GOP Sen. Susan Collins wins re-election in Maine, AP projects
04 November 2020
GOP Sen. Susan Collins has won re-election against Democrat Sara Gideon (D) in Maine, AP projects.
Why it matters: Collins has served in the Senate for 24 years, but has faced tougher re-election battles in recent years. Democrats had expected a defeat for the moderate Republican to play a crucial role in their efforts win back the Senate.
Context: Collins had faced backlash at home for frequently voting with President Trump, who is unpopular in Maine. The senator came under fire for backing Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and voting to acquit Trump during his impeachment trial.
- Gideon, who serves as Maine's House speaker, latched on to Collins' drop in popularity, launching a moderate Democratic bid that has promised pragmatic policymaking.
- Cook Political Report had rated the Maine Senate race as a "toss up."
Data: AP; Chart: Naema Ahmed, Andrew Witherspoon, Danielle Alberti/Axios
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.