The medical examiner who performed George Floyd's autopsy testified Friday that law enforcement's restraint and compression of Floyd's neck was "just more than [he] could take," given his heart's condition.
Why it matters: Andrew Baker, the Hennepin County medical examiner, is a key witness "for prosecutors who hope to convince jurors that Derek Chauvin killed Mr. Floyd when he knelt on him for more than nine minutes last May," the New York Times writes.
The State Department issued guidelines on Friday "to encourage U.S. government engagement with Taiwan that reflects our deepening unofficial relationship."
Why it matters: The latest guidance comes amid heightened tensions over Taiwan, whose status is one of the most sensitive political issues between Washington and Beijing.
The House Ethics Committee announced Friday it has launched an investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who is facing a federal probe into sex trafficking allegations.
Driving the news: The panel said it is aware of allegations that Gaetz "may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift."
Southern border coordinator Roberta Jacobson’s last day in the Biden White House will be at the end of April before she retires, she announced on Friday.
Why it matters: The former ambassador to Mexico has been at the forefront of the administration’s efforts to handle the surge of migrants at the border — which shows no sign of stopping.
President Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan includes spending on child care facilities and senior care — and now members of his administration and allies on Capitol Hill are arguing to expand the definition of infrastructure so it encompasses more than roads and bridges.
Axios Re:Cap speaks with Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), who supports Biden’s plans, but calls the decision to split up family policies and jobs “a big mistake.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bill Friday that limits the use of no-knock warrants in the state.
Why it matters: The law comes more than a year after the police killing of Breonna Taylor in a botched raid. While the law doesn't go as far as protesters and some state lawmakers hoped, many said it represents a step in the right direction and "will save lives."
A man behind a pro-Trump scam PAC has been hit with federal wire fraud charges alleging he bilked hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors with false promises that the money would help support the former president's re-election efforts.
Why it matters: The charge handed down this week against James Kyle Bell shows how brazen some efforts to monetize grassroots political enthusiasm can be.
A veteran forensic pathologist testified Friday that the position of George Floyd's body appeared to show he could not get enough oxygen before he died, and that "there's no evidence to suggest that he would have died that night except for the interactions with law enforcement."
Why it matters: Her testimony confirms autopsies that show Floyd died from "asphyxia due to neck and back compression that led to a lack of blood flow to the brain," after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes.
President Biden will sign an executive order Friday that creates a bipartisan commission to study a number of Supreme Court reforms, including expanding the number of seats on the court, the White House said.
Why it matters: The six-month commission, promised by Biden throughout the 2020 election, will provide an analysis of the principal arguments surrounding the divisive subject. Progressives are pushing for more seats after former President Trump appointed three justices to the court.
The Biden administration unveiled its first budget proposal to Congress on Friday, offering a glimpse into President Biden's policy agenda for the 2022 fiscal year.
The big picture: The $1.52 trillion budget proposal outlines top-line figures for Biden's major priorities, though it will ultimately be up to Congress to begin the lengthy appropriations process and allocate funding to federal agencies.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) is pushing the Biden administration to designate overseas white supremacist groups as foreign terrorists, Reuters reported Friday.
Former President Trump has endorsed Sen. Marco Rubio's (R-Fla.) 2022 re-election, in a statement released on Friday.
Why it matters: Rubio was already seen as the frontrunner in the 2022 Senate race as Trump decided to back the senator. Both Trump and Rubio are viewed as possible candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC run by allies of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, endorsed Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.) for re-election on Friday.
Why it matters: Murkowski is facing a primary challenge from Alaska commissioner Kelly Tshibaka, a pro-Trump Republican who has hired a number of the former president's top campaign aides as advisers.
America's CEOs need policies on the coming verdict in the Minneapolis police trial; the human rights dimensions of next year's World Cup in Qatar and Winter Olympics in Beijing; and voting-access bills — all different — moving through statehouses around the country.
Why it matters: As part of a generational change that has left many corporations on the defensive, CEOs are being pressured by younger workers and potential recruits — plus shareholders and customers — to take stands on issues they had always avoided. This includes the divisive issues of race, guns, climate change and LGBTQ rights.
We're about to be hitwith a flood of coverage about the close of President Biden's first 100 days, coming up at the end of April. But we should be paying a lot more attention to the 100-year trends that are unfolding in this age of volatility and polarization.
The big picture: Doug Sosnik— senior adviser to the Brunswick Group, and political director for President Bill Clinton — tells me the digital disruption is a hinge moment in American history that's unlike any since the transition from the Agrarian Age to the Industrial Age in the late 1800s.
A successful global effort to slash carbon emissions demands huge investments to finance the unprecedented transformation of energy systems and related infrastructure — and it's a capital shift that's already well underway.
Why it matters: Private investment is already ramping up, and President Biden wants to spend hundreds of billions of dollars. Independent experts say the spending that will be needed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 — a goal now embraced by the U.S. and many other countries — would be on the scale of the Industrial Revolution.
Why it matters: Kinzinger is the first congressional Republican to publicly demand Gaetz step down. Gaetz has denied allegations of being sexually involved with a 17-year-old, telling Axios in an interview last month that the investigation is "rooted in an extortion effort against my family for $25 million."
At least one person was killed and four were critically injured Thursday in a shooting at a cabinet-making business in Bryan, Texas, the New York Times reported.
The big picture: The unidentified suspected gunman was taken into custody after authorities launched a manhunt, during which a state trooper was also shot and injured. Authorities have yet to determine a motive.
