04 July 2021
The Canadian Armed Forces are being called in to help combat dozens of wildfires in western Canada that have sparked evacuation orders and caused the deaths of at least two people, per CTV News.
What's happening: 172 wildfires are burning across British Columbia following the Pacific Northwest's record heat wave, per the BC Wildfire Service.
- Evacuations orders have been taking place in the province this past week, with the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, among the latest to do so. The district, which covers 11 municipalities in the center of B.C., issued nine evacuation orders Saturday.
- The BC Coroners Service confirmed to CBC News that two people died in the fire that swept through Lytton last week, which set a new Canadian record when it hit a high of 117.5°F Monday.
- Defense minister Harjit Sajjan said Friday additional resources, including 350 military personnel, were being sent to a tactical base in Edmonton, Alberta, to help in firefighting efforts where needed across western Canada this summer.
What to expect: BC Wildfire Service fire information officer Jean Strong told CTV News officials were "expecting to receive some military assistance over the next number of days from the Canadian military."
Of note: At least 719 people died from June 25-July 1 during British Columbia's heat wave — "three times more than what would normally occur in the province during the same period," per a statement from the B.C. Coroners Service Friday.
- Chief Coroner Lisa LaPointe said in the statement that many of those deaths were believed to be related to the extreme heat.
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.