Western states pummeled by wildfires and extreme weather
09 September 2020
The Western U.S. is being hit by wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres along the Pacific Coast, while Colorado has set records for both heat and the cold within three days.
Driving the news: California fighters are battling more than two dozen major fires. In Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown (D) invoked an emergency conflagration declaration Tuesday to free up state resources to fight several wildfires. In Washington, Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz tweeted that some 300,000 acres of land had burned in the state.
- In Colorado, Denver on Tuesday tied with a 1962 record for the lowest temperature, as it hit 31 degrees Fahrenheit, the National Weather Service noted.
- On Saturday, Denver hit a record high of 101°F,
yesterday vs. today pic.twitter.com/0RuOBtQEvG
— Luke Runyon (@LukeRunyon) September 8, 2020
Editor's note: This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.
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.