(LOS ANGELES) — A suspect has been charged with possession of a high-powered weapon and making criminal threats after a cache of high-powered rifles, shotguns and handguns were recovered at a man’s Los Angeles apartment.
Braxton Johnson, 25, was arrested for criminal threats on Thursday, according to police.
Authorities initially said a mass shooting may have been thwarted, but the Los Angeles Police Department later issued a statement saying, in part: “At this point of the investigation, there are no indications that any persons were threatened with a firearm nor have we identified any intent by Johnson to plan a mass shooting incident.”
On Tuesday morning, officers in Hollywood responded to a call from building security of a man making threats, according to law enforcement sources.
The officers “determined the elements of Criminal Threats had been met” and they obtained a search warrant, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Police said they recovered “several high-powered rifles, shotguns, handguns and a large cache of various munitions” in the home. Some guns were found in front of a window, according to law enforcement sources.
Lt. Leonid Tsap had told reporters, “There’s a high chance that the officers, and obviously security staff and the people who called, prevented a mass shooting from happening.”
Johnson was set to be arraigned later in the day on with two counts of possession of an assault weapon, one count of criminal threats and one count of solicitation of murder, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.
“Los Angeles County is still reeling over the tragic mass shooting in Monterey Park,” the DA said in a statement. “Were it not for the brave actions of the witnesses in this case, this could have also been an incredible tragedy
Johnson served in the Army as an Infantryman from July 2016 to February 2020, according to an Army spokesperson. He had no deployments.
At Sunday’s Grammys, one of the unlikeliest records is up for the coveted Best Country Album trophy: Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville. Unlikely, because even Ashley herself agrees it’s a project that by conventional standards would probably never have gotten the green light.
Lindeville‘s a concept album about a fictional town and its residents, written and performed by some of Nashville’s most talented tunesmiths and singers.
“It started out with like, ‘We should go do a thing and write these songs,'” Ashley tells ABC Audio. “And then we did. And we’re like, ‘We love them!'”
“And then we got home and we’re playing the work tapes for people,” she continues. “Like, I was over at Miranda [Lambert]’s one day and it was like me and Caylee [Hammack] were over there and hanging out, and I was like, ‘You got to listen to this bra song.'”
“And then people that we’re playing the work tapes for are like, ‘This is dope.’ And I was like, ‘I know. But maybe we can make some demos of it.'”
From there, Ashley got an unexpected avalanche of yeses, from getting the go-ahead to spend money on demos to landing her pal John Osborne as producer.
“I sent him the work tapes, and he was like ‘Hell yes,'” she says, remembering her reaction: “What is happening? Several of these should have been nos.”
Ironically, Miranda may’ve accidentally created some competition for herself. Her record, Palomino, is up for Best Country Album as well, alongside Luke Combs‘ Growin’ Up, Maren Morris‘ Humble Quest, and Willie Nelson‘s A Beautiful Time.
You can find out who wins Sunday as the Grammys air live from Los Angeles starting at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
Bonnie Raitt is no stranger to Grammy Awards. Not only has she won 10, she’s been nominated 30 times, including four nominations this year. But surprisingly, this year she’s received her first nomination as a songwriter, with her tune “Just Like That” up for Song of the Year.
“I was never expecting this song of the year nomination. But I was very proud of the song, especially since it was so inspired by John Prine, and we lost him,” she tells theNew York Times. “I put my heart and soul into every record, and I never know which ones are going to resonate. But I can tell people are really moved, looking out there in the audience.”
Raitt will be in attendance at this Sunday’s Grammys, where she’ll perform in the tribute to Fleetwood Mac‘s Christine McVie, and it sounds like for many artists Grammy night is about way more than trophies.
“I think all of us are like a kid in a candy store backstage,” she shares. “My favorite story about the Grammys was going through the metal detector at the Staples Center, at the afternoon ceremony. I was in the line between two guys in Slipknot, and the guy behind me is like in a Hannibal Lecter kind of a mask, and he goes, ‘I really dig your music!’”
She says, “I wouldn’t have expected Slipknot guys to know me. You know, maybe a ‘My mom loves you’ kind of thing, but he was clearly a fan. And I just never expected the number of people that come up and tell each other that. I got to tell Dave Grohl what a fan I am of the Foo Fighters, and he was so surprised on the red carpet.”
A deadly plane crash brings a group of unlikely people together to deal with their grief, and make connections that likely never would have otherwise happened. That’s the premise of the new Apple TV+ series Dear Edward, debuting Friday.
It’s from Friday Night Lights creator Jason Katims, who tells ABC Audio despite the heavy subject matter, it’s not a depressing show.
“To me, it’s really a story about resilience and about moving on and about the power of the human spirit,” he explains.” “I think of it as a very uplifting show and show that I think is really about connection.”
Connie Britton, who stars in the new series, echoes the same sentiment, stating, “Even though there’s a lot of grief and sadness and loss and tough emotional stuff around that in the show, the ultimate takeaway is actually life affirming. And actually hope. And that, I think, is a really wonderful thing to be able to create.”
Britton plays a wife who loses her husband in a plane crash, and she finds out he left behind some secrets — which got her thinking about what loose ends she might leave behind if something tragic happened.
“I’m not a fearful flier at all,” she explains. “But I, now that I’m a mom, you know, that’s all I think about. I’m just like, if I died in a plane crash, is my son taken care of?”
So, what drew her to the role?
“I love that this was an ensemble,” she shares. “I love that this was a really connective way of talking about grief. And by creating a system of support, even through all these very, very different lives.”
The first three episodes of Dear Edward airFriday with one episode-a-week thereafter.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
LA Lakers 112, Indiana 111
Cleveland 128, Memphis 113
New York 106, Miami 104
Chicago 114, Charlotte 98
Dallas 111, New Orleans 106
Denver 134, Golden State 117
Milwaukee 106, LA Clippers 105
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
UAB 86, FL Atlantic 77
Houston 70, Wichita State 61
UCLA 70, Washington 61
Saint Mary’s 68, San Francisco 59
Gonzaga 88, Santa Clara 70
(WASHINGTON) — As hundreds of Democrats gather in Philadelphia this weekend for their annual winter meeting, the party is primed to create a smooth on-ramp for Biden to gear up for his reelection campaign, which a source says is expected to launch within months.
The main business of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) winter meeting will go down at a Saturday session where the full body will finally green light a reconfigured — and somewhat controversial — primary calendar boosted by the White House that cuts the famed Iowa causes and all but guarantees the loss of the typically first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary as part of the official early window.
Many Democrats see the proposed changes — adding Georgia and Michigan to the lineup while tapping South Carolina to kick-off the entire schedule — as hyper-advantageous to Biden, who owes much of his 2020 campaign reinvigoration to key voting blocs in those states after early setbacks in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Supporters of the calendar shuffle also say it will allow a more diverse group of Democratic voters, including Black people in the South, to have a larger and earlier role in selecting primary candidates.
But others, like Sen. Bernie Sanders’ senior adviser Faiz Shakir, critiqued the newly proposed calendar as a “fatal mistake” because, he wrote in a December New York Times op-ed, South Carolina “is not trending in any way toward the Democratic Party.”
This week, the DNC is set to resolve the matter, with the Biden-backed calendar likely to get unanimous support at the same time the party is officially declaring their support for his likely reelection campaign.
The president has repeatedly said he intends to run in 2024 but that he hasn’t definitively decided.
One DNC member familiar with discussions around timing, who like others in this story was granted anonymity to speak candidly, said his reelection announcement would occur within a few months. (The White House declined to comment.)
Outgoing White House chief of staff Ron Klain told Biden on Wednesday, at a transition ceremony, that he “look[s] forward to being on your side when you run for president in 2024.”
And while Republicans recently saw internal fissures over their leadership on public display in the elections for Republican National Committee chair and House speaker, several DNC members tell ABC they are preparing to stand firm, despite Biden’s middling approval numbers and the Democratic base’s stated preference for another standard-bearer in the next cycle.
One member called their strategy “controlled unity” as Biden is scheduled to appear at the winter meeting on Friday along with Vice President Kamala Harris. On Thursday morning, a resolution was unanimously passed supporting Biden running for reelection.
While the president is expected to stop short of making any formal announcement in his remarks to the group on Friday, DNC members believe the newly configured primary speaks for itself.
If approved, the line-up would begin with South Carolina on Feb. 3, 2024, followed by Nevada and New Hampshire hosting their contests concurrently on Feb. 6, then Georgia on Feb. 13 and ending with Michigan on Feb. 27.
“Look, if you start to read the tea leaves here, you’ll see that the president is running. The first and most obvious signal of that is the calendar,” said one DNC member.
“The top line is Biden’s going to come there, he’s going to make it clear that he and Harris are running [in 2024], that’s going to soak up the interest level on Friday,” another DNC member said, predicting that the entire committee will then “rubber stamp” the new nominating calendar which was previously agreed upon by the Rules and Bylaws Committee.
“This is not a calendar for an open primary. This is a calendar for reelect,” a third DNC member said. “I do think this will be the calendar for ’24. I do not think it will be the calendar for 2028.
Biden’s presumptive bid will result in an almost certain nomination, which makes some Democrats indifferent about the timing of his announcement.
The third DNC member noted that Biden faces “no pressure” to announce a 2024 campaign as no other establishment Democrat is planning to oppose him.
Other DNC members predicted that Donald Trump’s fairly low-key campaign kickoff so far could be contributing to Biden taking his time, having said last year that he would confer with his family over the winter holidays.
“I have heard from no one within the DNC or other power brokers within the Democratic Party any reservation about Joe Biden,” one of the DNC members said.
Another of the members who spoke with ABC News theorized the timeline for Biden’s announcement has more to do with the future of his presidential agenda with a divided Congress and related factors that might influence his candidacy — like the recent discovery of classified documents retained while at of office at an old office in Washington, D.C., and at his Wilmington, Delaware, home — than any threat of a primary challenger.
This member said that the narrative and media attention will change around Biden when he is “encumbered” by running a campaign at the same time that he is running the federal government.
“There’s no perceived opposition on the Democratic side. So why not just continue to do events, and you get all the free media and are spending money to do it?” one of the DNC members said.
However, one potential challenger to Biden from the left has made herself known: author and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson. In the last few weeks, she’s teased possible trips to the early nominating states of New Hampshire and South Carolina to explore the option of running.
But many DNC members brushed that aside, given Williamson is without party backing, comparable funds and comparable support from the party’s base.
“My expectation is that after President Biden announces that there won’t be any substantive, well-funded, well-known people running against him,” South Carolina DNC member Carol Fowler said.
One of the DNC members said that attempting to primary Biden would only serve to weaken the party’s ultimate chance to keep the White House.
“You undermine him in the campaign. You don’t make him stronger,” this member said.
New Hampshire DNC member Ray Buckley, however, cited the chance of a Williamson campaign as an example for Democratic leaders of an “insurgent candidate” who could optimize the state’s anger at losing its nominating slot, suggesting the angst over the calendar shakeup had electoral ramifications.
The new nominating calendar will “create an opening for an insurgent candidate — serious or not — who can garner media attention and capitalize on Granite Stater’s anger about being passed over by [Biden’s] campaign,” Buckley wrote in a letter published last week.
“Some of her supporters have made that very clear, that that is something that they are heavily thinking about,” Buckley said in an interview with ABC News.
New Hampshire Democrats will use their time at the DNC winter meeting to engage in conversations with members of the Rules and Bylaws Committee and the White House about the “predicament” they’ve found themselves in: where their secretary of state will not breach state law, which mandates New Hampshire be the first in the nation to hold a primary election.
Opposition from New Hampshire — along with hesitation in Georgia about working to change its laws to accommodate a new calendar — forced a DNC committee to vote last week on an extension for the two states so that they might meet the requirements of their spots in the restructured early state schedule.
But Buckley maintains that New Hampshire Democrats do not have the power to break the law instituted by state leaders, even if they are punished by the DNC and are at risk of losing delegates.
“We want to make sure that we are successful: that we carry the state for the Biden-Harris ticket and that we pick up the governor’s race so we gain it, we hold onto our congressional seats and gain the majorities in the legislature,” Buckley said. “That’s what our focus is.”
He said they’ll continue to fight for their spot at the front of the primary line with little expectation that the DNC at large will vote for anything other than the new early nominating calendar.
ABC News’ Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
(SEOUL, South Korea) — Actor Oh Yeong-soo, who rose to global recognition after appearing in the Netflix hit “Squid game,” goes on trial for sexual misconduct on Friday.
The prosecution charged Oh, 78, with indecent assault for alleged inappropriate physical contact with a woman in 2017. The alleged victim first brought her case to the police in 2021, authorities said.
Not much is disclosed of Oh’s alleged sexual misconduct, but the alleged victim claims there was unwanted touching when she met Oh in 2017, according to local outlets JTBC and News1.
Police accepted the crime report and probed the incident but decided not to transfer the case. However, prosecutors in the Suwon district, which is located south of Seoul, began reinvestigating the case in 2022 following the alleged victim’s formal objection, according to the district court in the city of Seongnam.
In a November 2022 interview with local newspaper News1, Oh denied any wrongdoing and referred to the victim’s claim as “one sided.” He told the local broadcaster JTBC that he “held her hand in order to give directions around the lake” but denied the sexual misconduct allegations
In South Korea, court and police documents concerning sexual crimes are unavailable by law to prevent disclosing any information about the victims.
Oh has pleaded not guilty to the indecent assault charges.
ABC News has not been able to reach Oh for comment.
If the Suwon District Court judge rules him guilty on Friday, Oh would be fined up to $12,000 or 10 years in prison.
Oh is a veteran actor in South Korea’s theater scene, making his debut in 1963. He became well-known internationally as an elderly contestant in “Squid Game.” His performance as Player 001 earned him an Emmy nomination and Golden Globe win for best supporting actor, which was a first for a Korean actor.
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross‘ score of the 2020 film Mank is now available on vinyl.
The movie reunited the Nine Inch Nails duo with director David Fincher, who they also worked with on The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl. Mank was nominated for the Best Original Score Oscar, but lost out to the soundtrack for Soul, which was composed by — wait for it — Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, along with Jon Batiste.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met Thursday with members of the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss pushing policing reform in the wake of the death of Tyre Nichols.
As the group gathered in the Oval Office, Biden said it was his hope that the “dark memory” of Nichols’ death “spurs some action that we’ve all been fighting for.”
“We got to stay at it, as long as it takes,” the president said.
Attendees included CBC chair Rep. Steven Horsford, Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Raphael Warnock, Rep. James Clyburn, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Rep. Joe Neguse — all Democrats.
Calls for legislative action have grown in the weeks following the fatal encounter between Nichols and Memphis police. Graphic footage of the Jan. 7 confrontation showed officers striking and kicking Nichols after a traffic stop. He died three days later. According to a preliminary independent autopsy commissioned by the family, he suffered from “extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating.”
Nichols’ parents, attorney Ben Crump and Rev. Al Sharpton all pushed for the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act as they delivered remarks at Nichols’ funeral on Wednesday. Harris, too, demanded Congress pass the legislation, calling it “nonnegotiable.”
“The death of Tyree Nichols is yet another example of why we do need action,” Horsford said as the caucus sat down with the president and vice president.
“We need your help to make sure we can get the legislative actions that are necessary to save lives, and to make public safety the priority that it needs to be for all communities,” he told them.
The group did not elaborate on any specific policies they planned to discuss as they entered the otherwise closed-door meeting.
But any policing reform faces an uphill battle in the now-divided Congress.
ABC News’ Justin Gomez pressed President Biden on whether police reform will be possible this Congress just before his meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus.
“I hope so,” Biden said as he held up his hands and crossed his fingers.
In advance of Thursday’s meeting between the Congressional Black Caucus and Biden, Republican Sen. Tim Scott poured cold water on the idea of using the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act as a starting point in negotiations.
“Resurrecting the House progressives’ police reform bill is a non-starter,” Scott wrote in a Twitter thread.
The legislation passed the Democrat-controlled House in 2021 but stalled in the Senate, with impasse occurring primarily over the issue of qualified immunity for officers.
Scott has been at the center of police reform negotiations in the Senate in recent years, and he worked with Booker in 2021 to try to get a deal on the issue. His sign approval of any policing reform bill would likely be essential in garnering the necessary Republican support in the Senate.
“I’ve been working toward common ground solutions that actually have a shot at passing,” he tweeted. “Solutions to increase funding and training to make sure only the best wear the badge. Solutions that would have made a difference in places like Memphis & Kenosha.Here’s the truth: We can get something meaningful done. We can pass a bill that the majority of Congress–and the majority of Americans–would agree on.”
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters at his weekly press conference Thursday he’d spoken to Congressional Black Caucus leaders ahead of their meeting at the White House.
Jeffries declined to say when exactly Democrats would put forward a policing bill, saying he wouldn’t get ahead of the meeting.
“We do need to have a real, genuine, authentic, and bipartisan conversation about dealing with police reform in America, and figuring out how do we strengthen the relationship between the police and the community,” Jeffries said.
Kelly Clarkson was feeling nostalgic for the ’90s, so she belted out Mark Morrison‘s “Return of the Mack” on the Kellyoke segment of her daytime talk show. She gave the track, which is about bouncing back after a bad breakup, a more sensual twinge.
Speaking of the ’90s, Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard is admittedly peppering Winona Ryder with questions about all the rockstars she dated in that era — such as Dave Grohl and MCA from the Beastie Boys. Finn told GQ, “I could literally ask her what it was like knowing Kurt Cobain, and she just tells me everything.”
Another project from The Weeknd is heading to HBO. He announced his concert at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium is being turned into a concert film, titled The Weeknd: Live at SoFi Stadium. It will start streaming on HBO Max on February 25.
Harry Styles felt the birthday love at his concert in Palm Springs, California, which also marked his final North American tour stop. Billboardsays he told fans at the show, “Obviously, I have a fear of people not coming to my birthday party. So, I just thought I would do a show and maybe you might come.”
Ok Go, the band that danced on treadmills for their “Here It Goes Again” music video, is suing Post Foods for naming a new grab-and-go breakfast option OK GO! Varietyreports the band alleges Post Foods is violating and diluting their trademark, which they’ve had since 2008. They want the cereal option to be called something else.
