Show an ad over header. AMP  

Houston Methodist staffers' lawsuit challenging hospital's COVID vaccine mandate dismissed

13 June 2021
 Dan Ackermann

A federal judge on Saturday dismissed a lawsuit brought by 117 Houston Methodist staff over the hospital's policy requiring all staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Driving the news: The staff had argued that the mandate was unlawful. But U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes said in her ruling, "This is not coercion. Methodist is trying to do their business of saving lives without giving them the COVID-19 virus. It is a choice made to keep staff, patients and their families safer."

  • The hospital in Houston, Texas, suspended 178 employees without pay for 14 days last Tuesday for failing to comply the mandate.
  • Hughes had earlier this month denied the plaintiffs' request for a temporary restraining order to block the suspension, saying the public interest in "caring for patients during a pandemic far outweighs protecting the vaccination preferences of 116 employees" and noting the staff were "jeopardizing" their own health" and that of others.

What they're saying: Marc Boom, president and CEO of Houston Methodist said in an emailed statement following the ruling: "We can now put this behind us and continue our focus on unparalleled safety, quality, service and innovation. All our employees have now met the requirements of the vaccine policy and I couldn't be prouder of them."

Editor's note: This a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

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

Section2

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.