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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 2018)
Page 8A NATION/WORLD East Oregonian Tuesday, August 28, 2018 China struggles to curb reliance on U.S. buyers, suppliers Shooting killed gamers seeking money for college, support family By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A California man who played video games to earn money for college and a West Virginian whose e-sports winnings helped support his young family were slain at a Florida tour- nament where a gunman specifically targeted fellow gamers, authorities said Monday. David Katz, 24, of Bal- timore fatally shot him- self after killing the two men and wounding 10 oth- ers Sunday inside a pizzeria and bar that were hosting a “Madden NFL 19” tour- nament. Katz was among about 130 gamers attending the competition at a mall in Jacksonville. Court records in Mary- land reviewed by The Asso- ciated Press show Katz had previously been hospi- talized for mental illness. Divorce filings from his parents say that as an ado- lescent he was twice hospi- talized in psychiatric facil- ities and was prescribed antipsychotic and antide- pressant medications. Katz carried two hand- guns, including one equipped with a laser sight, into the tournament venue but only fired one of them, Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams told a news con- ference Monday. He said surveillance video revealed Katz was the only shooter, but his motive remains unknown. “The suspect clearly tar- AP Photo/John Raoux A police officer walks by the front of a Chicago Pizza and GLHF Game Bar on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018, at the scene of fatal shooting on Sunday, at The Jacksonville Landing in Jacksonville, Fla. A gunman opened fire at a video game tournament, killing two people and then fatally shooting himself in a rampage that wounded several others. geted other gamers who were in the back room” of the pizzeria, Williams said. “The suspect walked past patrons who were in other parts of the business and focused his attention on the gamers.” Investigators determined Katz bought both guns in Baltimore within the past month. But Williams said there’s no indication he planned the shooting before Sunday. In a statement Monday evening EA CEO Andrew Wilson said he is cancel- ing the remaining qualifier events to focus on safety. “We have made a deci- sion to cancel our three remaining Madden Clas- sic qualifier events while we run a comprehensive review of safety proto- cols for competitors and spectators.” The sheriff had previ- ously said nine people were wounded by gunfire, but told reporters Monday the total was 10. All of them, he said, were expected to recover. The sheriff’s office iden- tified the dead as 22-year- old Elijah Clayton of Wood- land Hills, California, and 28-year-old Taylor Robert- son of Giles, West Virginia. Clayton’s parents and other relatives gathered outside police headquarters Monday in Jacksonville to give a brief statement. A cousin, Brandi Pettijohn, said the family was “devas- tated by yet another sense- less act of gun violence.” She said Clayton was a good, peaceful man who never had a fistfight. “He loved football, and out of all the videogames he could play, he settled on and mastered ‘Madden,’” Pettijohn said. “He made a good living gaming, and he saved his earnings so he could afford to go to college to continue his education.” Robertson, who used the gamer tag “Spotmeplzzz,” won the Madden Classic tournament in 2016. In a YouTube interview pub- lished by EA Sports, Rob- ertson said he had played Madden NFL since he was 10 and started playing com- petitively a few years ago. “It’s certainly possible for any player to do this,” Robertson said in the video. “You’ve just got to put in the time. You’ve got to grind. You’ve got to play a lot of games and just work- ing on getting better.” Fellow gamers described Robertson as a family man dedicated to his wife and children. Gamer Derek Jones, who lost to Robertson in the 2016 tournament, said his onetime rival was “one of the nicest people I ever met.” “There’s no way that guy did anything to deserve to get shot,” said Jones, who traveled to the Florida tour- nament from Santa Fe, New Mexico. “He’s got a family at home, and he just came out here to try to win some money for this family.” By JOE MCDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Faced with plunging U.S. orders, surgical glove maker Ren Jiding is hunting for new markets amid Chinese gov- ernment calls to reduce reli- ance on the United States. But none can absorb the 60 percent of his sales that went to American custom- ers last year. “Other countries import much less than the United States,” said Ren, a co-owner of Hongye- shangqin Medical Science and Technology Co., Ltd. in the eastern city of Zibo. From medical products to smartphone chips to soy- beans, Beijing is respond- ing to President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes by pushing companies to trade more with other countries. But there are few substitutes for the United States as an export market and source of technology for industries including telecom equip- ment makers Chinese lead- ers are eager to develop. Beijing has announced tariff cuts and other changes while reject- ing U.S. demands to scale back plans such as “Made in China 2025,” which calls for state-led creation of Chinese champions in robotics, biotech and other fields. American leaders say those violate Beijing’s mar- ket-opening promises and might erode U.S. industrial leadership. The response highlights the cost the ruling Com- munist Party is willing to pay in lost sales and jobs to stick to plans that are fuel- ing conflict with Washing- ton, Europe and other trad- ing partners. “China sees its tech- nology and industrial pol- icies as fundamental to its growth,” Tianjie He of Under pressure, Trump tersely recognizes McCain, lowers flag WASHINGTON (AP) — Glowering in public and near-silent for two days, President Donald Trump relented under pressure Mon- day by tersely recognizing Sen. John McCain’s “service to our country” and re-lower- ing the White House flag. While much of the nation remembered McCain’s record as a war hero, long- time senator and presidential nominee over the weekend, Trump had nursed his griev- ances. McCain had been an infuriating foil in a long-run- ning feud over style and pol- icy that did not end with the senator’s illness and death. Trump’s reluctance to participate in the national remembrance was awkward and uncomfortable, even by the standards of a leader who acknowledges he doesn’t act like a typical president. The episode highlighted the out- sider president’s impulse to harbor personal resent- ments regardless of political repercussions. Before Trump’s Monday afternoon statement, his only commentary on McCain’s death had been a perfunctory tweet Saturday. The lack of a formal statement — com- bined with the fact that White House flags were flown at half-staff only briefly — drew strong criticism from Republicans and veterans’ groups as well as Democrats. When he finally did com- ment, in a printed statement, Trump was sparing with his praise for the six-term sen- ator: “Despite our differ- ences on policy and poli- tics, I respect Senator John McCain’s service to our country.” Oxford Economics said in an email. “It is thus hard to see China’s leadership committing to significant changes.” Trump has raised duties on a total of $50 billion of Chinese imports includ- ing ultrasound scanners and industrial components that Washington says bene- fit from improper policies. China retaliated with simi- lar penalties. The U.S. is poised to raise duties on $200 billion of imports including the gloves made by Ren’s com- pany. Beijing has issued a list of American goods for retaliation. The impact on China is “small and is containable, at least for the time being,” said Vincent Chan of Credit Suisse. He said the “worst case” outlook if all threat- ened U.S. tariff hikes go ahead would cut China’s growth by 0.2 percentage points this year and 1.3 per- cent in 2019. Chinese leaders have tried to cushion the blow to their own economy by targeting American goods its importers can get from other countries — soybeans from Brazil, gas from Rus- sia, cars from Germany and fish from Vietnam. Beijing has promised to use revenue from the higher tariffs to help struggling exporters and has ordered banks to lend more freely to them. The biggest jolt so far came from Beijing’s can- cellation of orders for soy- beans, the biggest American export to China at $21 bil- lion last year. That hammered farm states that voted for Trump in the 2016 election. It also pushed up prices for Chi- nese farmers that use soy- beans for animal feed and food processors that crush them for cooking oil. THANK YOU to everyone who contributed and made the 2018 Umatilla County Fair possible. Families came together from all over the county and beyond, to sacrifi ce their time to ensure that our fair was such a huge success. A phrase does not exist to fully recognize and appreciate all of the volunteers and sponsors who make the Umatilla County Fair possible. Every year we are overcome with thankfulness as we reach out to our sponsors and volunteers for assistance in areas that we just cannot cover alone. With great pride and humility, we wholeheartedly recognize that we would not have a fair without the dedication, knowledge and resources so freely off ered by our sponsors, partners and volunteers. Th ank you ALL for keeping the partnership alive for the sake of the Umatilla County Fair and for every single person who braved the heat and the wind to attend. -From the 2018 Umatilla County Fair Board & Staff- OUR SINCEREST “THANKS” TO: Title Sponsor: Premier Platinum Sponsors: Eastern Oregon Telecom • Hermiston Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Platinum Sponsors: 3234 S.W. Nye Pendleton, OR Join us at 5 August 30th for our Annual ROUND-UP BBQ! • Round-Up Queen & Court • Happy Canyon Princesses • Main Street Cowboys • Side Saddlers • Good Food • Great Entertainment With VENUES INSIDE AND OUT. Dynes Enterprises • Hodgen Distributing • Lamb Weston • Rogers Toyota of Hermiston Gold Sponsors: A-1 Industrial • Banner Bank • CALPINE • Elmer’s Irrigation • EOTEC • Les Schwab Tires • Midway Bar & Grill • Pendleton Bottling Co. • Th reemile Canyon Farms • Tom Denchel Ford Country Kick-Off Parade Sponsor: V.I.P. Hospitality Tent Sponsor: Ranch & Home Builders FirstSource Silver Sponsors: East Oregonian/Hermiston Herald • Family Health Associates • JOB Harvesting • Oxford Suites • Knerr Construction • KOHU/Th e Q • Preferred Property Management • Shelco Electric • St. Anthony Hospital • Stanfi eld Hutterian Brethren • Swire Coca-Cola • UEC Bronze Sponsors: Amazon Web Services • American Fencing • BBSI • Comrie RV • DuPont Pioneer Seed • Golden Valley East • Gordon Trucking Centers • Oregon Beverage Services • Woodpecker Truck & Equipment Specialty & In-Kind Sponsors Specialty & In-Kind Sponsors • Agri Northwest • Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo • Blue Mtn. Potato Growers & Oregon Potato Commission • Bonney’s Ag & Auto • Bud Rich Potato • Buttercreek Equipment • Cenex Harvest States • City Of Hermiston • Columbia Bank • Columbia Harvest Foods • Cunningham Sheep • EOM Construction • Eastern Oregon Mobile Slaughter • Farm City Pro Rodeo • Fiesta Foods • Friends of the Fair & Rodeo • G-2 Farming • Golden Valley East • Heller & Sons • Hermiston Chamber of Commerce • High Performance Signs • JH Kelly Construction • Krisanthemums • Mid Columbia Bus Co. • Melonville Sound • M&M Potato • Morrow County Fair Board • Mosquito Control District • Noble Panels • Nutrien Ag Solutions • NW Farm Supply • Ordnance Brewing • Oregon Distillery • Oregon Fresh Lamb • Oregon Wheat Growers • Pacifi c Ag Solutions • Pape´ Rents • Pasco Farming • Pendleton Chamber of Commerce • RDO • Reinie & Judy Fischer • Riverpoint Farms • Sanitary Disposal • S&S Equipment • Skye & Penny Krebs of Krebs Sheep Co. • Smitty’s Ace Hardware • Sno Road Winery • Superior Farms • TCB Transportation • Tyson Meats • Umatilla County Cattlemans Association• Umpqua Bank • US Navy • Vazza Farms • Velasco Used Cars • Walchlis • Western Ag Improvement Media Partners: Townsquare Media • Cherry Creek Media • Radio TriCities • Agritimes NW • Alexandria Communications • Stephens Media Group • Jacobs Radio • Northeast Oregon Now • Th e Entertainer • KAPP/KVEW TV • Radio Laley • La Voz • Elkhorn Media SPECIAL THANK YOU to our 2018 Grand Marshalls Greg & Sherri Smith and our 2017 Volunteers of the Year Alice Dyer and Steve Kelsoe
