10 dead in California Lunar New Year shooting, NFL playoffs are here: 5 Things podcast
On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: 10 dead in California Lunar New Year shooting
10 are dead after a California Lunar New Year shooting. Authorities say the suspect shot himself on Sunday. Plus, Democrats criticize President Joe Biden for his handling of classified documents, Hampton County Guardian Managing Editor Michael DeWitt, Jr. previews the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, USA TODAY Personal Finance and Markets Reporter Elisabeth Buchwald tells you what to know for tax season, and the NFL Playoffs are down to four teams.
Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here.
Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Monday, the 23rd of January, 2023. Today, the wake of America's latest mass shooting. Plus, what Democrats are saying about President Joe Biden's classified documents, and we look at the murder trial of a disgraced South Carolina lawyer.
♦
10 people are dead after a shooting rampage in Southern California. Authorities said the suspected gunman shot himself to death in his van yesterday as law enforcement agents approached. That's after police say the 72-year-old Huu Can Tran opened fire at a ballroom dance club Saturday night in Monterey Park near Los Angeles. The massacre sent a wave of fear through Asian American communities in the region and put a cloud over Lunar New Year celebrations taking place this week. LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said he doesn't know yet if the case represents a hate crime, and a motive remains unclear. He said attendees at another ballroom club wrestled the gun from the attacker after his first rampage. The shooting was the country's fifth mass killing this month and the deadliest since the Uvalde Elementary School massacre last May.
♦
Some senior Democrats criticized President Joe Biden yesterday for his handling of classified documents. The FBI found more documents with classified markings when they searched Biden's Delaware home on Friday. That follows several revelations about classified documents tied to Biden beginning earlier this month when his lawyers found them at an office linked to him. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the second highest ranking Democrat in the Senate, told CNN that Biden should be embarrassed by the situation. And he said Biden has conceded the moral high ground on a similar issue that has surrounded former president Donald Trump. Sen. Joe Manchin told NBC that Biden should have a lot of regrets. Still, despite criticisms, many Democrats have defended Biden for cooperating with the Justice Department and Durbin said Biden and Trump's respective actions "could not be in sharper contrast."
♦
The murder trial of disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh begins today. He's charged for the murder of his wife, Maggie, and son Paul, and he's connected to other mysterious deaths in the state, along with a slew of financial crimes. To try and unpack it all, I spoke last week with Hampton County Guardian managing editor Michael Dewitt Jr. Michael, thanks so much for coming on the podcast.
Michael Dewitt Jr:
My pleasure.
Taylor Wilson:
So I want to talk about this trial. Obviously, lots of layers to it. But before we get into that, just right off the bat, who is Alex Murdaugh and what was his place and his role in this community before being charged with murder?
Michael Dewitt Jr:
Alex Murdaugh was a prominent attorney and a prominent local family. If you think of a small... In every small town, there's a big fish in a little pond? Well, he was a big fish and came from a four-generation dynasty of attorneys. His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were personal injury lawyers and chief prosecutors for the district. They held the office for 85 plus years and they were a legal dynasty.
Taylor Wilson:
As far as this trial is concerned, what are the charges that he's facing? What happened here?
Michael Dewitt Jr:
His most serious charges, which he's going on trial for Monday, are double murder charges. Two indictments for murder and indictments for using weapons to commit violent crimes. He's charged with killing his wife and his younger son. After he faces these charges, he's also facing roughly a hundred financial crime charges that range from fraud to tax evasion and even a couple of drug trafficking charges.
Taylor Wilson:
Considering everything you mentioned off the top, Michael, about this family's place in this community, their history in this community, how can we expect a fair trial here?
Michael Dewitt Jr:
Yes, if Alex Murdaugh was being tried in Hampton County, which is my hometown and the hometown of the Murdaugh family and their family law firm, I don't think there would be a chance of getting a fair trial or an impartial jury. In Hampton County, you cannot throw a stick without hitting somebody that is related to the Murdoch family, deep friends with the Murdoch family or has used them in a civil suit. Now in Colleton County you've got a better chance. The Murdaughs were solicitors there and they had power and connections, but that wasn't their hometown. So you have a better chance of throwing that stick in Colleton County and getting a fair jury and a fair trial.
Taylor Wilson:
Michael, what do we expect the Murdaugh defense to argue in this trial?
Michael Dewitt Jr:
There are several key points that will be decided in the pretrial motions that I think will make the difference in this trial. Number one, Murdaugh's defense attorneys are trying to get all of his financial crimes excluded from the murder trial. They're using some statutes of law that say other bad acts are not admissible in murder trials and they cite precedents. Whereas the prosecutors are saying that his many financial crimes... He is charged with more than a decade of stealing more than $8.7 million from clients and other attorneys. And they're saying that the motive for murder was to come to distract from these crimes and to gain sympathy while he covered his tracks and try to put some of the money back. And they're citing state law that basically says bad acts are admissible in certain cases when they directly relate to the motive of the crime. So that's going to be the key. If the judge decides automatically before the trial begins that we're not going to consider all his other alleged crimes, then that's a victory right there for the defense. Other factors that are being debated in pretrial motions, the use of questionable blood spatter evidence and polygraph data.
Taylor Wilson:
So Michael, you mentioned these other financial crimes. Obviously, this trial is going to center around the deaths of his wife and son. There are also... There's this great visual timeline on USATODAY.com of how some of these events unfolded over the past couple of years, or the past few years really, and there are some other deaths connected to the Murdaughs. How much of a focus are these deaths going to have in this trial, if at all?
Michael Dewitt Jr:
It definitely adds an element of mystery and depth to this whole crime saga and makes... Even if it's just rumor and there's absolutely no connection, it makes the story sound so much juicier and makes the characters sound so much more devilish. But in reality, Alex Murdoch didn't kill all these people. They're connected in several ways, but he's only charged with killing his wife and son at this point.
Taylor Wilson:
All right. Michael Dewitt Jr., lots of great insight. Tons of layers to this. We'll be following your reporting throughout the trial. Thank you so much, sir. Thanks for making the time. Appreciate it.
Michael Dewitt Jr:
Thank you. My pleasure.
Taylor Wilson:
You can find more of the backstory on the Murdaugh family with a link in today's show description.
♦
Tax season is officially here. Taxes are due by April 18th, but it doesn't hurt to get a jump on them early. USA TODAY Personal Finance and Markets Reporter Elisabeth Buchwald got me up to speed. Elisabeth, thanks for coming on 5 Things.
Elisabeth Buchwald:
Thanks for having me, as always.
♦
Taylor Wilson:
So tax season is here. What do people need to know about any changes to filing taxes in 2023?
Elisabeth Buchwald:
It's a mix of good news, bad news. Good news is you might get a refund quicker than last year. Bad news is it might not be as big.
Taylor Wilson:
It's only January. I have a feeling a lot of folks are going to see this in today's show description and start panicking. Where are we on the calendar? So why file taxes now? What are the advantages to filing early?
Elisabeth Buchwald:
Well, first you get it off your plate. But the real, real big advantage is you could probably get your refund faster if you beat the rush of people who are last minute filers and the IRS is just willing to accept those returns now. So there is that advantage. I'd say that's the biggest one.
Taylor Wilson:
Elisabeth, for those wanting to maybe change their tax bracket, how can they do that? How can people in particular lower their tax bracket?
Elisabeth Buchwald:
So at this stage in the game, it's too late for 2022 taxes, really, to do a lot. The only thing is to really make sure you're taking advantage of certain deductions. But one thing that advisors will commonly recommend is if you have losing investments, sell those off and deduct it against your winning investments. The other thing is sometimes for people - and this could probably help some folks out there - but if you recently got married, it may make more sense for you to file jointly. And with the income between you and your spouse, you might be able to get a lower tax bracket than if you were just filing alone.
Taylor Wilson:
What is the best way for people to actually file their taxes at this point?
Elisabeth Buchwald:
Well, first there's an IRS free file system, so there are some income requirements there. And if you are below, I believe, adjusted gross income of $74,000, you can qualify for free taxpayer assistance. So that's definitely something I would check out before going to third party services. And the IRS also provides some free fillable forms. That's not to say that TurboTax isn't good. I know a lot of people out there that use it, but you just want to be really careful about reading the fine print before you get involved in something and also make sure you know how your data is being used.
Taylor Wilson:
Great info as always. Happy filing. That's Elisabeth Buchwald. Thanks so much for making the time.
Elisabeth Buchwald:
Yep, thank you.
♦
Taylor Wilson:
And then there were four. The NFL playoffs rolled on this weekend in the divisional round. In the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Jacksonville Jaguars to make their fifth straight conference championship game. They'll play the Cincinnati Bengals who took down the Buffalo Bills yesterday. But despite their loss, it was all joy when the Bills welcomed back Damar Hamlin. The defensive player attended and watched the game three weeks after suffering cardiac arrest on the field in another game against the Bengals.
Meanwhile, in the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles destroyed the New York Giants before the San Francisco 49ers edged the Dallas Cowboys last night. Next week's conference championship games begin Sunday at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. You can find coverage all week long from USA TODAY Sports.
And you can find new episodes of 5 Things every morning right here, wherever you're listening right now. I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 10 dead in California shooting, NFL playoff preview: 5 Things podcast
