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Last month was the hottest June on record for the U.S.

09 July 2021
 Dan Ackermann

Last month was the hottest June in the United States since consistent record keeping started 127 years ago, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Friday.

Why it matters: The average temperature across the U.S. last month was 72.6°F, and eight states — Arizona, California, Idaho, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Utah — saw their hottest June on record.

  • Another six other states — Connecticut, Maine, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming — had their second hottest June.
  • The year-to-date average temperature for the country was 49.3°F, which made it the third warmest on record for that time period.

By the numbers: The country experienced eight weather and climate disasters in the first six months of 2021, the losses from which totaled nearly $30 billion, according to NOAA.

  • The disasters included:
  • 4 severe storms including tornadoes, hail and high wind damage
  • 2 flooding events
  • 1 winter storm with a deep freeze
  • 1 heat wave-influenced drought

The big picture: The massive drought in the U.S. also intensified last month.

  • 44% of the country was experiencing drought conditions at the beginning of June. By the end of the month, 47% was experiencing drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Go deeper:Gov. Newsom asks Californians to cut water use by 15% amid drought

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.