Worker pleads not guilty to killing 7 at California farms

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) — A farmworker charged with killing seven people last month in back-to-back shootings at two Northern California mushroom farms has pleaded not guilty. Chunli Zhao is charged with seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. The Mercury News reports Zhao appeared Thursday behind a glass partition in the courtroom with his head bowed and spoke only when a Mandarin translator relayed questions from the judge. At a hearing last week, Zhao sobbed so loudly that the judge called for a brief recess. Zhao admitted to the shootings during a jailhouse media interview days after the shooting.