Melinda French Gates meets with Biden, Hill officials
15 June 2021
Melinda French Gates is staying visible with a Washington swing this week to visit White House and Hill officials to discuss issues important to her, especially paid leave, advisers tell me.
Driving the news: French Gates met at the White House yesterday with Chief of Staff Ron Klain and Domestic Policy Adviser Susan Rice, among other senior administration officials.
- French Gates and her organization, Pivotal Ventures, have been longtime advocates for policies that are part of President Biden's infrastructure proposal, including paid leave and child care.
- French Gatesis expected to meet with senators on Capitol Hill this morning, including Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the philanthropist's home state.
Zoom out: Last week, French Gates joined the Democratic Women’s Caucus to virtually kick off a meeting with remarks focused on caregiving, paid leave, and women’s economic empowerment.
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.