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Friday's Mini-Report, 5.22.20

Today's edition of quick hits.

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Today's edition of quick hits:

* I'd love to know what prompted this: "FBI Director Christopher Wray has ordered an internal review into possible misconduct in the investigation of former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn, the bureau said Friday. The after-action review will examine whether any employees engaged in misconduct during the course of the investigation and evaluate whether any improvements in FBI policies and procedures need to be made."

* Hong Kong: "Pro-democracy legislators in Hong Kong on Friday hit back after Beijing introduced a new national security law that could limit protests and dramatically reduce the territory's autonomy."

* Those who make health care decisions based on what the White House claims are making a mistake: "Hydroxychloroquine does not help COVID-19 patients, and indeed may increase deaths, according to a large, international study published Friday in The Lancet."

* The third arrest in this case: "The Georgia man who recorded the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery used his vehicle in an attempt to detain the 25-year-old during the incident, a state criminal warrant alleges. The man, William 'Roddie' Bryan, 50, was arrested Thursday on charges of murder and attempted false imprisonment, authorities said."

* DOJ: "Law enforcement officials have restructured the division of federal prosecutors that oversaw the case against President Trump's longtime friend Roger J. Stone Jr., according to people briefed on the matter, the latest upheaval in an office at the center of the recent political turmoil at the Justice Department."

* An investigation seems warranted: "A group of 77 Nobel laureates has asked for an investigation into the cancellation of a federal grant to EcoHealth Alliance, a group that researches bat coronaviruses in China. The pre-eminent scientists characterized the explanation for the decision by the National Institutes of Health as 'preposterous.'"

* Michael Pack: "The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a party-line 12-10 vote Thursday, advanced the nomination of Michael Pack to lead the government's international broadcasting operations after an exceptionally heated exchange between the panel's Republicans and Democrats about breaking committee tradition by moving forward with a nominee who is under an active criminal investigation."

* There should probably be some debate about this: "U.S. President Donald Trump's arms control negotiator on Thursday said the United States is prepared to spend Russia and China 'into oblivion' in order to win a new nuclear arms race."

* Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) reportedly said yesterday "that negotiations over a potential additional coronavirus package will not begin until the third or fourth week of June." A whole lot of economic damage will likely be done between now and then.

Have a safe holiday weekend.