News Wrap: Shooting at California church driven by hate for Taiwan, police say

Judy Woodruff:

In the day's other news: Police in Southern California say a Chinese immigrant acted out of hate for Taiwan in a Sunday shooting at a church. One person was killed and five wounded.

The gunman opened fire at a luncheon for a Taiwanese immigrant congregation and was then overpowered. The local sheriff said today the man had lived in Taiwan before coming to the U.S.

Don Barnes, Orange County, California, Sheriff:

Based on preliminary information in the investigation, it is believed the suspect involved was upset about political tensions between China and Taiwan.

Judy Woodruff:

The suspect, 68-year-old David Chou of Las Vegas, is charged with murder and attempted murder. A former neighbor today that Chou was never the same after he was nearly beaten to death several years ago.

There has been movement today on the baby formula shortage. Abbott Laboratories has announced a consent decree with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reopen a formula plant in Michigan. It is the nation's largest, but it has been closed since February due to contamination.

In Ukraine, the ravaged city of Mariupol appears on the verge of falling to Russian forces. Wounded fighters were evacuated today from a steel complex, and Ukraine's military said it's trying to rescue the last holdouts. Also today, Sweden join Finland in announcing that it will apply to join NATO.

And Russia's President Vladimir Putin offered a somewhat toned-down response. Putin spoke at a summit in Moscow. In a reversal, he suggested Russia could live with NATO accepting Sweden and Finland if it does not go too far.

Vladimir Putin, Russian President (through translator):

As far as NATO's expansion, new members Finland and Sweden included, Russia has no problem with those states. Therefore, the addition of those countries poses no direct threat for us. But the expansion of military infrastructure into this territory will obviously call for our response.

Judy Woodruff:

Both Sweden and Finland have ruled out accepting NATO troops or hardware on their territory.

We will return to this after the news summary.

McDonald's has announced that it is leaving Russia after more than 30 years of doing business there. The company says it is selling most of its 850 Russian restaurants. It will continue paying some 62,000 employees until the sale closes.

President Biden is redeploying U.S. troops to Somalia. He signed the order today amid concerns about Al-Shabaab rebels who have links to al-Qaida. Then-President Trump had withdrawn nearly all of the 700 U.S. special operations forces who were stationed in Somalia.

The CDC today confirmed one million COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. to date. That is more American deaths in the Civil War and World War II combined. And with infections rising in New York City, health officials urged people to mask up again in indoor public settings. Meanwhile, North Korea reported 56 deaths and some 1.5 million infections from what they call an unspecified fever.

Leader Kim Jong-un visited pharmacies in Pyongyang and criticized the slow pace of COVID medicine deliveries. He also mobilized North Korea's army to help.

The U.S. Supreme Court has sided with Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz over letting political candidates lend money to their own campaigns and then get repaid. A 2002 law capped how much campaign money can be used for that purpose. But Cruz challenged the provision. By 6-3 today, the court ruled that the restriction violates freedom of expression.

A Los Angeles judge today struck down California's law requiring that there be women on corporate boards. The 2018 statute required publicly held companies based in California to have up to three women on their boards. The judge ruled that it violated the state Constitution by mandating a gender-based quota.

And on Wall Street, stocks started higher, but ended mostly lower led by tech shares again. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 26 points to close 32223. But the Nasdaq fell 142 points. That's 1 percent. And the S&P 500 gave up 16.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": why the fight against COVID appears to have stalled in the U.S.; Tamara Keith and Amy Walter break down the latest political headlines; young playwrights use the theater to confront the ongoing trauma of gun violence; plus much more.