Category Archives: US News

Biden once again urges Congress to pass assault weapons ban

Posted on by

Intervention comes after a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, and a pair of shootings near Half Moon Bay, California

Joe Biden once again called on Congress to pass a bill banning assault weapons, following a string of recent mass shootings in California that in total killed at least 18 people.

“For the second time in recent days, California communities are mourning the loss of loved ones in a senseless act of gun violence,” the president said in a statement released on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

Accused Texas Walmart shooter to plead guilty to federal charges

Posted on by

Man who allegedly killed 23 people in El Paso in 2019 still faces state-level murder charges and could be sentenced to death

The man who allegedly shot nearly two dozen people to death in a Walmart in Texas in 2019 plans to plead guilty to federal charges after the US government indicated it would not seek the death penalty against him.

Patrick Crusius, nonetheless, still faces state-level murder charges and could be sentenced to death if convicted in the El Paso mass shooting that targeted Mexicans and killed 23 people.

Continue reading...

Northern California shooting case of ‘workplace violence’, police say

Posted on by

Authorities say 67-year-old killed four and wounded one at a mushroom farm then killed three more at a trucking firm

An agricultural worker in northern California allegedly killed seven people as part of a “workplace violence incident”, the state’s third deadly mass shooting in little more than a week.

Police are questioning 67-year-old Chunli Zhao, who they say shot dead four and wounded one more on Monday afternoon at a mushroom farm where he worked in Half Moon Bay, a coastal community 30 miles south of San Francisco.

Continue reading...

‘Tragedy upon tragedy’: why 39 US mass shootings already this year is just the start

Posted on by

With 1,214 gun deaths so far in January, the ready availability of weapons means the toll can only climb

Two horrific killings separated by just a few days have shaken California, but such nightmarish mass shootings cannot be considered abnormal in the US. With a week still left in January, this year there have already been 39 mass shootings across the country, five of them in California.

Reports from the Gun Violence Archive, a not-for-profit research group, show the predictability of American mass shootings. Nearly 70 people have been shot dead in mass shootings so far in 2023, according to their data – which classifies a mass shooting as any armed attack in which at least four people are injured or killed, not including the perpetrator.

Continue reading...

Prosecutors accuse Ohio Republicans of taking $60m in bribes as corruption trial opens

Posted on by

State house speaker Larry Householder and four others charged with racketeering and could face up to 20 years in prison

Federal prosecutors on the first day of a historic racketeering trial in Ohio alleged that top Republicans in the state accepted bribes from the power company FirstEnergy.

The trial, which is expected to last six weeks, is the latest utility scandal following cases in the last 10 years in Arizona, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida which experts say has led to higher bills for consumers, less green energy, and more CO2 emissions.

Continue reading...

Family of Julian Sands thank ‘heroic’ efforts as search enters 11th day

Posted on by

Statement thanks teams braving dangerous conditions around Mount Baldy in search for actor

The family of Julian Sands have expressed their “heartfelt thanks” and praised the “heroic” efforts of those searching for the British actor, who went missing in southern California over a week ago.

In a statement shared by the San Bernardino county sheriff’s office, the family thanked the authorities involved in efforts to find the 65-year-old actor.

Continue reading...

Two students killed and a teacher injured in ‘targeted shooting’ in Iowa

Posted on by

Three suspects arrested following the incident at Starts Right Here, an educational program helping at-risk youth in Iowa

Two students were killed on Monday and a teacher was injured in what police said was a targeted shooting at a school in Des Moines, Iowa, that is dedicated to helping at-risk youth. Three suspects were arrested.

The shooting was at an educational program called Starts Right Here that is affiliated with the Des Moines school district.

Continue reading...

Mike Pompeo dismisses ‘faux outrage’ over murder of Jamal Khashoggi

Posted on by

Former Trump secretary of state claims US media depicted Washington Post columnist as ‘a Saudi Arabian Bob Woodward’

The former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has dismissed the indignation prompted by the murder of Jamal Khashoggi as “faux outrage” – and cast doubt on whether the Washington Post columnist was a genuine journalist at all.

In his new book, Pompeo says that Khashoggi – who was killed by Saudi agents in Istanbul in 2018 – was not “a Saudi Arabian Bob Woodward martyred for bravely criticising the Saudi royal family”.

Continue reading...

Monterey Park shooting death toll rises to 11, including dance hall manager

Posted on by

California officials name two of those killed, while friends and colleagues say much-loved ‘Mr Ma’ was among dead

The death toll in a mass shooting at a ballroom dance studio in California has risen to 11 people, after health officials said that one of the people wounded in the shooting had died.

According to friends and colleagues, the beloved manager of the dance hall was among the 11 victims of Saturday’s gun massacre, which took place during a lunar new year celebration in Monterey Park, a majority Asian American community in the Los Angeles area.

Continue reading...

Trump’s golf course photo with Philadelphia mob boss raises questions

Posted on by

Spokesman won’t say if ex-president knows Joseph ‘Skinny Joey’ Merlino, saying he ‘takes countless photos with people’

A spokesperson for Donald Trump would not say if the former president knew a notorious Philadelphia mobster, after the two men were photographed together at a Trump-owned golf club earlier this month.

“President Trump takes countless photos with people,” the spokesperson told the Philadelphia Inquirer, which obtained the picture of Trump and Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino standing together and making thumbs-up gestures.

Continue reading...

Mexico’s ex-security chief took ‘millions in bribes’ from cartel, US court hears

Posted on by

Trial begins in Brooklyn court for Genaro García Luna, who is accused of protecting the violent Sinaloa cartel

The trial of a former top Mexican law enforcement official got under way in a Brooklyn court on Monday, one of the most significant drug trafficking cases since the prosecution of drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán more than four years ago.

Genaro García Luna, who ran Mexico’s version of the FBI before being appointed to lead the country’s security ministry – and therefore its war on drug trafficking groups – is accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for granting protection to the violent Sinaloa cartel.

Continue reading...

US could seize two Australian properties of former marine if he is convicted of training Chinese pilots

Posted on by

US government claims Daniel Duggan will have to forfeit assets linked to alleged offences of arms trafficking and money laundering

The US government is seeking to seize two country properties in Australia from former fighter pilot Daniel Duggan if he is convicted, as it argues in court for his extradition on charges of arms trafficking and money laundering.

The US alleges Duggan, a former US citizen now naturalised Australian, trained Chinese fighter pilots to land fighter jets on aircraft carriers, in defiance of arms trafficking laws, and engaged in a conspiracy to launder money.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Will Covid reinfections pose increased health risks? Experts aren’t sure

Posted on by

A study found that repeat infections increases the possibility of hospitalization or death, but some experts refute those findings

A recent study states that Covid-19 reinfections could pose additional risks to people’s long-term health – as compared to only getting Covid once – however some infectious disease experts in the US disagree that there is evidence showing repeat infections are more dangerous.

The issue of the impact of repeated infections is becoming a crucial one in the United States as the Covid-19 pandemic is now tailing off amid a widespread relaxation of any social distancing or restrictions, which has seen many people catch the virus two or more times.

Continue reading...

Monterey Park shooting suspect, 72, found dead of self-inflicted gunshot

Posted on by

Motive for attack remains unclear as police identify gunman who killed at least 10 people at LA-area dance studio

The suspect in a deadly mass shooting at a Southern California dance studio on Saturday night died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Sunday morning.

The motive for the attack, which left 10 people dead and at least 10 injured, is still under investigation, law enforcement officials said at a press briefing on Sunday evening.

Continue reading...

‘He sounded great’: David Crosby was working on new album when he died, musicians reveal

Posted on by

Folk-rock pioneer ‘writing, playing, singing his ass off and preparing a fantastic show’ in his final days, says guitarist Steve Postell

David Crosby was working on a new album and planning to tour again until the day he died, according to musicians who worked with the folk-rock pioneer in his final days.

The founding member of the Byrds, and Crosby, Stills and Nash died last week at the age of 81. But other artists who were working with Crosby on new music told Variety that his death had came as a shock, as he’d been rehearsing for a new tour and “seemed practically giddy” about new songs he was working on.

Continue reading...

Monterey Park shooting: suspect dead of self-inflicted gunshot wound, police say – as it happened

Posted on by

Suspect in shooting at southern California dance studio identified as 72-year-old man

“It is important that we be there for them and to provide the support they need in a time of healing,” Henry Lo, mayor of Monterey Park, said of the victims and their families at Sunday morning’s press conference.

In addition to 10 fatalities, 10 other victims were injured in the shooting and their current conditions vary from “stable” to “critical,” police said.

Continue reading...

Women’s marches take place across country on 50th anniversary of Roe v Wade – live

Posted on by

More than 200 events in 46 states to protest supreme court decision that struck down the federal right to an abortion in US

Passionate signs and pins have been popping up all across the country as thousands of people took to the streets to demonstrate their opposition towards the removal of federal protections of reproductive rights.

Rachel O’Leary Carmona, the executive director of the Women’s March, addressed crowds in Madison, Wisconsin, on Sunday as thousands descended upon the state’s capital to demonstrate for reproductive rights.

Continue reading...

Ten dead in shooting after lunar new year festival near Los Angeles

Posted on by

Deceased include five men and five women as police identify suspect as 72-year-old man who died of self-inflicted gunshot

Ten people were killed and at least 10 others hospitalized after a gunman opened fire in a ballroom dance studio on Saturday night in a city close to Los Angeles.

The mass shooting, one of California’s worst in recent memory, happened hours after a lunar new year festival that attracted tens of thousands of revelers in Monterey Park, a majority-Asian American city.

Continue reading...

Biden to name Jeff Zients as new chief of staff after Ron Klain exit – reports

Posted on by

Zients had worked at the White House before as the top official for coordinating the US response to the Covid-19 pandemic

Joe Biden will name as his new chief of staff Jeff Zients, a former top official for coordinating the US response to the coronavirus pandemic, after it had emerged on Saturday that the US president’s current chief, Ron Klain, plans to step down, according to US media reports.

Zients departed his pandemic-related White House role last April, but had been back since fall, assisting Klain ahead of and after November’s midterm elections, and will now take over the top job, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.

Continue reading...

Hundreds gather to mourn Lisa Marie Presley at Graceland memorial service

Posted on by

People pay their respects at Memphis mansion that singer inherited from her father, rock legend Elvis Presley

More than a thousand mourners gathered in Graceland on a chilly, grey Sunday morning to pay their respects to singer Lisa Marie Presley at the Memphis, Tennessee, mansion she inherited from her father, rock legend Elvis Presley.

Presley died on 12 January at the age of 54. Earlier that day, she had been rushed to a Los Angeles-area hospital after reportedly suffering cardiac arrest at her home. She is survived by her daughters, actress Riley Keough and 14-year-old twins Finley and Harper Lockwood.

I’ve had my life and enjoyed every second,
But as it is, another life beckoned.

It’s important to know that I have not gone,
And I hope that, on you all, my light has shone.

Continue reading...