1. It's Friday, and there's another IG investigation

The Justice Dept. announced yesterday that it is launching an investigation of the use of force by federal agents against protesters in Portland, Ore. Following another night of unrest, in which the city's mayor was tear-gassed, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz said his office will investigate allegations that federal agents used excessive force against peaceful protesters in Portland, and conduct a separate review of actions taken against protesters in Washington, D.C.'s Lafayette Square on June 1. Hopefully, this IG won't fall victim to one of President Trump's Friday night massacres. Stay tuned. —Reuters

• — Let the press do its job. A federal judge yesterday issued a temporary order barring federal officers from using force, threats, and dispersal orders against journalists or legal observers documenting the demonstrations in Portland. "When wrongdoing is underway, officials have great incentive to blindfold the eyes of the Fourth Estate. The free press is the guardian of the public interest, and the judiciary is the guardian of the press," U.S. District Judge Michael Simon said. —The Oregonian

• — The Trump surge. Last night, President Trump openly mused about sending tens of thousands of federal agents into other major U.S. cities experiencing unrest, claiming he could "solve these problems so fast" if those cities just "invited" the 75,000 "tough" feds he supposedly has ready to go. —The Daily Beast
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• — Hung up on Confederates. Meanwhile, in Congress, though the Senate passed its version of a $740 billion defense bill yesterday by a veto-proof majority, Trump still insisted today that he would strike down the legislation because it calls for renaming military bases that honor Confederate leaders. —New York Post

2. Applebaum: Putin tactics in Portland

"Welcome to the world of performative authoritarianism, a form of politics that reached new heights of sophistication in Russia over the past decade and has now arrived in the United States. Unlike 20th-century authoritarianism, this 21st-century, postmodern influence campaign does not require the creation of a total police state. Nor does it require complete control of information, or mass arrests. It can be carried out, instead, with a few media outlets and a few carefully targeted arrests." —The Atlantic

Ed. Note: Anne Applebaum is a senior fellow of the Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and the author of "Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism."

MORE: Donald Trump's divisive method culminates in Portland —The Economist

3. Coronavirus cancels convention

As the U.S. hit a staggering 4 million cases of COVID-19 and with medical experts urging another nationwide shutdown, President Trump announced yesterday that he's canceling the Jacksonville portion of the Republican National Convention. Mentioning the possibility of "telerallies," he said, "I'll still do a convention speech in a different form. But we won't do a big crowded convention per se, it's just not the right time for that." You don't say. —The Charlotte Observer

• — But schools are fine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late yesterday released revised guidelines with a heavy focus on fully reopening schools in the fall, saying children are less likely to experience severe symptoms or spread the virus in schools. "School closures have disrupted normal ways of life for children and parents, and they have had negative health consequences on our youth," CDC Director Robert Redfield said. —The Hill

• — Shhh...don't tell Trump. While Republican leaders were publicly rejecting the use of face masks, the RNC spent $14,000 on the face coverings but labeled them as "building maintenance" in federal disclosures to avoid Trump's wrath. —Business Insider

MORE: Collinson: Trump's briefings were meant to show him in charge—now they are becoming absurd —CNN

4. US apprehends fugitive Chinese scientist

U.S. officials announced this morning that a Chinese scientist who had been hiding in China's San Francisco consulate after accusations of visa fraud is now in custody. Officials also charged that Beijing has been using its diplomatic outposts to run an espionage network targeting American businesses, universities, and research centers.

• — Prosecutors allege Tang Juan, a researcher focusing on biology, lied about her connection to the Chinese military in order to obtain entry into the U.S.
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• — The arrest comes just hours before Washington's deadline for Beijing to shutter it's consulate in Houston, a move that triggered China to retaliate by demanding the U.S. close its consulate in Chengdu.
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• — The activities at the Houston consulate "are a microcosm, we believe, of a broader network of individuals in more than 25 cities," working to pilfer American intellectual property, according to a Justice Dept. official. —CNN

MORE: With Cold War language, Pompeo defines Trump's plan for totalitarian China —Defense One

5. Vinograd: Iran is still a threat

"Iran has...reportedly increased its stockpile of enriched uranium significantly and increased the number of machines used to enrich uranium. After blowing through JCPOA-related safeguards, analysis indicates that Iran has now halved the time it would take to breakout to a nuclear weapon." —CNN

Ed. Note: Samantha Vinograd served on President Barack Obama's National Security Council from 2009 to 2013 and at the Treasury Department under President George W. Bush. 

MORE: Iran seeks deals with Russia and China to build coalition to resist US —Newsweek

6. Michael Cohen is heading home

Michael Cohen, President Trump's former attorney and "fixer," will be released to home confinement again after a federal judge in New York found that he was sent back to prison as a retaliatory act over his decision to write a tell-all book about the president.

• — Cohen, who had been furloughed from prison since May due to the coronavirus, was taken back into custody after refusing to sign an agreement not to publish a book about Trump.

• — "I cannot believe fairly that it was not on purpose ... to stop his exercise of 1st Amendment rights," U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said at a hearing yesterday, ordering Cohen to be released by this afternoon. —USA Today

7. Daniszewski: Populism is perpetuating the global pandemic

"The questioning of accepted facts is one characteristic of populist leaders. Another is to not risk alienating their bases—such as by telling people to stay at home or to wear masks in public. A third characteristic is the sowing of division that tends to make cooperation elusive. Finally, a fourth trait is a leadership style that favors bombast and crowd-pleasing antics." —Star Tribune

MORE: Peru is heading towards a dangerous new populism —The Economist

8. Ukraine still a source of intrigue

More details have emerged about an alleged foreign interference campaign to damage former Vice President Joe Biden's electoral prospects. Democrats say a series of mysterious information packets were mailed to prominent allies of President Trump, including Rep. Devin Nunes, Sens. Lindsey Graham and Chuck Grassley, and then-White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, amid the House impeachment investigation late last year. The recipients have so far denied receiving any materials.

• — The packets were reportedly sent by Andrii Derkach, a Ukrainian lawmaker who met with Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani in Kyiv last December to discuss investigating the Biden family.

• — Derkach, who was formerly aligned with Ukraine's pro-Russia Party of Regions and is an alumnus of Moscow's FSB academy, denies any connections to foreign intelligence services.
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• — Democrats fear the Senate investigation into the Bidens' connections to Ukraine is an attempt to "launder" the foreign influence campaign. The information packets were reportedly not turned over to the FBI. —Politico

9. Starbird: The murkiness of disinformation

"History teaches that this blending of activism and active measures, of foreign and domestic actors, and of witting and unwitting agents, is nothing new. And certainly, the difficulty of distinguishing between these is not made any easier in the connected era. But better understanding these intersections can help researchers, journalists, communications platform designers, policymakers, and society at large develop strategies for mitigating the impacts of disinformation during this challenging moment." —The Conversation

Ed. Note: Kate Starbird is an associate professor of human-centered design and engineering at the University of Washington.

MORE: Pandemic, infodemic, and disinformation —The Parliament

10. An American Story: Food for the soul

Kiana Muschett-Owes grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, N.Y., and cherished the moments she spent at her family's round dining table, where they would gather to recount their days, debate issues, celebrate any occasion they could think of—and of course, eat.

• — She's tried to provide that feeling of sustenance for the soul at her own restaurant, Katie O's, and now, she's trying to give back to her community, amidst a pandemic that has exposed just how easy it is to go hungry in New York.
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  — Shopping day is Wednesday; food prep happens Thursday and Friday. Early Saturday, meals are ready for distribution, with volunteer drivers, to several sites: home deliveries to seniors, a church in East New York, a housing project in Clinton Hill.

• — Each weekend, she distributes between 1,000 and 1,500 meals to Brooklyn's needy, accompanied by uplifting notes tucked into the boxes, with prayers or thoughts like "We’ll get through this" or “What doesn’t kill you will build you." She also asks questions: how are people doing, whether they've lost their jobs. "This isn't just, 'grab your food and go,'" she said. —Associated Press

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