News Wrap: Blinken says “time is now” for a Gaza cease-fire

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• Geoff Bennett:

  Amid the campus unrest in the U.S., Secretary of State Antony Blinken spent this day in Israel insisting the time is now for a cease-fire. He spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and visited an aid crossing into Gaza.

  Later, he said Israel has offered key compromises for a cease-fire, and he pressed Hamas to say yes.

  Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State: If Hamas actually purports to care about the Palestinian people and wants to see an immediate alleviation of their suffering, it will take the deal. If it doesn't, I think that's further proof that it doesn't care a bit.

• Geoff Bennett:

  In turn, the prime minister's office insisted that Israel still means to assault the city of Rafah to finish off Hamas.

  But Blinken said the U.S. has not received any Israeli plan for attacking Rafah in Southern Gaza that accounts for the safety of civilians. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in Rafah amid airstrikes that killed two more children overnight and despite fears of an Israeli ground offensive.

• Enas Syam, Gaza Resident (through translator):

  We are afraid at any moment that there will be an invasion of Rafah. And even if the invasion happens, we do not know where to go. There is no safe place left. God willing, there will be a truce.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Palestinian officials say the war in Gaza has killed more than 34,500 people to date, and Hamas terrorists killed some 1,200 people in the October raid into Southern Israel that sparked the war.

  In the day's other headlines: The Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged at better than 5 percent, acknowledging that inflation remains stubbornly high. That, in turn, jeopardizes plans to cut rates three times this year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he still expects inflation to drop this year closer to the goal of 2 percent, but there's no sign yet of that.

• Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Chairman:

  We didn't see progress in the first quarter. And I have said that it appears then that it's going to take longer for us to reach that point of confidence. So I don't know how long it'll take. I can just say that, when we get that confidence, then rate cuts will be in scope. And I don't know exactly when that will be.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Powell did say it's unlikely the Fed's next move will be a rate increase.

  There have been major developments on abortion policy on two fronts today. In Florida, a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy took effect, with exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother. And Vice President Kamala Harris visited Jacksonville today and denounced the law. Voters will decide whether to add abortion rights to the state constitution this November.

  The Arizona State Senate voted today to overturn a strict abortion ban that dates to 1864. Democrats won over enough Republicans to carry the measure. A repeal had narrowly passed the state House last week, as three Republicans crossed party lines. The law provides no exceptions for rape or incest.

  In Congress, far right Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene is vowing that she will forge ahead with trying to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson. Many Republicans still support Johnson, and Democrats now say that they will oppose efforts to remove him.

  But, today, outside the Capitol, Greene announced that she will call for a vote next week unless Johnson quits.

• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA):

  He can pray about it, think about it all weekend, do the right thing, and resign, giving our conference time to elect a new leader, a new speaker of the House. He should reject the endorsement of Hakeem Jeffries and the entire Democrat leadership team. That is not an endorsement that any Republican speaker should ever want or embrace.

• Geoff Bennett:

  For his part, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says it's time for Democrats to help restore order in the House.

• Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY):

  House Republicans are either unwilling or unable to get Marjorie Taylor Greene and the extreme MAGA Republicans under control, and so it's going to take a bipartisan coalition and partnership to accomplish that objective.

• Geoff Bennett:

  House Speaker Johnson enraged his Republican critics last month when he used Democratic support to push through aid for Ukraine.

  United Methodist Church delegates have repealed a longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy. The vote came today at the denomination's national gathering in Charlotte, North Carolina. Delegates also barred regional leaders from punishing clergy who officiate same-sex weddings. All of this comes as many conservatives have left the church in recent years.

  Protesters around the world poured into the streets to advocate labor rights on this May Day. Rallies popped up from Sri Lanka, a country struggling through economic crisis, to Paris, where workers demanded wage hikes ahead of the summer Olympic Games. In Istanbul, Turkey, police arrested more than 200 people after clashes broke out near the city's main square. In Kansas, a town of just 700 people is in mourning tonight after a tornado killed one person and blasted homes into ruins. Last night's storm ripped through Westmoreland, about 50 miles outside of Topeka.

  Piles of tree limbs and other debris cluttered neighborhood streets. Officials said 22 homes were destroyed, with more than a dozen others damaged. Former students at a now-defunct chain of colleges will have $6 billion of federal student loan canceled over allegations of fraud.

  The Biden administration says it's writing off loan debt to some 317,000 people who attended the art institutes. Federal officials say the schools lied about their job prospects.

  And on Wall Street, stocks searched for direction after the Fed's announcement on inflation and interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 87 points to close at 37903. The Nasdaq fell 52 points. The S&P 500 slipped 17.