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'Tragic,' but 'justified'

Laura L. Davis   | Paste BN

No criminal charges will be filed against the deputies who fatally shot Andrew Brown Jr. last month. Nancy Pelosi has called for a cease-fire in the Middle East. And why are vaccination rates lower in rural counties than in urban ones?

👋 It's Laura! Here's Tuesday's news. 

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Prosecutor: No criminal charges for officers

The sheriff's deputies who fatally shot Andrew Brown Jr. will not be criminally charged, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Nearly a month after Brown, an unarmed Black man, was killed by sheriff's deputies in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, Pasquotank County District Attorney Andrew Womble said, "Mr. Brown's death, while tragic, was justified." Brown, 42, was killed April 21 while Pasquotank County deputies were attempting to serve him with an arrest warrant. The event led to widespread protests in the area as demonstrators demanded transparency from officials. Family lawyers called the deputies' actions "unequivocally unjustified," saying Brown was not armed and did not drive toward deputies or pose a threat.

Speaker Pelosi calls for a cease-fire

As deadly tensions in the Middle East enter their second week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called for a cease-fire, saying it is in the U.S. national security interest to support security in Israel. The call for a cease-fire ratchets up pressure on President Joe Biden's administration to intervene more forcefully to help end the deadly conflict between Israel and Hamas. Biden expressed his support for a cease-fire on Monday in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but did not call specifically for an end to the violence between Israel and Hamas. A rocket launched from Gaza killed two Thai workers in southern Israel on Tuesday, police said, hours after Israeli airstrikes toppled a six-story building in the Palestinian territory that housed bookstores and educational centers. With the war showing no sign of abating, Palestinians in the region staged a general strike in a rare collective action against Israel’s policies.

What everyone's talking about

An urban-rural vaccination divide

It's not quite one of Aesop's fables: Coronavirus vaccination rates across the nation are lower in rural counties than in urban ones. A CDC analysis released Tuesday found 39% of rural adults received at least one vaccine dose, compared with 46% of urban adults. Rural vaccination rates also were lower than urban rates among younger adults, seniors, men and women. About 60% of adult Americans have had at least one vaccine dose, and vaccines have been credited for steadily falling numbers of new cases and hospitalizations. Moral of the story? The seven-day average of new cases has dropped to numbers not seen since March 2020, essentially the start of the pandemic.

McCarthy opposes Capitol attack commission

A bipartisan commission to study the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol could subpoena House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy. And on Tuesday, McCarthy said he opposed the proposed commission that would include five Republicans and five Democrats, similar to the 9/11 commission, to study the attack. Because McCarthy spoke with Trump during the riot, McCarthy is expected to be called as a witness if a commission is created. Trump was impeached after he was accused of inciting the violence, but was acquitted in the Senate. The House was expected to vote on the legislation Wednesday. The Senate must still consider it. The Biden administration supported the bill.

Real quick

Could this be a 100-year flood?

Houses and streets were left flooded and cars sat stranded on water-filled streets after a day of torrential downpours Monday in Louisiana and other parts of the south-central United States. The National Weather Service says thunderstorms are still on the horizon Tuesday, with 30 million people threatened by flooding this week across parts of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. The NWS also issued a flash flood emergency in Lake Charles, Louisiana, as some areas reported up to 12 inches of rain. Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter said the rainfall totals will probably meet the threshold for a 100-year event. A number of tornado warnings had also been issued in various cities, and the NWS urged at-risk residents to seek higher ground. The weather service said the likelihood of flooding is high with the incoming storms throughout the week. 

A break from the news

This is a compilation of stories from across the Paste BN Network. Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for The Short List newsletter here.

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