21 March 2021
Julia Letlow (R) on Saturday won Louisiana's 5th congressional district's special election for the U.S. House, AP reports.
Why it matters: Letlow will now replace her late husband, Rep.-elect Luke Letlow (R), who passed away from COVID-19 in December. He was just 41 years old. She received a resounding endorsement from former President Trump, who said she is "so outstanding."
The big picture: Letlow's race is not the only special election in 2021 that's been prompted by a member of Congress passing from COVID-19.
- Rep. Ron Wright (R-Texas) also passed in February from COVID-19. His wife, Susan Wright, is similarly running to take his seat.
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.