Today’s Headlines: Man arrested in Sacramento mass shooting, more arrests likely, D.A. says

By Elvia Limón, Laura Blasey and Amy Hubbard

Hello, it’s Tuesday, April 5, and here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today:

TOP STORIES

A man is arrested in Sacramento mass shooting and more arrests are likely, D.A. says

As Sacramento mourned the worst mass shooting in the United States this year, authorities arrested Dandre Martin, 26, on assault and possession of an illegal firearm charges. Authorities said they’ve executed several search warrants and recovered a handgun. Sacramento Dist. Atty. Anne Marie Schubert said she anticipated more arrests in the case.

Videos of the mass shooting show a large group fighting on the street followed by rapid gunfire before people on the street run for their lives. Officials said at least 75 shots were fired.

The dead include three men and three women. The youngest victims, Johntaya Alexander and Yamile Martinez-Andrade, were both 21 years old. The oldest victim, Melinda Davis, was 57. Also identified were Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; Devazia Turner, 29; and Sergio Harris, 38.

Biden calls for a war-crimes trial of Putin

Russian leader Vladimir Putin faces mounting global condemnation, with President Biden and a growing number of world leaders calling for a war-crimes trial, after the discovery in Ukraine of mass graves and streets littered with the bodies of civilians around the suburbs of Kyiv.

Biden previously branded Putin a “war criminal” in remarks March 17, but at that time the White House said he was speaking personally and not outlining a formal U.S. position. But six days later, the U.S. formally accused Russia of war crimes and said it was collecting evidence to help prove it.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the charred rubble in Bucha as armed guards surrounded him. He has described the scenes there as evidence of Russian “genocide” against Ukrainians.

More about Ukraine

• The U.S. government seized a mega-yacht in Spain owned by an oligarch with close ties to Putin.

Senate advances Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination

The Senate advanced the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee. The chamber voted 53 to 47 to move the nomination to the floor after the Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked 11 to 11 on recommending her confirmation.

Meanwhile, two more Republicans — Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) — announced their support for Jackson’s confirmation, joining Sen. Susan Collins of Maine in assuring Jackson’s final vote will be bipartisan.

However, partisan politics briefly delayed the confirmation process. In floor remarks, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he would move “as quickly as possible” to “set up a final confirmation vote by the end of this week.”

More politics

• Jackson and Kamala Harris idolize civil rights lawyers like Constance Baker Motley. The ascension of both in their careers is a reflection of the outsize and enduring influence of Motley and others.

Sign up for our California Politics newsletter to get the best of The Times’ state politics reporting and the latest action in Sacramento.

Bipartisan Senate bargainers reach a $10-billion COVID agreement

Senate bargainers reached an agreement on a slimmed-down $10-billion package for countering COVID-19 with treatments, vaccines and other steps, the top Democratic and Republican negotiators said, but the measure dropped all funding to help nations abroad combat the pandemic.

The compromise drew quick support from Biden, who initially pushed for a $22.5-billion package. In a setback, he ended up settling for much less amid administration warnings that the government was running out of money to keep pace with the disease’s continued — though diminished — spread in the U.S.

More top coronavirus headlines

• Medicare says that millions of enrollees will finally have access to free over-the-counter coronavirus tests at drugstores.
• More than 100 Activision Blizzard employees participated in a virtual walkout as the Santa Monica video game studio joined a growing wave of companies lifting COVID-19 vaccination requirements while pressing workers to return to the office.
• China has sent more than 10,000 health workers to Shanghai, including 2,000 military medical staff, to help the city cope with a coronavirus outbreak.
  

Stay up to date on variant developments, case counts and vaccine news with Coronavirus Today.

LAPD officers often delay providing medical aid after shooting people

LAPD officers — like police around the country — are trained to view people they’ve just shot as ongoing threats. The result is that officers routinely wait several minutes before approaching those suspects, then focus on handcuffing and searching them, often delaying medical attention or taking no steps to give any until paramedics arrive, a Times review of nearly 50 LAPD shootings and hours of associated video found.

Police officials say that officers must ensure their own safety when dealing with potentially dangerous suspects and that they sometimes fear making a person’s injuries worse. But Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, said rendering aid after shootings should be a “guiding principle” for police departments not only because it can save lives, but also for the impact it can have on the public’s perception of police.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Vera Panchenka, 69, cries recently in a shelter in Kharkiv, Ukraine, listening to the sounds of war. “I just want peace,” she said. “There is no meaning in fighting.” More photos from Ukraine (warning: The images are disturbing).

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

CALIFORNIA

Sacramento schools reopen as tentative deals end a strike. Schools reopened Monday in the Sacramento City Unified School District after teachers and other workers reached a tentative agreement that increases pay and doles out one-time stipends, ending a crippling strike that has closed schools for eight days.

California’s corporate diversity law is ruled unconstitutional. A Los Angeles judge has ruled that the landmark law mandating that corporations diversify their boards with members from certain racial, ethnic or LGBT groups is unconstitutional.

Asian Americans are having ‘the talk’ about racism for the first time — with their parents. The rise in anti-Asian hate, fueled by misconceptions about the pandemic’s origins, has exposed generational divides in how Asian Americans view racism. Now, the Atlanta shootings and other attacks against Asian Americans have spurred some to have difficult conversations with their elders.

The avian soap opera unfolding atop this Berkeley bell tower has humans riveted. Nesting in UC Berkeley’s bell tower, peregrine falcons Annie and Grinnell always seemed to soar above the world of human drama. In the last year, all that changed.

NATION-WORLD

Earth is hurtling toward a dangerous temperature limit. Temperatures on Earth will shoot past a key danger point unless greenhouse gas emissions fall faster than countries have committed, the world’s top body of climate scientists said, warning of the consequences of inaction but also noting hopeful signs of progress.

Former President Trump backs former Alaska Republican Gov. Sarah Palin in her bid for Alaska’s sole House seat. A total of 51 candidates signed up by the deadline to run in a special primary. The top four vote getters will advance to an Aug. 16 special election, in which ranked choice voting will be used.

Germany gets fresh criticism over its purchase of Russian natural gas. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his government maintained that Germany will continue to buy billions of dollars’ worth of natural gas and oil from Russia each week for the foreseeable future to keep German car companies and factories operating at full throttle.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

Kanye West bails on Coachella. The cancellation leaves the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival with only two weeks to find a new headliner.

How to win at the Grammys? Make old sounds new again. Although the 2022 Grammy Awards were dominated by women and people of color, they still favored tradition with just the slightest sprinkling of modernity.

Ben Franklin was the most famous American of his era. Ken Burns’ new doc shows why. The PBS documentary features a complement of historians of various ages, colors and genders, who triangulate the Founding Father’s personality and accomplishments, taking the less good with the good but finding more reasons for admiration than (mitigated) censure.

Francisco González, Los Lobos founding member and guitar-string pioneer, dies at 68. González would leave the group within a year, just before they went on to become the most famous Chicano rock group of them all. But the East L.A. native nevertheless became a musical icon of his own.

BUSINESS

How a tentative deal averted a major grocery workers strike. A union representing 47,000 Southern California grocery workers tentatively signed a new three-year contract with Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions, averting a strike they had authorized last week. The contract will be put to a vote this week by rank-and-file members.

Chipotle pushed for humanely raised chicken. Suppliers are still working on it. The burrito seller had planned to sell all third-party certified humane chicken by the end of 2021. But the chain says it was unable to take this step last year amid high demand and its stringent requirements for poultry.

SPORTS

Kansas rallies, beats North Carolina 72-69 to win NCAA title. Kansas’ men’s basketball team made the largest comeback in national championship history.

Tiger Woods mania is already huge at the Masters practice. Does it appear he can play? The first day of practice rounds felt markedly different as Woods made his near-miraculous return to the storied tournament after a catastrophic rollover car accident in February 2021 that almost cost him his right leg, or perhaps his life.

Trevor Bauer cannot access the cellphone records of his accuser, a judge rules. The decision could accelerate the process for Major League Baseball to determine whether Bauer should be suspended for violating its sexual assault policy, 10 months after a woman accused him of sexual assault

Lakers’ Anthony Davis fires back at critics: ‘These aren’t little ticky-tack injuries.’ In his third season with the Lakers, Davis has played in only 39 games. Last season, after a short offseason during which he focused on recovery more so than getting into shape, Davis played 36 games before getting reinjured in the playoffs.

OPINION

The pandemic supercharged easy access to guns. The violence in Sacramento is the 12th mass shooting in California this year. We all know what happens next, but it’s all sound and fury for a crisis that has long eaten at the soul of this country. Columnist Anita Chabria asks: “Why do we do this to ourselves?”

ONLY IN L.A.

David Bernstein, owner of the California Nursery Specialties Cactus Ranch, poses for a portrait in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Reseda.

(Calvin B. Alagot / Los Angeles Times)

If only there were a Tinder for garden centers... For plant lovers, browsing a new nursery is as thrilling as going on a first date with a crush. But while you can’t swipe right on potential nursery matches, you can scroll through our compendium of excellent independently owned nurseries in Southern California to find out which one is right for you.

Options range from a tiny nursery in Northeast Los Angeles that specializes in California native plants to a wholesale business devoted entirely to succulents in Reseda. This list is just a beginning, in honor of the hardworking, independent, often family-owned garden centers.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

June 16, 1975: Coach Bill Sharman, left, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and owner Jack Kent Cooke.

(Los Angeles Times)

Thirty-eight years ago today, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar climbed atop the NBA’s all-time leading scorer list, where he remains to this day. It was April 5, 1984, when Abdul-Jabbar surpassed Wilt Chamberlain to take the top spot. Abdul-Jabbar played 20 seasons in the NBA, retiring at age 42 with 38,387 points. Just a few weeks ago, another Laker — LeBron James — moved into the No. 2 spot. James, 37, is in his 19th NBA season.

The photo above is from the 1975 news conference where it was announced that Abdul-Jabbar was joining the Lakers. A report the next day in The Times talked about the giddy excitement of Lakers officials at the news conference: “For once, Kareem, listed at 7-2 going on 7-5, was not even close to being the highest skyscraper in the house. Coach Bill Sharman and general manager Pete Newell were both walking 10 feet tall. Owner [Jack Kent] Cook rose about 15 feet. [Chick] Hearn leveled off at between 25 and 50 feet.”

The Times’ new podcast “Binge Sesh,” in its Sunday edition — titled “Why Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the most misunderstood player in Lakers history” — looked back at his career as a star center and civil rights activist. Give it a listen.

We appreciate that you took the time to read Today’s Headlines! Comments or ideas? Feel free to drop us a note at headlines@latimes.com.