Latest news with #UPINewsCorporation
Miami Herald
5 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Chinese national in U.S. pleads guilty to shipping arms to North Korea
SEOUL, June 10 (UPI) -- A Chinese citizen living in the United States pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges for illegally exporting firearms, ammunition and other military items to North Korea, the U.S. Justice Department said. Shengua Wen, 42, acted under the instructions of North Korean government officials and was paid approximately $2 million for his efforts, the department said in a press release Monday. Wen, who was living in Ontario, Calif., without permanent legal status, concealed the goods inside shipping containers that departed from the Port of Long Beach, prosecutors said. According to the plea agreement, Wen admitted to shipping at least three containers of guns to China en route to North Korea in 2023. He bought a firearms business in Houston, Texas, to acquire the guns and filed false export paperwork to conceal the contents of his containers. In September 2024, Wen allegedly purchased approximately 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition that he intended to ship to North Korea. He also obtained sensitive technology, including "a chemical threat identification device and a handheld broadband receiver that detects known, unknown, illegal, disruptive or interfering transmissions," the press release said. Wen met government officials at a North Korean embassy in China, where he was instructed to procure the weapons and sensitive items, according to his plea agreement. He then entered the United States in 2012 on a student visa and remained after it expired in December 2013. Wen pleaded guilty to one count of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. "Wen admitted that at all relevant times he knew that it was illegal to ship firearms, ammunition and sensitive technology to North Korea," prosecutors said. He has been in custody since he was arrested and charged in December. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
U.S., Chinese delegates in London to talk trade, rare earths
June 9 (UPI) -- Delegates from the United States and China are set to meet Monday in London after a phone call between the nations' leaders seemingly led to a cooling of tensions related to their otherwise heated recent trade dispute. "We are a nation that champions free trade and have always been clear that a trade war is in nobody's interests, so we welcome these talks," said a British government spokesperson. The U.K. has provided the space for the countries to chat but hasn't publicly disclosed its location. American attendees are slated to include U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, while Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will lead his country's delegation. It is expected the discussion will put a fair amount of focus on the rare earth minerals situation. The Trump administration had expected China to back down on export restrictions it had imposed in April on such minerals after talks held in May. China imposed those restrictions in response to tariffs levied by Trump on Chinese goods. The resulting trade disruption has led to a 2.9% decrease on exports to the United States from April to May, the decrease from May 2024 is 3.4% and the cumulative year-on-year decrease from January to May is at 4.9%, according to Chinese customs data. However President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on the phone last week, and the conversation was reportedly so friendly it not only led to Monday's meeting but each invited the other to make a personal visit. American and Chinese representatives had met last month in Geneva and reportedly reached an agreement to suspend most of the tariffs that had been reciprocally imposed, but both countries have since been accused of agreement violations by the other. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Miami Herald
Patterson questioned about intentions, feelings for poisoned victims
June 6 (UPI) -- The prosecution in the Erin Patterson mushroom murder meal trial went another round with Patterson Friday to prove she purposely invited her estranged husband Simon's family over to her house for a meal in order to kill them. Patterson has maintained that she asked Simon's parents Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt and uncle Heather and Ian Wilkinson, over for that meal, a lunch of beef Wellington, to her home in Australia in August of 2023 to tell them about a cancer diagnosis. She has since admitted she misled them about having cancer but instead had really invited them to her home to discuss her plans to have weight-loss surgery. Don and Gail died later that week, as did Heather, from the ingestion of poisonous death cap mushrooms, which prosecutors allege Erin purposely put in their lunch. Ian was sickened and hospitalized but survived. Prosecutor Nanette Rogers alleged in her opening statement Friday that Patterson did not consume death cap mushrooms at the lunch, but pretended to have been sickened as a cover-up and that was "why we say she was reluctant to receive medical treatment for death cap mushroom poisoning." Rogers put forth to Patterson that she not only had allegedly invited the victims over to kill them with a death cap-laced meal, but had furthermore prepared an extra poisoned meal in case Simon, who had declined his invitation to dine that day, changed his mind and came to eat. Patterson testified Tuesday that she had only eaten a small portion of the beef Wellington lunch because she was deep in conversation and later had vomited up the food because she also ate cake and has a history of binging and purging. Patterson also testified that she went to the hospital after the meal but discharged herself against medical advice, which prosecutors used to suggest that she was not sickened by the food. The prosecution then alleged Patterson purposely didn't feed the poisoned meal to her kids, which was why she didn't have them medically assessed. Rogers also mentioned messages Patterson allegedly sent to her Facebook friends, and to Don, Gail and Simon. "You had two faces, a public face of appearing to have a good relationship with Don and Gail," she said to Patterson. "I suggest your private face was the one you showed in your Facebook message group." Rogers went back through messages Patterson ostensibly wrote about Don and Gail, which were laced with expletives and allegedly mentioned she wanted "nothing to do" with them. She also suggested that Patterson had not shown any concern for Simon's parents, never asking how they felt after learning they were initially sickened. "Incorrect," Patterson said. Rogers then asked, "And you never asked how Heather was going, and I assume you disagree?" "Correct," Patterson replied. Patterson has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one of attempted murder in the case. She will take the stand again Tuesday. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- General
- Miami Herald
Police probe ground, abandon buildings in search for Madeleine McCann
June 4 (UPI) -- German and Portuguese police Wednesday continued their search near the Praia da Luz resort in Portugal for Madeline McCann, the British child missing since 2007. The search efforts included using ground penetrating radar focused on some derelict structures a few miles from the site where Madeline went missing. German federal police requested the renewed search that began Tuesday as they seek evidence against the imprisoned prime suspect, Christian Bruckner. He is serving time for raping a 72-year-old woman near Praia da Luz in 2005. The search is scheduled to continue until Friday. Bruckner lived in one of the houses being searched when Madeline went missing. Roughly 30 officers are conducting the search using drones and a digger and well as the ground penetrating radar. The radar employs electromagnetic radiation pulsed into the ground to detect objects or changes beneath the surface, reducing the need to dig as much as other wise would be required. Bruckner has denied being involved in Madeleine's disappearance. He was officially identified as a suspect in 2022. The search is focused on 120 acres that include abandoned buildings between the Ocean Club resort where McCann and her family were staying and the house Bruckner lived in. Bruckner sometimes worked as a handyman at the Ocean Club. Madeleine disappeared May 3, 2007 after her parents left her sleeping in a room with her twin 2-year-old siblings. The last search before this was in 2023 near the Barragem do Arade reservoir roughly 30 miles from Praia da Luz. Bruckner is set to be released from prison in September unless further charges are filed. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Miami Herald
27-05-2025
- Miami Herald
Walmart fined for shipping ‘realistic' toy guns to New York
May 27 (UPI) -- Retailer Walmart will pay a $16,000 fine for shipping realistic toy guns to New York buyers in violation of state law, state Attorney General Letitia James announced on Tuesday. New York law bans retailers from selling or shipping toy guns that are black, dark blue, silver or aluminum-colored and resemble real firearms. "Realistic-looking toy guns can put communities in serious danger," James said in a news release. "That is why they are banned." She said realistic-looking toy guns can be used to engage in unlawful activity and have led to several deaths and shootings across the state and Walmart's third-party sellers sold them to New York buyers. "Walmart failed to prevent its third-party sellers from selling realistic-looking toy guns to New York addresses, violating our laws and putting people at risk," James said. "The ban on realistic-looking toy guns is meant to keep New Yorkers safe," she added. "My office will not hesitate to hold any business that violates that law accountable." A state investigation showed third-party retailers used Walmart's online store to sell non-compliant toy guns that they shipped to New York addresses via Walmart's fulfillment services. Investigators bought a realistic-looking toy gun that violated New York's general business law's ban on such toys and had it shipped to an address within the state. The violations netted a $16,000 fine that Walmart paid to settle the matter. A Walmart official said the retailer does its best to comply with respective state and federal laws and ensure third-party retailers do, too. "We are committed to complying with all laws, and we have processes in place to ensure products offered for sale by third-party sellers on our marketplace comply with all applicable laws as well," Walmart global communications senior manager Kelly Hellbusch told UPI in an emailed statement. James said New York consumers can report non-compliant toy guns by reporting them in an online complaint. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
