Federal Trade Commission to probe gas station mergers as prices climb
30 August 2021
The head of the Federal Trade Commission, Lina Khan, told the White House in a letter released Monday that she plans to probe mergers of retail gasoline stations in order to avert potentially anti-competitive behavior that could drive up the cost of gas, according to a letter obtained by Axios.
Driving the news: The letter indicates Khan will act on a request White House National Economic Council director Brian Deese made earlier this month.
- Deese had requested that the FTC examine trends in gasoline prices for potentially unlawful conduct.
Details: In the letter, Khan writes, "I am concerned that the Commission’s approach to merger review in recent years has enabled significant consolidation, particularly when it comes to retail fuel outlets."
- Such consolidation, Khan states, may be raising the price of gas at the pump.
What they're saying: "I will ask that we identify additional legal theories to challenge retail fuel station mergers where dominant players are buying up family-run businesses," Khan told Deese. "I am especially interested in ways that large national chains may 'restore' higher prices through collusive practices, and I will direct our staff to investigate any signs of this type of conduct."
- Khan also wrote that the FTC will "investigate abuses in the franchise market," through which national chains force franchises to sell gasoline at higher prices.
Between the lines: This is a move spurred on by the administration's concerns that the rising price of gasoline will curtail the economic recovery.
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.