Today’s Headlines: Tragedy in San Jose

Authorities are investigating a deadly mass shooting in San Jose.

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Tragedy in San Jose

Another gunman. Another mass shooting — this time, the worst of the year in California and one of the deadliest in the U.S. in 2021.

Authorities say a 57-year-old maintenance worker who had been employed at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority for at least eight years set his house on fire Wednesday morning, drove to work and shot nine co-workers to death in two buildings at a San Jose light rail yard, after possibly setting explosives. As Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputies ran on the scene just moments after the first 911 calls came in, he apparently shot himself to death.

The victims made up most of the early shift at the facility and ranged in age from 29 to 63.

Authorities are still searching for a motive in the shooting, although early indications point to a work-related issue that did not involve riders on the Silicon Valley light rail system. Here is the latest.

Where Did the Coronavirus Originate?

President Biden has ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to increase their effort to determine the origins of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The directive was a rare public statement about an ongoing classified initiative. It escalated questions about whether negligence could have played a role in the deaths of roughly 3.5 million people worldwide.

The idea that the pandemic began at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, located in the Chinese city where COVID-19 was first detected, was frequently dismissed as a fringe theory pushed by former President Trump and his political allies.

But scientists have said the possibility cannot be ruled out, especially since China has refused to allow a more thorough investigation.

More Top Coronavirus Headlines

— A nationwide study has found that breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people are rare and that only 2% of those patients died.

— Disneyland and Disney California Adventure have begun selling tickets to travelers from out of state for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic shut their doors more than a year ago.

A Department Under Scrutiny

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is facing allegations from the city of Compton that the agency routinely charges for patrol work that is not done. The allegations were made in a legal claim filed with the county, a precursor to a lawsuit. They surfaced this year when a lawyer representing an anonymous deputy assigned to the Sheriff’s Department’s Compton station contacted city officials.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva said during a news conference Wednesday that the department is conducting a thorough audit.

Meanwhile, the department faces more public scrutiny after Deputy Daniel Manuel Auner, 23, was charged with murder in connection with an off-duty crash that killed his 23-year-old passenger. Auner was charged with one felony count each of murder and reckless driving on a highway causing significant bodily injury, the L.A. County district attorney’s office said.

The crash occurred just after midnight July 8. The passenger in his front seat, Ashley Wells, died of her injuries; Wells’ parents filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the deputy last year. Prosecutors said two other passengers survived with severe injuries.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

In the 1950s, Americans feared that the nuclear weapons they’d helped develop would come back to harm them, leading schools to run atomic bomb drills. The threat was described as “a bomb that blows up houses and makes the earth wiggle.” This 1957 photo shows students from Hosler Junior High School in Lynwood practicing what was known as a civil defense drill.

May 27, 1957: Seventh-graders from Sarah Robinson’s class at Hosler Junior High School in Lynwood cover their faces and hide under desks during a full-scale red alert civil defense drill.

(Howard W. Maxwell / Los Angeles Times )

CALIFORNIA

— There are growing indications that President Biden is close to nominating Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to become the U.S. ambassador to India.

— The reward for information about the fatal shooting of a 6-year-old boy on the 55 Freeway continues to grow, now totaling $250,000.

— California Highway Patrol officers arrested a suspect who motorists say shot at them with a BB gun Tuesday in the Riverside area amid reports of at least 80 similar shootings across Southern California.

— As Southern California’s biggest water supplier choses a new general manager, the fiercely contested vote is exposing deep disagreements within the powerful agency while a severe drought grips the region.

— Tommy Gong, elections chief in San Luis Obispo County and a third-generation American, has been targeted because of his ethnicity, columnist Mark Z. Barabak writes.

NATION-WORLD

— Since at least 2006, Democrats have promised to drive down prescription drug costs. But even with control of Congress and the White House, plans are still sputtering.

— Republican lawmakers in Idaho and Montana made it much easier to kill gray wolves. Wildlife advocates are pressing the Biden administration to revive federal protections for these predators across the Northern Rockies.

— With U.S. forces on track to withdraw from Afghanistan, most Afghans feel the fighting has gone on for so long that sides are irrelevant. They’ll give allegiance to whoever stops the carnage, and that increasingly looks like it’ll be the Taliban.

— A private building project is destroying part of the outskirts of the pre-Hispanic ruin site of Teotihuacán, just north of Mexico City, even as the Mexican government says it has repeatedly issued stop-work orders.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

— We love a season preview, but some of the year’s best TV is already airing. Here are the best shows of 2021 (so far), curated by The Times’ TV team.

— Netflix’s “High on the Hog” reveals how Black cooking is the bedrock of American food. It’s essential viewing, writes restaurant critic Bill Addison.

— Eric Carle, author and illustrator of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” has died at age 91.

— Ariana Grande finally gives fans a peek at her at-home Montecito wedding to real estate agent Dalton Gomez, along with a few new details from the big day.

— We’re reaching new heights in the age of cord-cutting as the Tonys rip up the awards show playbook with a streaming-only ceremony on Paramount+.

BUSINESS

— Amazon is buying MGM, the movie and TV studio behind James Bond, “Legally Blonde” and “Shark Tank.” It’s a watershed moment for Hollywood and tech as streaming takes over entertainment.

— A San Francisco startup says it helps parents pick healthier embryos. But experts say the science isn’t that simple and the tests raise ethical questions.

— ExxonMobil’s shareholders have voted to replace at least two of the company’s 12 board members. The company plans to bring on directors who are better suited to fight climate change, bolster Exxon’s finances and guide it through a transition to cleaner energy.

SPORTS

— We’re good, AD. All is forgiven. From clunker to classic, Anthony Davis and the Lakers are back.

— The Angels announced they are “ending Mickey Callaway’s employment” with the club effective immediately after the pitching coach was placed on the ineligible list by Major League Baseball following an investigation into sexual harassment claims against him.

— Dodgers fans are everywhere; the team voices appreciation for a large contingent of fans in blue at Houston.

OPINION

— Republicans are passing laws to suppress the truth about slavery’s enduring legacy. Columnist Robin Abcarian asks: What is so terrifying to them about the reassessment of American history, known as critical race theory?

— Democracy can be contentious, loud and messy. That’s the way ours began and the way it must continue, writes The Times’ editorial board. Another victim of the murder of George Floyd: the right to protest.

— How Mitch McConnell and the GOP perfected the politics of “No!”

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

— In a room at the InterContinental Hotel near the Royal Parks in London, the first two White House officials reported having Havana Syndrome-like experiences. (The New Yorker)

— The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Arkansas officials over a recently passed transgender healthcare ban. The group argues that the law discriminates against transgender people and violates physicians’ 1st Amendment rights. (NBC Out)

ONLY IN L.A.

You’ve witnessed the passion of L.A.’s “Dancing Man” Howard Mordoh if you’ve been to the Hollywood Bowl in the last, say, 40 years. Or the Forum, the Mint, the Wiltern, the Roxy, the Greek and beyond, where he spun and swayed with a Deadhead-style abandon until the pandemic shut venues down. If you’re looking for a symbol that the concert business is roaring back to life, just check his calendar.

Comments or ideas? Email us at headlines@latimes.com.