Category: US

CNN
 — 

The 72-year-old man suspected of killing 11 people and wounding nine others in a shooting at a dance studio in Monterey Park, California, Saturday had previously frequented the establishment, sources told CNN.

The suspect, identified as Huu Can Tran, was pronounced dead following a self-inflicted gunshot wound Sunday as police swarmed a white van in Torrance, about 30 miles from Monterey Park, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

The shooting at Star Ballroom Dance Studio happened around 10:22 p.m. as the city’s large Asian American community was celebrating Lunar New Year weekend.

Authorities said 42 shell casings and a large capacity magazine were found at the scene, Luna said at a Monday news conference. Luna added that one victim was shot outside the dance studio in a vehicle, probably before Tran went inside.

About 17 to 20 minutes after the shooting, an armed man showed up at a second dance studio in nearby Alhambra where authorities say people wrestled a gun away from him – a firearm authorities ultimately used to ID the suspect, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case. The semi-automatic weapon was traced to the suspect, which gave authorities his name and description, the official said.

The mass shooting prompted a manhunt across the region, with a description of a white van seen leaving the Alhambra incident broadcast to area law enforcement agencies. On Sunday morning, officers in Torrance spotted a white van that matched the description.

“When officers exited their patrol vehicle to contact the occupant, they heard one gunshot coming from within the van,” Luna said. “Officers retreated and requested several tactical teams to respond.” Then – as armored vehicles blocked the van – a SWAT team approached and found Tran dead inside, Luna said.

Man who wrested gun away from shooting suspect speaks out

As it remains unclear what motivated the shooting and a search warrant has been issued for Tran’s home, the sheriff said it’s too early to say whether the shooting could have been a hate crime and investigators are still working to determine whether any of the victims were known to the gunman.

Here’s what we know about the suspect.

Tran had once been a regular patron at Star Ballroom Dance Studio, his ex-wife and a longtime acquaintance both told CNN.

Tran’s former wife, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the case, said she met Tran about two decades ago at Star Ballroom, a popular community gathering place where he gave informal lessons. Tran saw her at a dance, introduced himself and offered her free lessons, she said. The two married soon after, she said.

While Tran was never violent to her, she said he could be quick to anger. For example, she said, if she missed a step dancing, he would become upset because he felt it made him look bad. Tran filed for divorce in late 2005, and a judge approved the divorce the following year, Los Angeles court records show.

Tran was an immigrant from China, according to a copy of his marriage license his ex-wife showed to CNN.

It was unclear how frequently Tran visited the dance hall, if at all, in recent years.

Another longtime acquaintance of Tran’s also remembered him as a frequent presence at the dance studio. The friend, who also asked not to be named, was close to Tran in the late 2000s and early 2010s, when he said Tran would make the roughly five-minute drive from his home in San Gabriel to Star Ballroom Dance Studio “almost every night.”

Monterey Park shooting suspect found dead. Sheriff explains what happened

Tran often complained at the time that the instructors at the dance hall didn’t like him and said “evil things about him,” the friend remembered, adding Tran was “hostile to a lot of people there.”

The friend said he hadn’t seen Tran in several years and was “totally shocked” when he heard about the shooting.

“I know lots of people, and if they go to Star studio, they frequent there,” he said, adding he was “worried maybe I know some of” the shooting victims.

Luna told reporters Sunday that investigators are still looking into Tran’s criminal and mental health history and serving search warrants.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department obtained a search warrant for Tran’s home in a senior community in Hemet, California, according to Hemet police public information officer Alan Reyes.

Records show Tran bought a mobile home in the community, which is in the outlying suburb about 85 miles east of Los Angeles in neighboring Riverside County.

Seven years before buying the Hemet home, Tran in 2013 sold a San Gabriel home, which he had owned for more than two decades, property records show.

Business records also show Tran registered a business called Tran’s Trucking Inc. in California in 2002. But he dissolved the business about two years later, writing in a corporate filing that the company had never acquired any known assets or incurred any known debts or liabilities.

Tran at times had worked as a truck driver, according to his ex-wife.

Tran had a “limited criminal history” and was arrested in 1990 for unlawful possession of a firearm, Luna said.

Investigators recovered a Norinco 7.62 x 25 handgun from inside Tran’s cargo van, Luna said, adding that firearm was registered to the suspect.

The firearm wrestled away from the suspect at a second dance studio in nearby Alhambra was a “9 mm caliber semiautomatic MAC-10 assault weapon,” Luna said.

The gun is designed to take 30-round magazines that allow for rapid fire without having to frequently change magazines, the law enforcement official with knowledge of the case told CNN.

In response to a reporter’s question, Luna said, “I believe the weapon that was recovered at the Alhambra location is not legal to have here in the state of California.”

Following the execution of a search warrant at Tran’s residence, officials announced they found a 308 caliber rifle and numerous electronic devices such as cell phones and computers – “items that lead us to believe the suspect was manufacturing homemade firearm suppressors,” he said.

Also found was an unknown amount of 308 caliber and 9 mm caliber ammunition. The sheriff said there were “hundreds of rounds – we don’t know exactly how many there were – a lot of loose ammunition so eventually we’ll get to exactly how many those were.”

Investigators are still working to confirm “the origins of where the suspect got” all firearms recovered in this case, including the gun used in the shooting, Luna added.

The suspect may have sought medical treatment shortly before the traffic stop in Torrance, law enforcement sources told CNN they believe. Police got a tip from an area hospital where a man fitting the description of the suspect came into the emergency room, seeking treatment for injuries consistent with having been in a fight.

The person waited for a period and then left the hospital without receiving treatment, the sources said. The hospital notified authorities when staff saw the similarity to the wanted person. A short time later, police in Torrance stopped the van.

Sheriff describes second event after mass shooting that’s being investigated

Earlier this month, Tran visited a police station in Hemet, where he made various allegations before leaving, according to a statement from the Hemet Police Department.

“Tran visited the Hemet Police Department lobby on January 7 and 9, 2023, alleging past fraud, theft, and poisoning allegations involving his family in the Los Angeles area 10 to 20 years ago,” Hemet police said in a statement. “Tran stated he would return to the station with documentation regarding his allegations but never returned.”

Tran had a residence in Hemet, the statement said. Investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have executed a search warrant there.

The local police department said this is a “highly sensitive, ongoing investigation” and deferred to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for further inquiries.

CNN
 — 

President Joe Biden spoke at a union hall in northern Virginia Thursday afternoon, attempting to cast himself as a defender of the middle class by leaning into his economic accomplishments and contrasting them with the Republican proposals he says would be catastrophic for Americans’ pocketbooks.

“We’re moving in the right direction. Now we’ve got to protect those gains … that our policies have generated, protect them from the MAGA Republicans in the House of Representatives who are threatening to destroy this progress,” Biden said.

As Washington has been gearing up for a standoff over the debt ceiling and the potential for a global economic fallout later this year, the speech gave Biden a chance to turn the focus away from news of the discovery of classified documents in unsecured areas in his home and office. The unfolding story has been a magnet of Republican scrutiny and press attention. But in his speech to union workers in Springfield – a Virginia suburb just outside Washington, D.C. – Biden offered a preview of his potential reelection messaging strategy, turning focus back to what the White House really wants to be talking about.

In his remarks, Biden contrasted his administration’s work with Republicans’ plans to cut entitlement programs and impose a 30% national sales tax. He also discussed progress on wage growth and unemployment, as well as key legislation, such as the CHIPS Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law.

“Here’s the deal: they want to cut your Social Security and Medicare … beyond that they’re actually threatening to have us default on the American debt,” the president said.

“I have a rhetorical question: (Why) in God’s name would Americans give up the progress we’ve made for the chaos they’re suggesting? I don’t get it. That’s why the MAGA Republicans are literally choosing to inflict this pain on the American people. Why?” Biden asked. “I will not let it happen. Not on my watch. I will veto everything they send.”

The president said he’s willing to work with Republicans “on real solutions and continue to grow manufacturing jobs and build the strongest economy in the world and make sure Americans are paid a fair wage.” But he added that he “will not let anyone use the full faith and credit of the United States as a bargaining chip.”

Biden also announced an “Invest in America” Cabinet, which will be charged “with ensuring that his economic plan is generating private sector investment and continues to drive our economic progress for years ahead,” according to an administration official.

The group will include Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, EPA Administrator Michael Regan, Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu and senior adviser John Podesta.

Biden also celebrated newly released data showing the US economy grew more than expected in the final quarter of last year, registering solid growth to end 2022 even as consumers and businesses battled inflation and historically high interest rates.

Gross domestic product – the broadest measure of economic activity – increased at an annualized rate of 2.9% from October to December last year, according to Commerce Department data released Thursday. For 2022, GDP expanded 2.1%, the report showed.

GOP legislative proposals to cut Social Security and Medicare have yet to formally materialize, but House Republicans have reportedly been considering leveraging cuts to the programs in the debt ceiling fight, according to the Washington Post.

Although a plan hasn’t been formalized, the White House has already blasted congressional Republicans this week for suggesting the cuts to offset the deficit as part of negotiations over raising the nation’s debt limit.

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates argued in a statement earlier this week that “under the guise of ‘fiscal responsibility,’ (Republicans) want to cut the benefits that middle class Americans pay for throughout their working lives, but they also want to enlarge the deficit with new tax giveaways for the wealthiest Americans. This is nothing more than an extreme plot to sell out middle class families to rich special interests at any cost.”

Within the first week of the new Congress, a dozen House Republicans introduced a bill that would abolish the IRS altogether and replace the entire federal tax code with a national sales tax.

While that legislation is unlikely to become law given that the Democrats maintain a majority in the Senate, Biden and Democrats see an opening to criticize the GOP for fringe proposals they say would harm the American economy.

The national sales tax could leave low- and middle-income people worse off and would likely lower tax revenue. One estimate found that a tax rate of about 30% would more likely be able to generate the same amount of revenue – or 44%, if measured the way state sales taxes are typically presented.

The White House and Biden have, of course, sharply criticized the proposal.

The president on Thursday suggested the proposal was an effort to give the wealthy another tax break.

“Who do you think is going to get ripped off?” Biden asked. “They want to raise taxes on working and middle class people in America by passing a national sales tax, taxing every items from groceries, gasoline, clothing, supplies, medicine.”

The president also acknowledged reports that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy may not be in favor of the tax.

In a statement following the president’s meeting this week with Democratic congressional leadership, the White House highlighted that they discussed the “continued stepped-up implementation of groundbreaking laws like the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.” The statement also emphasized “the importance of building on the historic economic progress,” such as low unemployment, expanding health care coverage and making gains to stabilize inflation.

In the statement, the White House said the group “agreed on continuing to work across the aisle … while also being honest about disagreements – like our opposition to an unprecedented middle class tax hike, inflation-worsening tax cuts for the rich, abortion bans, or cutting Social Security and Medicare.”

The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics’ quarterly Employment Cost Index showed that although employers continued hiking wages to attract workers and retain existing staff during the third quarter, their raises did not keep up with inflation.

Wages and salaries for civilian workers increased by 1.3% in the third quarter and 5.1% over the year ending in September, according to the data, which was released last October.

The next release of the Employment Cost Index is scheduled to be released on Tuesday.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

CNN
 — 

The murder trial of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh is underway at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, a small town about 40 miles east of Charleston. The case goes back to June 2021, when Murdaugh’s wife and son were found shot to death at the family’s Islandton property, known as Moselle.

Murdaugh has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime related to his wife and son’s deaths. Separate from the murder charges, he is also facing 99 charges stemming from alleged financial crimes.

Here are the key players in the murder trial:

Now disbarred, Murdaugh is a member of a prominent legal family in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Three generations of his family over 87 years have served as solicitor for the 14th Circuit, which oversaw prosecutions throughout the area. A portrait of his late grandfather, one of the solicitors, had hung on the wall of the courtroom; it was removed before trial. Murdaugh has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Alex Murdaugh’s wife, who was 52 when she was found fatally shot with the couple’s younger son at the family’s Moselle estate on June 7, 2021.

Alex Murdaugh’s 22-year-old son, who was found fatally shot with his mother at the family’s Moselle estate on June 7, 2021. At the time, he was facing charges of boating under the influence, causing great bodily harm and causing death in connection to a 2019 boat crash that claimed the life of 19-year-old Mallory Beach, court records show. He had pleaded not guilty, and the charges were dropped after his death.

South Carolina senior assistant deputy attorney general and lead prosecutor. He has been involved with the case since 2021. The state attorney general’s office is prosecuting the case because of the Murdaugh family’s close ties to the local solicitor’s office.

One of Alex Murdaugh’s defense attorneys, along with Jim Griffin. Harpootlian is a South Carolina state senator and attorney whose Columbia-based practice specializes in criminal defense.

One of Alex Murdaugh’s defense attorneys, along with Dick Harpootlian. A former federal prosecutor, he now works as a state and federal criminal defense attorney based in Columbia, South Carolina.

The South Carolina Circuit Court judge hearing the case. He has been on the bench since 2000. Newman has presided over various proceedings in the Murdaugh case since 2021.

A former client of Alex Murdaugh. Murdaugh told authorities he conspired with Smith to kill Murdaugh as part of an insurance fraud scheme, per court documents, purportedly so Murdaugh’s surviving son, Buster, could collect a $10 million life insurance payout. Smith admitted in 2021 to being present at the shooting and disposing of the firearm afterward, according to an affidavit.

Alex Murdaugh’s surviving son. He was in court for opening statements – the first time he has appeared at legal proceedings for his father – and is listed as a witness at trial. His father’s scheme for Smith to kill Murdaugh was “an attempt on his part to do something to protect his child (Buster),” Harpootlian, the attorney, said.

Alex Murdaugh’s younger brother. He is listed as a witness at trial and accompanied Buster Murdaugh to court this week.

The Murdaugh family’s longtime housekeeper who died in 2018 in what was described as a “trip and fall accident” at their home. Murdaugh is accused of misappropriating funds meant for Satterfield’s family as part of a wrongful death settlement.

An expert in bloodstain pattern analysis who analyzed the shirt worn by Alex Murdaugh on the night his wife and son were killed. In a motion filed just before the trial, the defense asked the court to prohibit Bevel from testifying.

CNN
 — 

Nick Sands, the brother of Julian Sands, has told a UK publication he knows “in my heart that he has gone” as California authorities continue to search for the actor.

Julian Sands was first reported missing from the Mt. Baldy area in California on January 13. Authorities announced late Tuesday that while they had found another missing hiker, there was still no trace of Sands.

“The Sheriff’s Department is closing in on the second full week of the search for missing hiker, Julian Sands. Numerous ground and air search efforts have taken place,” according to a press release from the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department. “As of this time, Mr. Sands has not been found and no evidence of his current location has been discovered.”

The other hiker, Jin Chung, a 75-year-old resident of Los Angeles who had last been seen on Sunday, was found having “suffered some weather-related injuries and a leg injury but was able to walk out with the assistance of the crew members.”

“He was transported to a local hospital for treatment,” the press release read. “No further information is currently available.”

Authorities said they are continuing their search for 65-year-old Sands, best known for his roles in “A Room with a View,” “The Killing Fields,” and “Arachnophobia.”

His older brother talked to the Craven Herald & Pioneer about his fears regarding his sibling’s disappearance.

“He has not yet been declared missing, presumed dead, but I know in my heart that he has gone,” Nick Sands said. “However sibling rivalry being what it is, it would be just like him to walk out of there and prove me wrong.”

The elder Sands also talked about his brother’s love of hiking.

“When in LA, the Mt Baldy mountain range was his favourite place, he would go there as often as he could,” Sands said. “Julian liked to say ‘I have never had a holiday but I do rest occasionally’ – well he’s resting now in a place he would truly approve of.”

Authorities cautioned in their statement, “Many hikers, experienced or novice, underestimate the steep terrain, unpredictable weather, and high winds that present themselves in our mountain areas” and advised “hikers avoid hazardous mountainous areas, such as Mt. Baldy, at this time.”

Kyiv
CNN
 — 

Wagner Group fighters have become the disposable infantry of the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, but a Ukrainian military intelligence document obtained by CNN sets out how effective they have been around the city of Bakhmut – and how difficult they are to fight against.

Wagner is a private military contractor run by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has been highly visible on the frontlines in recent weeks – and always quick to claim credit for Russian advances. Wagner fighters have been heavily involved in taking Soledar, a few miles northeast of Bakhmut, and areas around the town.

The Ukrainian report – dated December 2022 – concludes that Wagner represents a unique threat at close quarters, even while suffering extraordinary casualties. “The deaths of thousands of Wagner soldiers do not matter to Russian society,” the report asserts.

“Assault groups do not withdraw without a command… Unauthorized withdrawal of a team or without being wounded is punishable by execution on the spot.”

Phone intercepts obtained by a Ukrainian intelligence source and shared with CNN also indicate a merciless attitude on the battlefield. In one, a soldier is heard talking about another who tried to surrender to the Ukrainians.

“The Wagnerians caught him and cut his f**king balls off,” the soldier says.

CNN can’t independently authenticate the call, which is alleged to have taken place in November.

Wounded Wagner fighters are often left on the battlefield for hours, according to the Ukrainian assessment. “Assault infantry is not allowed to carry the wounded off the battlefield on their own, as their main task is to continue the assault until the goal is achieved. If the assault fails, retreat is also allowed only at night.”

Despite a brutal indifference to casualties – demonstrated by Prigozhin himself – the Ukrainian analysis says that Wagner’s tactics “are the only ones that are effective for the poorly trained mobilized troops that make up the majority of Russian ground forces.”

It suggests the Russian army may even be adapting its tactics to become more like Wagner, saying: “Instead of the classic battalion tactical groups of the Russian Armed Forces, assault units are proposed.”

That would be a significant change to the Russians’ traditional reliance on larger, mechanized units.

On the ground, according to Ukrainian intelligence phone intercepts, some mobilized troops are thinking about switching to Wagner. In one such intercept, a soldier contrasts Wagner with his unit and says: “It’s f**king heaven and earth. So if I’m going to f**king serve, I’d better f**king serve there.”

Ukrainian defense intelligence official: Putin’s command structure is ‘very problematic’

The Ukrainian report says that Wagner deploys its forces in mobile groups of about a dozen or fewer, using rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and exploiting real-time drone intelligence, which the report describes as the “key element.”

Another tool the Wagner soldiers have is the use of communications equipment made by Motorola, according to the document.

Motorola told CNN it has suspended all sales to Russia and closed its operations there.

Convicts – tens of thousands of whom have been recruited by Wagner – frequently form the first wave in an attack and take the heaviest casualties – as high as 80% according to Ukrainian officials.

More experienced fighters, with thermal imagery and night-vision equipment, follow.

For the Ukrainians, their own drone intelligence is critical to prevent their trenches being overwhelmed by grenade attacks. The document recounts an incident in December in which a drone spotted an advancing Wagner group, allowing Ukrainian defenses to eliminate it before its troops were able to fire RPGs.

If Wagner forces succeed in taking a position, artillery support allows them to dig foxholes and consolidate their gains, but those foxholes are very vulnerable to attack in open land. And again – according to Ukrainian intercepts – coordination between Wagner and the Russian military is often lacking. In one intercepted call – again not verifiable – a soldier told his father that his unit had mistakenly taken out a Wagner vehicle.

Prigozhin has repeatedly insisted that his fighters were responsible for capturing the town of Soledar and nearby settlements in the past week, the first Russian military gains in months. “No units other than Wagner PMC operatives were involved in the storming of Soledar,” he claimed.

Wagner’s performance is Prigozhin’s route to more resources and is instrumental in his ongoing battle with the Russian military establishment, which he has frequently criticized as inept and corrupt.

According to UK intelligence, Russian military chief of staff Valery Gerasimov gave orders that soldiers should be better turned out. Prigozhin responded that “war is the time of the active and courageous, and not of the clean-shaven.”

Commenting on the new Gerasimov strictures, the UK Defense Ministry said Monday: “The Russian force continues to endure operational deadlock and heavy casualties; Gerasimov’s prioritisation of largely minor regulations is likely to confirm the fears of his many sceptics in Russia.”

Gerasimov was appointed the overall commander of Russia’s so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine earlier this month amid mounting criticism of its faltering progress.

So long as the Russian defense ministry underperforms, Prigozhin will snap at its heels and demand more resources for Wagner.

The group also appears able to gain weapons by other means. US officials said last week that Wagner had sourced arms from North Korea. “Last month, North Korea delivered infantry rockets and missiles into Russia for use by Wagner,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

Prigozhin is not short of ambition. As he stood in Soledar last week, he declared that Wagner was probably “the most experienced army in the world today.”

He claimed its forces already had multiple launch rocket systems, their own air defenses and artillery.

Prigozhin also made a subtle comparison between Wagner and the top-down rigidity of the Russian military, saying that “everyone who is on the ground is listened to. Commanders consult with the fighters, and the PMC (private military company) leadership consults with the commanders.”

“That is why the Wagner PMC has moved forward and will continue to move forward.”

Two months ago, Andrei Kolesnikov, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace likened Prigozhin’s growing influence to that of Grigori Rasputin at the court of Tsar Nicholas II. “Putin needs military effectiveness at any cost,” he told Current Time TV.

“There is a negative diabolical charisma in [Prigozhin], and in a sense this charisma can compete with Putin’s. Putin now needs him in this capacity, in this form.”

Prigozhin appears to have been intrigued by the comparison with Rasputin, a mystical figure who treated the Tsar’s son for hemophilia, the bleeding disorder. But in comments this weekend published by his company Concord, he had his own typical twist on it.

“Unfortunately, I do not staunch blood flow. I bleed the enemies of our motherland. And not by incantations, but by direct contact with them.”