10 things you need to know today: April 18, 2023

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Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson announces charges in the shooting of Ralph Yarl
(Image credit: Christopher Smith/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

1. White homeowner charged with shooting Black teen who rang his doorbell

Clay County, Missouri, Prosecutor Zachary Thompson on Monday charged 84-year-old Andrew Lester with shooting a Black teen, Ralph Yarl, who mistakenly rang his doorbell after being sent to the neighborhood to pick up his younger twin brothers. Lester, who is white, faces a minimum of 10 years in prison if convicted on felony charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action for shooting Yarl, 16. Lester allegedly shot Yarl in the head, then shot him again in the arm after he fell to the ground. Lester told police his doorbell rang as he was going to bed and he thought someone was breaking into his house. Thompson said there was a "racial component" to the case, which prompted a protest.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.