QUICK HITS

1 Playwright dies: Larry Kramer, the playwright whose angry voice and pen raised theatergoers’ consciousness about AIDS and roused thousands to militant protests in the early years of the epidemic, has died at 84.

Bill Goldstein, a writer who was working on a biography of Kramer, confirmed the news. Kramer died of pneumonia Wednesday.

2 More protests in Hong Kong: Thousands of protesters shouted pro-democracy slogans and insults at police in Hong Kong on Wednesday as lawmakers debated a bill criminalizing abuse of the Chinese national anthem in the semi-autonomous city. Police massed outside the legislative building ahead of the session and warned protesters that if they did not disperse, they could be prosecuted.

3 Road block: Legislation to extend surveillance authorities the FBI sees as vital in fighting terrorism was thrown in doubt Wednesday as President Donald Trump, the Justice Department and congressional Republicans all came out in opposition. The legislation passed the House with bipartisan support in March after Attorney General William Barr negotiated a deal with Republican and Democratic House leaders.

4 Complaint filed: A consortium of Facebook insiders and critics filed a confidential whistleblower’s complaint to the Securities and Exchange Commission, claiming the social media giant is aware of illegal activity on its platform, such as the sale of opioids, and has failed to properly police it.

5 Rosenstein to testify: Former deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Robert S. Mueller III as special counsel to explore possible coordination between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign, will testify publicly next week as part of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s recently announced oversight of that investigation.