Evening Briefing: Attack at Capitol kills one officer

April 2, 2021

Your Friday Evening Briefing

By Remy Tumin, Amelia Nierenberg and Sarah Hughes

Good evening. Here's the latest.

Amr Alfiky/The New York Times

1. A Capitol Police officer was killed and another was injured in an attack at the U.S. Capitol.

A man rammed his car into the two officers at a security barricade outside the Capitol building, exited his vehicle wielding a knife and lunged at them, officials said. The suspect — identified as Noah Green, 25, of Indiana — was shot and killed. A motive remains unclear, but officials said the attack did not appear to be terrorism related. Here's what we know so far.

The officer who died, William "Billy" Evans, was an 18-year veteran of the force.

The Capitol complex was locked down, staff members were instructed to remain indoors and the National Guard was deployed to the area.

The violent attack was the most serious security threat at the Capitol since a deadly attack on Jan. 6 that killed five people and injured dozens. With Congress in recess, most lawmakers were not on Capitol Hill, but many staff members were. Earlier in the day, President Biden had left Washington for Camp David.

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Bureau of Labor Statistics

2. A rebound in the job market may signal the beginning of a significant turnaround for the U.S. economy.

U.S. employers added 916,000 jobs in March, the most since August. Unemployment fell to 6 percent. The hiring was fueled by vaccinations and another round of federal aid. The leisure and hospitality sector led the way; construction firms also showed substantial growth.

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On balance, forecasters are optimistic that hiring will remain strong in coming months. "The tide is turning," one economist said.

Global forecasters say Washington's robust spending will not only help pull the U.S. out of its economic slump but also the rest of the world.

Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, via Associated Press

3. The U.S. and Iran will start indirect talks in Vienna on returning to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Beginning on Tuesday, the two countries will negotiate through intermediaries, the first serious effort since President Biden took office to figure out how to return to the deal. They both want to re-enter the agreement, which limits Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for lifting sanctions on Tehran. But each needs to save face for constituents back home.

For Washington, time is a factor. After President Trump pulled out of the deal in May 2018, Iran doubled down. Although it has always insisted it is not seeking to be a nuclear power, Iran is now thought to be just months away from amassing enough highly enriched uranium to create a nuclear weapon.

Erin Schaff/The New York Times

4. Fully vaccinated Americans can travel "at low risk to themselves," both within the U.S. and internationally, but they should still wear masks, federal health officials said.

Americans who have received a Covid-19 vaccine and are traveling domestically do not need to be tested and do not need to follow quarantine procedures at the destination or when they return home, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now advises.

The agency continues to discourage travel for those who have not been fully vaccinated. More than 100 million people in the U.S. have now received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. We answered the most common questions about vaccination side effects.

Erik S Lesser/EPA, via Shutterstock

5. Major League Baseball will move the All-Star game out of Atlanta, above, in a firm rebuke of a new law that limits voting rights in Georgia.

The decision by the baseball commissioner, Rob Manfred, came after days of pressure from civil rights groups and the baseball players' association. Georgia Republicans passed the sweeping law that introduces more rigid voter identification requirements for absentee balloting and limits drop boxes.

Florida, Texas and Alabama have also moved to limit ballot access, often with strict voter identification laws. But Virginia has pushed hard to expand voting access with legislation that encourages citizens — especially people of color — to exercise their democratic rights.

via Court TV

6. Derek Chauvin's actions were "totally unnecessary," said the head of the homicide unit in the Minneapolis Police Department.

"Pulling him down to the ground facedown and putting your knee on a neck for that amount of time, it's just uncalled-for," said Lt. Richard Zimmerman, the department's longest-serving officer, above, who responded to the scene of George Floyd's death. Here are other key takeaways from today's testimony.

His testimony came on the fifth day of the murder trial of Mr. Chauvin, the former police officer who put his knee on Mr. Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes as he lay handcuffed on his stomach. The trial will resume on Monday.

If you've found this newsletter helpful, please consider subscribing to The New York Times — with this special offer. Your support makes our work possible.

Ed Jones/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

7. Arrivals at the southern border reached a 15-year high in March, and included many unaccompanied minors.

The children and teenagers detained at the border after arriving alone nearly doubled in March, to 18,700, compared with the previous month, according to documents obtained by The New York Times. Altogether, border officials encountered more than 170,000 migrants in March, a nearly 70 percent increase from February and the highest monthly total since 2006.

The number of crossings by migrant families is similar to figures from 2019, when the Trump administration struggled to safely process a surge of Central American families.

Sandy Huffaker for The New York Times

8. Van life, once niche, has become more mainstream. The nomadic lifestyle has gained a following during the pandemic.

The newer crowd of people living out of their vehicles is younger, more diverse and in generally snazzier digs. They include some who were displaced by rising rents and young couples priced out of the housing market, as well as remote workers with nothing tying them to any one ZIP code.

The boom has kept companies that outfit van interiors busy throughout the pandemic.

Christopher Leaman for The New York Times

9. Big Bird is going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Alex Da Corte, known for provocative, brightly colored installations, will showcase the beloved "Sesame Street" character at the top of the New York museum this spring. But his version of the 8-foot-2 model of empathy and earnestness comes with a twist: The metal and fiberglass bird, now blue instead of yellow, will appear perched on a crescent moon, and suspended on a mobile that sways in response to air currents.

While you're there, you can visit the expansive Alice Neel retrospective. Our critic says Ms. Neel, a figurative painter, is "destined for icon status on the order of Vincent van Gogh and David Hockney."

Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.

10. And finally, spring feasts and fasts.

For Easter Sunday, we have 21 recipes for cooks tired of cooking. Try a slow cooker pot roast, above, or 15-minute, colorful roasted salmon with peas and radishes. Or maybe a rhubarb crisp, a light spin on a heavier pie.

To plan ahead for the evenings of Ramadan, which is expected to start on Monday, make samosas. A Pakistani staple, they freeze well, and, after a long day of fasting, they're salty, crunchy and spicy. Just what you need.

And for everything else — birthdays, anniversaries, post-vaccination hugs — take a cue from the meal David Tanis planned for his birthday: a special salad, breaded pork chops and baba au rhum.

Have a nourishing weekend.

Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern.

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