U.S. temporarily suspends evacuations at Kabul airport to clear airfield
16 August 2021
The U.S. military temporarily halted evacuations from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Monday in order to secure the airfield after thousands of civilians stormed the runway in attempt to flee the country, according to CNN.
Why it matters: The U.S. is still attempting to process visas and evacuate thousands of Afghan refugees who aided U.S. and coalition forces and may face retaliation from the Taliban, which secured Kabul on Sunday and declared victory in Afghanistan on Monday.
- White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told CNN's "New Day" that the U.S. does not have the resources to ensure Afghans have safe passage to the airport, but that the Taliban has been warned they will face "severe consequences" if they interfere with evacuation efforts.
- "We are asking people, in an orderly way, when their flight is called. It's not going to be just a free for all — it can't, for security reasons, work that way. When people's flights are timed, we're asking them to show up at the airport to be present to get on those flights," Finer said.
Video: People run on tarmac of Kabul international airport as a US military aircraft attempts to take off. pic.twitter.com/9qA36HS0WQ
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) August 16, 2021
This story is developing. 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.