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New York City schools will not fully reopen in fall

08 July 2020
 Dan Ackermann

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced at a press conference on Wednesday that schools will not fully reopen in fall, and will instead adopt a hybrid model that will limit in-person attendance to just one to three days a week.

Why it matters: New York City, once the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, is home to the nation's largest public school district — totaling 1,800 schools and 1.1 million students, according to the New York Times. The partial reopening plan could prevent hundreds of thousands of parents from fully returning to work.

What they're saying:

We are planning to reopen New York City schools this fall while putting health and safety FIRST. 75% of families want to send their kids back to school in the fall. Our job is to make it safe and make it work for every family. We won’t let you down. Through a mix of in-school and at-home learning we can make more space in every classroom and building. That means most kids coming to school 2 days a week. It’s a first for NYC public schools but it’s the only way to bring kids back safely. What we WON'T do is ignore the science and recklessly charge ahead like our president. We will do it the right way. We will keep everyone safe.
De Blasio tweeted

The big picture: Other states have announced they will fully reopen schools in fall despite major spikes in confirmed COVID-19 cases. New York has taken a more cautious approach to reopening.

  • Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said this week that schools will fully reopen in fall.
  • Massachusetts has said schools can reopen with at least three feet of distance between students, per NPR.

Yes, but: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) could still claim authority over NYC schools and block De Blasio's timeline for reopening, per the New York Times.

  • And the plan is based on current case numbers, meaning fluctuations could alter de Blasio's vision for reopening schools.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly 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.