Biden nominates Eric Garcetti as ambassador to India
09 July 2021
President Biden on Friday nominated Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) to serve as ambassador to India, pending Senate confirmation.
Why it matters: This is one of a handful of high-profile picks for ambassadorships that Biden has made since taking office, and Garcetti may be dispatched amid a surge in COVID-19 infections in India.
- Garcetti's confirmation would also come as the United State's second-largest city faces record homelessness and struggles with aging infrastructure.
The big picture: Biden also nominated the Obama Foundation's Bernadette Meehan for the ambassadorship to Chile.
- He nominated Denise Campbell Bauer, who led Women for Biden during 2020 presidential election, for the post in Monaco and Peter D. Haas for Bangladesh.
Flashback: Garcetti considered running for president in 2020 and was later discussed as a potential member of Biden’s Cabinet last year before voluntarily removing himself in December.
- Garcetti's prospects as a Cabinet member faded after a sexual harassment lawsuit was filed against one of his former aides by one of the mayor's longtime bodyguards.
- The mayor was one of Biden's national campaign co-chairs and served on the committee that vetted his pool of vice presidential contenders.
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.