Overview

• Speaking in Concord, the vice president said “soft-on-crime” policies led to Iryna Zarutska’s death on the Charlotte light-rail and urged immediate action.
• The General Assembly on Wednesday passed “Iryna’s Law” and sent it to Gov. Josh Stein, who has not said whether he will sign it.
• The legislation would overhaul cashless bail, authorize magistrates to order involuntary commitment for people deemed mentally ill, and expand paths to capital punishment.
• Suspect Decarlos Brown Jr. faces a federal violence-on-mass-transportation charge that is death-penalty-eligible and a state first-degree murder count.
• Republicans have used Brown’s record to attack Democrats, but independent fact-checkers, including PolitiFact, dispute claims that former Gov. Roy Cooper bears responsibility.