News Wrap: Schumer criticizes Netanyahu and his far-right coalition in scathing speech

In our news wrap Thursday, Sen. Schumer called Israel’s Netanyahu an obstacle to peace, the Palestinian Authority is getting a new prime minister, a federal judge in Florida rejected Trump’s motion to dismiss the classified documents case against him, Biden made a campaign visit to Michigan, former Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said he’s organizing an investor group to buy TikTok, and more.
Geoff Bennett:
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is taking on Israel’s far right government over the war in Gaza.
Amna Nawaz:
The highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the United States delivered a scathing 40-minute speech today.
He charged that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lost his way in the military drive to crush Hamas. Schumer said that Netanyahu and his government are an obstacle to peace and that Israel needs new elections.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY):
The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7. The world has changed radically since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.
Amna Nawaz:
Netanyahu’s political party shot back that Israel is — quote — “not a banana republic” and that its war policy has wide public support.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, Palestinian officials said an aid warehouse was hit by an Israeli airstrike that killed eight people. The Israelis said one was a Hamas commander.
The Palestinian Authority is getting a new prime minister, but the choice may not satisfy U.S. calls for reforms leading to a Palestinian state. President Mahmoud Abbas today named economist Mohammad Mustafa to the post. He is a longtime ally to Abbas, and whether he will undertake real change is unclear.
A federal judge in Florida has rejected former President Trump’s motion to dismiss the classified documents case against him. Mr. Trump is accused of illegally storing sensitive records at his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving office. Today’s ruling came after Trump lawyers argued the law is vaguely worded and that he was allowed to keep anything he designated as personal. Prosecutors disputed those claims and said Mr. Trump urged others to lie and cover up.
President Biden came out today against the planned sale of U.S. Steel to a Japanese firm, saying it would harm American workers. That came as he made a campaign visit to Saginaw, Michigan. It was aimed at building support from Black and union voters.
And, in Minnesota, Vice President Harris stopped at a Planned Parenthood facility that offers abortion services. It was said to be the first time that a sitting president or vice president has toured that kind of clinic.
Former Trump Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has announced he’s organizing a group of investors to buy TikTok. That comes after the House voted to ban the video-sharing app in the U.S. unless it cuts ties with a Chinese-owned parent company. Mnuchin did not say who might be in that investor group.
In Japan, a high court ruled that denying same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. The court has no power to overturn existing laws that restrict marriage. Instead, it urged the government to do so. Crowds in Tokyo cheered and hailed the decision as a step toward equality. But plaintiffs in the court case called the ruling only a partial victory.
Myuki Fujii, Plaintiff in Marriage Equality Lawsuit (through translator): I still think that we are so far behind other countries. We can’t really be compared to them. It feels like Japan is the only country that’s not changing. Even though our society is really changing, Japan alone has not changed at all. I am boiling with anger.
Amna Nawaz:
Japan is the only member of the G7 industrial democracies that does not have legal protections for same-sex union.
The Elon Musk company SpaceX reached a kind of milestone today with the third test of its giant Starship rocket, but its luck didn’t last. The unmanned spacecraft blasted off from South Texas and had a flawless flight for about an hour. But the rocket was apparently destroyed as it headed for a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Two previous test flights ended in explosions just after liftoff.
On Wall Street, mixed economic data led stocks lower. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 137 points to close at 38905. The Nasdaq fell 49 points. The S&P 500 slipped 14.
And a passing of note. A leading civil rights activist of the 1960s, Dorie Ann Ladner, died Monday in Washington. She began fighting for justice and equality as a teenager in her home state of Mississippi. And she was involved in every major civil rights protest of the ’60s. Dorie Ann Ladner was 81 years old.
Still to come on the “NewsHour”: outrage and concern over the treatment of Black women in higher education; how quantum computing could help us understand more about the universe and beyond; the mother of slain journalist James Foley discusses her new book about her son; plus much more.