DeBlasio says New York City plans to "fully reopen" on July 1
29 April 2021
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on MSNBC Thursday that New York City plans to "fully reopen" on July 1, with no restrictions on restaurants, retail, or any other business.
Why it matters: It will be a major milestone for America's most populous city, which was once the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.
What they're saying: While cautioning that he wants people to remain "smart" about public health, De Blasio said that that "we now have the confidence that we can pull all of these pieces together and get life back, really, in many ways, to where it was."
- "We said a month or so ago, it was the variants versus the vaccination, what was going to win, which one was going to win the race. Vaccination is winning this race ... 6.3 million vaccinations, COVID is plummeting," he continued.
- "This is going to be the summer of New York City. You're going to see amazing activities, cultural activities coming back. I think people are going to flock to New York City, because they want to live again."
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.