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The man suspected of opening fire on two Minnesota legislators and their spouses on 14 June, killing one of them and her husband, was apprehended late on Sunday night and charged with two counts of murder and two of attempted murder, the state’s governor, Tim Walz, said.
Vance Boelter, 57, is suspected of fatally shooting the Democratic state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at their residence early on Saturday. Boelter is also suspected of shooting the state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home, seriously injuring them.
“One man’s unthinkable actions have altered the state of Minnesota,” Walz told a news conference.
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How did the suspect get into the legislator’s homes? Authorities allege Boelter impersonated a police officer, wearing a uniform that most civilians would not be able to distinguish from the real thing and driving a vehicle made to resemble a police SUV.
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Where did the manhunt end? After firing shots at police and fleeing on foot, he was finally caught in a rural area in Sibley county, south-west of Minneapolis, according to police.
Iran strikes Tel Aviv and Haifa as Israel conflict enters fourth day
Iranian missiles have struck the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa, destroying homes and fuelling concerns among world leaders at this week’s G7 meeting that the conflict between the two regional enemies could lead to a broader Middle East war.
Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service said on Monday that four people were pronounced dead after strikes at four sites in central Israel, with 87 injured. The dead were two women and two men, the MDA said.
Iranian state TV said the country fired at least 100 missiles at Israel, signalling that it had no intention of yielding to international calls for de-escalation as it pressed on with its retaliation for Israel’s surprise attack on Tehran’s nuclear program and military leadership on Friday.
At least eight killed near Gaza food sites as Palestinians fear global attention switching to Iran
At least eight Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded yesterday in gunfire near food distribution points in Gaza.
Although Israel has said Gaza is a secondary theatre of operations to its new war with Iran, Palestinians reported continuing serious violence including fire around US- and Israel-supported aid distributions points, amid fears that global attention is moving away from Gaza.
There have been near-daily shootings near the sites since they opened last month. Witnesses say Israeli forces have fired repeatedly on the crowds and health officials say scores of people have been killed.
In other news …
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The G7 summit in the Canadian Rockies is starting today amid tensions about trade with the US and concerns about the conflict in the Middle East. Donald Trump, and the leaders of Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and Canada are in for a busy time.
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Emmanuel Macron has criticised Trump’s threats to take over Greenland as he became the first foreign head of state to visit the vast, mineral-rich Arctic territory since the US president began making explicit threats to annex it.
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Fashion influenced by Islam and other religions is expected to become “mainstream” globally, in spite of politicians singling out the burqa and the hijab, as the rise of “modest fashion” is powered by influencers, luxury brands and big tech.
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A demonstrator who was shot on Saturday during Salt Lake City’s “No Kings” protest has died, Utah police said yesterday. Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, 39, was reportedly shot by a man on the event’s peacekeeping team.
Stat of the day: A £2.5m dud? Fresh doubt cast on authenticity of Rubens
It is an unwelcome question, but an important one: did the National Gallery in London buy a £2.5m dud? This has remained the suspicion of many experts since one of Britain’s premier cultural institutions acquired Samson and Delilah, a long-lost masterpiece by the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens, in 1980. Forty-five years on, the debate has been stirred once again, with a petition launched calling for the National Gallery to honour its 1997 promise to stage a public debate on its authenticity.
Don’t miss this: Why a professor of fascism left the US – ‘The lesson of 1933 is: you get out’
Prof Marci Shore, a scholar of European history, made news around the world when she moved to Canada with her academic husband, Timothy Snyder, and the academic Jason Stanley. She talks to Jonathan Freedland about Trump, teaching history and how terror atomises society, in a conversation in which she also invokes the ultimate warning from history: “The lesson of 1933 is: you get out sooner rather than later.”
Last Thing: Should we embrace boredom?
Since the mass adoption of smartphones, most people have been walking around with a device that can neutralise boredom in an instant. We often reach for our phones for something to do during moments of quiet or solitude, or to distract us – but what happens to all those difficult or untamed half-thoughts that start to form in the milliseconds before we dig into our pockets and pull out our phones again?
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