10 September 2020
Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked Republicans' efforts to pass a slimmed down $500 billion coronavirus relief bill.
Why it matters: The bill was always going to be dead on arrival.
- Instead, the legislation was seen widely as a political maneuver to put Democrats, who passed their $3 trillion HEROES Act in May, on defense.
- Republicans also hope the vote will create more goodwill with the public as broader negotiations between Congress and the White House remain in a stalemate.
Details: The bill would have included an extension of the small business Paycheck Protection Program, expanded enhanced unemployment benefits, and provided more fundingfor schools and child care programs.
The other side: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have said the proposal "is laden with poison pills Republicans know Democrats would never support."
- They also stated that the bill is "only intended to help vulnerable Republican senators by giving them a 'check the box' vote to maintain the appearance that they’re not held hostage by their extreme right-wing that doesn’t want to spend a nickel to help people."
Go deeper: Senate Republicans to vote on skinny bill amid stimulus deadlock
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.