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Today's edition of quick hits:
* A potential game-changer: "The drugmaker Pfizer said Friday that clinical trials of its experimental Covid-19 pill have been so successful in preventing people from becoming hospitalized or dying from the virus, that it's stopping the studies early in the hope that the general public might benefit."
* Crisis in Ethiopia: "The State Department urged all U.S. citizens in Ethiopia to leave the country as 'soon as possible' on Friday as an alliance of anti-government forces vowed to see the East African nation's leadership dismantled."
* The "Havana Syndrome" gets new official scrutiny: "Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday named a new diplomat to lead a task force overseeing the response to the 'Havana Syndrome' after the previous chief came under sharp criticism and resigned."
* An important trial in Georgia: "A nearly all-white jury began hearing opening statements Friday in the murder trial of three white men charged in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was jogging in their neighborhood in February 2020."
* A welcome reversal: "Acceding to a storm of protest, the University of Florida abandoned efforts on Friday to keep three political science professors from testifying in a voting-rights lawsuit against the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis."
* Wait, what? "Federal agents searched several locations belonging to current and former members of the conservative media company Project Veritas on Thursday in an investigation involving the possible theft of a diary belonging to President Joe Biden's daughter, Ashley Biden, according to a statement from the group's website and an FBI spokesperson."
* Census Bureau: "Robert Santos was confirmed Thursday as the next U.S. Census Bureau director, becoming the first person of color to lead the nation's largest statistical agency on a permanent basis."
* Notable developments with the FAA: "The Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday that it has referred the cases of more than three dozen unruly passengers to the FBI for potential criminal prosecution in hopes of curbing a sharp uptick in people acting violently on planes this year."
Have a safe weekend.