block the federal law that would ban the popular platform in the United States unless its China-based parent company agreed to sell it.

Lawyers for the company and China-based ByteDance urged the justices to step in before the law's Jan. 19 deadline. A similar plea was filed by content creators who rely on the platform for income and some of TikTok's more than 170 million users in the U.S.

“A modest delay in enforcing the Act will create breathing room for this Court to conduct an orderly review and the new Administration to evaluate this matter — before this vital channel for Americans to communicate with their fellow citizens and the world is closed,” lawyers for the companies told the Supreme Court.

President-elect Donald Trump, who once supported a ban but then pledged during the campaign to “save TikTok,” said his administration would take a look at the situation.

“As you know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump said during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. His campaign saw the platform as a way to reach younger, less politically engaged voters.

News from © The Associated Press, 2024