"Technical issue" causes vice president's plane to turn around
07 June 2021
About 30 minutes into her first international trip since taking office, Vice President Kamala Harris' plane was forced to return to Joint Base Andrews due to a technical issue, according to White House pool reports.
Why it matters: Harris is headed to Guatemala and Mexico as part of the Biden administration's efforts to address the surge of migration into the U.S. from the Southern border.
The big picture: The plane technical issue involved "no major safety concerns” and the plane landed safely at the base.
- Passengers later boarded the back-up C32 plane, "which is an Air Force Boeing modified 757," Harris' spokesperson Symone Sanders told reporters.
- The plane took off some 90 minutes later, according to AP
What they're saying: “I’m good, I’m good. We all said a little prayer, but we’re good,” said Harris, per AP.
Go deeper:Harris heads to Guatemala, Mexico on first foreign trip
Editor's note: This article has been updated with details of the plane switch and Harris continuing her the flight.
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.