Tracking Violence

By Robert Gebeloff

Data reporter

• The violence spread in cities nationwide. One area of downtown Austin, Texas, famous for its thriving nightlife saw 17 shootings during the pandemic years, up from six in the four years before. In Everett, Wash., a smaller city where gun violence had been rare, a series of shootouts involved young people.
• The shootings got worse in dangerous neighborhoods, too. The Kensington section of Philadelphia was already one of the most violent places in the United States. One block of 167 residents had 24 fatal shootings in the four years before the pandemic. In the four years that followed, there were 64.
• A citywide homicide rate offers an incomplete picture, because the effects of violence are felt unevenly. One-quarter of Chicago residents lived in neighborhoods with four or more shootings during the pandemic years, while one-third lived in areas where there were no fatal shootings nearby.

• At Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial, his lawyer sought to portray Michael Cohen as obsessed with his former boss and driven by self-interest and spite.
• The defense asked Cohen about his public criticisms of Trump, including his suggestion that Trump belonged in jail. Cohen mostly kept his composure. “Sounds like something I would say,” he answered.
• Cohen testified that he and Trump discussed the hush-money reimbursements in the Oval Office and that the checks were disguised as legal fees. That contention is key to the prosecutors’ case.
• Trump’s political allies — including Speaker Mike Johnson — defended him outside the courthouse. Johnson called the trial a “sham” and criticized Cohen.
• For the public, getting a seat in court was competitive. Some people lined up overnight. One woman paid $750 for a line sitter, saying, “It’s better than a Broadway show.”

• Angela Alsobrooks, a Democratic county official in Maryland, will face Larry Hogan, the state’s Republican former governor, for a U.S. Senate seat this fall.
• Gov. Jim Justice won the West Virginia Republican Senate primary, positioning him to flip the seat that Joe Manchin, a Democrat, is vacating.
• Sarah Elfreth, Maryland’s youngest female state senator, won the Democratic primary in a deep-blue U.S. House district, defeating Harry Dunn, a former Capitol Police officer who was on duty during the Jan. 6 attack.
• William Davis for president: In an experiment, The Times added the name of its polling editor to a list of third-party candidates. He received almost 2 percent of the vote.

• The White House is worried that the momentum of Russia’s new offensive is changing the trajectory of the war.
• In recent days, Russian troops have captured settlements and villages near Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. See a map of Moscow’s push.
• “We can feel that victory is near”: In Russia, Vladimir Putin is selling victory to the public, and many people are buying it.
• At a Kyiv bar, Secretary of State Antony Blinken — who is also an amateur guitarist — played Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”

• The Biden administration told Congress that it intends to sell more than $1 billion in new weapons to Israel.
• Israeli military leaders have voiced frustration with Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to develop a plan to govern Gaza after the war.
• Israel directed many Palestinians in Rafah to a “humanitarian zone.” Satellite imagery shows that the zone is overcrowded and damaged by strikes.

• Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, will step down today after 20 years. He oversaw the city-state’s rise to prosperity.
• China deployed dozens of ships in the South China Sea to block a Philippine flotilla of small fishing boats. The Filipinos were protesting China’s control of a shoal.
• YouTube, in compliance with a court order, will block users in Hong Kong from viewing a democracy anthem, “Glory to Hong Kong.”

• Armed attackers ambushed a prison convoy northwest of Paris, killed two guards and freed an inmate.
• Orcas sank another boat near the Strait of Gibraltar. The animals’ activity has plagued sailors and intrigued marine biologists.

• Scammers pretending to be women coerce young men into sending nude images of themselves, then demand money. Some teenagers have killed themselves as a result.
• A group of TikTok creators, including a rancher and a skin care entrepreneur, sued the U.S. government over its plan to either ban the app or force its sale.
• The ship that toppled a Baltimore bridge after losing power had at least two electrical failures before it left port.
• Alice Munro, whose psychologically dense short stories dazzled the literary world and earned her a Nobel Prize, died at 92.

• King Charles III unveiled his first official portrait since his coronation, an oil painting by the artist Jonathan Yeo.
• Sage, a miniature poodle, won the Westminster dog show. Ahead of the competition, she was ranked just 39th of all show dogs in the U.S.
• Prime Video will stream “Pop Culture Jeopardy!,” an entertainment-focused spinoff that features teams of three contestants.
• Officials temporarily closed a livestream video portal between Dublin and New York City after inappropriate behavior, Time reports.
• The “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon celebrated 10 years at the helm. “It’s hard to believe, when I got the job, Joe Biden was just a fresh-faced 71-year-old,” he said.