madison, wisconsin in mourning after a deadly shooting at a christian school. authorities overnight identifying the suspected shooter as a 15-year-old female student. we have the latest from the

investigation. president-elect trump defends robert f. kennedy jr. as his pick for health secretary meets with senators on capitol hill. the deepening drone mystery over the northeast. what we learn from the high-tech infrared equipment deployed by homeland security. a hawaiian woman sparked a massive search after vanishing in l.a. can tiktok stop a ban set to go in place in just over a month. we're live with the new appeal to the supreme court. did you know the bald eagle is not the national bird? thanks to the hard work of minnesota man, a bill to finally designate the bald eagle has landedn the president's desk. how the movement took flight. it's tuesday, december 17.

"early today" starts right now. good morning, i'm frances rivera. we begin with what's become an all-too-familiar occurrence in america, a school shooting. three people are dead, a student, teacher and suspected shooter who was a 15-year-old girl and student at the abundant life christian school. authorities say it appears she shot herself. police say it was a second grade student at the school who called 911 about the shooting. >> let that soak in for a minute. a second grade student called 911 at 10:57 a.m. to report a shooting at school. >> six other people were injured, including two students who are in critical condition this morning. the shooting has rattled the local community. >> well, what i heard was

ambulance, ambulance, squad car, fire engine. >> reporter: first r responder rushing to abundant life christian school in madison, wisconsin after reports of an active shooter inside. >> the protocols are simple. stop the killing, stop the dying, find out who's doing this. and the officers did this, and they did that adamantly. >> reporter: officers quickly identifying the suspected shooter, a juvenile, dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound while medics rushed to the victims, as news spreads across the community. parents scrambled to get to the k-12 campus. >> i just bolted out, drove down here, called my husband. and he made his way over here. >> reporter: nervous families directed to a reunification center just a few blocks away. students transferred there on city buses. bethany hyman's kids amonghe survivors. >> it's the world, like, that we live in. and god is good, god is gracious, and my kids are safe. my family's safe. >> reporter: safe, but, like

this community, struggling. >> the tragedy of all, what the other kids have seen, the kids saw this and heard this. i mean, right before christmas? >> reporter: the season and their city likely forever changed. jay gray, nbc news. breaking overnight, an explosion has killed the head of russia's uclear and chemical forces. lieutenant governor igor kirilov has claimed responsibility for the assassination. an agency source said he was a war criminal and absolutely legitimate target since he gave orders to use prohibitive weapons against the ukraine military. now to capitol hill where robert f. kennedy jr. became the latest trump pick to meet with senators, trying to convince lawmakers that they should

confirm him for the job of health secretary. brie jackson joins me now from d.c. good morning, brie. kennedy is facing a lot of questions about his views on vaccines. >> reporter: good morning, frances. that's right. kennedy has a long history making anti-vaccine claims. a top advisor to kennedy petitioned the fda to revoke approval of the polio vaccine. president-elect trump defended kennedy's views at a press conference at mar-a-lago. >> reporter: what do you say to people who are worried that his views on vaccines will translate into policies that will make their kids less safe? >> i think he's going to be much less radic than you think. he's going to be very much less radical, but there are problems. we don't do as well as a lot of other nations, and those nations use nothing. >> what about the polio vaccine? >> well, i'm a big believer in itit. >> reporter: and when asked by

reporters monday, rfk jr. said he does support the polio vaccine. a source familiar with the planning says kennedy will be meeting with over two dozen senators this week. senator james lankford of oklahoma wants to ask kennedy about his abortion. kennedy has previously said that abortion should be out of the hands of the government entirely, but, while running his own campaign for president, he walked back that stance, saying it should be restricted after a certain number of weeks, frances? >> brie, thank you. lawmakers are hoping to get more answers today about those mysterious drone sightings. the house intelligence committee will be briefed by the fbi and cia. this, as the federal government sent drone detectors to new jersey. nbc's tom costello is there. >> reporter: the flashing lights from thousands of reported drone sightings across the northeast may be coming into clearer focus. homeland security says infrared technology is now helping police

on the ground identify drones in the air. in new jersey, the epicenter for most drone sightings for nearly a month, lawmakers continued demanding answers. >> i won't let the federal government insult the american people and claim they aren't seeing things that they're seeing with their own two eyes. >> reporter: over the weekend, an fbi official said there had been more than 5,000 reported sightings, but only 100 warranted review. the vast majority appear to have been planes, helicopters and legitimate drone operations. though president-elect trump suggested the government or military knows more about the drones than they're saying. >> something strange is going on. for some reason, they don't want to tell the pepeople. >> we have not identified anything anomalous. or any national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in new jersey or other states in the northeast. >> reporter: meanwhile, a company specializing in drone radar, robin radar, is now working with state police in new jersey. >> how small of a target of a

drone can you identify? >> yeah, so we can, everything in radar comes down to how big it is, what's it made of. how fast is it moving? >> reporter: because drones fly so low, faa aviation radar typically doesn't spot them. most drone sightings appear to line up with airport takeoff and landing patterns, suggesting the public may be mistaking regular air traffic for drones. the faa requires they remain under 400 feet. they must stay five miles from airports and restricted areas, be in the line of sight of the drone operator, and the drone operator must have a license for larger drones. nbc news uses drones for our news gathering. according to faa regulations, we have a white strobe on top. planes have a solid red, solid

green light and a flashing red. former fbi counter drone chief, rob d'amico. >> they're 400 feet below. they have their lights on, and they can see the drone. there's nothing illegal about it. even if it's over your own property, you don't own the airspace. >> reporter: most drones have less than 30 minutes of battery life and limited range. >> it's hard to deny that there's a lot of rules out there. some people will follow them. some people won't. >> reporter: the fbi in newark is warning people, first of all, can you not shine lasers at plananes. this has been an ongoing problem for years. they've had recent recurrence of that. you cannot shoot hat what you think is a drone. let's underscore. drones are legal. they're legal to fly in daylight and in nighttime. and, if you shoot at something you think is a drone, it could end up being a plane, a helicopter, a medevac chopper or a legitimate drone, and that is a felony. it can also result in serious

injuries on the ground. >> okay, tom, thank you. hannah kobayashi, the missing woman found safe after a month long search says she had no idea about the media attention around her disappearance. in a statement released through her aunt, the 30-year-old said she returned to the u.s. from mexico on sunday. her family reported her missing on november 12th. her father later died by suicide in los angeles where he had travelled to look for her. kobayashi went on to say, quote, my focus now is on my healing, my peace and my creativity. you might want to keep an umbrella handy this morning. angie lassman is tracking another round of rain for the east coast. angie, good morning. >> an umbrella is going to be a good addition as you head out the door this morning. we've got rain across the northeast. rain stretching into the southeast. and out west we're going to gear up for a busy couple of days too. here's what we're dealing with for the east. the rain wraps up for the northeast.

we gear up for the next system that's going to leave us with the potential for snow across the midwest and rain working back towards the east coast. we'll again need those umbrellas from maine to north carolina for your day tomorrow. rainfall amounts, the highest as we look toward tennessee and nashville, and snow looks to be the highest amount for the interior areas of new england. meanwhile, out west, plenty of winter alerts for folks there as we gear up for another rain and snow event. system works on shore. this is going to leave us with the potential for flooding across washington. we'll see the cascades and rockies pick up additional snowfall, and this works its way to the east as we see drier skies for the northwest. we'll see the plains get in on this wintry mix for folks there. rainfall amounts, though, for parts of washingto low 40s for c

60s for washington, d.c. and richmond ends up at 67 degrees today. >> we'll see flu you in a bit, /- you in a bit. hall-of-famer randy moss was shouted out, after he revealed he was struggling with cancer. the bears dropped their eighth straight, 30-12. and, is your quarterback struggling to find the end zone? just play the raiders. kirk cousins finally found winning numbers in vegas, hitting drake london for his first touchdown pass since november 3rd. atlanta ends their four-game skid while the raiders drop their tenth in a row, 15-9. coming up, the bald eagle

soars toward its rightful place as our national bird, and tiktok takes its fight against a ban to the highest court. against a bano the highest court. ha ha. haha! then he switched to mucinex nightshift. mucinex is uniquely formulated to leave your system faster, so you wake up ready to go. uhh, hank! try mucinex nightshift and feel the difference. (♪♪) skincare can start in the laundry room. that's why i always recommend all free clear for sensitive skin. it's free of dyes and perfumes. it's a key part of my self-care routine. and is gentle for my skin, and her's too. for an effective clean that's gentle on skin, all you need is all free clear. mom's gonna love this! alright kids come on. it's time for bed! ( ♪♪ ) good morning, mr. snuggles. make breakfast special with the cocoa and hazelnutty goodness of nutella. ( ♪♪ ) herbal essences is a force of nature. made with supercharged botanical blends, our sulfate-free formulas deeply penetrate to boost hair health. without the salon naturals price tag.

herbal essences. tiktok is taking its fight against a looming nationwide ban to the supreme court. the company arguing that it will shutter one of the most popular speech programs. the ban will go into effect on january 19 if the justices don't side with tiktok and if the parent company doesn't sell the app. >> more developments for tiktok users in this story that just keeps on going. tiktok on monday officially appealed to the u.s. supreme court to block a ban that would see parent company bytedance forced to sell the app by january 19 or effectively ban the app in the u.s. now, tiktok has said that this would be a huge restriction of

free speech. and it comes just three days after u.s. court of appeals ruled against blocking this ban and said it would move forward with the ruling. now, all of this coincides with donald trump also meeting on monday with the ceo of tiktok, and they had this meeting where trump said that tiktok hold as close place in his heart. now this is something of an about turn for the president-elect. who, in his first term moved also to block the social media app. but it's certainly an acknowledgement of the popularity of the app and particularly among younger voters with whom he saw great gains in the last election. this timing is one day before trump's inauguration on the 20th. we'll be waiting to see whether he can make any changes there and what will be coming down the pike for tiktok. this hugely popular app. >> okay, thank you, karen. still to come, find out when you can check in, when it comes

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anything is possible. learn more at wounded warriorproject.org/connect i'm barbara and i'm from st. joseph, michigan. i'm a retired school librarian. i'm also a library board trustee, a mother of two, and a grandmother of two. about five years ago, i was working full time, i had an awful lot of things to take care of. i needed all the help i could get. i saw the commercials for prevagen. i started taking it. and it helped! i was better able to take care of all those little details.

people say to me, "barbara, you don't miss a beat." prevagen. at stores everywhere without a prescription. >> welcome to the white lotus in thailand. >> everybody runs from pressure, but they get there, only to find more pain. trouble is about to bloom again in the latest iteration of white lotus. it features wesley bibb. among the guests checking into the thailand location of the fiction am resort. it streams on max starting february 16th. and i love it. this totally changes the whole landscape of people's travel, right? once these come out. they're like, either i've been there, or i want to go to that resort. >> the last one was set in

sicily. i had been to that one, and now i know i'm going to watch this and need to go to thailand to visit. and we of course love all the drama from the show. while we can't say if this title has been changed for the better, it certainly has been changed for good. the team behind wicked revealed that the second installment of the musical adaptation is now known as wicked for good. the subtitle takes its name from the beloved balance lad from th of the musical. the film surpapassed the $500 million mark this weekend. wicked for good hits theaters november 21st, 2025. just a little under a year until that comes out, and i know fans are going to be counting the minutes. >> absolutely. if you weren't moved to tears, if the tears didn't stream for the first one, certainly this time around, especially with the lyric for "for good." so powerful and moving. up next, elon musk sets his

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here's what's making headlines this morning. the founding of ozy sentenced to nearly ten years in prison for fraud. carlos watson was found guilty in july on three charges, including wire fraud conspiracy. they say he misled investors about finances. the startup raised millions of dollars before shutting down in 2021. watson denied the allegations and plans to appeal. harvard law school has fewer black and hispanic students this year after the supreme court ended race-based admissions. only 19 black students started this fall, down from 43 last year and the lowest since the 1960s. hispanic students dropped from 63 to 39. elon musk hinted that he's

working on an e-mail service called xmail. he said it's on the list of things to do. you have ever wondered if deer are scared of thunder? yoll get the answer tonight as the thunder play the bucks. the action tips off at t-mobile arena at 8:30 tonight. we'll be right back. we'll be ri. i forgot to wash my work shirt. just wear it again! i added the unstopables now with odor blocker and it keeps our clothes fresh all day! [sniff] ooo imma be feelin it at work today. she smells so good i'm actually paying attention! smell unstopable. (background noises) hey! get off your— (donkey hee-haws) citrusy. ahhhhhhhh! (crash) show-off! (♪♪) mountaaaain dew! head & shoulders bare. clinically proven dandruff protection with just nine essential ingredients. no sulfates,

no silicones, no dyes. ♪♪ dandruff protection, minimal ingredients. job done. (♪♪) skincare can start in the laundry room. that's why i always recommend all free clear for sensitive skin. it's free of dyes and perfumes. it's a key part of my self-care routine. and is gentle for my skin, and her's too. for an effective clean that's gentle on skin, all you need is all free clear. the eagle has officially landed on president biden's desk. congress passed d a bill last night to make the bald eagle the country's national bird. and, if you're shocked that it wasn't already, you're not the only one. ryan nobles tells us how the

change took flight. >> reporter: on the banks of the mississippi, a sleepy town in minnesota has a unique tie to one of america's most iconic symbols. >> i've been wrong all these years, and so has everybody else in the country. >> reporter: at least they were you shocked to find out it wasn't already the national bird. >> yes. i think everybody was shocked. >> reporter: the great eagle is featured on the seal of the united states. but it's never officially been named the national bird. >> my teacher told me it was. >> we might need to rewrite a few textbooks. >> reporter: we have a national tree, national mammal, even a national flower, and yet the eagle has never received its official title. but in wabasha, it was one man, preston cook, who discovered the omission while researching for a book and is working to fix it. >> if ask you the question to anybody on the street, they're going to give you the same

answer. it's the bald eagle. >> reporter: we have no national bird, right? >> we have never had a national bird. >> reporter: to put it mildly, cook is obsessed with the bald eagle. >> if it had an eagle on it, i'd buy it. >> reporter: starting in 1966, preston collected nything he could with an eagle on it. his collection has grown to more than 40,000 pieces. >> we see more than an eagle. we see freedom. we see independence. we see power. >> reporter: so preston set out on a mission, partnering with wabasha's national eagle center, he wrote a bill that makes the eagle the national bird. >> preston brought that up to us years ago. and it was like, come on preston, you're kidding me. >> reporter: in late july, the senate passed the bill 100-0, a rare feat. and today the house passed the bill as well. it is finally getting the status it has earned.

wabasha, minnesota. >> preston's going to help that eagle fly, eagle fly. coming up later this morning often "today", vicky nguyen has last-minute holiday tips. this morning on the third hour of "today", an end of the financial year checkup. plus the new film the six triple eight. and shrimp on the menu on the third hour of "today". thanks for being with me lla.

stay right there. more news on the way. re news on. a student and teacher dead this morning after another school shooting. this time in madison, wisconsin. police saying the suspected