Fauci who to trust amid coronavirus: "Stick with respected medical authorities"
14 July 2020
When asked on Tuesday who the public can trust during the coronavirus pandemic, Anthony Fauci told C-SPAN that people "can trust respected medical authorities ... who have a track record of giving information and policy and recommendations based on scientific evidence and good data."
Why it matters: Fauci's comments come as the White House tries to sideline the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director in the middle of the pandemic. Multiple media outlets received a statement on Monday from an unnamed White House official that listed each time Fauci was "wrong on things" in COVID-19's early days.
What Fauci is saying: "So if I were to give advice to you and your family and friends of your family, I would say that's the safest to do — to listen to the recommendations from that category of people. But it's entirely understandable how the public can get mixed messages and then get a bit confused about what they should do."
The big picture: Fauci's relationships with the Trump administration has been tense as disagreements emerge on topics such as the reopening of schools, testing and the use of treatments like hydroxychloroquine.
- Fauci said last week that he hasn't seen Trump at the White House since June 2.
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.