On today’s episode of the 5 Things podcast: Brooklyn subway shooting suspect arrested after calling himself in
The violence sent 29 people to the hospital. Plus, reporter Tami Abdollah says more people in Finland are preparing for the possibility of war with Russia, police release video of the officer shooting of Patrick Lyoya, truckers protest over new Texas inspections at the border and reporter Elisabeth Buchwald says tax refunds are higher than usual.
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Taylor Wilson:
Buenos dias. I’m Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Thursday, the 14th of April 2022. Today, an arrest in the Brooklyn subway attack, plus how some people in Finland are preparing for the possibility of Russian invasion and more.
Here are some of the top headlines:
- President Joe Biden has authorized an additional $800 million in security help to Ukraine, including weapons and ammunition. In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was sincerely thankful for the aid.
- A Russian warship has been severely damaged. Russia said the flagship of its Black Sea fleet was evacuated after an explosion that a Ukrainian official said was because of a missile strike.
- And a jury has awarded a Florida man more than $250,000 for a false 2018 cocaine possession arrest. Tests later revealed the alleged cocaine was sugar.
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A suspect in the case surrounding this week’s Brooklyn subway has been arrested. 62-year-old Frank R. James was arrested yesterday after a manhunt that lasted more than 24 hours. NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig.
James Essig:
We believe, but this is still early in the investigation, that after firing his weapon 33 times at innocent New York City subway riders, Mr. James boarded an R Train that had pulled into the station, went one stop up and exited at 25th Street Station. The gun used in this – a nine millimeter Glock, which was recovered at this crime scene – was purchased by Mr. James in 2011 in Ohio. We tracked Mr. James and his last known whereabouts of him were 7th Avenue and 9th Street in Park Slope entering the subway. Minutes ago, thankfully, NYPD patrol officers from the 9th Precinct responded to St. Mark’s and 1st Avenue where they apprehended him without incident.
Taylor Wilson:
James is set to appear in court today on a charge related to terrorist or other violent acts against mass transit systems and carries a sentence of up to life in prison. He was arrested after calling himself into the city’s crime stoppers line. The attack came Tuesday morning during rush hour in Brooklyn, New York’s Sunset Park neighborhood. Authorities say the suspect put on a gas mask, threw two smoke grenades, and then opened fire 33 times at passengers as the train pulled into the station. Ten people were shot and at least 19 others were taken to hospitals. A motive is still not clear, but officials are investigating social media posts where the suspect threatened violence.
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More people in Finland are preparing for the possibility of war with Russia. In the week since Russia invaded Ukraine, thousands of Finns have signed up with training associations to sharpen their military skills or learn new ones like first aid. Reporter Tami Abdollah tells us why some feel threatened by their neighbors to the east.
Tami Abdullah:
Finland has a really fascinating history with Russia. They share a lengthy 830-mile border, and they have kind of traumatic memories of battles from the 20th century with Russia, including in the late 1930s when they were involved in what’s known as the Winter War, and Russia invaded Finland without a declaration of war. In fact, a lot of Finnish folks harken back to that era. They remember it, even though it was 90-plus years ago, well, nearly 90 years ago, I should say. They recall how Russia invaded, and they lost 11% of their land. In fact, I spoke with a Finn who basically was like, “Yeah, at the time, it was very, very similar to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” They were against huge odds. The Finns fought fiercely and did better than most people thought. The League of Nations, which was the predecessor to the UN, in fact, kicked Russia out essentially for its illegal invasion of it. So there was a lot of harshness and harsh reaction from the world, but the Finns were essentially alone in their battle in the fighting on the ground. Similarly, Ukraine is essentially on its own in battling because it’s not part of NATO.
Russia has been very, very clear. In fact, I spoke with someone at the Defense Ministry in Finland who told me that they’re aware that Russia has been incredibly clear. It does not want NATO on its border. Finland is not part of NATO and that, because it doesn’t want the expansion of this Western defensive pact, it would consider that an aggressive move. So Finland, of course, is keeping that in mind. Obviously, we see how Russia reacted to even what they say was one of their reasons for invading Ukraine was to prevent it from joining NATO and going more westward.
Taylor Wilson:
You can find Tami’s full story in today’s episode description.
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A Black man who was face down on the ground has been shot in the back of the head by a Grand Rapids Michigan police officer, killing him. Police released video yesterday of the April 6th shooting of Patrick Lyoya. It combined police footage, a home security camera, and a cell phone video showing the unnamed officer pull over the 26 year old for a license plate that he said didn’t match the car. The two then struggled, and the officer was eventually lying on top of Lyoya before shooting him. This part is from the officer’s body camera before a clip of video shot by a third party watching the incident. A warning, the following is graphic.
Police:
No no no. Stop, stop. Put your hands where I can see them. Stop. 1950, we’ve got one running. Stop. Stop. …Stop. taser.
dispatcher:
How many you cars you got going?
Police:
Drop, taser!
dispatcher:
Everyone.
Taylor Wilson:
Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who represented the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others, is representing Lyoya’s family. He released a statement yesterday demanding the officer be fired, arrested, and prosecuted. Crump and Lyoya’s family are expected to hold a news conference this afternoon.
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Texas governor, Greg Abbott, is urging three other Mexican governors to come to an agreement after he and the governor of Nuevo León state announced yesterday that they’ll end new additional border inspections in Texas at the Nuevo León crossing point. The move came after Governor Samuel García promised additional security steps on the Mexican side, but Governor Abbot said similar inspections would continue at other crossings along the Texas/Mexico border until other Mexican governors agree to similar deals.
Border crossing delays last week turned into protests this week with truckers blocking traffic. Protests have affected crossings that handle some $440 billion a year in trade. Both the Biden administration and US Customs and Border Protection have criticized the Texas inspections as did Mexico’s Department of Foreign Affairs. Abbott last week ordered state police to inspect shipments to Texas citing both cartels and immigration. But truckers interviewed say they already face strict inspections and wonder why they’re being singled out. Many already cross back and forth between Texas and Mexico several times a day delivering goods to warehouses.
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Tax season is a bit less painful this year for many taxpayers thanks to larger than average refunds. Reporter Elisabeth Buchwald says refunds are averaging just over $3,200 so far this season.
Elizabeth Buchwald:
There’s a couple reasons why refunds are coming in higher than last year. The first reason would be the Child Tax Credit. It was enhanced last year. So people who were getting around $2,000 for children six to 16 are now getting around $3,000. That also includes 17 year olds who previously weren’t eligible, and then also you have the credit increasing for children under six from $2,000 to $3,600. Parents could have elected to have that in monthly payments from July to December, and then get the rest when they fill out their tax returns. But if they wanted to get it all at once, they could wait until they file their taxes. So that’s going to trigger a bigger refund if they did that.
The other thing is there’s the Earned Income Tax Credit that was expanded, both dollar amount and eligibility. Some age restrictions were lifted. Also people who didn’t get a third stimulus check, they can get that in the form of a refund when they file their taxes. Or if, for instance, they got a stimulus check but they had a child afterwards, they can still claim that extra $1,400 that you get from having a dependent. These are all a lot of things I would say tied to COVID stimulus that are helping boost these refunds going into this year.
It seems that this year is unique from other years because of these COVID provisions. There aren’t any plans that have been finalized at least to extend, for instance, the Child Tax Credit amounts that we were seeing in 2021. So if that doesn’t get passed, then it will just go back to normal refunds. But that could change. There could be stimulus money going out especially for gas. Legislators are talking about that. But as of now, I would say don’t expect this level of refunds for coming years.
Taylor Wilson:
Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us every day of the year wherever you like to find your podcasts. Thanks to PJ Elliott for his great work on the show, and I’m back tomorrow with more than 5 Things from USA TODAY.
www.usatoday.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism