Officer charged with murder after killing black motorist
A white Grand Rapids, Michigan, police officer who fatally shot Patrick Lyoya, a Black man, during a traffic stop in April was charged Thursday with one count of second-degree murder. Christopher Becker, the Kent County prosecuting attorney, said the officer, Christopher Schurr, acted unreasonably when he shot Lyoya, 26, on April 4 while wrestling with the motorist, who had run away. The officer told Lyoya he pulled him over for having license plates that did not match his car. The death of Lyoya worsened long-standing tensions with police in Grand Rapids, a city of about 200,000 people where 18% of residents are Black.
White House outlines coronavirus vaccine plan for kids younger than 5
The White House on Thursday outlined the early stages of its plan for making coronavirus vaccines available this month to roughly 18 million children younger than 5, should the doses be cleared by federal regulators. With the goal of the first shots being given the week of June 19, the Biden administration has made 10 million doses available to states and health providers, with roughly 85% of children in that age group living within 5 miles of possible vaccination sites, according to White House estimates shared with reporters. Half of the 10 million doses were made available for order last week, the other half this week.
Biden administration to set rules of the road for charging EVs
Electric vehicle charging stations built with federal dollars should be positioned along Interstates every 50 miles, be able to recharge cars quickly and be located no more than a mile from a major highway, according to new rules proposed by the Biden administration Thursday. “EV drivers should be able to count on finding a place to recharge easily wherever they go,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters Wednesday. Buttigieg and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm outlined the proposed regulations, which are designed to make sure that rural areas and communities with few services would have the same access to electric charging stations as more urbanized areas that already have access.
Mysteries linger about COVID’s origins, WHO report says
In its first report, a team of international scientists assembled by the World Health Organization to advise on the origins of the coronavirus said on Thursday that bats likely carried an ancestor of the coronavirus that may have then spilled over into a wildlife market. But the team said that more Chinese data was needed to study how the virus spread to people, including the possibility that a lab leak played a role. The team said that Chinese scientists had shared information with them, but gaps in Chinese reports made it difficult to determine when and where the outbreak emerged.
West denounces death sentences for 3 who fought for Ukraine
Ukraine and the West denounced a pro-Moscow court that sentenced two British citizens and a Moroccan to death for fighting for Ukraine. They called the proceedings a sham and a violation of the rules of war. A Russian state news agency reported that the defendants will face a firing squad. They have a month to appeal. Meanwhile, as the Kremlin’s forces continued a grinding war of attrition in the east, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday appeared to liken his actions to those of Peter the Great in the 18th century. He said the country needs to “take back” historic Russian lands.
By wire sources
© 2022 The New York Times Company
