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

All 11 victims of the shooting have now been identified, with all of them, except one, being in their 60s and 70sInvestigators in California are searching for answers as to why a 72-year-old man gunned down patrons at a ballroom dance hall on Saturday night, a venue he is said to have frequented.The community of Monterey Park continues to reel from a weekend massacre that killed 11 people and wounded nine. The gunman, identified as Huu Can Tran, attacked the Star Ballroom Dance Studio then drove to another nearby dance hall where an employee wrestled a weapon away from him, preventing an even greater tragedy. Continue reading...

Tuesday’s hearing remains inconclusive, however, after judge decides not to immediately rule on making report publicAn Atlanta district attorney has said “decisions are imminent” on whether to charge Donald Trump with criminal offences over his attempt to to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.But a highly anticipated hearing on Tuesday remained largely inconclusive after a judge decided not to immediately rule on whether or not to make public an investigative report on the actions Trump and his allies took to baselessly challenge the legitimacy of the election. Continue reading...

‘This is not simple,’ says judge on releasing Georgia grand jury’s report into Trump’s efforts to overturn 2020 election results

President of Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s parent company, tells Senate judiciary committee the bots caused technical glitchesThe president of Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation, testified in front of the US Senate judiciary committee on Tuesday, saying a flood of scalper bots were responsible for its mishandling of ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s latest tour.Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster in 2010, making it the main conduit between artists and venues in the US. While the company has been under criticism over the last decade for its dominance of the live events industry, it has come under fresh and intensified scrutiny after fans trying to get Swift tickets in November experienced crashes and glitches of the ticketing service. Continue reading...

Fred Ryan says former secretary of state ‘outrageously misrepresents’ Post journalist murdered by Saudi Arabian regimeThe publisher of the Washington Post, Fred Ryan, has blasted the former secretary of state Mike Pompeo for “outrageously misrepresenting” and “spreading vile falsehoods” about Jamal Khashoggi, the Post columnist murdered by the Saudi Arabian regime in 2018.“It is shameful that Pompeo would spread vile falsehoods to dishonor a courageous man’s life and service and his commitment to principles Americans hold dear as a ploy to sell books,” Ryan said. Continue reading...

Top adviser to former vice-president says in letter that papers were inadvertently stored and Pence was unaware they were thereClose aides to Mike Pence discovered about a dozen classified-marked documents stored in boxes at his home in Indiana last week and turned over the materials to the US justice department, according to a top adviser to the former vice-president.The documents were inadvertently taken to Pence’s home at the end of the Donald Trump administration and Pence was unaware of their presence, his representative to the National Archives and former counsel Greg Jacob said in a letter. Continue reading...

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

State’s new bill goes into effect prohibiting material unless deemed appropriate by a librarian or ‘certified media specialist’School teachers in Florida’s Manatee county are removing books from their classrooms or physically covering them up after a new bill went into effect that prohibited material unless deemed appropriate by a librarian, or “certified media specialist”.If a teacher is found in violation of these guidelines, they could face felony charges. Continue reading...

Republican governor suggests ‘super-majority’ should suffice in state that has required jury unanimity in capital cases since 2017The rightwing Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, wants to end the constitutional requirement that juries in his state are unanimous when handing down death sentences.“Fine, have a super-majority,” DeSantis told the Florida Sheriffs Association on Monday. “But you can’t just say one person votes no.” Continue reading...

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

With 1,214 gun deaths so far in January, the ready availability of weapons means the toll can only climbTwo 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 built their racketeering case with wiretaps, undercover agents and confidential sourcesFederal 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 CO emissions. Continue reading...

Victoria Azarenka and Elena Rybakina reached the semi-finals, with Karen Khachanov and Stefanos Tsitsipas following suitPegula 4-6 Azarenka* (* denotes next server).Pegula starts her service game strongly but a needless hoick into the net from close range pegs her back to 15-15, and Azarenka’s smart backhand volley at the net gives her another chink at 15-30. She dominates the next point too with more smart volleying to gain two more set points. And this time Azarenka cashes in. Set point No 5 is converted when Pegula sends a forehand wide. Just as momentum looked as if it was with the No 3 seed, Azarenka has shown her tenacity to snatch the set. Continue reading...

Some of the world’s most famed restaurants face business problems or accusations of abuse and deception. What next?Noma is widely considered the best restaurant in the world – not only for the quality of its food, but the standard it created for fine dining. It brought a new era of excellent, locally focused cuisine, helping to break the stranglehold French food had on the cultural imagination when it came to gourmet greatness. Noma trained some of the finest chefs of a generation, spreading its ideas and values far and wide like fungal spores caught on the wind.For 20 years it dominated and defined the restaurant scene, but soon it will be no more. Although its brand may live on in other ways, Noma recently announced that it will close its titular restaurant at the end of 2024.Jessa Crispin is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

My amusement turned to horror: it took ChatGPT 30 seconds to create, for free, an article that would take me hours to write“Write an article on ‘What is payment gateway?’” I recently typed into a ChatGPT window. ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence-powered writing generator, quickly obliged.The result was impressive. Sure, the tone was inhuman and the structure as sophisticated as a college essay, but the key points, the grammar and the syntax were all spot on. After a bit of a punch-up, it was perfectly passable as a sponsored content article designed to drum up business leads for a software provider – an article like the one that I, a professional copywriter, had just spent hours writing.As a copywriter, I’ve spent years honing my craft and perfecting my ability to craft compelling and persuasive copy. But now, it seems that my job is at risk of being taken over by ChatGPT, a large language model trained by OpenAI.The key is to find the right balance between using technology and honing the human touch. Copywriting is an art and it requires creativity, empathy and understanding of the target audience. So, ChatGPT will not take my job, but it will be my partner to create more impactful and persuasive copy.Henry Williams is a freelance writer from London who writes about culture, society and small businesses Continue reading...

Most of roles are in Germany but others could fall at sites in Belgium and UK, say reportsFord plans to cut 3,200 jobs across Europe, according to Germany’s largest union, as the carmaker looks to cut costs and shift its focus towards electric vehicles.Most of the 2,500 jobs in product development and up to 700 in administrative roles the automaker is hoping to cut are located in Germany, said IG Metall. Continue reading...

Homeless people are relying on public libraries as a safe haven to stay warm and avoid harassment from law enforcement, advocates sayLibraries across the US are increasingly on the frontlines of America’s homelessness crisis, especially during a winter marked by cold snaps and in the wake of the tailing off of the Covid-19 pandemic which has seen many public institutions reopen.This month two Denver-area libraries closed due to methamphetamine contamination, with library officials from Englewood, Colorado, reporting increased drug use this winter and citing an uptick in homeless people using the library since its pandemic reopening. Continue reading...

Fani Willis, the Fulton county district attorney, appears poised to use the states’s RICO law to convict the ex-presidentAn Atlanta prosecutor appears ready to use the same Georgia statute to prosecute Donald Trump that she used last year to charge dozens of gang members and well-known rappers who allegedly conspired to commit violent crime.Fani Willis was elected Fulton county district attorney just days before the conclusion of the 2020 presidential election. But as she celebrated her promotion, Trump and his allies set in motion a flurry of unfounded claims of voter fraud in Georgia, the state long hailed as a Republican stronghold for local and national elections. Continue reading...

The football analyst has consistently leveraged his ample platform and gravitas against reproductive rights and LGBTQ people – and it doesn’t seem like NBC or the NFL careNo sports league does more than the National Football League to encourage the stereotype of the glass-chewing, expletive-spewing coach. Tony Dungy, though, was more Kenneth Parcell than Bill Parcells – a soft-spoken, clean-cut ex-defensive back whose winning pedigree and strategic ingenuity rightly earned him pride of place among the titans of his profession. That Dungy is also a Black pioneer makes him especially useful to commissioner Roger Goodell’s efforts to “protect the [NFL] shield” from the seasonal assaults on its undying legacy of racial and gender inequality. Since transitioning to a lofty post-retirement role as co-host of NBC’s top-rated NFL telecasts, it’s been on the 67-year-old to serve up even-toned reassurances of the league’s commitment to fair play. But when it comes to Dungy’s personal views, the coach will happily talk tough.Last Friday, Washington DC’s National Mall was the site of the March for Life, a pro-life rally that kicked off in 1974 – a year after Roe v Wade was decided. Interestingly, the rally was conceived by anti-abortionists on the left – first as a one off, then as a protest that would annually recur until Roe v Wade was overturned. But it’s long since been taken over by the right and turned into a political football. In 2020 Donald Trump became the first sitting president to attend the event in person. Dungy’s maiden appearance for the 50th edition of the March, the first since Roe was overturned, was no less noteworthy. Continue reading...

Authorities respond to calls at two locations in second shooting in California in days, following Monterey Park killings. Plus, uproar over Kylie Jenner’s fake lion head at Paris fashion weekGood morning.Seven people have been killed in an agricultural region of northern California, authorities said yesterday, the latest shootings to rattle the state in recent days.Are the shootings related? The shootings are being treated as related, although the connection between the locations was not immediately clear. Dave Pine, the president of the San Mateo county board of supervisors, said the suspect was employed at one of the businesses and called him a “disgruntled worker”.How did the dance hall manager die? Ming Wei Ma, known to instructors as Mr Ma, died when a 72-year-old gunman entered the Star Ballroom and opened fire. A friend told CBS News that Ma “was the first to rush to try to stop the shooter”. The report of Ma’s death was corroborated by Dariusz Michalski, a professional ballroom dancing instructor at the Star Ballroom.How was the shooter disarmed? Brandon Tsay was working in the lobby of the Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio in Alhambra when the shooting began. He has told of how he disarmed the shooter in a violent struggle. Continue reading...

The actor is suing for her £830,000 fee for a film that was never made. And her honest, haughty imperiousness deserves a standing ovationA lot of Eva Green’s success is down to her sense of unknowable mystique. This is a woman who steers clear of the celebrity circuit, who isn’t given to blurting her every waking thought on social media. Interviewers perennially struggle to get to her core. Since her breakthrough in Bertolucci’s The Dreamers almost two decades ago, Green has preferred to let her work speak on behalf of her. She is an enigma, an image on a screen upon which we can project our own feelings.Or at least she was, because loads of Eva Green’s WhatsApp messages have been read out in court, and hoo boy! Continue reading...

Beyond the superficial row, there is a debate to be had about progress, pitfalls, and a character who seems emblematic of her generationFollowing claims of misogyny, the debate about Tár – the film starring Cate Blachett as Lydia Tár, a famous, fictional and sexually predatory classical conductor – has been reframed in terms of power, not gender. But is that right?Yes and no. We can’t ignore that she is a woman of a particular generation. Thirty years younger than second-wave feminists (my generation) who came of age in the early 1970s, she is not identified as the much smaller group of third-wavers, yet she fits that age group. If we take Tár as emblematic of her generation, we may better understand her character and the costs she faced.Susie Orbach is a psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, writer and social criticDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Seven people were killed in a mass shooting at two locations in the coastal northern California city of Half Moon Bay. The suspect was later taken into custody after driving to a police parking lot, officials said. The shootings took place at a mushroom farm and a trucking firm on the outskirts of Half Moon Bay, about 30 miles south of San Francisco. It comes just two days after another mass shooting in which 11 people were killed in Monterey Park in Los Angeles county

A group of UFC fighters aligned with former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro have found themselves in the spotlight following this month’s attack of congressOn 8 January 2023, a sea of people dressed in the yellow and green that symbolizes Brazil’s flag descended on Brasília, the nation’s capital, to demand that the military overturn the presidential election.Over the course of four hours, thousands of far-right supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed all three branches of the country’s government – Congress, the Supreme Court, and the presidential palace – and wreaked havoc throughout the iconic modernist architecture. Continue reading...

Locals of the LA neighbourhood known as ‘the Chinese Beverly Hills’ have had their world shaken by the attack on a dance studio on SaturdayKevin Lou lives within a 3-mile radius of the two dance studios in east Los Angeles that came under attack on the eve of lunar new year.Growing up in the Chinese enclave of Monterey Park, he’d always felt safe, surrounded by people who looked like him and shared his immigration story. One of his fondest memories was dining with his mother at Hong Kong Cafe, a no-frills eatery that’s served Southern Chinese breakfast staples for decades. Continue reading...

The far-right Republican congresswoman was a fierce advocate of the House speaker during the 15-vote marathon for the officeKevin McCarthy reportedly said he would “never leave” Marjorie Taylor Greene, the far-right, conspiracy theorist Republican congresswoman from Georgia, after she backed him through a rightwing rebellion and 15 rounds of voting for the position of US House speaker.“I will never leave that woman,” McCarthy told a friend, according to the New York Times. “I will always take care of her.” Continue reading...

Two attacks in agricultural area near Half Moon Bay come within days of shootings in Monterey Park and Central ValleySeven people have been killed in an agricultural region of northern California, authorities said on Monday, the latest shootings to rattle the state in recent days.Two fatal shootings took place at a mushroom farm and a trucking firm on the outskirts of Half Moon Bay, a coastal community about 30 miles south of San Francisco, officials said. Continue reading...

The tragedy revived fears, anxiety and trauma of the last three years of the pandemic, which saw a surge in anti-Asian hateOn the evening of the lunar new year, Ny Nourn gathered with loved ones to eat lobster at a restaurant in Monterey Park, the southern California city known as America’s first suburban Chinatown.Her partner’s grandmother had died earlier that week, and the family came to the Taste of MP on Saturday to grieve and pay tribute to her: “She would want us to be together, and we wanted to honor her legacy and memory.” Nourn was comforted by the tables around her jam-packed with as many as six generations of families: “That’s what lunar new year is about – family and celebration.” Continue reading...

California officials name two of those killed, while friends and colleagues say much-loved ‘Mr Ma’ was among deadThe 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.Authorities said the motive for what one lawmaker called “the worst mass shooting in Los Angeles county history” remains unknown. The 72-year-old shooter died by suicide the morning after the attack, authorities said, after being stopped by police in a nearby town. Law enforcement officials searched his home in Hemet, and found a rifle, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and evidence that he was manufacturing homemade gun silencers. Continue reading...

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

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

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...

Richard Barnett was found guilty of felony obstruction of official proceedings, civil disorder and theft of government propertyA jury has convicted the man who invaded the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, with a mob of extremist Donald Trump supporters and was pictured with his foot up on a desk in then House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.Richard Barnett, from Gravette, Arkansas, was found guilty on all counts after the jury deliberated for about two hours on Monday, including felony obstruction of an official proceeding, civil disorder and theft of government property after he took an envelope from Pelosi’s desk. Continue reading...

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...

Members of anti-government militia found guilty for roles in January 6 attack at the US CapitolFour members of the Oath Keepers anti-government militia were convicted on Monday of seditious conspiracy relating to the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump, after the second major trial accusing far-right extremists of plotting to forcibly keep the former US president in power.The verdict against Joseph Hackett of Sarasota, Florida, Roberto Minuta of Prosper, Texas, David Moerschel of Punta Gorda, Florida, and Edward Vallejo of Phoenix, Arizona, came a few weeks after a different jury convicted the group’s leader, Stewart Rhodes, in the mob’s attack that delayed the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory over Republican Trump. Continue reading...

Verdict comes after group’s founder and co-defendant were also convicted of seditious conspiracy in November

Disgraced British socialite gives interview from Florida prison in segment shown on Jeremy Kyle show on TalkTVThe disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has said, in a television interview from prison, she wished she had “never met” the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.Maxwell, 61, was sentenced to 20 years in a US prison for procuring underage girls for the American financier to sexually abuse. She maintains her innocence. Continue reading...

More than 100 laws targeting LGBTQ+ communities have been filed across the US as attacks persistSeveral anti-LGBTQ+ laws are being passed or proposed across the US as political attacks against the communities continue.In North Dakota, conservative lawmakers have introduced at least eight laws targeting LGBTQ+ communities, many of which target transgender people. Continue reading...

Charles McGonigal, 54, conspired to commit money laundering offences by receiving Oleg Deripaska money, prosecutors allegeA former top FBI counter-intelligence official conspired to commit money laundering offences and violated US sanctions by taking secret payments from the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska to investigate a rival, federal prosecutors said in an indictment on Monday.Charles McGonigal, 54, was also arrested on charges relating to his alleged acceptance of a $225,000 cash payment from a former foreign security officer, when he was special agent in charge for counter-intelligence at the FBI’s New York office. Continue reading...

Actors’ union say it was ‘not a failure of duty’ on performer’s part, but film’s production company is unlikely to face criminal chargesAfter the deadly accidental shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on a Santa Fe movie set in 2021, New Mexico prosecutors have announced impending manslaughter charges against the Rust actor and producer Alec Baldwin, who held the prop gun as it discharged what turned out to be live rounds.The film’s armorer who prepared the gun, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, will also be charged with involuntary manslaughter, and the production’s assistant director, David Halls, will plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon, according to the Santa Fe special prosecutor, Andrea Reeb. The exact chain of who handed the gun to whom is disputed by the trio. Continue reading...

Brandon Tsay, 26, says Huu Can Tran, 72, was ‘trying to do harm’ at second ballroom after killing 10 people nearbyA California dance hall worker who disarmed a shooter who had killed at least 10 people at another nearby ballroom just minutes before has described the encounter as harrowing.Brandon Tsay was working in the lobby of the Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio in Alhambra when Huu Can Tran, named by police as the gunman in Saturday night’s massacre at a dance hall in Monterey Park, entered and pointed a semi-automatic pistol at him. Continue reading...

The Tory chairman’s £5m tax ‘error’ shows how the other half lives it up, and the murkiness of politics run by and for the super-rich“Let me tell you about the very rich,” F Scott Fitzgerald once wrote. “They are different from you and me … Even when they enter deep into our world or sink below us, they still think that they are better than we are.” For that reason they will always be an awkward fit in the world of democratic politics.The past few days have provided ample reminders of what happens when the very rich take control. The stench emanating from this government reprises John Major’s last days of “sleaze”. But the sums of money back then look paltry compared to the extraordinary finances of the multimillionaires who now fill the Tory benches.Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

I have started giving away my books – sometimes even putting them in with the recycling. Why keep a novel that could delight someone else?I used to have, or rather hoard, a lot of books. Still do, I think, at least by the standards of the average home, but I’m doing my best to get rid. In the last couple of years I have given away hundreds. If the thought of this fills you with horror, then maybe look away from this next part, where I confess that sometimes I even put them in the recycling. Only the really objectionable ones, that I feel I am saving the reader from by taking them out of circulation.The big book purge began when I decided to go through the shelves and discard any book I was vaguely embarrassed to have in the house, for reasons of quality, subject matter, politics or author (look at your shelves and you probably have your own equivalents). Since then, I’ve been jettisoning them every few months with no regrets. Only twice have I have needed to look something up in a book I’ve thrown away, and rebought a cheap secondhand copy. Continue reading...

A California dance hall worker, who disarmed a shooter who had killed at least 10 people at another nearby ballroom just minutes before, has described the harrowing encounter. In an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America on Monday, Brandon Tsay, a coder who was working in the lobby of the Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio in Alhambra, described how he fought with Huu Can Tran for about a minute and a half before he was able to wrestle away the gun

Democratic congressman and ex-marine faces potential three-way race with newly declared independent and a Republican next yearThe Democratic congressman Ruben Gallego of Arizona announced on Monday that he will run for the Senate, teeing up a potential battle against incumbent Senator Kyrsten Sinema next year.Gallego, a marine combat veteran who has served in the House of Representatives since 2015, made the widely expected announcement in a campaign video that was filmed in his Phoenix area congressional district. Continue reading...