Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Inflation: “The Consumer Price index, which tallies the cost of a basket of goods month to month, jumped 1 percent in May compared to the 0.3 percent increase in April — a sign inflation remains red hot.”
* He’s right: “President Joe Biden on Friday weighed in on the importance of the congressional hearings about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying that Americans should know what unfolded and that ‘the same forces that led to Jan. 6 remain at work today.’”
* Speaking of the president: “President Joe Biden tried to present a unifying vision for the Western Hemisphere on Thursday but the Summit of the Americas quickly spilled into open discord, a telling illustration of the difficulties of bringing together North and South America around shared goals on migration, the economy and climate.”
* An unsettling set of remarks: “President Vladimir Putin has compared himself to Peter the Great, saying he shares the 18th-century czar’s goal of returning “Russian lands” to a greater empire.”
* Some good news out of Texas: “An Austin judge has temporarily stopped the state from investigating many parents who provide gender-affirming care to their transgender children.”
* I don’t think this includes online viewers: “More than 19 million people watched the first prime-time hearing of the House Select Committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on Thursday night, according to preliminary ratings figures from Nielsen. That number will grow in the coming hours, as more networks are tallied and out-of-home viewing is factored in.”
* We learned this week of a man who traveled to Washington, D.C., with intentions to kill Supreme Court Justice Neil Kavanaugh. The latest reporting suggests the suspect called 911 on himself, and told the operator that his gun was unloaded and locked in a case. Nicholas Roske also wore pad-soled boots for quiet walking, which he intended to use to sneak into the justice’s home.
* Not what the NRA wanted to hear: “A New York judge on Friday dismissed the National Rifle Association’s claims that the state attorney general’s investigation into allegations of widespread fraud and mismanagement at the gun group is unfair political retaliation.”
* Speaking of the NRA: “Days after a gunman murdered 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, National Rifle Association CEO Wayne La Pierre highlighted his organization’s efforts to bolster security at schools…. But in reality, the NRA has devoted only a fraction of its budget to protecting schools.”
* A DOJ probe worth watching: “The U.S. Justice Department is opening a sweeping civil rights investigation into the Louisiana State Police amid mounting evidence that the agency has a pattern of looking the other way in the face of beatings of mostly Black men, including the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene.” * A notable switch: “Cassidy Hutchinson — a top aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows during the Trump era — has parted ways with her lawyer and brought on new representation. Her new lawyer, Jody Hunt of Alston Bird, confirmed the move to POLITICO.” * Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia argued on the House floor this week that Sen. Chuck Schumer, while Senate minority leader, was partially responsible for Capitol security on Jan. 6. Even for her, this was ridiculously wrong. * Click the link to see a worthwhile clip: “Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) attempted to read the names of the victims of gun violence under 10 just this year on the House floor on Thursday. He didn’t make it through the first page.” 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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