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HYdRoXyChLoRoQuInE Getty Images

Seattle's Scarecrow Video is doing pickup rentals starting tomorrow, Tuesday, May 19. They're keeping their growing rental-by-mail service going (which they say now serves 13 states!), but here's the rundown on pickup: "We are asking patrons to phone in their orders, pay with a card (no cash at this time), and pick up their orders at Scarecrow."

Trump says he's taking malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, has been taking it for "a couple weeks," and takes "a pill every day." He says he's taking it to prevent himself from getting COVID-19, not because he's currently infected. (ICYMI: Trump's a liar.)


Trump's been pushing hydroxychloroquine throughout the pandemic: He says it's a potential coronavirus cure, but that claim isn't currently supported by science. The studies we do have show the drug doesn't work against COVID-19 and can create heart problems.

The FDA doesn't want people taking hydroxychloroquine to fight COVID-19: "While clinical trials are ongoing to determine the safety and effectiveness of these drugs for COVID-19, there are known side effects of these medications that should be considered,” the FDA commissioner said in a statement put out in late April. "The FDA will continue to monitor and investigate these potential risks and will communicate publicly when more information is available."

Distractions aside, there actually is good news regarding a COVID-19 vaccine out today: "A candidate vaccine for COVID-19 developed by the drug maker Moderna appears to generate an immune response similar to the response seen in people who have been infected by the virus and recovered, the company said Monday."

Another good Lynn Shelton obituary: This one from Brangien Davis, Crosscut's Arts & Culture Editor and one of Lynn's many friends. I particularly liked this graph about her work:

I loved the way Lynn captured the sense of a split self that emerges when we encounter a younger version of ourselves in photos, diaries or video. And the way that person is still somewhere inside us, even though we can’t quite get back to that state of being. “If you ever get sad, remember that I was thinking about you once,” younger Kate writes to her elder [in Lynn Shelton's We Go Way Back]. “But I guess I can’t anymore, because now I’m you.”

TikTok has a new CEO: Kevin Mayer, the (soon-to-be-former) Disney veteran who directed the launch of Disney's streaming service, Disney+. Mayer will report to TikTok's parent company ByteDance and its founder and CEO Yiming Zhang, reports The Hollywood Reporter. U.S. regulators think the Chinese-backed app is a security concern. Mayer's job will likely be to put a friendly, affable face on the teen magnet.

Something we can agree on: "Washington is by no means out of danger. Cloth masks help reduce the risk and are a visual symbol of a communal commitment to public health."

The Broadway Urban Outfitters is closing: I'm surprised they lasted almost 30 years. "The Urban Outfitters exit has been in the works since last summer," notes Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, "when the shopping center began marketing the lease for the space."

Have you ever asked yourself, "Who got the most screen time on SNL this season?" You probably haven't, but that's okay because Vulture asked and answered that question in startling detail. Unsurprisingly, Kate McKinnon and cameos dominate the show. Surprisingly, Beck Bennett is in the show way more than I realized.

A few weeks ago, Rich noted that "the coronavirus outbreak is opening up a new lane for supplement purveyors looking to exploit their paranoid audiences." He predicted that "Trump, who will become an Obama figure for the nation's surprisingly large number of drunk uncles, will parlay his presidency into a lucrative career in bullshit natural supplement advertising."

When I saw this headline today, I thought of Rich's prediction: "As coronavirus cases climb in Florida, Tom Brady is selling $45 'immunity' vitamins"

Our next predictions post will be out tomorrow: Got any predictions of your own? Drop 'em in the comments.

Yikes: UW Medicine furloughs 1,500 staffers, with more on the table.

Every state but Connecticut has loosened their coronavirus restrictions: It's still a little too early to say if increases in coronavirus cases in many states, like Wisconsin and Texas, are due to increased testing or if the virus is spreading more quickly. Regardless, health officials believe some states are moving too quickly.

Washington's most recent update from its Department of Health lists 1,002 deaths and 18,611 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Washington state. That's an increase of 178 cases from the day before.

Good news and bad news: Lots of people want bikes. Now there's a bike shortage!

Bill's back with his summer reading list: He licks Bob Iger's ass and throws in a book on mindfulness.