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☆ The guests invited to Biden's State of the Union address
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsThe guests invited to Biden's State of the Union addressPostedU.S. President Joe Biden's second State of the Union address will feature a guest list that includes Tyre Nichols’s parents, Monterey Park shooting hero Brandon Tsay, Paul Pelosi, and U2 star Bono.

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☆ Factbox: Biden State of the Union guests include Monterey Park hero, ex-Afghan diplomat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Brandon Tsay displays the Metal of Courage award he received for stopping the Monterey Park shooter, at a Lunar New Year ceremony in Alhambra, California, U.S., January 29, 2023. Following are some of the guests expected to attend:* Brandon Tsay: Tsay was called a hero by authorities for disarming a gunman who shot dead 11 people during a celebration of the Lunar New Year in Monterey Park, California. * The mother of Tyre Nichols, RowVaughn Wells, and his stepfather, Rodney Wells: Nichols, a Black motorist, died after being beaten by police following a Jan. 7 traffic stop. * Former Afghan Ambassador to the United States, Roya Rahmani: Rahmani was Afghanistan's first female ambassador to the United States, serving in the post from December 2018 until July 2021. The United States completed the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan in August 2021 after a 20-year war.

☆ Pictures of the month: January
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A young girl watches as police use armored vehicles to surround a white cargo van, believed by law enforcement to be connected to the Monterey Park mass shooting suspect, at a parking lot in Torrance, California, January 22. The 72-year-old assailant...moreA young girl watches as police use armored vehicles to surround a white cargo van, believed by law enforcement to be connected to the Monterey Park mass shooting suspect, at a parking lot in Torrance, California, January 22. The 72-year-old assailant killed 11 people and wounded nine others at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, a venue just east of Los Angeles that is popular with older patrons of Asian descent. The attack took place during the two-day Lunar New Year celebration, one of the most festive events on the calendar for many Asians. REUTERS/Zaydee SanchezClose

☆ Biden to discuss police reform with Congressional Black Caucus members Thursday
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Summer Concepcion | Ghael Fobes | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Congressional Black Caucus will meet with President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday to discuss police reform in the wake of the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols by police in Memphis, Tennessee. The caucus confirmed Tuesday that its meeting with Biden was set for Thursday and will include Horsford and a small group of attendees, not the entire caucus. "President Biden spoke yesterday with Representative Horsford and plans to host a small group of Congressional Black Caucus members at the White House this Thursday to discuss police reform legislation and other shared priorities," Olivia Dalton, White House principal deputy press secretary, told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday. Several White House officials are scheduled to attend the funeral for Nichols on Wednesday, Dalton said. Biden expressed his condolences for Nichols' death and commended the family's courage and strength, the White House said.

☆ Tyre Nichols' parents and man who disarmed Monterey Park gunman invited to Biden's State of the Union
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Summer-Concepcion-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Summer Concepcion | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The parents of Tyre Nichols and the man who disarmed the suspected Monterey Park shooter have been invited to attend President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Feb. 7. The brutal beating of Nichols by Memphis police and the mass shooting at a dance hall in Monterey Park, California, this month have renewed calls for policing and gun control measures. But only an hour after she spoke with Tsay, the president himself asked Tsay to be his guest, Chu said. TODAYThe president spoke with Nichols’ parents and Tsay in the wake of the tragedies. Biden called Tsay last week to thank him for his act of courage in disarming the Monterey Park shooter.

☆ How ballroom dance become a refuge for Asian immigrants
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Three days a week, Edward Wan, of Bethesda, Maryland, steals away to a ballroom dance studio so he can glide across the floor in the company of older Chinese immigrants like him. Wan, 78, is one of the countless Asian immigrants who’ve regarded ballroom dance as a sort of creative sanctuary, but are now shaken by the two shootings incidents, one of them deadly, that shook California dance halls on Saturday. “It’s an injustice to ballroom dance. Ballroom dance itself is almost like going to learn poetry or sitting down to meditate,” Wan said. Ballroom dance helped him move forward, he said.

☆ Ukrainians Survey Damage After Barrage of Russian Missiles Hit Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Motive Sought in Monterey Park Shooting as Families Mourn Victims Investigators continue to search for a motive in a mass shooting that killed 11 people celebrating the Lunar New Year at a dance ballroom in Monterey Park, Calif. Meanwhile, victims are being remembered by grieving families. WSJ’s Christine Mai-Duc reports on the community in mourning. Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

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.

☆ What We Know About the Gun Used in the Monterey Park Shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Jeremy White | K.K. Rebecca Lai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

The semi-automatic Cobray pistol recovered in the Monterey Park, Calif., shooting, was modified with what appears to be a homemade suppressor. Gun recovered in Monterey Park shooting An annotated image of a semi-automatic Cobray pistol linked to a mass shooting in Monterey Park, Calif. A close-up of a suppressor attached to the pistol shows wire and duct tape wrapped around it. Suppressor Upper receiver DETAIL BELOW Carrying strap The combined length of the pistol and the suppressor was over two feet. Wire was used to secure the suppressor cover and to attach a carrying strap to the front and rear of the pistol. Suppressor Tape layers An adapter attached to the pistol’s threaded barrel held the suppressor in place.

☆ California authorities see no link between dance hall shooter and victims
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Brendan O'Brien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Jan 26 (Reuters) - Los Angeles-area investigators have found no connection between the victims of a mass shooting at a Monterey Park, California, dance hall and the elderly man who carried out the massacre last weekend, authorities said. On Monday, a gunman killed seven people at two mushroom farms in the coastal Northern California city of Half Moon Bay. Investigators did find a motorcycle registered to the suspect parked one block from the dance hall. After carrying out the shooting at the dance hall, Tran drove a short time later to a second dance hall in Alhambra, where that club's operator disarmed him before he could open fire. He purchased that gun in 1999 but it was not registered with the state of California, Luna said.

☆ Mass Shootings in the U.S.: A Symptom of Despair - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Jillian Peterson | James Densley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +23 min

Seven killed and 46 injured in Highland Park, Ill., on July 4, 2022He suffered from severe back pain. Eight killed and seven injured in Indianapolis on April 15, 2021He was known for being paranoid with a short temper. Five killed and seven injured in Aurora, Ill., on Feb. 15, 2019He had expressed violent thoughts. Nine killed and seven injured in Red Lake, Minn., on March 21, 2005He had been noticeably depressed and angry at church. Seven killed and seven injured in Fort Worth on Sept. 15, 1999He killed his daughter’s cat because he was upset.

☆ California shooting victims: Who died in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay attacks?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Jan 26 (Reuters) - Back-to-back mass shootings in California have claimed the lives of people who loved to dance at a studio in Monterey Park and farm workers in the coastal community of Half Moon Bay. HALF MOON BAY VICTIMSSeven people were killed and one person was in critical condition after a 66-year-old man on Monday attacked two mushroom farms near the resort town of Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco, police said. "You look to improve your life and then you end up with this," said Juarez, quiet and sullen as he took a break from cooking at a Mexican restaurant in a Half Moon Bay strip mall. Perez was stunned when, upon arriving in Half Moon Bay in the late 1990s, he saw Martinez-Jimenez again at a party. The San Mateo County Coroner's Office declined to comment on the identities of the victims in the Half Moon Bay shooting.

☆ Back-to-back California shootings reflect an American tragedy, not an ‘Asian issue,’ experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Mirna-Alsharif-Byline-Jm.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Gun violence isn’t innate in Asian culturesGun violence, experts note, is not inherent in the Asian diaspora's culture. So Ho condemned those attempting to paint the Asian American community with a broad brush due to the pair of tragedies. Gun control organizations haven’t invested enough time and resources in the Asian American community, Ramakrishnan said. And campaigns and parties have often targeted Asian American voters with a focus on education and affirmative action, he said. And Dhingra said he fears that, as more attacks occur in Asian American spaces, it could lead to more Asian Americans purchasing weapons for self-defense, leading to more firearms to be used and misused.

☆ One-quarter of mass attackers driven by conspiracy theories or hateful ideologies, Secret Service report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Following the latest string of mass shootings in the U.S., the Secret Service published a 60-page report Wednesday detailing trends in mass attacks in public spaces to share patterns with community leaders who could help prevent the next tragedy. Among the findings: Although a personal grievance of some sort was the single most common motive, one-quarter of the attackers studied from 2016 to 2020 were motivated by conspiracy theories or hateful ideologies. Hateful ideologies that motivated attackers included anti-government, antisemitic or misogynistic views. More than three-quarters of all attacks involved firearms, and over 80% of attacks that used guns resulted in at least one death, the report found. Most of the attackers used handguns, but one-third used “long guns,” a category that includes automatic and semi-automatic weapons.

☆ Motive Sought in Monterey Park Shooting as Families Mourn Victims
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Alex Murdaugh Murder Trial: What to Know About the Case Former South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh is set to go on trial, accused of murdering his wife and son in 2021. WSJ’s Valerie Bauerlein explains what you need to know about the case. Photo Illustration: Ryan Trefes

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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.

☆ Weekly mortgage demand jumps 7% as interest rates drop to lowest level since September
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Mortgage interest rates fell for the third straight week, while mortgage demand also rose again. Total application volume increased 7% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($726,200 or less) decreased to 6.2% from 6.23%, with points increasing to 0.69 from 0.67 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment. Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 3% for the week but were 39% lower year over year. Mortgage rates have moved slightly higher to start this week, but are still well within the new lower range.

HALF MOON BAY/MONTEREY PARK, California, Jan 24 (Reuters) - America was supposed to be a place of safety for Jose Romero when he arrived some two years ago to work on a California farm alongside other immigrants from Mexico and China. Romero was killed on Monday, shot dead by a gunman along with six other farm workers in Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco. Antonio Perez, who now lives in Half Moon Bay after moving from Mexico in 1983, said he feels stuck between cartel violence in his homeland and gun violence in the United States. “What a tragedy.”People gather for a candlelight vigil after a mass shooting during Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in Monterey Park, California, U.S. January 24, 2023. About 9.3% of Asian immigrants keep guns in their homes in California, compared with 5.6% of Latino immigrants and 12% of white immigrants, said Ninez Ponce, the lead researcher on the UCLA study.

☆ Half of U.S. mass attacks sparked by personal, workplace disputes -report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Ted Hesson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/David SwansonWASHINGTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Half of the mass attacks in the United States from 2016-2020 were sparked by personal, domestic or workplace disputes, according to a new U.S. Secret Service report that aims to prevent violence by identifying warning signs. The report comes days after a pair of mass shootings in California took the lives of 18 people and as authorities searched for motives in the attacks, both linked to older men. The attacks targeted workplaces, schools, religious institutions and public transportation, among other locations, killing 513 people and injuring 1,234. The report found that firearms were used in 73% of incidents, including by some prohibited from owning them. State-level "red flag laws" that allow for the court-ordered removal of guns from someone presenting a risk could limit such attacks, the report said.

☆ Half of U.S. mass attacks sparked by personal, workplace disputes - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Ted Hesson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Half of the mass attacks in the United States from 2016-2020 were sparked by personal, domestic or workplace disputes, according to a new U.S. Secret Service report that aims to prevent violence by identifying warning signs. The attackers were overwhelmingly men, often with histories of mental health symptoms, financial insecurity or engaging in domestic violence. The report comes days after a pair of mass shootings in California took the lives of 18 people and as authorities searched for motives in the attacks, both linked to older men. The attacks targeted workplaces, schools, religious institutions and public transportation, among other locations, killing 513 people and injuring 1,234. State-level "red flag laws" that allow for the court-ordered removal of guns from someone presenting a risk could limit such attacks, the report said.

One man carried out his attack with a gun banned by the state, while the other used a gun he legally owned, police said. Even in California, a state with some of the country's strictest gun laws, the limits can be sidestepped. The prospects for new federal gun laws are dim. The majority of guns used in mass shootings were obtained legally, according to the nonprofit Violence Project, which maintains a database of attacks. Chunli Zhao legally owned the gun used in the Half Moon Bay attack on Monday, police said.

☆ Suspect in Half Moon Bay shooting rampage appears in California court
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Jorge Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/6] A suspect is arrested by law enforcement personnel after a mass shooting at two locations in the coastal northern California city of Half Moon Bay, California, U.S. January 23, 2023 in a still image from video. The hearing was held at the San Mateo County Superior Court in nearby Redwood City, California. The complaint against Zhao also alleged "special circumstances" accusing Zhao of "personally and intentionally" shooting to kill. IMMIGRANT VICTIMSHalf Moon Bay, a community of about 12,000 residents south of San Francisco, is home to both a luxury resort and a low-income farming community. Two days before the Half Moon Bay killings, another gunman 380 miles to the south opened fire at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, a club frequented mostly by older patrons of Asian descent in Monterey Park.

☆ Suspect in California's latest shooting rampage due in court
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Alexandra Ulmer | Thomson Reuters | U.S. National Affairs Correspondent Who Spent Four Years In Venezuela Covering President Maduro'S Administration | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] A suspect is arrested by law enforcement personnel after a mass shooting at two locations in the coastal northern California city of Half Moon Bay, California, U.S. January 23, 2023 in a still image from video. HALF MOON BAY, Calif., Jan 25 (Reuters) - The man accused of shooting and killing seven farm workers near San Francisco in the latest of two back-to-back gun rampages in California that claimed 18 lives overall was due in court on Wednesday for his initial appearance before a judge. Chunli Zhao, 66, the lone suspect in Monday's massacre at two mushroom farms in the seaside town of Half Moon Bay, is expected to be formally presented with murder and other charges at the San Mateo County Superior Court in nearby Redwood City. The suspect was described as a resident of Half Moon Bay, a community of about 12,000 residents known for its foggy weather, fishing, and agriculture. San Mateo County jail records showed Zhao was booked on suspicion of premeditated murder, attempted murder and firearms offenses.

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