DOJ Announces Arrests of 2 Chinese Nationals for Illegal Chip Exports
Chuan Geng, 28, of Pasadena, Calif., and Shiwei Yang, 28, of El Monte, Calif., were arrested Aug. 2 and later charged with violating the Export Control Reform Act for allegedly exporting “tens of millions of dollars’” worth of microprocessor chips, including Nvidia H100s used in high-end artificial intelligence applications, which ended up in the People’s Republic of China. The Aug. 5 announcement stated that the pair illegally made the shipments between October 2022 and July 2025 through their company, ALX Solutions Inc., which was said to have made the sales minus the required license or authorization from the Department of Commerce. The Department of Justice described Geng as a lawful permanent resident and Yang as an illegal alien who overstayed her visa. Violating the Export Control Reform Act is a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. In related news, the DOJ announced July 21 that Chenguang Gong, 59, of San Jose, Calif., and a dual citizen of the United States and the People’s Republic of China, pleaded guilty of one count of theft of trade secrets, specifically proprietary technologies developed for use by the U.S. government to detect nuclear missile launches, track ballistic and hypersonic missiles and allow U.S. fighter planes to detect and evade heat-seeking missiles. Gong, who remains free on $1.75 million bond, is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 29; he faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
Shane Tamura Identified as Gunman in June 28 Manhattan Mass Shooting
Law enforcement has been investigating a theory that CTE — chronic traumatic encephalopathy — may have been a motivating factor for the gunman responsible in the July 28 mass shooting at a Manhattan high-rise that resulted in four deaths and one person wounded. The suspect, identified as Shane Devon Tamura, 27, of Las Vegas, was a standout youth football player who attended high schools in Southern California. He killed himself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his chest. In a note discovered after the shootings, he blamed football and the National Football League, which has offices in the Park Avenue tower where the slayings took place, for covering up the dangers of CTE resulting from football. The words, “Study my brain please. I’m sorry,” were reported to be in Tamura’s note. NYC Mayor Eric Adams was quoted as saying, “It appears as though he was going after the employees at the NFL.” A degenerative brain disorder, CTE results from cumulative blows to the head from contact sports such as football and boxing and can only be determined after an autopsy. The Los Angeles Times reported that Tamura’s father, Terence Tamura, is a retired Los Angeles Police Department officer. The names of the slain are Didarul Islam of the NYPD, Wesley LePatner, Julia Hyman and Aland Etienne.
Los Angeles Times Owner Soon-Shiong Reveals Plan to Take Paper Public
The surprise announcement that financial shares for a new company to be known as the L.A. Times Next Network will go on sale in 2026 was made by Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong during a July 21 appearance on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” The financial mechanism to be used, Regulation A, can raise up to $75 million. The move appears to be a move to buoy the struggling newspaper, which Soon-Shiong purchased in 2018 for $500 million. In addition to the paper, the new entity will include LAT Next, a curated creator platform; Nant Games (esports and gaming); NantStudios Virtual Production; and L.A. Times Studios, which won an Academy Award with Searchlight Pictures for the short documentary “The Last Repair Shop” in 2024.
Major League Superstar Ichiro Suzuki Inducted Into Baseball Hall of Fame
On July 27, the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted the first Japanese national into the Cooperstown, N.Y., institution. Ichiro Suzuki, who began his professional career began in Japan and completed the final 19 years of it in the United States, received 393 of 394 votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America, one vote shy of being selected unanimously. He spent most of his U.S. career playing for the Seattle Mariners and closed it out with the Miami Marlins. (To view an iconic throw by Ichiro Suzuki, visit tinyurl.com/mr28n7w9. To view Suzuki’s HoF speech, visit tinyurl.com/2mamdffu.)
WNBA Names Valkyries’ Natalie Nakase Coach of the Month for June
The honor is a first for the Golden State Valkyries’ skipper, Natalie Nakase. It’s her first season as a head coach.
— P.C. Staff
