Police in the U.S. state of California said seven people were killed Monday in two related shootings at agricultural facilities. 

The shootings happened in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco. Authorities said at a news conference that four people were found dead and a fifth person had gunshot wounds at one site, while another three people were found dead at the second site several kilometers away. 

San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus identified the suspected shooter as 67-year-old Chunli Zhao, and said he worked at one of the shooting locations. 

Authorities said the suspect was arrested after apparently driving to a police station parking lot to turn himself in. A weapon was found in the vehicle. 

Corpus said the suspect was cooperating with investigators, but that a motive was not yet clear. 

“We’re still trying to understand exactly what happened and why, but it’s just incredibly, incredibly tragic,” said state Sen. Josh Becker, who represents the area and called it “a very close-knit” agricultural community. 

Monday’s shooting followed a mass shooting Saturday in the southern California city of Monterey Park that killed 11 people and wounded nine others. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom tweeted that he was at a hospital meeting with those hurt in the Saturday shooting when he heard about the Monday attacks. 

“Tragedy upon tragedy,” he wrote. 

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters. 
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Human rights activists are welcoming the United States’ appointment of an envoy for North Korean human rights, a position that had been vacant for six years. 

The White House late Monday announced it would appoint Julie Turner, a veteran State Department foreign affairs officer, who has long focused on North Korea human rights issues.  

Turner, who must be confirmed by the Senate, is currently the director of the East Asia and Pacific office of the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.  

She has worked in the office for 16 years, during which she has “primarily focused on initiatives related to promoting human rights in North Korea,” according to a White House press release. 

Under a law initially passed by Congress in 2004, the U.S. president must appoint a special envoy for North Korean human rights. However, no one has served in the position since 2017, when U.S. President Barack Obama’s special envoy stepped down.  

Former President Donald Trump, who prioritized his personal relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, never appointed a North Korean human rights envoy. Trump’s first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, at one point proposed eliminating the position. 

It’s unclear why it took President Joe Biden two years to name an appointee, especially since Biden has said he will prioritize human rights issues. Nonetheless, activists praised the move, calling Turner an ideal fit.  

Turner is “terrific, with full awareness and understanding about the North Korean human rights situation,” according to Lee Shin-hwa, South Korea’s human rights envoy for North Korea.  

“I am so pleased to get the news and look forward to closely cooperating with this highly capable lady,” Lee told VOA.  

Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director for the Washington D.C.-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, said Turner is “a truly great scholar and champion of North Korean human rights.”  

Once confirmed, Scarlatoiu said he hopes the new envoy will adopt a “human rights up front approach” to North Korea.  

North Korea is a totalitarian state that tightly restricts nearly every aspect of its citizens’ civil and political liberties, including freedom of expression, assembly, association, religion and movement. It consistently ranks at or near the bottom of global human rights rankings.  

Activists say the situation has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been used as a pretext to sever the country’s already fragile links to the outside world.  

“It’s the darkest period in the history of human rights in North Korea, believe it or not,” Scarlatoiu said.  

During Turner’s time at the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, the office has been involved with several projects that aim to promote the free flow of information into and out of North Korea and raise awareness of North Korea’s rights violations. 

North Korea has not reacted to Turner’s nomination. It often becomes enraged when other countries or international bodies mention its rights violations. 

However, at various points, North Korea has interacted with the U.S. human rights envoy — including in 2011, when Ambassador Robert King led a mission to assess North Korea’s food situation. 

It’s unclear whether any similar humanitarian initiatives can succeed now. In recent years, North Korea has ignored U.S. offers of pandemic assistance, shunning virtually all contact with U.S. officials. 

While placing human rights at the forefront of engagement with North Korea is not easy, Turner is “precisely the sort of savvy and strategic representative to get difficult things like this done,” said Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch.  

“Turner has excelled on promoting and protecting human rights across her portfolio,” Robertson said, “And she is precisely the kind of dogged advocate that rights issues in the DPRK require for any sort of change to occur.” 

Activist groups have long complained that human rights were not discussed during the Trump-Kim talks, which instead focused on eliminating North Korea’s nuclear weapons and improving Pyongyang’s relations with Washington and Seoul. 

The talks broke down in 2019. North Korea has since resumed major weapons tests and says it will not resume talks until the United States drops what it calls its “hostile policy.” Specifically, North Korea objects to U.S.-led sanctions that have battered its economy and the heavy U.S. military presence in the region. 
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A U.S. man who posed for photographs with his feet on the desk of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot has been convicted of all eight charges.  

A jury in Washington Monday convicted Richard Barnett on charges including civil disorder, interfering with police officers and obstructing an official government proceeding.

Photographs of Barnett, who is from the southern state of Arkansas, were among some of the memorable images of the day when Congress convened to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the November 3, 2020, presidential election.  

While in Pelosi’s office, Barnett took an envelope the speaker had addressed to another member of Congress and left a note for the congresswoman that included a profanity.

Barnett was convicted of theft for taking the envelope, as well as concealing a dangerous weapon — a stun gun he carried in a collapsible walking stick.  

The defendant took the stand in his own defense during his two-week trial in U.S. District Court in Washington.  

After the verdict, Barnett told reporters outside the courtroom that his conviction was an “injustice” and said he would appeal. He cited the judge’s decision to reject his request to move the trial from Washington to Arkansas.  

“This is not a jury of my peers,” he said.  

Lawyers for Barnett argued that their client did not know that Congress was certifying Biden’s victory on the day of the riot and said Barnett was pushed into the Capitol by the mass of people.  

Prosecutors accused Barnett of repeatedly lying on the witness stand and said he had a history of attending political demonstrations with weapons.

Barnett will be sentenced in May and remain on home detention in Arkansas until then.  

Some information in this report came from the Associated Press.
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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield will travel to Ghana, Mozambique and Kenya this week to advance joint priorities following December’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. 

Her tour, from January 25 to 29, will focus on regional security issues, food insecurity, humanitarian issues, and supporting African efforts to mitigate climate change, a senior administration official told reporters on Monday.  

Thomas-Greenfield’s trip is happening in tandem with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s ongoing mission to Senegal, Zambia and South Africa that will continue through January 28. Yellen is seeking to deepen U.S.-Africa economic ties, including by expanding trade and investment flows.   

President Joe Biden announced over $15 billion in two-way trade and investment commitments, deals and partnerships at the three-day December summit that drew delegations from 49 African nations to Washington.   

Russia’s war  

Africa has deeply felt the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as fuel, food and fertilizer prices rose in its aftermath. This year, U.N. agencies have warned that the impact of the fertilizer crunch could reduce the size of harvests on the continent.   

The U.N. and Turkish-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative has seen more than 18 million metric tons of Ukrainian wheat and other food stuffs exported to international markets since it was signed in mid-July.  

The Joint Coordination Center that oversees the deal says nearly 44% of the wheat exported has been shipped to low and lower middle-income countries. The U.N. is also working with Russia to remove remaining impediments to exporting its food and fertilizer products.  

But the U.S. blames Russia for impeding the export of Ukrainian grain, saying it is not at the level it should be. 

“Russia has deliberately slowed down inspections of these ships and essentially throttled the operation of this corridor,” the senior administration official said of the ships sailing in the Black Sea. “That is having an impact obviously not just on Ukraine but for the entire world.” 

As of Sunday, the Joint Coordination Center said 35 ships are awaiting inspection. Five of them are waiting to enter Ukrainian ports and 30 are loaded with cargo waiting to leave for their destinations. 

International support has been strong for Ukraine at the U.N. General Assembly, but African nations have repeatedly abstained on resolutions that might upset Russia.  

Thomas-Greenfield, who previously served as a U.S. ambassador to Liberia and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, is making her third trip to the continent since becoming U.N. ambassador in February 2021. 

During her trip, she will be visiting two current Security Council members — Ghana and Mozambique — offering the opportunity to address the issue of reforming the U.N. Security Council. 

For decades, countries have said the 15-nation body needs to be expanded to reflect current realities, not those of a post-World War II world. 

In September, Biden said the United States supports increasing the number of permanent seats on the council, including one for Africa. There are currently five seats — Britain, China, France, Russia and the U.S. 
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On the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year, a gunman opened fire at a dance hall in a predominantly Asian community of Monterey Park, California. At least 10 people died during and 10 were injured. Officials said a 72-year-old man suspected of carrying out the shooting was found dead the next day with self-inflicted gun wound. The motive for the attack is unclear. Genia Dulot reports.
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It was a joyful kickoff to the first Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park since before the pandemic, with large crowds filling the streets in the majority Chinese American city near Los Angeles for live entertainment, carnival rides and plenty of food.

But the celebrations were marred by tragedy Saturday night after a gunman entered a ballroom dance hall and opened fire, killing 10 people, wounding 10 more and sending panicked revelers into the streets.

The shooting that left five men and five women dead brought a jarring end to the planned two-day party to ring in the Year of the Rabbit, which featured dragon dancers parading through downtown streets decorated with red lanterns.

Sunday’s festivities were canceled, though some Lunar New Year celebrations went on in neighboring cities also home to large Asian American populations.

“We haven’t had a celebration like this in three years, so this was momentous. People came out in droves,” said Mayor Pro Tem Jose Sanchez, who was there with his 6-year-old daughter. He estimated 100,000 people attended Saturday, and the festival is typically one of the largest Lunar New Year celebrations in the state.

The massacre sent shock waves through Asian American communities around the nation, prompting police from San Francisco to New York to step up patrols at Lunar New Year celebrations in their own cities.

No motivation for the crime has been given and authorities said the suspect was a 72-year-old Asian man. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Sunday the man killed himself as police officers closed in on the van he used to flee.

But Asian American advocacy groups said it was another blow after years of high-profile anti-Asian violence around the country.

“Regardless of what the intent was, the impact on our community has been really profound,” said Connie Chung Joe, CEO of the nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. The nonprofit had a booth set up at the festival and she had planned to attend Sunday.

“Having this tragedy on one of our most important holidays … it feels very personal to our community,” she said. “There is still that feeling of being targeted, and being fearful, when we hear about a shooting like this.”

The San Gabriel Valley is home to a diverse array of Asian-American communities, including people of Chinese, Vietnamese and Filipino descent.

Yingying Guan, 29, saw a mass of police cars Saturday night in Monterey Park and heard helicopters overhead. She didn’t learn it was in response to a shooting until she awoke to news of the shooting Sunday morning.

Guan doesn’t know anyone involved but said she is devastated for her community.

“It’s supposed to be families gathering together to enjoy and to just have some time to get together,” she said. “So many innocent victims.”

Investigators said the gunman shot up the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, killing 10 people, Luna said. Then 20 to 30 minutes later, he entered the Lai Lai Ballroom in nearby Alhambra, before people there wrestled the weapon away from him and he fled, Luna said.

“When something like this happens – and I never thought it would happen in our community – it’s very hard to process,” said Sanchez, who teaches in the city’s schools. “There’s so much grief.”

Monterey Park is a city of about 60,000 people on the eastern edge of Los Angeles where nearly 70% of residents are Asian, mostly of Chinese descent. The area became a destination for Asian immigrants during the 1970s and ’80s after a real estate entrepreneur named Fredric Hsieh bought land and advertised its rolling hills and warm climate in Chinese-language newspapers.

The city’s Lunar New Year celebration has become one of California’s largest. Sanchez, who is Mexican American, said it’s a Chinese tradition that everyone enjoys and reflects the diversity of greater Los Angeles.

Its festivities were canceled, but several other events throughout the region, including a parade in the city of Westminster, went on as planned, but with extra security.

The dance studio where the shooting occurred is located a few blocks from city hall on Monterey Park’s main thoroughfare of Garvey Avenue, which is dotted with strip malls of small businesses whose signs are in both English and Chinese. Cantonese and Mandarin are both widely spoken, Chinese holidays are celebrated, and Chinese films are screened regularly in the city.

Lynette Ma, 28, woke up to text messages from worried friends asking if she was OK. She had planned to take her mother to the festival on Sunday, but instead they sat in a city park coming to terms with the tragedy.

“It was just the most terrible thing,” she said. “It’s just awful because you never expect it to happen somewhere so close to home.”

She said her family will go out to eat to mark the holiday, but it won’t be the same.

Sanchez said a public vigil for the victims will be held in the coming days.
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Women’s marches demanding abortion rights drew thousands of people across the country on Sunday, the 50th anniversary of the now-overturned Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that established federal protections for the procedure.

Organizers focused on states after the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe in June unleashed abortion restrictions and near-total bans in more than a dozen states.

“We are going to where the fight is, and that is at the state level,” reads the website for the Women’s March. The group has dubbed this year’s rallies “Bigger than Roe.”

The main march was held in Wisconsin, where upcoming state Supreme Court elections could determine the court’s power balance and future abortion rights. But rallies were held in dozens of cities, including Florida’s state capital of Tallahassee, where Vice President Kamala Harris gave a fiery speech before a boisterous crowd.

“Can we truly be free if families cannot make intimate decisions about the course of their own lives?” Harris said. “And can we truly be free if so-called leaders claim to be … ‘on the vanguard of freedom’ while they dare to restrict the rights of the American people and attack the very foundations of freedom?”

In Madison, thousands of abortion rights supporters donned coats and gloves to march in below-freezing temperatures through downtown to the state Capitol.

“It’s just basic human rights at this point,” said Alaina Gato, a Wisconsin resident who joined her mother, Meg Wheeler, on the Capitol steps to protest.

They said they plan to vote in the April Supreme Court election. Wheeler also said she hoped to volunteer as a poll worker and canvass for Democrats, despite identifying as an independent voter.

“This is my daughter. I want to make sure she has the right to choose whether she wants to have a child,” Wheeler said.

Madison Abortion and Reproductive Rights Coalition for Healthcare hosted the rally with the support of more than 30 other pro-abortion rights groups, including advocates from neighboring Illinois. Buses of protestors streamed into the state capitol from Chicago and Milwaukee, armed with banners and signs calling for the Legislature to repeal the state’s ban.

Abortions are unavailable in Wisconsin due to legal uncertainties faced by abortion clinics over whether an 1849 law banning the procedure is in effect. The law, which prohibits abortion except to save the patient’s life, is being challenged in court.

Some also carried weapons. Lilith K., who declined to provide their last name, stood on the sidewalk alongside protestors, holding an assault rifle and wearing a tactical vest with a holstered handgun.

“With everything going on with women and other people losing their rights, and with the recent shootings at Club Q and other LGBTQ night clubs, it’s just a message that we’re not going to take this sitting down,” Lilith said.

The march also drew counter-protestors. Most held signs raising religious objections to abortion rights. “I don’t really want to get involved with politics. I’m more interested in what the law of God says,” John Goeke, a Wisconsin resident, said.

Freshly galvanized anti-abortion activists are increasingly setting their sights on Congress with the aim of pushing for a potential national abortion restriction down the line. Tens of thousands gathered in Washington, D.C., on Friday for the annual March for Life — the first to be held since Roe was overturned.

In the absence of Roe v. Wade’s federal protections, abortion rights have become a state-by-state patchwork. In some states, officials have grappled with laws banning abortion that dated from the 1800s.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, with the support of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, filed the challenge to the 1849 ban in June in Dane County, where Madison is located, arguing that it is too old to enforce. Both sides have been trading briefs since and it’s unclear when a ruling may come, but the case looks destined for the state Supreme Court.

Wisconsin’s conservative-controlled Supreme Court, which for decades has issued consequential rulings in favor of Republicans, is likely to hear the case. Races for the court are officially nonpartisan, but candidates for years have aligned with either conservatives or liberals as the contests have become expensive partisan battles.

Women’s rallies were expected to be held in nearly every state on Sunday.

The eldest daughter of Norma McCorvey, whose legal challenge under the pseudonym “Jane Roe” led to the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, was set to attend the rally in Long Beach, California. Melissa Mills said it was her first Women’s March.

“It’s just unbelievable that we’re here again, doing the same thing my mom did,” Mills told The Associated Press. “We’ve lost 50 years of hard work.”

The Women’s March has become a regular event — although interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic — since millions rallied in the United States and around the world the day after the January 2017 inauguration of Donald Trump.

Trump made the appointment of conservative judges a mission of his presidency. The three conservative justices he appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court — Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — all voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.
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