Biden weighs taking an inaugural Amtrak ride from Delaware to D.C.
06 December 2020
There's talk within Bidenworld of the president-elect ditching the typical flourish of arriving in Washington on an Air Force plane, pulling in instead on the same Amtrak train he rode to and from Delaware for 30 years as a senator.
Why it matters: A train trip would be very on-brand for "Amtrak Joe." It also would mirror Barack Obama, who rode into Washington on a vintage railcar in January 2009.
Sources involved in the planning tell Axios that Biden plans to forgo the traditional inaugural balls and parades because of the coronavirus, choosing instead to celebrate with close family and advisers.
Both Donald Trump and George W. Bush came to D.C. on the Air Force version of a Boeing 757.
- While not the bigger 747 that ferries a president as Air Force One, the planes gave a preview of coming attractions. They were emblazoned in the presidential blue-and-white paint job and the words "United States of America."
The Biden campaign declined to comment on his plans.
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.