Briefly

Five dead, three hurt after hunter dispute

Hayward, Wis. A dispute among deer hunters over a tree stand in northwestern Wisconsin erupted Sunday in a series of shootings that left five people dead and three injured, police said.

The alleged gunman, a man from the Minneapolis area, was arrested Sunday.

The violence began shortly after a hunting party saw a hunter occupying their tree stand, police said. A confrontation and shooting followed.

One of the shooting victims radioed back to the deer shack for help, police said. When more hunters came to the scene, they also were shot, police said.

The shootings happened in the town of Meteor in northwest Wisconsin.

Report: Congress must address Amtrak’s woes

Washington Though Congress approved a $1.2 billion subsidy for Amtrak, the money-losing passenger railroad is still careening toward a major disruption in service.

To save it, the Transportation Department’s inspector general says, Congress must do more. Considering current Amtrak policies, says Inspector General Kenneth Mead, it’s up to lawmakers to determine what must go and what may stay to restructure Amtrak and stop the hemorrhaging.

The railroad lacks the money to make needed repairs, the inspector general says.

Letter by Lincoln’s killer sells for a record price

Boston A letter written by President Lincoln’s assassin two months before the 1865 slaying sold at auction Sunday for a record $68,000.

In the letter, dated Feb. 9, 1865, John Wilkes Booth asks a friend to send him a picture of himself “with cane & black cravat” – the one later used in his wanted poster.

The previous high for a Booth letter was $38,000, according to Stuart Whitehurst, vice president of Skinner Inc. auctioneers.

The buyer was Joe Maddalena, a Beverly Hills-based historical document dealer. Maddalena, who bid by phone, said Booth “is the rarest American autograph.”