12 August 2020
Democrats and the Trump administration remain "miles apart" on negotiations over a coronavirus stimulus deal, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Wednesday.
Driving the news, via Axios' Dion Rabouin: Congress' failure to renew enhanced unemployment measures for millions of Americans at the end of July is already affecting consumer spending patterns, holding down retail purchases and foot traffic, economists at Deutsche Bank say.
The state of play: The primary sticking point in stimulus talks remains Democrats' demands for extra funding for state and local governments, which Republicans have dismissed as a "bailout" for years of poorly-run state budgets.
What they're saying: "We told them we'll go down a trillion if you go up a trillion for the children. Again, let's meet in the middle. We've said all of that," Pelosi told MSNBC.
- "It's no use sitting in a room and let them tell us that states should go bankrupt. The fiscal soundness of our states is essential to the strength of our economy," she added.
- "And it doesn't help when people say, 'How come you can't resolve your differences?' It's a chasm. Because they do not share our values, they don't believe in science, they don't believe in governance."
The other side: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declined to say on Wednesday whether a stimulus deal could be reached.
- "I can’t speculate," he told Fox Business. "If the Democrats are willing to be reasonable, there’s a compromise. If the Democrats are focused on politics and don’t want to do anything that’s going to succeed for the president, there won’t be a deal."
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)tore into Democrats on the Senate floor Wednesday for the second time this week, accusing them of "treating this crisis like an ordinary political game."
- "The American people are not done fighting this virus. And Republicans are not done crafting policies to help them. But the difference between now and March is that Democrats seem to be done being reasonable."
Go deeper: House will not hold votes until Sept. 14 unless stimulus deal is reached
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.