Sen. Chuck Schumer: "I want to see a ceasefire"
17 May 2021
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters Monday he wants to "see a ceasefire reach quickly and mourn the loss of life."
Why it matters: Schumer is a staunch defender of Israel and has maintained that Israel should be able to defend itself.
- Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and 28 Senate Democrats also called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on Sunday.
- "I agree with the statement put out by Sens. Murphy and Young last night in its entirety," Schumer told reporters in the Capitol.
- The violence has killed over 180 Palestinians and 10 Israelis since fighting began last Monday.
Schumer did not answer a reporter's question on whether he supports the U.S.'s $735 million arms deal with Israel.
The big picture: Israeli officials said Sunday a ceasefire is not on the table right now.
- The U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process has been holding extensive talks with both Israel and Hamas in an effort to restore peace.
- White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday would not commit to calling for a ceasefire when asked.
- "Our calculation at this point is that having those conversations behind the scenes, weighing in with our important strategic partnership we have with Israel, also with other countries in the region, is the most constructive approach we can take," she said.
Go deeper...In photos: Israel-Hamas aerial bombardments enter second week
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.