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Chaos underground

Laura L. Davis   | Paste BN

A normal morning commute in NYC was shattered when a gunman attacked a subway station, leaving at least 29 injured. Putin says peace talks between Ukraine and Russia have reached a dead end. And mask mandates are coming back in Philadelphia. Should we be worried?

👋 Heyo! Laura here. It's Tuesday's news, and there's a lot, so let's get to it!

But first, Gilbert Gottfried has died. 💔 Gottfried, one of the most recognizable voices in showbiz, died at 67. The comedian and actor who was known for voicing the Aflac duck and Iago in "Aladdin," died after a long illness, his family said.

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Multiple people shot, injured in attack on NYC subway station

Police have identified a person of interest in connection to the chaotic attack on a Brooklyn subway during rush hour Tuesday morning, ramping up the all-day manhunt that so far has not led to any arrests. Frank James, 62, was called a person of interest in the attack, which left at least 29 injured, New York Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. The attacker, wearing a gas mask, set off two smoke grenades before shooting. He fled the Brooklyn platform in the panic, leaving a subway car filled with screaming commuters and bleeding victims. At least 10 people were shot and at least 19 others were taken to hospitals for injuries ranging from smoke inhalation to shrapnel wounds.

Could ethanol help with gas prices?

President Joe Biden announced Tuesday another step to try to reduce prices for drivers who have been paying more to fill up their tanks: expanding the availability of biofuels. While visiting an ethanol plant in Iowa, Biden said the administration plans on allowing E15 –  gasoline that uses a 15% ethanol blend – to be sold during the summer. Called E15, the blend can cost 10 cents per gallon less on average at the 2,300 gas stations where it's sold, officials said. His announcement comes the same day that the Labor Department said consumer prices leaped 8.5% since last March, the fastest pace since December 1981. Inflation has now notched new 40-year highs for five straight months.

What everyone's talking about

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Putin: Peace talks have reached 'dead end'

Russia's audacious invasion of Ukraine is proceeding as planned and peace talks have reached a "dead end," Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday. Putin, speaking at a joint press conference with ally Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, accused Ukraine of violating agreements made during talks in Istanbul. Putin said Russia was forced to invade Ukraine to protect ethnic Russians in the separatist territories of the Donbas region, and that the war will "continue until its full completion and the fulfillment of the tasks that have been set."

👉 More news: U.S. calls reports of chemical weapons use 'deeply concerning'; Russian convoy rolls toward strategic Ukraine city. Tuesday's latest updates.

Blizzard blasts northern Plains; more storms likely in central US

Storms raged across parts of the nation Tuesday, including a blizzard in the Northern Plains and severe storms that threatened the central part of the country. A combination of heavy snow and strong wind gusts brought blizzard conditions to portions of Montana and North Dakota on Tuesday, the National Weather Service said, thanks to significant blowing and drifting of snow. Up to 3 feet of snow was possible in some areas before the storm was expected to wind down Wednesday. Farther south, another day of severe storms was forecast for a large swath of the central U.S., meteorologists warned. Check out the forecast here.

⛈ Weather outlook: Will you need an umbrella or snow boots? Hard to say. Find out what the weather's doing in your neck of the woods with a local forecast.

Real quick

Masks coming back to Philly amid a COVID surge. Should we be worried?

If you’re feeling a sense of pandemic deja vu, you’re not alone. Less than a month after mask mandates were lifted across the county, Philadelphia announced Monday that it would reinstate a mandate next week amid a 50% increase in reported COVID-19 cases in the past 10 days. While the city is the first to bring back mask mandates this spring, it's not the only area experiencing a rise in cases. National weekly case counts, which dipped below 200,000 at the start of the month, have risen to above 245,000, according to a Paste BN analysis of Johns Hopkins data. Public health experts say they’re monitoring the situation, but aren't worried – yet. Explore case numbers yourself with this COVID-19 tracking map. 

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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