News Wrap: Northern California mass shooting suspect makes first court appearance

Amna Nawaz:

In the day's other headlines: The suspect accused of killing seven people in back-to-back shootings in Northern California had his first court appearance; 66-year-old Chunli Zhao will face seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder for the attacks in Half Moon Bay.

Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris headed to Southern California to meet with victims' families in Monterey Park. Saturday's mass shooting their left 11 dead.

A Virginia teacher who was shot by a first grader now says school officials were warned three times that day that the child had a gun. The lawyer for Abigail Zwerner made that allegation today, as she announced plans to sue the Newport News school district.

Diane Toscano, Attorney For Abigail Zwerner:

Abby Zwerner was shot in front of those horrified kids. And the school and community are living the nightmare, all because the school administration failed to act. Were they not so paralyzed by apathy, they could have prevented this tragedy.

Amna Nawaz:

Ms. Zwerner is still recovering from that attack earlier this month. The school district had no comment today on her allegation.

A new report on mass attacks urges communities and businesses to intervene early when they see warning signs. The U.S. Secret Service studied 173 incidents from 2016 through 2020, nearly all involving men using guns. The agency found two-thirds of those attackers had previously shown concerning behavior that should have been addressed. It also said about half of the attacks were motivated by personal grievances.

In Lebanon, the top prosecutor today ordered all suspects released in the 2020 Beirut port explosion that killed more than 200 people. It was the latest blow to the long-stalled investigation, and families of the victims were irate. Some held up pictures of their dead relatives outside police stations. They insisted again that the ruling elite be called to account.

Em Ahmad, Mother of Victim (through translator): Sadly, in this country, those who demand justice are detained, and the criminals are walking free. We are the families of the victims. Our loved ones were killed, while they are with their children and evading justice.

Amna Nawaz:

The blast was caused by hundreds of tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate stored at that site. Calls for accountability have been fueled by frustration with Lebanon's ruling factions, rife with corruption and mismanagement.

Tensions remained high today in Peru's capital after the city's largest and most violent anti-government protests yet. Police fired tear gas Tuesday at thousands of demonstrators in Lima. The protesters rejected President Dina Boluarte's call for a truce. Instead, they again demanded her resignation. More than 50 people have died in almost two months of unrest across Peru.

The number of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela encountered at the U.S. Southern border has dropped sharply. The Homeland Security Department reports it's down 97 percent since early December from a daily average of nearly 3,400 to just 115. A new Biden administration plan accepts 30,000 migrants a month from those countries through legal channels. Otherwise, they are automatically expelled.

The United Nations is now projecting world economic growth will increase just 1.9 percent this year. That would be down sharply from an estimated 3 percent in 2022. It would also be one of the lowest rates in decades. Today's report cites the war in Ukraine, inflation and continued effects of the pandemic.

And on Wall Street, stocks veered between worries about keeping corporate profits up and hopes of averting a recession. The Dow Jones industrial average gained about 10 points to close near 33744. The Nasdaq fell 21 points. The S&P 500 lost a fraction of a point.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": the latest wave of mass shootings again sparks debate over gun access in the United States; Pope Francis speaks out against laws that criminalize homosexuality; Washington state implements a new plan to fight domestic extremism; plus much more.