Obama applauds MLB for "taking a stand" against Georgia's voting restrictions
03 April 2021
Former President Obama on Saturday praised Major League Baseball for moving its All-Star Game out of Atlanta due to Georgia's new law curbing voting access.
What he's saying: "Congratulations to @MLB for taking a stand on behalf of voting rights for all citizens," Obama tweeted. "There’s no better way for America’s pastime to honor the great Hank Aaron, who always led by example."
The big picture: The MLB commissioner announced the decision on Friday, saying the league "fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box."
- Georgia's law, which passed in March, will disproportionately affect voters of color.
- MLB's decision was applauded by players, rights groups and others.
- But it was criticized by many Republicans, including Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who said MLB "caved to fear and lies from liberal activists."
- Former President Trump, meanwhile, called for a boycott of MLB over the move.
Go deeper: 108 more voting restriction bills introduced by states since mid-February
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.