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Artist Abel Ortiz (L) gives US Attorney General Merrick Garland (R) a tour of murals of shooting victims on January 17, 2024 in Uvalde, Texas. The Justice Department is planning this week to release findings of an investigation into the 2022 school shooting in which 21 people were killed. Poor coordination, training and execution of active-shooter protocol contributed to a law enforcement response that can only be described as a "failure," the report said. The 600-page findings describe a chaotic scene that should have triggered a number of coordinated responses by law enforcement officers who first arrived at the school. Steven C. McCraw, Director and Colonel of the Texas Department of Public Safety, speaks during a press conference about the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 27, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas.

Persons: Abel Ortiz, General Merrick Garland, Eric Gay, Steven C, McCraw, Michael M, Robb, Eva Mireles, Tess Mata, Rogelio Torres, Jose Flores, Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, Jackie Cazarez, Maranda Mathis, Xavier Lopez, Alexandria Aniyah Rubio, Aliahana Cruz Torres, Alithia Ramirez, Jailah Nicole Silguero, Uziyah Garcia, Navaho Bravo, Makenna Lee Elord, Annabell Rodriguez, Amerie Jo Garza, Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, Layla Salazar, Aliahna Amyah Garcia, Irma Garcia, Chandan Khanna Organizations: US, The Justice Department, AFP, Getty, Robb Elementary School, Justice Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Santiago, Robb Elementary Locations: Uvalde , Texas

LOS ANGELES — Hunter Biden, the last surviving son of President Joe Biden, pleaded not guilty to nine tax-related charges during his arraignment in federal court on Thursday. Follow along for live updatesThe arraignment came just over a month after Hunter Biden was indicted in the Central District of California on allegations that he failed to pay his taxes. That charge, which federal authorities have used as a catch-all charge against domestic extremists, is facing court challenges. On Wednesday, Hunter Biden made a surprise appearance at a circus-like hearing on the day that Republicans formally recommended that the House hold him in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena for testimony. Hunter Biden has said he would testify publicly, but House Republicans have demanded that he testify behind closed doors.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, Biden, Mark C, Scarsi, Donald Trump, David Weiss, General Merrick Garland, Weiss, Abbe Lowell Organizations: Capitol, U.S, District, Central District of, Prosecutors, Trump, Republicans Locations: Washington , U.S, Los Angeles, Central District, Central District of California, Delaware

☆ Growing fury from Maui residents over the direction of early wildfire recovery efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Alicia Victoria Lozano | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

US President Joe Biden is embraced by Hawaii Governor Josh Green (C) after delivering remarks as he visits an area devastated by wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii on August 21, 2023. Rebuilding hasn't even started after a deadly wildfire destroyed the historic town of Lahaina, Hawaii, last month, but residents are already angry and frustrated with recent moves by Gov. Now, they say, that pattern could be repeated with the aid of an emergency proclamation signed by Green that could erode their hard-won rights, despite his reassurances that rebuilding would reflect the needs of Maui residents. "It is a real slap in the face when we still have to deal with the aftermath of this fire." Green reinstated the water rules last week, but residents are wary that future proclamations could jeopardize their efforts to restore Maui's streams and wetlands.

Persons: Joe Biden, Josh Green, hasn't, Green, Kekai Keahi, Makana McClellan, we've, McClellan, We're, Hōkūao Pellegrino, Nani Medeiros, I've, Medeiros, Marti Townsend, Townsend, Glenn Tremble, Manuel, Ed Wendt, David Henkin, Pellegrino Organizations: Hawaii, Gov, Maui Land Co, West Maui Land Co, American Civil Liberties Union, Sierra Club, Earthjustice Locations: Lahaina , Hawaii, Maui, Lahaina, Hawaii, Honolulu

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. — Hundreds of mourners gathered Wednesday night at a vigil outside the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, a typically quiet Los Angeles suburb now home to one of the worst tragedies in the county's history. "I'm honestly at a loss for words," said Andy Luu, who was born in Monterey Park. People participate in a community candlelight vigil at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, Calif., on Wednesday. Vice President Kamala Harris walks to lay flowers at the memorial outside the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, in Monterey Park, Calif., on Wednesday. Los Angeles artist Noah Reich helped build the altars for the Monterey Park victims.

SAN GABRIEL, Calif. — The elderly gunman responsible for the dance hall massacre in Monterey Park was out of step with other Asian immigrants who found joy and companionship in venues like the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, former friends said. “His ex-wife also likes to dance, so, many times, they would bump into each other in the party or at events. I don’t think his ex-wife was the cause of his massacre.”Nevertheless, Tran often blamed his ex-wife for the demise of his trucking business. Records show that Tran registered a business called Tran’s Trucking in Monterey Park in 2002 and that it was dissolved two years later. He also recalled seeing a white van parked on the modest property, not unlike the one in which Tran died.

“One of the worst things you can hear from your child is them screaming ‘I don’t want to die! Residents across the state are just beginning to understand the full extent of the damage, especially in marginalized communities, as they recover from the deluge. But instead of work, Naranjo and other farmworkers are faced with some 20,000 flooded farmland in Salinas, according to early estimates from the Monterey County Farm Bureau, a nonprofit association of farmers and ranchers. When asked if he would return to work soon, Naranjo answered: “I don’t know.”Cars driving through a flooded roadway in Planada, Calif., on Jan. 10. “In my head, I thought if it was that bad, someone would come tell us, but no one ever did.

It would turn into a nightmare as their 5-year-old son, Kyle, got swept away in raging flood waters while his mom drove him to school. San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office via TwitterKyle was lost to a succession of unrelenting rainstorms that have pummeled California over the last two weeks and contributed to 17 deaths. As water poured into her car, Lindsy told Kyle to unbuckle his car seat so they could escape. Nearby homeowners fetched rope and managed to rescue Lindsy, who was closer to the bank. “We continue to hope for the best,” said Grace Norris, a San Luis Obispo sheriff’s spokesperson.

Alicia Victoria Lozano / NBC NewsAmong her must-have accessories this semester is a heavy flashlight with a strobe function that doubles as a baton. Brandon Moore, a freshman at Washington State University in Pullman. “It definitely makes you more aware of everyone around you.”Koryn Damiano, a sophomore at Washington State University in Pullman. Alicia Victoria Lozano / NBC NewsDamiano said she shares a sense of relief that the suspect has been caught. At the University of Idaho, students will have the option to take classes in self-defense, vigilance and stalking awareness.

Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Wednesday as a powerful storm expected to bring heavy rain, snow and flooding began its potentially dangerous onslaught. Mandatory evacuation orders were in effect for several cities in Northern California, including Richmond in the Bay Area and Watsonville in Santa Cruz County. Several communities experiencing some of the biggest downpours were still cleaning up from flooding caused by a storm over the weekend. While the precipitation appears out-of-character for the drought-stricken state, California would normally expect to see this type of rainfall during an average winter, experts said. April 1 is a typical high point for snowpack in California, where snow melt feeds reservoirs in May and June.

Flood watches are in effect for 12 million people in Central and Northern California. The cyclone will send a pair of warm and cold fronts over Northern California, which is already rain-soaked. “When you have more water vapor in the air because the air is warmer — you can transport more water vapor quickly,” Ralph said. Although some smaller reservoirs in Northern California have filled up, larger reservoirs still have the capacity to absorb more. “I think we will have largely alleviated the short-term drought in Northern California," Swain said.

The city did nothing with the property, and it was transferred to the state of California and then to Los Angeles County. The county built its lifeguard training headquarters on the land, which includes a small parking lot. And then it turned into a tragic story for my family,” Anthony Bruce, the great- great-grandson of the Bruces, previously told NBC News. And unfortunately, my family was the victim of a hate crime and the prejudice that was around during those times. Hahn learned about the property’s history and launched the complex process of returning the property, including determining that two great-grandsons of the Bruces are their legal heirs.

Authorities have identified a 19-year-old man fatally shot Friday inside a department store in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, as Johntae Raymon Hudson. Hudson also told KARE 11 that when she learned her brother was shot, she held out hope he would survive. Several members of the New York Giants, who faced off against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday, were in the Mall of America when the shooting occurred. The mall told the station then that it was testing options “that may allow us to further enhance” security systems. Earlier this year, a man fired three shots in front of a store in the mall, KARE 11 reported.

Doug Ducey has agreed to dismantle a makeshift border wall that triggered a lawsuit by the federal government and rankled environmentalists. The agreement comes one week after federal officials filed a lawsuit against Ducey’s administration saying the border project was illegally built on federal land. Protesters spent weeks camping in freezing temperatures along the border wall, and had vowed to stay there until the containers were removed. Karamargin said the assurance from federal officials paved the way for Ducey to agree to remove the shipping containers. The shipping container project cost Arizona at least $82 million, Karamargin said.

David Ryder / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesCities throughout the country are opening warming centers this week, including Chicago, Houston, San Antonio, Atlanta and Albuquerque, New Mexico. The city’s Office of Emergency Management will transform the Denver Coliseum into a 24-hour warming center starting Wednesday. Recreation centers and libraries will remain open during regular operating hours and function as warming centers Thursday and Friday. The Seattle region is also opening warming centers across King County, including overnight shelters for families experiencing homelessness. San Antonio will also open warming centers.

A sexual battery case in California was dismissed and the victim's protective order terminated when a third-party vendor used by Riverside County Superior Court failed to summons any jurors. The case was among more than 1,000 that have been dismissed in the county in recent months, the Riverside County District Attorney's office said. The misdemeanor case stemmed from a complaint filed last year alleging the defendant groped her without her consent in October 2021. It was postponed for one day but by then no courtrooms were available, and the judge dismissed the case. Across Riverside County, located east of Los Angeles, more than 1,000 cases have been dismissed since early October, Hestrin's office said.

After a two-week standoff between protesters and construction crews building a border wall made of shipping containers, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Arizona, accusing it of trespassing on federal land. "Arizona has unlawfully and without authority failed to remove the shipping containers from lands owned by the United States or over which the United States holds easements, thereby damaging the United States," the complaint reads. In August, Ducey issued an executive order directing the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs to fill gaps in the existing border wall in Yuma County using shipping containers. Important waterways are being damaged or altered by the placement of shipping containers on land that serves as important habitats and crossings, including for endangered species, he said. "Under the Clean Water Act, they have created a dam with those shipping containers and it just looks like a junkyard now."

☆ Canceled lectures, no grades: University of California students face chaotic finals as academic workers strike
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | Alicia Victoria Lozano | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

LOS ANGELES — Hundreds of thousands of undergraduate students at the University of California face a chaotic finish to their fall term as a strike by academic workers grinds through its fourth week. It’s definitely a weird situation.”University of California academic workers walk the picket line at the University of California, Los Angeles, on Nov. 28. Some campuses, including UCLA, have pushed back deadlines for submitting grades because faculty members rely so heavily on teaching assistants to assess student performance. Alicia Victoria Lozano / NBC NewsHernandez, a freshman, said teaching assistants help him with assignments and show him how to better tackle complicated subjects. Teaching assistants are integral to UCLA's "cluster" program that gives first-year students an opportunity to immerse themselves in smaller learning groups led by faculty and teaching assistants, he said.

The ex-Florida tax collector whose arrest led to a federal investigation into U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a former friend, was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison for sex trafficking of a minor and other offenses. Prosecutors said Greenberg paid at least one minor to have sex with him and other men. Joel Greenberg, then the Seminole County tax collector, during an interview at his office in Lake Mary, Fla., in 2019. His cooperation with federal officials could play a role in an investigation into whether Gaetz allegedly sex-trafficked a 17-year-old girl. Greenberg’s scandal-plagued term as Seminole County tax collector started in 2017, around the time he and Gaetz became friends.

Mixed messaging and unclear answers from police would have given whoever fatally stabbed four students in the Idaho college town of Moscow more time to flee, law enforcement experts say. It was two days after the slayings when the department said in a news release that it was "working closely" with the Idaho State Police and other state and federal agencies. The last homicide involving the University of Idaho was in 2011, when a professor fatally shot a graduate student he had been dating before taking his own life. "They have access to the Idaho State Police, which runs a branch of the crime lab in Coeur d'Alene, not far from Moscow," he said. "We know you want answers," Idaho State Police Director Kedrick Wills said at Sunday's news conference.

Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake speaks at a get-out-the-vote rally Saturday in Scottsdale. A recent Marist College poll found Lake and Hobbs deadlocked in the final stretch of the nationally watched race. "That’s why I’ve spent the last two years working to lower costs and create better-paying jobs in Arizona." "We're getting pretty sick and tired of politicians who just lie," he went on, suggesting that Kelly "tricked" Arizona voters into thinking he was an independent when he is really a Democrat. Tucson voter Suzy Jacobs, a Democrat, said Masters represents a rising extremism in the Republican Party that she does not want to see control Arizona.

CONCOW, Calif. — Some survivors of California's deadliest wildfire continue to live in trailers, tents and makeshift homes nearly four years later as they wait for payments from a trust set up to compensate them. Inez Salinas's temporary trailer home and her car in Concow, Calif. Andri Tambunan for NBC NewsSalinas and her daughter River outside their temporary trailer home. Andri Tambunan for NBC NewsShe said she has not received enough money from the trust to rebuild her life: “I just want to move on. “Please just don’t forget about us.”For survivors of the state's deadliest and most destructive wildfire, time is measured by before and after. “It is my goal to help as many people as possible to get their lives back, their houses back, their businesses back,” Cathy Yanni, who oversees the Fire Victim Trust, said in a statement.

“This looks and smells like human trafficking,” said Ariadna Phillips, a New York community organizer with South Bronx Mutual Aid. On Tuesday, DeSantis said at a news conference that three of four people arrested last week for "ransacking" communities following Hurricane Ian were illegal immigrants who should be immediately deported. Remembering "horror stories" of immigrants not being paid for work or being deported following previous natural disasters, Phillips rushed to Queens. "Promises are often not kept to these workers," said Saket Soni, executive director of Resilience Workforce, a New Orleans group that advocates for and monitors migrant workers following natural disasters. In the days following Ian, Resilience Workforce deployed staff members to Florida to observe work conditions on the ground.

But many campaigners believe King Charles III presents a unique opportunity: They think most royalism was actually fondness for the widely loved queen, and he — a new, less popular king — won't inherit this support. The English Civil War resulted in the beheading of King Charles I, before the "Glorious Revolution" saw English elites effectively choose a new monarch who gave lawmakers more rights. William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, look at floral tributes to the queen at Sandringham Estate on Thursday. Some observers agree that Charles should be viewed in an entirely new light now that he is king. “The monarchy knows statesmanship is about knowing to give up what you can no longer keep,” she said.

LOS ANGELES — Painful memories of a violent and chaotic past were resurrected this week for many Iranian Americans watching from afar as protesters flooded the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities following the death of Mahsa Amini. Her death has sparked outrage across Iran and waves of protesters clashed with Iranian security forces this week. The deadly unrest has been documented on social media and triggered demonstrations in other parts of the world, including in Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian population outside Iran. Gladkikh was born and raised in Southern California after her family fled Iran in the 1990s. Iranian officials are investigating after they said Amini had a pre-existing condition and suffered a heart attack while in custody.

MOJAVE DESERT, Calif. — As more states legalize cannabis, law enforcement officials say they are seeing an uptick in black market operators using suspected human trafficking victims to grow and trim marijuana sold in legal dispensaries. The cannabis workers, all Chinese nationals who had traveled from New York, attempted to flee as law enforcement officials executed a search warrant on the secluded farm. Fang, Jin and the other workers were charged with misdemeanors and later released, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. James Roy of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. A black market marijuana farm.

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