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Entertainment

In brief: ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’ finds its directors and more

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse has found its directors. The third film in the popular Sony Animation Spider-Verse trilogy will be directed by Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson, the studio announced Tuesday. Both men worked in pivotal roles on the first two films of the trilogy. While the plot of the film is still being kept under wraps, they promise that they “have crafted what we feel is a very satisfying ending, and we can’t wait for fans to experience it – we’re bringing everything we’ve got!” according to Deadline

ABC News Studios is putting out the first documentary about Luigi Mangione, the alleged shooter of Brian Thompson, the UnitedHealthcare CEO. The one-hour special Manhunt: Luigi Mangione and the CEO Murder — A Special Edition of 20/20 will air Thursday at 10 p.m. ET on ABC. It will also be available to stream the next day on Hulu. The special features an exclusive voice recording of Mangione, where he discusses his travels through Asia, according to Variety

Dustin Hoffman, André Holland, Alison Brie and Tom Sturridge are coming together to lead Alex Vlack‘s directorial debut film, The Revisionist. Deadline reports that the drama film, which is currently filming in Louisville, Kentucky, follows a novelist who transforms the people in her life into the characters she needs for her story …

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National

US announces multiple transfers out of Guantanamo

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

(GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA) — The U.S. Department of Defense on Wednesday announced the transfer of two detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, bringing the total announced departures to three detainees in the last 24 hours.

Mohammed Farik bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir bin Lep, who are both Malaysians, are being sent to their home country to serve the remainder of a five year sentence imposed in June, the Pentagon said in a press release. Officials had announced the transfer of Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu to Kenya on Tuesday.

There are now 27 detainees at Guantanamo, 15 of whom are eligible for a transfer out of the detention facility.

The two detainees whose transfers were announced Wednesday had previously been brought before a Military Commission, where they pleaded guilty to multiple offenses, including murder in violation of the law of war, the Pentagon said.

Both had agreed prior to their trials to testify against Encep Nurjaman, who the U.S. described as the alleged mastermind behind al-Qaeda attacks in Bali, Indonesia, in 2002, and in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2003, the Pentagon said.

“On June 13, 2024, in accordance with the pretrial agreements, the Convening Authority approved sentences of confinement for approximately five years for each and recommended that both men be repatriated or transferred to a third-party sovereign nation to serve the remainder of the approved sentence,” the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

In announcing the transfer of Bajabu to Kenya on Tuesday, the Pentagon said that a review board had found that his detention was “no longer necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the national security of the United States.”

He was released to the Kenyan government, the U.S. said.

“The United States appreciates the support to ongoing U.S. efforts toward a deliberate and thorough process focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility,” the Pentagon said.

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World news

Russia detains suspect in Moscow blast that killed general

Sefa Karacan/Anadolu via Getty Images

(LONDON) — Russian investigators detained a 29-year-old citizen of Uzbekistan in connection with Tuesday’s assassination of a general in Moscow, an attack in a residential neighborhood for which Ukraine claimed credit.

Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov was killed by an explosive device that appears to have been hidden in a parked scooter and set off by remote control, Russian state-affiliated media TASS reported. The explosion also killed an aide accompanying him.

Kirillov was the head of Russia’s radiation, chemical and biological protection troops. Sources told ABC News that the Security Service of Ukraine was behind the killing. Kirillov is the most senior Russian military official assassinated by Ukraine.

The suspect, whose name has not been released, had been recruited by Ukrainian intelligence officers, Russian police said as they announced the arrest.

“On their instructions, he arrived in Moscow and received an improvised explosive device,” police said. “He placed it on an electric scooter, which he parked at the entrance of the apartment building where Igor Kirillov lived.”

The suspect had used a carshare to rent a car and installed a video camera in the vehicle, which was then parked near where the blast went off, police said.

“The footage from this camera was broadcast online to the organizers of the terrorist attack in the city of Dnipro,” Russia’s Investigative Committee said. “After a video signal was received about the exit of the servicemen from the entrance, the explosive device was remotely activated by them.”

Russia’s internal intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service, or FSB, released a video of a man who they said was the suspect. In the footage, which aired on Russian state TV, the man appears to confess to the killing, saying he had been hired by Ukraine, according to the FSB.

Russia claimed the suspect had been offered payment of $100,000, along with an agreement that he would be given a European passport.

President Vladimir Putin offered condolences on Wednesday for those who were killed, according to the Kremlin. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the country’s law enforcement and intelligence services had been “working effectively.”

“It is once again confirmed that the Kyiv regime does not disdain terrorist methods of work,” Peskov said. “We clearly understand who our enemy is, what he is capable of, and this is once again proven by our actions during the special military operation.”

ABC News’ Joseph Simonetti, Helena Skinner, David Brennan and Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.

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National

What to know about Wisconsin’s gun laws after school shooting

Scott Olson/Getty Images

(MADISON, WI) — Wisconsin has a number of firearm-related laws in effect that limit access for children and individuals with a history of violence, even restricting individuals under 18 from possessing guns, according to state laws.

As many questions remain unanswered in the investigation into why a 15-year-old girl allegedly opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, killing a student and teacher, before apparently taking her own life, according to authorities. Police have not yet revealed whether they have uncovered the motive behind the attack.

Two students were hospitalized in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, while another three students and a teacher suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.

While police say it remains unclear how the shooter obtained the gun used in the shooting, there are a number of state laws regulating firearms that could be relevant as law enforcement continues its investigation.

Wisconsin state law prohibits anyone under the age of 18 from possessing a firearm.

The state has a child access prevention law in place that deems a gun owner guilty of misdemeanor if a child under 14 obtains a firearm without lawful permission from a parent or guardian or if the child discharges the firearm causing bodily harm to anyone.

Criminal penalties do not apply if the gun is securely locked or secured with a trigger lock.

Police said they are not currently looking to charge the shooter’s parents in connection with the deadly shooting.

The state does not have any laws in place that require unattended firearms to be stored a certain way and it does not require that a locking device be sold with a firearm. State laws do not require firearm owners to lock their weapons.

Wisconsin does not require background checks for gun purchases, except to obtain a concealed carry license.

While Wisconsin does not have an extreme risk protection law in place — which would strip individuals of their right to possess arms temporarily if they pose a risk to themselves or others — there are some categories of people who cannot legally possess guns.

Local leaders have called for stronger gun laws with Madison’s mayor stressing the need for gun violence prevention and saying she wants the community and country to make sure “no public official ever has to stand in this position again.”

“I hoped that this day would never come in Madison,” Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said.

Jill Underly, Wisconsin’s superintendent of public instruction, also emphasized the need for change, saying in a statement, “This tragedy is a stark reminder that we must do more to protect our children and our educators to ensure that such horrors never happen again. We will not rest until we find solutions that make our schools safe.”

Anyone convicted of a felony in Wisconsin, convicted of a crime in another state that is a felony in Wisconsin or been found not guilty of a felony by reason of “mental disease or defect” is prohibited from possessing a firearm, according to the Wisconsin Legislative Council’s memorandum on gun laws.

Federal law also prohibits anyone who is a fugitive from justice or someone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing firearms.

Anyone involuntarily committed for mental illness, drug dependance or alcohol dependence is also prohibited from possessing a firearm, according the the memorandum. Anyone adjudicated incompetent by a court in a guardianship proceeding or was ordered into protective placement is also prohibited from possessing a gun.

People subject to certain temporary restraining orders relating to abuse — domestic abuse, child abuse, individual at risk and harassment — are also prohibited from possessing firearms under state law. But the law has a limited scope and does not apply to everyone who has a restraining order against them.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Business

Bitcoin soars on hopes of bitcoin strategic reserve. Here’s how it would work.

Chesnot/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — The price of bitcoin topped $107,000 for the first time this week, climbing to a fresh high days after President-elect Donald Trump reaffirmed support for a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve akin to its strategic oil reserve.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency has seen its price climb more than 50% since the election of Trump, who voiced support for bitcoin on the campaign trail.

Proponents of a potential government stockpile of bitcoin say it could diversify the nation’s financial holdings and prevent other countries from dominating the ascendant digital currency market. Critics warn, however, that the highly volatile asset lacks the type of financial or national security import that would warrant a strategic reserve.

Here’s what to know about a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve, according to experts:

How would a bitcoin strategic reserve work?

A U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve would amount to a substantial government holding of bitcoin similar to the country’s stockpile of oil or gold.

A strategic reserve typically acts as a safeguard against an emergency shortage or another sudden event that would require the government to draw upon its stockpile of a given asset.

For instance, the strategic petroleum reserve, or SPR, was established after the Arab Oil Embargo triggered an energy crisis in the early 1970s with devastating consequences for the U.S. economy. The SPR, in turn, provides an emergency source of oil that protects the U.S. against a sudden supply crunch.

A bitcoin strategic reserve would help ensure the U.S. plays a significant role in the cryptocurrency market, which supporters view as a fast-growing part of the global financial system, Nik Bhatia, a professor of finance and business economics at the University of Southern California who studies cryptocurrency, told ABC News.

“Bitcoin has now become the largest decentralized asset in human history,” Bhatia said.

“Having some ownership in the network would be natural for the U.S. given its leadership in technology,” Bhatia added, citing the nation’s role in the invention of the internet.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of a bitcoin strategic reserve?

Speaking at a pro-bitcoin conference in July, Trump said a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve would ensure the country exerts influence over bitcoin and prevents China from controlling the digital currency market.

Supporters of a bitcoin strategic reserve also say the asset would help diversify the nation’s financial holdings, protecting it from the potential decline in value of other assets, such as the U.S. dollar or gold.

Some proponents have said bitcoin holdings could help the U.S. pay down its national debt, since the price of bitcoin has recently climbed.

“While U.S. adversaries acquire traditional gold from a position of relative financial weakness, the U.S. can countermove by stockpiling digital gold in a way that amplifies its incumbent financial strength,” the Bitcoin Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank that supports a bitcoin strategic reserve, said earlier this year.

Some critics say bitcoin, launched 15 years ago, remains a relatively new asset lacking the kind of social utility or financial import that would necessitate a strategic reserve.

“You’re going to be hard pressed to say someone needs bitcoin the day-to-day way that they need petroleum,” Ananya Kumar, deputy director for future of money at the GeoEconomics Center, a part of the nonpartisan Atlantic Council, told ABC News.

Since the price of bitcoin is highly volatile, a large purchase of the asset could end up threatening the nation’s financial stability rather than safeguarding it, some critics say.

When asked about forecasts of future bitcoin gains that could ease the nation’s debt, Kumar says the long-term outlook for bitcoin remains uncertain. “The coin’s price has obviously been rising over time, but I’m not sure if that rise will continue,” Kumar said.

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Politics

Democrats’ playbook to beat Republicans: work with them now

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson talks to President-elect Donald Trump as they attend the 125th Army-Navy football game Dec. 14, 2024, in Landover, Maryland. (Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — Democrats have a plan to take back power in Washington back from Republicans in two years: work with them now.

Democrats, who are already planning their comeback after being swept out of power in Washington last month, have said they’ll oppose President-elect Donald Trump and his allies when their values collide but are open to cooperation on a range of issues, including immigration, federal spending and entitlements.

The strategy marks a turnaround from 2017, when “resistance” to Trump was Democrats’ rallying cry. But, some lawmakers and operatives said, it also marks a challenge to Republicans for bipartisanship at a time when narrow GOP congressional majorities will likely mandate some level of cooperation.

“People want to see government work, and we’re going to hold Republicans accountable for whether they’re willing to help move things forward for the American people. So, if they aren’t, then absolutely, that will impact them at the ballot box,” said Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., who led House Democrats’ campaign arm this year and will do so again for the 2026 midterms.

“I think we are telling them that we’re here to govern,” DelBene added. “And I guess the question is, are they serious about governing?”

Republicans are cobbling together an aggressive agenda that would extend Trump-era tax cuts, implement strict border measures and more once they take office next month. The efforts will either be split into two measures or combined into one — but Republicans’ intention is to pass them in a way that wouldn’t need to meet the 60-vote Senate filibuster rule.

However, for the rest of the upcoming 119th Congress, Republicans will have a 220-215 House majority, once vacancies are filled and barring any absences, and only 53 seats in the Senate, short of the 60 needed to unilaterally pass most legislation.

Democrats have already proposed potential areas of cooperation, even as they lick their wounds from a disappointing election and view Trump as anathema to many of their core beliefs.

“To win in 2026 and beyond, Democrats must focus on building an economic message centered on good-paying jobs and revitalizing manufacturing,” California Rep. Ro Khanna said. “But we have a responsibility now to try and find areas of common ground where we can deliver for Americans. I believe that starts with reducing the Pentagon’s oversized defense budget while strongly opposing any cuts to programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.”

“We are very open to working with the Trump administration,” added Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, the Democratic Governors Association chair. “But no doubt if there are things that they push us to do that that we think are wrong, legal, anything like that, we’ll draw the line.”

That attitude will leave Democrats, especially in purple states and districts, with some leverage — either to shape legislation, as they say they plan, or to hammer Republicans as obstinate, operatives said.

It’s very possible battleground Democrats are at times taken up on offers for bipartisanship or are made themselves to accept offers. Both chambers have their share of moderate Republicans, too, including Reps. Mike Lawler New York and David Valadao of California, and Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

But each chamber also boasts some Republican hardliners who view bipartisanship as a four-letter word and a sign that a piece of legislation isn’t conservative enough.

“This is how these battleground Democrats are anyway, but I think it will manifest itself in, ‘Take me up on this offer, let’s go.’ And if you don’t, then, ‘OK, I can work with that, too,'” said one Democratic strategist working on House races. “I think for a battleground Democrat, it’s a win-win approach. You have the possibility of working on a bill and a law which you can say, ‘I delivered,’ or you create receipts to bring back to voters to say, ‘I kept on trying.'”

However, some Democrats warned, the party must balance cooperation, even if just offering it, with attacks.

The base still finds Trump — and Republicans in Congress with similar brands — abhorrent, and the results in 2026 will be largely fueled by voter attitudes about the GOP’s control in Washington.

In 2018, Democrats took back the House in a wave largely fueled among their voters by antipathy for Trump. Capitalizing on that frustration could be key again, strategists told ABC News.

“The opportunity to work in a bipartisan way, to increase your own bipartisan credentials becomes very important,” said Dan Sena, the executive director of House Democrats’ campaign arm in 2018. “I just think it’s important at large for the caucus to pay attention to the fact that ultimately, in two years from now, the Republican trifecta is going to get a thumb up or a thumb down from the country, and that’s ultimately going to dictate who has control of House.”

“If I were the Democrats at large,” Sena added, “I would be pretty aggressive in holding the Republicans and then the Trump administration accountable.”

Still, nearly all Democrats agreed that the party should wage a two-pronged strategy, including both cooperation and criticism, and that each will go hand in hand when Democrats find themselves either in congressional majorities next month or having to deal with a Republican president even as they lead their states as governors.

“I think this openness to working with them is less that you are going to see actual collaboration, I think it’s that people are trying to set themselves up to have some credibility in other spaces to be against stuff that they’re doing,” said one former Democratic House aide. “It carries more weight and legitimacy if you’re someone who’s open minded to working with them, and then they take a hard right and you speak out.”

Either way, Democrats are ready to pounce heading into 2026, when both chambers of Congress and 36 governorships will be up for grabs.

“In politics, it’s always the right move to extend a hand,” said Jared Leopold, a Democratic strategist and former DGA staffer. “And if somebody chooses to slap you in the face instead, you better make sure you catch it on camera.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

National

Woman bludgeons mother to death inside her own home: Police

Burlington County prosecutor’s office

(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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National

Abundant Life Christian School shooting latest: Local schools report ‘false threats’

Scott Olson/Getty Images

(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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World news

A dozen people found dead inside restaurant at popular ski resort

Twelve people are dead at after their bodies were found inside a restaurant at a ski resort in the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia, authorities said. (Facebook / Gudauri Ski Resort)

(LONDON) — Twelve people are dead at after their bodies were found inside a restaurant at a popular ski resort in the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia, authorities said.

The Mtskheta-Mtianeti Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Georgia said that the bodies were discovered in Gudauri — a popular and well-known ski resort near the Russian border located approximately 75 miles north of the country’s capital city of Tbilisi.

“In the resting area on the second floor of the Indian restaurant located in Gudauri, the bodies of 12 people employed in the same facility were found,” Georgian officials said in a statement. “At the initial inspection, no signs of body injuries or signs of violence were detected.”

However, according to a preliminary, authorities discovered that a power generator had been placed in a closed space within an indoor area of the resort near some bedrooms. An investigation under Article 116 of the Criminal Code of Georgia has been launched, suggesting that the deaths were due to negligent manslaughter.

Out of the 12 deceased individuals, 11 are citizens of foreign countries, while one is a Georgian citizen.

“Investigative actions are actively being carried out, forensic – criminalistics are working on the spot, interviews of persons related to the case are being conducted,” authorities said. “Forensic medical examination has also been appointed to determine the exact cause of death.”

“Gudauri ski resort is the largest and most modern ski resort in Georgia, with a well-developed infrastructure that includes the highest level of access in Georgia, with limitless opportunities for freestyle and skiing in an open environment,” the resort’s website says. “The resort is the highest alpine settlement along the Georgian Military Road, also known as the ancient name “Sky Ravine Road”. Gudauri is a permanent settlement in one of the five highest points in Europe and attracts mountain lovers all over the world.”

The investigation into the deaths is currently ongoing.

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National

Prehistoric mastodon jaw found in backyard of New York home

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. (New York State Museum)

(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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