Trump leaves G7 to focus on Mideast conflict. And, Vance Boelter faces federal charges : NPR

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President Trump left the G7 summit one day early to focus on the rapidly escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. The White House abruptly announced Trump’s exit from the summit after the president posted a dire warning on social media telling Iranians to evacuate the capital, Tehran.

• 🎧 There’s an atmosphere of panic and confusion in Tehran, NPR’s Hadeel Al-Shalchi, who is in Tel Aviv, tells Up First. There is bumper-to-bumper traffic on roads leading out of the city, and people are stocking up on food. Israel’s U.N. ambassador said last week that the preemptive strikes were meant to prevent Iran from creating a nuclear weapon. Israel has since expanded its attacks. An Iranian state TV station was hit during a live broadcast yesterday. So far, the U.S. has only helped defend Israel and intercept missiles. Trump has said he doesn’t want Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and his preference is to strike a deal. As the war intensifies, Al-Shalchi says all eyes will be on whether the president changes course and decides to get directly involved.

Vance Boelter, the man suspected of killing a Minnesota state lawmaker and her spouse and wounding another lawmaker and his wife, faces federal and state murder charges. Police apprehended the 57-year-old late Sunday in rural Minnesota. Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson for the district of Minnesota said Boelter’s alleged crimes were “the stuff of nightmares.”

• 🎧 Police recovered six guns from the scene — most in a car the suspect abandoned. They say he would have continued his rampage if he had not been forced to flee, NPR’s Meg Anderson says. Boelter faces six federal charges, including two counts of murder for the killings of Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband. These charges carry the death penalty if convicted. He faces four charges at the state level. Officials initially pursued two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder, but they say they plan to pursue first-degree murder charges.
• 🎧 On Morning Edition, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., called for fellow lawmakers and the general public to tone down incendiary rhetoric while hailing Hortman as “one of the most consequential speakers in Minnesota history.”
• 🎧 The suspect’s religious background and views on abortion rights have gained attention. NPR’s domestic extremism correspondent Odette Yousef discusses what we know so far.

Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, who own the company, have reached a $7.4 billion settlement with all 50 states and U.S. territories over the company’s improper marketing of opioids. If the settlement is approved, it would end a long legal battle over the harm caused by OxyContin, the company’s opioid painkiller. Legal documents revealed that under the Sackler family’s leadership, Purdue Pharma convinced regulators and the health care industry that OxyContin could be used more liberally without a big risk of addiction or overdose, which turned out not to be true. Purdue Pharma has since pleaded guilty twice to federal crimes for false marketing. Millions of people in the U.S. have died from opioid overdoses, including from OxyContin.

• 🎧 NPR’s addiction correspondent Brian Mann says the new deal includes one big change: people who believe they were harmed by OxyContin will no longer be forced to drop civil lawsuits against the Sackler family. The last attempt at a settlement was overturned by the Supreme Court because it included broad legal protection for the Sacklers. Under this new deal, the family is expected to pay $6.5 billion from their personal fortunes and give up ownership of the company. Activists tell Mann they hope the money will be spent on health care and helping more people in addiction get better treatment, but there is concern it could be redirected to prop up existing programs.

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