Transcript
A (0:01)
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Prosecutors have upgraded the charges against the man accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White house on Wednesday. U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro says the suspect is now facing first degree murder after one of the soldiers died.
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There are certainly many more charges to come, but we are upgrading the initial charges of assault to murder in the first degree.
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Both National Guard members grew up in West Virginia. Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe was from the Martinsburg area and Specialist Sarah Beckstrom from Webster County. NPR's Dave Misdich visited Martinsburg to see how the community is responding.
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Most everywhere around Martinsburg, West Virginia, was closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. But in the handful of bars and restaurants that were open yesterday evening, Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe were on many minds. Amy Fraley was behind the bar at the Big Apple Lounge and inward.
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It's tragic. They're young. It's unnecessary. It's heartbreaking.
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Jason Barrett serves the Martinsburg area as a Republican in the West Virginia Senate. Barrett says the conversation is warranted on the Guard's continued deployment to D.C. but he says the shooting also does show the need for the nation's capital to be kept safe. For now, though, he says his focus, like others here I spoke with, is, is the one supporting the Wolf and Beckstrom families. Dave Mistich, NPR News, Martinsburg, West Virginia.
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President Trump is criticizing the program that brought Afghan refugees to the US after the Taliban takeover in 2021. His comments come after the arrest of an Afghan national charged with shooting two National Guard members. The program was created to protect Afghans who worked with American troops and diplomats. Pope Leo prayed at the site in Turkey, where early Christian leaders established the key principles of the Christian faith. NPR's Ruth Sherlock is traveling with the pontiff on his first papal trip.
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Pope Leo and Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, stood side by side during speeches and prayer at archaeological ruins on the shore of Lake Isnik. It was here that in the year, 325 bishops gathered from across the Roman Empire to heal to visions within the church and established the statement of faith that Christians still recite today. Speaking at this historical site, Leo called on the world to reject the use of religion for justifying war, violence or any form of fundamentalism. Instead, he said, choose dialogue and cooperation. Ruth Sherlock, NPR News.