1.23.2023

Mass Shooting in Monterey Park

Ten people were killed and 10 others injured late Saturday when a gunman opened fire at a dance studio in Monterey Park, California, about 10 miles east of Los Angeles. It is the country's deadliest mass shooting since the attack at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, in May. 

Initials shots were reported at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, a dance hall popular among older residents. The attack took place amid Lunar New Year celebrations (see below) in the predominantly Asian American city of 60,000. The identities of the victims have not yet been released.

Police found the body of the attacker, who has been identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, in a cargo van roughly 30 miles from the scene, having fatally shot himself after an hourslong standoff. See the search video here.

Reports suggest the shooter may have been involved in a failed second attack at a separate dance studio later in the night. A motive has not been revealed; see updates here.

Year of the Rabbit

The attack in Southern California unfolded as more than a billion people in East Asia and their diasporas celebrated the Lunar New Year. The festivities, which mark the start of the lunisolar calendar, are widely popular in China and are considered the largest annual human migration as millions return home to celebrate with family.  

Linked to the repeating 12-year Chinese Zodiac cycle, this new year also marks the transition from the Year of the Tiger to the Year of the Rabbit, a sign that symbolizes peace and prosperity (see a visual guide). More specifically, the water rabbit—a designation based on the philosophy regarding nature's elemental forces—which last occurred in 1963. 

In China, the celebrations follow the lifting of the country's yearslong zero-COVID policy and its accompanying restrictions. Nearly 73,000 COVID-19 deaths have been reported since Dec. 8, when the rules were relaxed. 

See photos here. 

Biden's Document Dilemma

Six items reportedly containing classified information were recovered by federal agents during a search of President Joe Biden's personal residence in Wilmington, Delaware, officials said over the weekend. Items were said to be from both Biden's four-decade Senate tenure and his time as vice president.

It was the fourth such discovery in recent weeks, a string sparked in November when Biden staff notified the National Archives after finding 10 documents marked as classified while cleaning out a Washington, DC, office previously used by Biden from 2017 to 2019. The searches also come amid an ongoing probe of mishandling of classified documents by former President Donald Trump, which began after federal agents retrieved roughly 100 classified documents from his Mar-a-Lago estate in August.

Two separate special counsels have been assigned to review the handling of documents by both Biden and Trump. 

Separately, Chief of Staff Ron Klain said he would step down following Biden's Feb. 7 State of the Union, and will be replaced by adviser Jeff Zients.

Science & Technology

Business & Markets

Politics & World Affairs

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Historybook: American statesman John Hancock born (1737); The US and Vietnam reach peace settlement (1973); Athlete, artist, and activist Paul Robeson dies (1976); Salvador Dalí dies (1989); Madeleine Albright becomes first US female secretary of state (1997).