Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Derek Chauvin: “The former Minneapolis police officer shown on video putting his knee on the neck of George Floyd for more than 8 1/2 minutes was arrested Friday for the man’s murder, authorities said.”
* A statement worth reading: “Reacting to the death of George Floyd and the protests in Minneapolis, former President Obama said Friday that the racism being experienced by African Americans and other minorities shouldn’t be considered ‘normal’ in 2020 America.”
* Big Flynn news this afternoon: “Incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn told Russia’s ambassador to Washington in late 2016 to take ‘reciprocal’ actions in response to Obama administration sanctions for election interference, rather than escalating the situation into a ‘tit for tat.’”
* A stunning sight: “A CNN reporter and camera crew covering the protests in Minneapolis overnight were arrested on live TV on Friday morning.”
* Remdesivir: “The Trump administration mishandled the initial distribution of the only approved coronavirus medication, delaying treatment to some critically ill patients with covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, according to nine current and former senior administration officials.”
* GDP: “The U.S. economy shrank at an even faster pace than initially estimated in the first three months of this year with economists continuing to expect a far worse outcome in the current April-June quarter.”
* Pyongyang: “A key source of material for North Korea’s nuclear program remains operational and continues to be updated, according to a coming report based on recent satellite photos that underscores the persistence of a top threat to U.S. national security.”
* I could’ve sworn Trump said this wasn’t happening: “The National Security Agency publicly accused Russian government hackers of targeting email servers around the world in an unusual announcement on Thursday, showing that the agency is becoming more aggressive in calling out Moscow’s action as the presidential election approaches.”
* Good for her: “Federal Election Commission commissioner Ellen Weintraub posted an extensive fact-checking thread to Twitter late Wednesday debunking claims by President Trump and some Republicans that mail-in voting can lead to fraud.”
* Census Bureau: “While the bureau has collected responses from some 89 million households so far, primarily online, officials at the bureau say they will not be able to deliver to the president by the end of this year the latest state population numbers used to redistribute congressional seats and Electoral College votes among the states as required by federal law.” * National Guard: “President Donald Trump announced Thursday he will extend National Guard orders authorizing domestic coronavirus response missions through mid-August, after controversy surrounding the problematic end date next month for their work.” * Hmm: “A Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in Texas has announced his resignation in an unusually abrupt departure. United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas Joseph Brown said in a statement Tuesday that he will leave office on May 31. President Donald Trump appointed him in 2018.” * An energy-sector breakthrough: “The U.S. consumed more renewable energy than coal last year for the first time since 1885, according to the Energy Information Administration. The inflection point mainly reflects a steep drop in the use of coal as source of electricity, as well as steady growth in wind and solar power, trends driven by economic as well as environmental factors.” * Donald Trump tweeted this in November 2014: “Our country is totally fractured and, with our weak leadership in Washington, you can expect Ferguson type riots and looting in other places.” I just thought I’d mention it. Have a safe weekend.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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