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"Her story is America's story": Joe Biden introduces Kamala Harris in first joint appearance

12 August 2020
 Dan Ackermann

Joe Biden formally introduced Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate on Wednesday, telling a socially-distanced gymnasium in Wilmington, Del.: "I have no doubt that I picked the right person to join me as the next vice president of the United States of America."

Why it matters: Harris is a historic pick for vice president, becoming the first Black woman and first South Asian woman to be named to a major-party U.S. presidential ticket. "Kamala knows how to govern," Biden said. "She knows how to make the hard calls. She is ready to do this job on day one."

What he's saying:

  • "As a child of immigrants, she knows personally how immigrant families enrich our country, as well as the challenges of what it means to grow up Black and Indian-American in the United States of America. Her story is America's story — different from mine in many particulars, but not so different in the essentials."
  • "This morning, all across the nation, little girls woke up — especially little Black and brown girls, who so often feel overlooked and undervalued in their communities. But today — today, just maybe, they are seeing themselves for the first time in a new way, as the stuff of presidents and vice presidents."
  • "Donald Trump has already started his attacks, calling Kamala "nasty." Whining about how she is "mean" to her appointees. It is no surprise, because whining is what Donald Trump does best, better than any American president in history. Is anyone surprised Donald Trump has a problem with a strong woman or strong women across the board?"

This story is developing. Please check back for more.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly 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.