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Newsmax is working to pull ahead of conservative rival Fox News, trying to lure away its vital booking agents with promises of higher salaries, two people who have been contacted by Newsmax tell me.

Why it matters: The battle to serve as the venue of choice for conservative viewers has intensified as President Trump has chastised Fox for declaring Joe Biden the election winner and Newsmax has pandered to his believers.

Newsmax is owned by Trump friend Chris Ruddy. The bookers — who try to land guests at a moment's notice — said they believe his network courted them because it wants to gain their contacts.

  • They said several other colleagues — mostly younger Fox employees with lower salaries — also have been approached.
  • A spokesperson for Newsmax did not respond to a request for comment. Fox News did not immediately provide a comment.

Background: Trump's criticism of Fox has created a parallel universe on the right, where the conservative network isn't pro-Trump enough for millions of his diehards, Axios' Sara Fischer writes.

  • Newsmax is using this period to its advantage, filling its air with segments and hosts who argue the president still has a chance to defeat Biden.

On Monday, ratings for Newsmax passed Fox in the 7pm hour for the key 25- to 54-year-old demographic for the first time ever, CNN's Brian Stelter reports.

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.