Top coalition of CEOs puts new muscle behind Biden with "Move the Needle" campaign
26 February 2021
Business Roundtable, the voice ofAmerica's top CEOs, today launched "Move the Needle," a campaign to support President Biden in rolling out COVID vaccine, increasing vaccine uptake and encouraging masks.
What they're saying: "Masks and vaccines are working. Now is the time to keep at it, overcome pandemic fatigue, and double down on the measures that will end this public health and economic crisis, said Business Roundtable president and CEO Josh Bolten.
The announcement explains the campaign's name: "Business Roundtable companies have been 'moving the needle' by producing, distributing and administering the vaccine. "
- "America’s leading employers will ramp up engagement with their employees, suppliers and customers to advance wider and consistent adoption of COVID-19 safety practices and vaccines," the release says.
- The campaign will run across digital platforms, radio and national cable television — and will push the hashtag #IGottheShot.
Also today, the White House will announce alliances with top business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, National Association of Manufacturers, and leaders in Hispanic, African American, AAPI and other minority business organizations:
Over the coming weeks, the Biden Administration, in partnership with these groups, will provide businesses with toolkits and best practices on COVID-19 to help organizations provide accurate and up to date information to their employees and customers. The Administration will work with business groups and individual companies to highlight the innovative ways that America’s private sector continues to rise to the challenge as we all work together to put the pandemic behind us.
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.