By SCOTT BAUER

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A coalition of Wisconsin school districts, teachers’ unions, advocacy groups, parents, students and others announced a lawsuit Tuesday against the state Legislature, alleging that it’s failing to adequately fund public schools.

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The lawsuit, filed Monday in Eau Claire County Circuit Court, argues that schools are in crisis, with high-needs students facing the greatest risk. It asks the court to adopt a new finance system that meets the needs of districts unless the Legislature and governor enact one first “in a timely fashion.”

School funding lawsuits have been brought for decades in states across the country with varying degrees of success.

Fights over how and whether to reshape Wisconsin’s complex school finance system have usually taken place in the Statehouse. Now it will move to the courthouse, where this challenge will almost certainly end up before the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court.

In 2000, the last time the state’s school funding formula was challenged, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the system as constitutional. But attorneys argue that so much has changed since then that a new challenge was warranted.

The lawsuit comes as Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the Republican-controlled Legislature have been negotiating tapping the state’s $2.5 billion surplus to cut taxes and potentially increase funding for schools.

As recently as 2003, the state paid two-thirds of the cost of each student’s education. But now districts are paying about half the costs.

Evers, a former state schools superintendent, angered Republicans in 2023 when he used the governor’s extensive veto powers to ensure that districts can increase per-pupil spending annually for the next 400 years. However, without increased funding from the state, districts are forced to raise property taxes.

And when schools can’t raise enough under the allowable spending limits to meet expenses, they have been increasingly asking voters to increase property taxes to fund their local district.

In 2024, a record-high 241 referendums were put before voters for approval to fund schools, with 169 approved, according to the Wisconsin Policy Institute.

Anger over the most recent property tax bills, mailed in December, has motivated lawmakers and Evers to try and enact a property tax cut this year. They have yet to reach a deal.

The lawsuit also blames a drop in Wisconsin student testing scores over the past two decades with inadequate funding. Wisconsin has long been the state with the widest achievement gap between white and non-white students.

Leah Hover-Preiss, a teacher in the Adams-Friendship School District and a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said that she has seen the impact of inadequate funding in the classroom through increased class sizes, reduced support for teachers, fewer opportunities for students and a lack of mental health services.

“In order to best support students and families, our schools need strong and stable funding from the state,” she said.

The lawsuit alleges that the state is violating the Wisconsin Constitution’s requirement that all children be provided with an equal opportunity for a sound, basic and uniform education.

It also argues that the constitutional rights of students with high needs is not being met and cannot be met unless the Legislature changes the public school finance system and increases funding for them. The lawsuit further contends that the current special education reimbursement rate is unconstitutionally deficient.

“When schools are underfunded, students lose opportunities and communities suffer,” said Jeff Mandell, president and general counsel at Law Forward that brought the lawsuit in partnership with the statewide teachers’ union. “Supporting public education isn’t just good policy – it’s a legal and moral obligation.”

The Wisconsin PTA is taking lead on the lawsuit and is joined by 18 others individuals and entities, including school districts in Beloit, Green Bay, Eau Claire, Adams-Friendship and Necedah. Other parties include teachers unions in Beloit, Eau Claire, Necedah and Green Bay and eight teachers, parents, students and community members.

The Legislature and its budget-writing committee are named as defendants. Republican legislative leaders did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

MOSCOW (AP) — Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messaging app, said Tuesday that the Russian government had opened a criminal investigation against him on charges of “aiding terrorism.”

Durov, who was born and began his career in Russia, accused Moscow of fabricating pretexts to restrict access by Russians to the Telegram service as part of an attempt to “suppress the right to privacy and free speech.”

“A sad spectacle of a state afraid of its own people,” Durov wrote on social media.

Russian media outlets had begun circulating unconfirmed reports earlier in the day that a criminal investigation had been opened against Durov by Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB.

It comes two weeks after Russia’s communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, said it was restricting the Telegram app, accusing the company of refusing to abide by Russian law.

The move triggered a rare wave of public outcry, including widespread criticism from pro-Kremlin military bloggers, who warned that Telegram was widely used by Russian troops fighting in Ukraine and restricting its service would derail military communications.

However, Russian officials have continued to portray Telegram as a security risk. Digital development minister Maksud Shadayev told Russian news wire Interfax that foreign intelligence agencies could be reading messages sent through Telegram by Russian soldiers on the front line.

When asked about the case, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that the FSB had gathered information on a “large number of violations” by Telegram, as well as content that could “potentially pose a danger to our country.” He said Telegram had been unwilling to cooperate with the authorities.

“Based on this, the relevant agencies are taking measures they deem appropriate,” Peskov said.

Under President Vladimir Putin, the authorities have engaged in multipronged efforts to rein in the internet. They have adopted restrictive laws and banned websites and platforms that don’t comply, and focused on improving technology to monitor and manipulate online traffic.

Russian authorities have targeted YouTube and imposed restrictions on popular messaging platforms, blocking Signal and Viber and banning online calls on WhatsApp and Telegram. In December, restrictions were imposed on Apple’s FaceTime video calling service.

While it’s still possible to circumvent some of the restrictions by using virtual private network services, many of them are routinely blocked too.

At the same time, Russia actively promotes the “national” messaging app known as MAX, which critics say could be used for surveillance. The platform — touted by developers and officials as a one-stop shop for messaging, online government services, making payments and more — openly declares it will share user data with authorities upon request. Experts also say it doesn’t use end-to-end encryption.

Durov has faced criminal investigations elsewhere. In 2024, he was arrested in Paris over allegations that his platform was being used for illicit activity, including drug trafficking and the distribution of child sexual abuse images.

By RIO YAMAT

Spirit Airlines’ parent company says it expects to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the late spring or early summer, after striking a preliminary deal with its lenders and secured creditors that provides the support needed to finish its restructuring.

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The early-stage agreement would help Spirit finalize changes to its fleet, route network and cost structure as it works toward emerging as “a new Spirit” — a smaller, leaner carrier still focused on offering low fares but with more options like premium economy and its version of first-class seating with more legroom.

“Spirit will emerge as a strong, leaner competitor that is positioned to profitably deliver the value American consumers expect at a price they want to pay,” said CEO Dave Davis.

The budget carrier filed for fresh bankruptcy protection in August, months after emerging from a Chapter 11 reorganization. Davis said at the time that the airline’s previous Chapter 11 petition focused on reducing debt and raising capital, but after exiting that process last March, it had “become clear that there is much more work to be done and many more tools are available to best position Spirit for the future.”

The Florida company quickly followed the news of its second bankruptcy in a year with announcements that it would suspend operations in about a dozen U.S. cities and furlough 1,800 flight attendants. The airline also instituted furloughs and job cuts before its first bankruptcy filing.

Low-cost carriers like Spirit have been under pressure by bigger airlines, which have rolled out their own low-cost offerings.

Known for its bright yellow planes and no-frills service, Spirit has had a rough ride since the COVID-19 pandemic amid rising operation costs and its mounting debt. By the time of its first Chapter 11 filing in November 2024, Spirit had lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers continue their push for new gun control legislation in the wake of the Annunciation Catholic School shooting in Minneapolis, though without the support of rural DFLers and at least one Republican, the path forward remains unclear.

That hasn’t stopped the governor from promoting a “gun violence prevention package” that includes a ban on so-called assault weapons, new magazine capacity limits, a firearms insurance requirement and new spending on school safety and mental health resources.

Walz presented the slate of legislation at a Tuesday news conference at the state Capitol, where he was joined by DFL lawmakers, gun control proponents and a survivor of the Aug. 27 shooting in the Annunciation school church, which took the lives of two young children and injured more than 20 others.

“This is a time for bipartisan action around an issue that tore at the heart and continues to and we owe it to the Annunciation families not to have that just be another statistic,” said Walz, who unsuccessfully pushed for a special session on guns last fall. “That was the final straw. That was it. I pushed and pushed and pushed and we couldn’t even get legislators to have a hearing. Well, those days are over. Some of these folks in here are going to be testifying today.”

Annunciation student calls for action

Among those speaking in favor of gun legislation at the Capitol on Tuesday was Lydia Kaiser, an eighth grader at Annunciation who survived a gunshot to the head while trying to protect a younger student with her body.

Kaiser had to undergo surgery to remove bullet and bone fragments from her head and spent more than a month recovering in the hospital. Speaking at a morning news conference ahead of afternoon House hearings on DFL-backed gun control bills, she called on lawmakers to take action.

“All children have the right to live free from gun violence in schools, churches and in our communities,” she said. “Elected officials have a duty to protect us from guns. No one should have to go through what we went through.”

Kaiser and others affected by the shooting gathered at the Capitol to pressure lawmakers to change state gun policies. Outside the Capitol, they set up 60 empty school desks to represent 200 Minnesota children who died from gun violence since 2021.

Sixty empty school desks are displayed on the Capitol lawn representing symbolizing the more than 200 school children killed in gun violence in Minnesota since 2021. Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. The display is in honor of Harper Moyski Fletcher Merkel, both students Annunciation School who were kill last August. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Prospects for additional gun control measures

Prospects for gun control measures remain dim in the closely divided Minnesota Legislature, where bills need bipartisan support to pass.

There are 67 Democratic-Farmer-Labor and 67 Republican representatives in the House. And while the Democrats have a one-seat majority in the Senate, some members from rural districts have been hesitant to back new gun laws in the past.

After last summer’s violence, Walz, DFL and Republican lawmakers spent more than a month negotiating terms for a special session on guns. Walz at one point said there’d be a special session on guns “one way or another,” but by October, it was apparent that closed-door pre-session negotiations were not delivering any results.

Walz then held town hall meetings promoting gun control policies in Republican legislative districts and in December issued executive orders aimed at educating the public on existing state gun policies and laying the groundwork for future gun control legislation by creating a gun violence prevention research council.

Neither made any immediate changes to state gun control policy and came after months of frustration for the governor. Republicans have remained opposed to new restrictions on guns and have backed funding boosts for school security and mental health services.

Those proposals are part of the governor’s overall gun violence prevention package. Walz said he believed he might get Republican support on a bill restricting so-called ghost guns — privately made firearms without serial numbers that can be difficult to trace to a crime.

But past the mental health measures and theoretical support for a ghost gun ban, there’s little indication of bipartisan appetite for restrictions on assault weapons.

Local gun control laws, binary triggers

Another change DFLers are hoping for is an end to a 1985 state law banning local gun control laws, something Twin Cities metro mayors called for in the fall after the Annunciation school shooting. Former St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey were among several mayors who gathered at the Capitol in September, calling for the change. However, like other gun-control-related policies, it does not appear to have the support needed to pass.

Walz also is calling for the Legislature to re-pass a ban on binary triggers, modifications for semiautomatic rifles that fire a shot when the trigger is pulled and again while released, greatly boosting the weapon’s rate of fire.

Minnesota lawmakers passed a ban in 2024, but Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro shot it down last August, as it became law as part of a 1,400-page bill passed at the last minute of the 2024 session, violating a rule limiting bills to a single overall subject.

That was just one of several recent successful legal challenges to state gun laws by the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, a prominent state gun rights group.

In another August ruling, the Minnesota Supreme Court said a decades-old law banning certain guns without serial numbers didn’t apply to homemade “ghost guns” as long as federal law doesn’t require a serial number.

And, earlier this year, Minnesota’s minimum age to obtain a permit to carry a firearm dropped from 21 to 18 after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the state’s appeal in a case challenging the minimum age.

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