10 things you need to know today: May 17, 2020

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1. Pompeo reportedly advised firing State Department watchdog
2. Obama criticizes 'folks in charge' for coronavirus response during commencement speech
3. Spain records fewer than 100 coronavirus deaths for first time in 2 months
4. Protesters demand resignation of prosecutors involved in Arbery investigation
5. Chinese ambassador to Israel found dead in home
6. 11 firefighters injured in downtown LA explosion
7. Afghanistan's Ghani strikes power-sharing deal with rival
8. Tropical Storm Arthur heads toward Outer Banks
9. Comic actor Fred Willard dies at 86
10. Pioneering sportscaster Phyllis George dies at 70

last updated 18 May 2020

1. Pompeo reportedly advised firing State Department watchdog

President Trump's decision to fire State Department Inspector General Steve Linick on Friday came on the advice of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a White House official said Saturday. Democrats consider the ouster a retaliatory act; Linick was reportedly looking into Pompeo's alleged misuse of a department appointee to perform personal tasks for him and his wife. Trump said he no longer had confidence in Linick, an Obama appointee, but Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Saturday that Congress is entitled to a more thorough explanation, noting that inspectors general play a "crucial" role in the governance of the United States. His Democratic colleagues, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), sent letters to the White House demanding officials hand over all records related to Linick's firing.

Former President Barack Obama offered what was possibly veiled criticism of his successor, President Trump, and the Trump administration Saturday during an online commencement address to graduates of historically black colleges and universities, whose ceremonies could not be held in person because of the coronavirus pandemic. "More than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain that so many of the folks in charge know what they're doing," Obama said. "A lot of them aren't even pretending to be in charge." Obama had previously questioned the Trump administration's response to the pandemic in a private phone call last week. During the commencement speech, Obama also said COVID-19 "spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country."

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Spain, one of the world's hardest-hit nations, recorded 87 coronavirus-related deaths within the last 24 hours Sunday, the first time the daily fatality tally fell below 100 in two months. Since the outbreak began, there have been 27,650 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Spain. Elsewhere, South Korea recorded just 13 new coronavirus cases, which have continued to decline again since the country experienced a brief uptick in new infections linked to re-opened nightclubs in Seoul. Shanghai announced classes for younger students will re-start June 2, while some restaurants and shops are set to re-open in Italy on Monday, the same day church services are scheduled to resume. In the United States, restaurants in New Orleans will begin allowing limited diners, and California began its second phase of re-opening, which includes more retailers offering curbside pickup.

Protesters gathered Saturday outside the Glynn County courthouse in Georgia to demand the resignation of Jackie Johnson, the Brunswick Judicial Circuit district attorney, and George Barnhill, the Waycross circuit district attorney for their roles in the investigation into the death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man who was shot while out jogging. Johnson recused herself from the probe because one of the suspects charged with Arbery's murder, Gregory McMichael was an investigator in her office before retiring last year, and Barnhill decided not to press charges against McMichael and his son, Travis, because he deemed Arbery's killing "justifiable." Derrick Boazman, a former member of the Atlanta City Council, said the McMichaels' eventual arrests and charges were "not enough and we refuse to believe that the system that allowed" Arbery's family to suffer "should remain intact."

Du Wei, China's ambassador to Israel, was found dead Sunday morning inside his official residence in Herzliya. He was 57. The cause of death was not immediately clear, but it is currently not being treated as suspicious, and Israeli news organizations reported there were no signs of violence. Neither the Chinese embassy in Israel or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing has commented on the ambassador's death. Du began his stint in Israel in February 2020, just as the coronavirus pandemic took hold across the globe, and he spent his first two weeks in the country in quarantine. He was married with one son, though his wife and son were not in Israel at the time of his death.

An explosion Saturday at a hash oil manufacturer in downtown Los Angeles left 11 firefighters injured, the city's fire department said. All of the firefighters taken to County-USC Medical Center were "awake and alert" on arrival and are expected to survive their injuries, which ranged from first- to third-degree burns. Firefighters initially reported "moderate smoke" at the scene, but began an evacuation because of rising heat and smoke. As they left the building, the explosion occurred, causing what Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Erik Scott called "one of the worst scenes I've seen." The fire spread to other buildings, but firefighters were able to put it out in about an hour.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani signed a power-sharing agreement with his rival Abdullah Abdullah, Ghani's spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said Sunday. It was not immediately known what ministerial positions Abdullah's camp would control, but he will reportedly lead the council for peace talks with the Taliban in the hopes of ending Afghanistan's long-running war. Abdullah had disputed the results of the country's September election and later announced the formation of a parallel government. Experts believe the new deal could help Afghanistan emerge from its multi-pronged political crisis, which includes surging violence and the spread of the coronavirus. The United States had also previously threatened to cut $1 billion in aid to Afghanistan because Ghani and Abdullah were at an impasse, but it wasn't clear if their agreement would result in a commitment from Washington.

Tropical Storm Arthur became the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which doesn't technically begin until June 1, after forming Saturday off the Florida coast. It's expected to pass over North Carolina's Outer Banks on Monday with rain and gusty winds that may exceed 40 miles per hour, and it could gain strength as it heads northeast, away from the East Coast of the United States later this week. Miami and Ft. Lauderdale experienced heavy rain, lightning, and gusty winds Saturday. Arthur's designation means that this is the sixth straight hurricane season to begin early.

Fred Willard, the comic actor known for his roles in Christopher Guest films like Best in Show and A Mighty Wind, as well as guest-starring on sitcoms like Everybody Loves Raymond and Modern Family, died Friday evening. He was 86. Willard's daughter said Saturday that her father "passed away very peacefully" from natural causes. Many actors who worked with Willard over the years spoke highly of both his talent as an actor and his personality in general. "Fred Willard was the funniest person that I ever worked with," said Steve Carrell, whom Willard will appear alongside in the upcoming Netflix series Space Force. "He was a sweet, wonderful man."

Pioneering television broadcaster Phyllis George, who became the first co-anchor of the CBS football pregame show The NFL Today, has died, her children confirmed Saturday. She was 70. A family spokeswoman said George died Thursday at a hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, after a long fight with a blood disorder. George was crowned Miss America in 1971, an achievement she considered the "springboard to everything I've done in my life," including her groundbreaking CBS job. "She paved the way for other women to become sportscasters," her daughter, CNN's senior White House correspondent Pamela Brown, said. Brown also covered horse racing, co-hosted Candid Camera for several years, and became the co-anchor of the CBS Morning News.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.