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India's health ministry reported 4,529 deaths from COVID-19 in a single day on Wednesday and another 267,122 new cases.

Why it matters: It's the most number of deaths from the coronavirus reported by a country in a 24-hour period since the pandemic began, per the Washington Post, citing Johns Hopkins data.

The big picture: India's total number of cases confirmed now exceed 25 million and the official death toll has increased past 283,000, though scientists and local health workers say the actual numbers are much higher.

  • Since the beginning of last month, infection numbers have doubled and more than 100,000 deaths have been recorded amid "shortages of hospital beds, oxygen and critical drugs," AFP notes.

What they're saying: V.K. Paul, head of the government's COVID-19 task force, said the fact the number of new cases has remained below 300,000 for three days in a row shows the "pandemic curve is stabilizing," though he noted the big picture was "mixed," the Indian Express reports.

Between the lines: Experts say the "slowing down" in infection numbers in cities like New Delhi and Mumbai can be attributed to successful local government lockdowns, per the New York Times, which notes the virus is accelerating in some rural areas.

  • "The death toll has remained over 4,000 for several days, suggesting that even if new infections are going down in urban centers, those infected earlier are dying," the Times notes.

The bottom line: Per the NYT, hospitals are still experiencing shortages and the vaccination drive remains sluggish.

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.