19 March 2021
Parts of former President Trump's Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago, have been closed until further notice after staff members contracted the coronavirus, AP first reported.
Why it matters: Trump moved to Mar-a-Lago after leaving Washington, D.C., in January and has used the club as a meeting place with Republican Party leaders, while other members of the GOP have hosted host fundraising events there.
- It is unknown how extensive the outbreak at the resort is.
CNN's Jake Tappertweeted a letter reportedly sent to Mar-a-Lago members that said: "As some of our staff have recently tested positive for COVID-19, we will be temporarily suspending service at the Beach Club and a la carte Dining Room."
- "We have already undertaken all appropriate response measures in accordance with CDC guidance, including activating a thorough sanitization and cleaning of any affected areas and all club facilities..."
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.