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(WILLINGBORO TOWNSHIP, NJ) — A 32-year-old woman has been arrested after allegedly bludgeoning her mother to death inside her own home, officials said.

Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw and Willingboro Township Police Chief Ian S. Bucs announced that Breanna Beacham — who was temporarily staying at her mother’s residence on Hopewell Lane in Willingboro Township — was charged on Tuesday with killing her mother in the victim’s home in the Hawthorne Park neighborhood.

“Police were called to the residence just before 4 p.m. for a report of an assault in progress,” according to a statement from the Burlington County prosecutor’s office on Tuesday. “Upon arrival, investigators discovered the body of Kim Beacham-Hanson, 57.”

The preliminary investigation determined that she had been bludgeoned to death, officials said.

“An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood concluded her death was a homicide that was caused by multiple blunt injuries,” according to the Burlington County prosecutor’s office.

Beacham was taken into custody at the home early Tuesday evening and lodged in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly pending a detention hearing in Superior Court. The case will now be prepared for presentation to a grand jury for possible indictment.

Breanna Beacham has now been charged with first degree murder, third degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and fourth degree unlawful possession of a weapon .

The motive for the attack remains under investigation.

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(MADISON, WI) — Police are investigating the online footprint of 15-year-old Abundant Life Christian School shooting suspect Natalie Rupnow — who went by Samantha — as they piece together the course of events that left three people dead, Rupnow among them.

Meanwhile, numerous schools in the Madison Metropolitan School District “were targeted by false threats often known as swatting” Tuesday, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told reporters at a news conference.

Police are investigating, Barnes said, and he noted authorities do not believe there are any current threats. “Making false threats is a crime, and we are working with the district attorney,” he said.

Barnes said police are still working to establish a motive for Monday’s deadly shooting, suggesting there were multiple factors.

Police are talking to students to determine if bullying was one, he said. “Everyone was targeted in this incident and everyone was put in equal danger,” Barnes added.

Barnes said police are also investigating Rupnow’s online activity. The police chief urged anyone who knew her or had insights into her feelings to call Madison Area Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014.

One teacher and one student were killed in the Monday morning shooting, which took place inside a classroom during a study hall “full of students from multiple grade levels.”

Two other students remain in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. Three students and a teacher suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Rupnow died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound before law enforcement arrived, police said. Officers did not fire their weapons.

Rupnow’s parents are cooperating with the investigation, Barnes told ABC News on Tuesday.

“They were cooperative. Despite this tragedy, they still lost a child. They still lost a member of their family,” Barnes said.

“It is certain that they have probably more questions than anyone because they knew her,” he said. “They lived with her and so we wanted to get an account from them of what kind of child she was.”

Her father is being questioned by investigators, Barnes said. He said he didn’t know whether the mother had been questioned, noting that she’s been out of town.

A candlelight vigil was held Tuesday night at the state capitol for the victims of the shooting.

“Yesterday, the Madison community experienced a terrible and traumatic event,” Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said at the vigil. “We will never be the same, but we will get through this. And we will get through this together by relying on each other and taking care of each other.”

The victims have not been publicly identified. Rhodes-Conway told reporters during the news conference that they are respecting the privacy of the victims’ families and will “share what we can when we can and not before that.”

“Let them grieve. Let them recover. Let them heal,” she said.

Students in kindergarten through 12th grade attend the Christian school.

“I was in the hallway, and I was changing from my shoes to my boots to go to lunch because I have recess after, but then I heard the shooting and screams,” a girl in second-grade told Chicago ABC station WLS.

James Smith told ABC News his 17-year-old daughter was in physics class at the time gunshots rang out two classrooms away. She wasn’t hurt.

Smith said Abundant Life Christian School welcomes students who may have been bullied or had a tough time at other schools.

“We, as a school, desire to help those who are having troubles, to be able to provide a safe space for them to grow, at the same time balance across a safe space for the rest of our student body,” he said.

Smith also said the school’s population grew dramatically post-pandemic as many parents sought an alternative to public schools.

In the wake of Monday’s shooting, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are urging elected officials to combat gun violence.

Biden in a statement called the shooting “shocking and unconscionable,” and he mentioned his administration’s efforts to combat the gun violence epidemic in the U.S., including the implementation of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

Biden asked Congress to pass “commonsense” gun safety laws, including universal background checks, a national red flag law and a ban on both assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

“It is unacceptable that we are unable to protect our children from this scourge of gun violence,” Biden said, adding, “We cannot continue to accept it as normal.”

“It’s another school shooting, another community being torn about and torn apart by gun violence,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in remarks Tuesday. “And of course, our nation mourns for those who were killed, and we pray for the recovery of those who are injured and for the entire community.”

Harris, who played a role in the Biden administration’s efforts to combat gun violence, stressed, “We as a nation must renew our commitment to end the horror of gun violence, both mass shootings and everyday gun violence that touches so many communities in our nation.”

“We must end it, and we must be committed to have the courage to know that solutions are in hand, but we need elected leaders to have the courage to step up and do the right thing,” she said.

ABC News’ Alex Perez, Briana Stewart and Molly Nagle contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — A backyard in Orange County, New York, became the site of an incredible discovery of a complete mastodon jaw — the first find like it in New York in more than 11 years.

The jaw, along with a piece of a toe bone and a rib fragment, was uncovered near Scotchtown by researchers from the New York State Museum and SUNY Orange.

The discovery began when a homeowner spotted two teeth sticking out of the dirt under a plant. After digging a little deeper, they found two more teeth just below the surface. Realizing the find might be something special, the homeowner called in experts, and soon a full excavation was underway.

“When I found the teeth and held them in my hands, I knew they were something special,” said the homeowner. “I’m so excited that our yard had something so important for science.”

The team of researchers uncovered a well-preserved jaw belonging to an adult mastodon, an ancient relative of today’s elephants. The jaw will now be studied to figure out how old it is, what the mastodon ate and what its life was like during the Ice Age.

“This jaw is an amazing discovery,” said Dr. Robert Feranec, an expert from the New York State Museum. “Fossils like this help us learn about ancient ecosystems and give us clues about how the world has changed over time.”

Orange County has been a great place to find mastodon fossils. In fact, about one-third of the 150 mastodon fossils found in New York have come from this area.

Dr. Cory Harris from SUNY Orange said they hope to keep digging in the area to see if there are more bones waiting to be found.

“The jaw is the most exciting part, but the toe and rib fragments might also help us learn more about this animal,” Dr. Harris explained.

The jaw will eventually be displayed at the New York State Museum in 2025, after scientists finish their research, according to Michael Mastroianni, a leader at the museum.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Washington Commanders may be one step closer to returning to their old stadium in Washington, D.C. after congressional leaders included a provision in the short-term government funding bill released Tuesday to transfer the jurisdiction of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium site from the federal government to local District of Columbia authorities.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser celebrated the provision, calling it a “giant step forward” and that she is “looking to the future of a field of possibilities.”

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Tenn.) said in a statement Tuesday the legislation “will unlock the district’s full potential, generate meaningful new jobs, and add millions in additional city revenue for the nation’s capital.”

He added, “Now is the time to get the federal government out of the way and empower local officials to clean up the RFK site, invest and create new economic opportunities.”

This provision would allow the Commanders to negotiate the construction of a new stadium where the RFK site is located.

The measure comes after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Commanders Managing Partner Josh Harris met with leaders on Capitol Hill regarding the stadium proposal earlier this month.

The Washington football team played at the RFK site in D.C. for decades before moving to nearby Landover, Maryland, in a newly built stadium in the late 1990s. Since then, RFK Stadium has fallen into disrepair.

While a potential move for the Commanders would be a big loss for Maryland, the government funding bill included major wins for the state including the transfer of fighter jets — the D.C. Air National Guard squadron — and full federal funding to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Both chambers of Congress are expected to vote on the funding bill this week to avert a government shutdown.

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The first Harvard Law class admitted into the university since the Supreme Court effectively ended affirmative action at U.S. colleges last year is significantly less diverse, with a steep decline in Black and Hispanic student enrollment, according to data reported by The Harvard Crimson.

According to the data, which was reported to the American Bar Association, Harvard Law’s J.D. Class of 2027 includes 19 Black students, as opposed to 43 students the previous year – with enrollment dropping by more than half. Enrollment of Hispanic students also steeply declined, with 32 students admitted into the class of 2027, compared with 63 the previous year.

Meanwhile, enrollment of Asian students increased from 103 to 132 students in the class of 2027.

ABC News reached out to representatives at Harvard University and Harvard Law for comment and to learn the total student enrollment for the class of 2027, but requests were not immediately returned.

Jeff Neal, a spokesperson for Harvard Law, told ABC News in a statement on Tuesday that following the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling last year, it was “understood that the decision would impact, in ways that could not be fully anticipated, the ability of educational institutions across the nation, including law schools, to attract and admit a diverse cohort of students.” But Neal added that conclusions that can be drawn from a single year of data are “necessarily limited.”

“We continue to believe that a student body composed of persons with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences is a vital component of legal education,” Neal said. “Harvard Law School remains committed both to following the law and to fostering an on-campus community and a legal profession that reflect numerous dimensions of human experience.”

ABC News reached out to representatives of Harvard University for additional comment.

The ruling stemmed from two cases regarding the admissions programs at both Harvard and the University of North Carolina, where the court ruled in an opinion with a conservative majority that both programs violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan dissented in the two cases, but Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented in only the UNC case – having served on the Board of overseers at Harvard, her alma mater – she recused herself in the final Harvard case vote.

Prior to the blockbuster ruling, affirmative action had been used by U.S. colleges and universities for decades to diversify campuses and address issues of inequality. Its constitutionality was repeatedly upheld by the Supreme Court prior to the June 2023 ruling, as long as a student’s race is only one of the factors that was considered during the admissions process.

According to the Harvard Crimson, the Supreme Court’s decision led to a change in Harvard Law School’s admissions process, where applicants were required to submit a “Statement of Purpose” and “Statement of Perspective” – as opposed to a personal statement – where they were asked to “share how your experiences, background, and/or interests have shaped you.”

Sean Wynn, President of the Harvard Black Law Students Association, shared a statement with ABC News on Tuesday on behalf of the HBLSA that emphasizes the historical contributions of Black J.D.’s in shaping Harvard Law, as well as the community’s notable contributions to the U.S. legal system.

“The African-American experience has always been intimately tied to the development of American law, often playing a role in both its most maligned and most revered moments. Making sense of this jarring corpus with a smaller community is a tall order in and of itself, made even more difficult with the added expectation that these students provide a ‘Black perspective’ in class discussions,” the statement added. “The demographic shift places significant pressure on those few Black students present to represent the Black community, in all its variety and complexity, during conversations about the law.”

The statement also called on Harvard law and law schools around the country to “take immediate action to ensure the democratization of legal education,” stating that the decline in Black student enrollment at the law school “has broken something fundamental about the experience of attending this law school.”

ABC News’ Devin Dwyer contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — President-elect Donald Trump slammed the judge in his criminal hush money case Tuesday, a day after the judge refused to dismiss Trump’s conviction on the grounds of presidential immunity.

New York Judge Juan Merchan on Monday rejected Trump’s request to vacate the verdict in the case based on the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision.

Trump had sought to dismiss his criminal indictment and vacate the jury verdict on the grounds that prosecutors, during the trial earlier this year, introduced evidence relating to Trump’s official acts as president that was inadmissible based on the Supreme Court’s subsequent ruling that Trump is entitled to presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts undertaken while in office.

“Acting Justice Juan Merchan has completely disrespected the United States Supreme Court, and its Historic Decision on Immunity,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Tuesday, calling Merchan’s ruling, without evidence, “completely illegal.”

Merchan, in his ruling, determined that the evidence in the case related “entirely to unofficial conduct” and “poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the Executive Branch.”

The judge “wrote an opinion that is knowingly unlawful, goes against our Constitution, and, if allowed to stand, would be the end of the Presidency as we know it,” Trump wrote in his post.

Trump was found guilty in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.

Judge Merchan has postponed Trump’s sentencing indefinitely following Trump’s reelection last month.

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