Morning Headlines - Monday, Jan. 23, 2023 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

California Mass Shooting: 10 Dead During Lunar New Year Celebrations

The gunman who massacred 10 people at a California dance studio was hunting for his wife, sources have said.

Huu Can Tran, 72, went on a bloody rampage at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park on Saturday night, killing five women and five men and injuring several more, before he shot himself dead during a police standoff Sunday.

Police have yet to officially release a motive but a police source told LA Mag: 'There is increasing evidence this was domestic violence.'

Chester Chong, the chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles and a community leader in Monterey Park, said the suspect may have been jealous about not being invited to a party that his wife attended.

Santos’s Financial Woes Pile Up, Threatening His Political Career

The controversies swirling around Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) are shifting quickly from resume lies to questionable finances, posing a much more serious threat to the embattled freshman even as he vows to remain in Congress.

While the early cloud of scandal had focused on the ethics of Santos’s fabricated campaign biography, more serious revelations suggest the Long Island Republican might have violated campaign finance laws — a much graver class of misconduct that could result in civil penalties, criminal prosecution, expulsion from Congress or all three.

The questions center around the hundreds of thousands of dollars Santos has loaned his campaigns from personal accounts; his sharp increase in reported wealth an outside group that was raising funds on behalf of his campaign, without being registered with the Federal Election Commission (FEC); and a host of expenses submitted by his campaign for $199.99 — one cent less than the figure requiring receipts.

Democrats May Have To Bend On Negotiations With GOP On Debt Ceiling

Strategists and policy experts in both parties believe Democrats will have to come to the bargaining table soon to negotiate a debt ceiling deal that would avoid an economic catastrophe.

President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) are so far refusing to negotiate with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on raising the nation’s debt ceiling, but voices across the political spectrum argue the precedent for such talks has been set.

Former President Obama negotiated with the House Republican majority in 2011 to extend the nation’s borrowing authority, while former President Trump agreed to big discretionary spending increases in 2019 to raise the debt ceiling.

Pickup Trucks Have Gotten Bigger, Higher-tech — And More Dangerous

America has a love affair with pickup trucks. In 2022, the top three best-selling vehicles in America were pickup trucks, and among them, the Ford F-series reigns supreme. The Ford F-150 has been the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. for more than 40 years, and for that reason, it’s a useful proxy for pickups overall.

But during those 40 years, pickups have changed significantly. They’ve become bigger, heavier and more tricked out, and they’ve transformed from workhorse vehicles to family cruisers.

Sales of these huge trucks are sustaining carmakers, bringing in record profits they can use to develop expensive technologies like electrification and automation that will drive the industry in the future.

Yet pedestrian and road safety advocates say today's massive trucks are a hazard, given their size, weight and driver blind spots.

‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ Crosses $2 Billion Mark In Worldwide Box Office

As has frequently been the case throughout his unparalleled career, James Cameron made film history again this weekend.

His long-awaited sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water” has now made over $2 billion in worldwide grosses, as reported by Deadline.

That grand total is after the film’s box office take from this weekend, the sixth consecutive weekend the film has occupied the No. 1 spot since its release in December.

Officer Involved Critical Incident Investigation In Dunn County

The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is investigating an officer involved critical incident in Dunn County, Wis. that occurred on the evening of Saturday, January 21, 2023.

At approximately 9:08 p.m., law enforcement from Menomonie Police Department, Dunn County Sheriff’s Office and the University of Wisconsin - Stout Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a stolen vehicle near Terrill Road and Bongey Drive in the City of Menomonie. The vehicle involved in the contact was taken during an armed home invasion where it was reported shots were fired. During the traffic stop, law enforcement officers from the Menomonie Police Department and the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office discharged their weapons striking the driver of the vehicle. First aid was rendered but the subject died at the scene.

No law enforcement personnel were injured during the incident.

‘Here Again’: Abortion Activists Rally 50 Years After Roe

MADISON, Wis. — From beach cities to snow-covered streets, abortion supporters rallied by the thousands on Sunday to demand protections for reproductive rights and mark the 50th anniversary of the now-overturned Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision that established federal protections for the procedure.

The reversal of Roe in June unleashed a flurry of legislation in the states, dividing them between those that have restricted or banned abortion and those that have sought to defend access. The Women’s March, galvanized during Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration in 2017 amid a national reckoning over sexual assaults, said it has refocused on state activism after Roe was tossed.

“This fight is bigger than Roe,” Women’s March said in a tweet. “They thought that we would stay home and that this would end with Roe — they were wrong.”

WisDOT Announces 2022 Excellence In Construction Awards

Six Wisconsin construction companies received Excellence in Construction Awards at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s annual Contractor-Engineer Conference held this week in Wisconsin Dells.

Top winners include an asphalt paving project in Lincoln County, a concrete paving project in Washburn County, a grading project in Brown County, a small bridge project in Eau Claire County, a large bridge project in Racine County and a large contract project in Dane County.

Multi-Year Invasive Species Case Concludes With Convictions

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced the conclusion of a multi-year law enforcement investigation and prosecution related to the illegal distribution of more than 960 invasive crayfish by several wholesale-level distributors.

A number of invasive crayfish were distributed, including red swamp, mini orange, electric blue and others. Although red swamp crayfish are native to the southern U.S., they are not native to the northern U.S., including Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. Due to the damage these crayfish can cause to native plant and animal populations, the species are illegal to possess in Wisconsin.

Groups Seek To Bar The Use Of Hounds While Hunting In The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest

Around 20 wildlife and animal protection groups want the U.S. Forest Service to ban the use of hounds for hunting in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest after Wisconsin’s controversial wolf hunt two years ago.

The Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf and Wildlife filed a petition Thursday with the federal agency to bar use of dogs to hunt black bears and other wildlife.

"I think that 2021 hunt really outlined what these houndsmen are capable of when it comes to wolves," said Melissa Smith, executive director of Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf and Wildlife. "We know that hounds and wolves have terrible bloody conflict. Now that wolves in Wisconsin are federally protected again, we believe that the Forest Service needs to end this practice."