The Short List

Tue Dec 17 2024

Laura L. Davis | Audience Editor

@lauradavis

Officials in Wisconsin are looking for answers after a deadly school shooting. Hannah Kobayashi said she was unaware of the media coverage surrounding her disappearance. And a bomb hidden in a scooter killed a Russian nuclear commander.

👋 Hey, there! Laura Davis here. Hope you're having a good day so far! Here's Tuesday's news.

But first: From an elk channeling its inner soccer star to a bear on a mission for snacks, wild animals' antics are so wild sometimes, you almost wouldn't believe it. Fortunately for us, some seriously hilarious hijinks have been caught on camera. See the year's top moments.

What happened in Wisconsin?

A day after police say a 15-year-old girl opened fire at a private Christian school in Wisconsin, killing a classmate and a teacher and injuring six others, investigators worked Tuesday to identify a motive and learn how the teen suspect obtained a gun.

What happened? A "combination of factors" seem to have motivated the deadly shooting, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said Tuesday. Finding a motive was the agency's "top priority," he said, urging anyone who knew the 15-year-old suspect to come forward, especially if they know "what she was going through or feeling" before the shooting. The suspect died on the way to a local hospital from what police believe to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

What we know: The shooting took place Monday morning in a classroom during a study hall at Abundant Life Christian School, a K-12 school that serves about 400 students. Of the six who were injured, two students remained in critical condition with life-threatening injuries as of Monday night. 👉 Follow our live updates.

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Law enforcement officers at the scene of a shooting Monday, December 16, 2024, at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin.

Mark Hoffman

Woman who went missing speaks out

Hannah Kobayashi, the Maui woman who went missing in Los Angeles in November, says she is "still processing it all" after she returned to the United States on Sunday.

What she said: Kobayashi said in a statement provided by her aunt, Larie Pidgeon, that she was "unaware of everything that was happening in the media" during her disappearance.

What happened? The 30-year-old had been presumed missing after missing a flight at Los Angeles International Airport, prompting a massive search. Officials said she had been seen crossing the border into Mexico on Nov. 12, but remained missing until she was located by family on Dec. 11. 👉 Read her full statement.

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Canada's finance minister quits

The sudden resignation of Canada's finance minister leaves Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government adrift less than a month before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who's threatened crippling sanctions on Canadian exports.

An abrupt resignation: After Trudeau offered her a lesser position, Chrystia Freeland quit on Monday, saying Trudeau's wish to increase spending could endanger Canada's ability to withstand the damage done by the tariffs Trump is threatening to impose. Freeland was the head of a special Cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations and had been working closely with the 10 provinces to ensure a united response. 👉 What's next for Canada?

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland quit rather than take a demotion after she opposed Trudeau's plans for more government spending.

Blair Gable, REUTERS

Bomb kills Russian nuke commander

A Russian general accused of using chemical weapons in Ukraine was killed Tuesday by what officials described as a bomb hidden in a scooter outside a Moscow apartment building.

What to know: There was no public claim of responsibility for the blast that killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, a Russian general in charge of the country's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense Forces, and his assistant – but Ukraine media reports suggest it was a rare targeted assassination carried out by Kyiv.

Who was Kirillov? A controversial figure in the West, Kirillov was sanctioned by the United Kingdom over allegations he oversaw the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine as part of Russia's invasion. He was sentenced in absentia on Monday by a Ukrainian court over the use of banned chemical weapons. 👉 Here's what we know.

A break from the news

•	💝 Is it rude to regift? Here's the answer.
•	🤷‍♀️ Ask HR: How do companies enforce attendance policies?
•	🏝️ Check in to one of these family-friendly resorts with private beaches.

Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Say hi sometime! laura@usatoday.com. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to USA TODAY here.