10-year-old in Gaza City: ‘We don’t deserve to die’, more top stories on 5 Things podcast
On today’s episode of 5 Things: More and more lawmakers are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Plus, the House will vote on safety measures and a commission after the January insurrection, New York’s attorney general investigates the Trump Organization in a ‘criminal capacity,’ opening arguments begin in the Mollie Tibbetts murder trial and Lollapalooza is back.
Hit play on the podcast player above and read along with the transcript below.
Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I’m Taylor Wilson, and this is five things you need to know, Wednesday, the 19th of May 2021. Today, pressure mounts on President Joe Biden as the death toll rises in Gaza and Israel. Plus the House votes on a commission to look into January’s Capitol insurrection, and more.
Taylor Wilson:
Here are some of the top headlines:
Taylor Wilson:
Israeli airstrikes killed at least six people in Gaza early Wednesday and destroyed the home of a large extended family. Some Gazans are escaping the strikes just in time after warning shots that Israel often but not always fires. But at least two people were among those killed Wednesday when Israeli warning missiles crashed into their apartment. Palestinians in the Strip are pleading for peace including 10-year-old Nadine Abdel-Taif.
Nadine Abdel-Taif:
We don’t deserve to sleep scared. Me and my family, when we hear some missiles at night, my mom just put us a mattress in the hallway and let us sleep there, so she can keep us safe. But still, we don’t deserve to die if we are still young.
Taylor Wilson:
At least 219 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in less than two weeks, including 63 children, with more than 1500 people injured, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. 12 people in Israel have been killed by Hamas rocket attacks including a child. The latest on Tuesday killed two Thai migrant workers in Southern Israel. Along with the immediate daily threats of violence, conditions in Gaza are dire. Medical supplies, fuel and water are all running low. The territory is home to more than two million Palestinians and has already faced shortages for years since an Israeli-Egyptian blockade began in 2007 after Hamas took power. The latest Israeli attacks have damaged at least 18 hospitals and clinics, according to the World Health Organization, and nearly half of all essential drugs have run out. The COVID-19 pandemic has not paused to allow the airstrikes to happen. And a recent strike damaged the only testing facility in the entire territory, which had also administered vaccines.
Taylor Wilson:
Palestinians on Tuesday held a general strike in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. Protests were mostly peaceful, but three Palestinian protesters were killed and two Israeli soldiers were injured, with violent clashes in several cities in the region. Efforts to get a ceasefire are gaining some strength. Egyptian negotiators continue to work to stop the fighting, and stateside pressure is building on President Joe Biden to push more aggressively for a ceasefire. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for a ceasefire Tuesday, joining dozens of other democratic and independent lawmakers calling for the same. While many Republicans say Israel is defending itself from Hamas terrorists. The president was in Michigan, Tuesday, visiting a Ford electric vehicle plant. There, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American Democrat from Michigan confronted Biden to address the struggle of Palestinians. She said that Palestinian human rights are not a bargaining chip. Biden briefly addressed her concerns.
President Joe Biden:
I’ll tell you what Rashida, I want to say to you that I admire your intellect, I admire your passion, and I admire your concern for so many other people. And it’s from my heart, I pray that your grandmom and family are well. I promise you, I’m going to do everything to see that they are on the West Bank. You’re a fighter, and, God, thank you for being a fighter.
Taylor Wilson:
Still, the US remains a close ally with Israel. And according to the Washington Post, the Biden administration recently approved nearly three quarters of a billion dollars in weapons for Israel. Biden has also not reversed several Trump-era policies related to Israel, that includes Trump recognizing disputed territory as Israeli and moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Israel’s disputed capital. The Biden administration supports a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Taylor Wilson:
The House will vote Wednesday on a 9/11-style commission into the January 6th deadly insurrection at the US Capitol. The vote marks a first step toward creating an independent bipartisan panel to investigate the siege and try to prevent similar ones in the future. The House is expected to approve the measure, but it may be a tougher sell in the Senate. Also on Wednesday, the House could vote on a $1.9 billion spending bill to reimburse authorities who responded to the attack and to increase security for the future. Some of that spending would be for attorneys and the Justice Department to prosecute suspects and to reimburse the National Guard.
Taylor Wilson:
New York’s Attorney General is now actively investigating the Trump organization for criminal actions. For more than two years, Attorney General Letitia James’ office has been investigating former President Donald Trump and his company. That began after former Trump lawyer, Michael Cohen, claimed that they fraudulently boosted property values to get tax breaks and better terms on loans and insurance. That was a civil investigation, but that changed Tuesday, and now charges might be filed if investigators find wrongdoing. Letitia James is working with Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, who has been conducting a separate criminal probe and has several Trump-related tax returns.
Taylor Wilson:
Opening arguments will begin Wednesday in the trial of the man accused of murdering Mollie Tibbetts. She was a 20-year old student at the University of Iowa when she went missing after going for a jog in July of 2018. 26-year old Cristhian Bahena Rivera is accused of stabbing her to death. He’s a Mexican national who entered the country illegally as a teenager, and the case previously grabbed attention when then President Donald Trump accused him of exploiting lax immigration laws. And legal experts say that ensuring a fair trial for Rivera will be difficult.
Taylor Wilson:
Lollapalooza is coming back. The popular Chicago music festival will announce its 2021 lineup on Wednesday. The pandemic shut down almost all live events last year in the US and most parts of the world. But with the number of vaccinated Americans rising, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said, “Less than a year later and armed with a vaccine that is safe, effective, and widely available, we are able to bring back one of our city’s most iconic summer music festivals.” The event will return with full capacity in Downtown’s Grant Park from July 29th to August 1st. All festival goers will need to be fully vaccinated or they’ll have to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 24 hours of attending each day. The event will be the country’s first major multi-genre music festival since the COVID-19 pandemic slammed the country in March of 2020. Some other genre specific festivals will come before Lolla, like Miami’s rap-focused Rolling Loud in late July and some country music festivals earlier in the summer. Coachella in California usually kicks off festival season each April, but it was canceled for the second straight year due to the pandemic.
Taylor Wilson:
Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can also drop five stars on Apple Podcasts, and you can listen wherever you find your audio. Thanks as always to Shannon Green and Claire Thornton for their work on the show. 5 Things is part of the USA TODAY Network.
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