QUICK HITS

1

Dismissals for drug use: Five White House staffers have been fifired because of their past use of drugs, including marijuana, press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday. The White House has said there can be multiple factors for dismissals, including hard drug use. The marijuana policy under the Biden administration allows for up to 15 past uses in a year among White House staffers.

2

Chauvin trial: A judge said Friday he won’t delay or move the trial of Derek Chauvin, the ex- Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death, over concerns that a $ 27 million settlement for Floyd’s family could taint the jury pool, but he’ll allow limited evidence from a 2019 arrest of Floyd and medical evidence of Floyd’s physical reactions, such as his high blood pressure

3

Ex- senator to be NASA pick: President Joe Biden plans to nominate former Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida to be the next NASA administrator. Nelson was the lead Democrat on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and took part in a 1986 mission aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia while serving as a member of the U. S. House.

4

Riot indictment unsealed: Four men described as leaders of the far- right Proud Boys have been charged in the U. S. Capitol riots, according to an indictment ordered unsealed on Friday: Ethan Nordean of Auburn, Washington, Joseph Biggs of Ormond Beach, Florida, Zachary Rehl of Philadelphia and Charles Donohoe of North Carolina.

5

Tanzania has new president: Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in Friday as Tanzania’s fifirst female president after the death of her controversial predecessor, John Magufuli, who denied that COVID- 19 is a problem in the East African country.