By Doug Criss

CNN

(CNN) -- There was So. Much. News. over the holiday weekend. So let's get right to what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door.

1. Russia probe

Donald Trump is back in the USA after his first foreign trip as President. Experts differ on how well it went, but the trip didn't distract anyone from the biggest shadow looming over this administration: Russia. The investigation into Team Trump's possible ties to the Russians has drawn presidential adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner smack into the middle of this swirling cloud. Kushner reportedly had an undisclosed meeting with Russia's ambassador in which they discussed establishing a secret communications channel. (If this were an episode of "The Americans," fans would say the spy show jumped the shark.)

The White House didn't have a lot to say about this. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said it was no "big deal," while Sen. John McCain said he didn't like it. It'll be just one more thing for investigators to look into as this complex saga rolls on.

2. North Korea

Another week, another test. North Korea reportedly launched its third missile test in less than three weeks. The North said it fired off a new kind of ballistic missile; observers just aren't sure if that's true. Whatever it was, it flew more than 240 miles from North Korea's east coast into the ocean west of Japan. North Korea has fired 12 missiles during nine tests in 2017. All of these tests, analysts say, inch the North closer to its goal of building a missile that can reach the US. In response to the growing North Korean threat, the Pentagon today will test its ability to shoot down missiles using an upgraded long-range interceptor missile.

3. Portland stabbings

We're told to step up when we see people in danger. Some men did just that in Portland, Oregon -- and it cost them their lives in slayings too senseless to comprehend. Three men on a commuter train tried to help two women, one wearing a hijab, who were being verbally harassed by a man yelling anti-Muslim slurs. The man stabbed two of the would-be defenders to death and injured the third. The women -- who are now speaking out -- were unharmed, and the suspect was arrested. The men are being hailed nationwide as heroes, including by President Trump, who called the stabbings "unacceptable." Now, Portland's mayor wants to stop two "alt-right" rallies planned for the coming days.

4. Weather

Almost a million people in Bangladesh are scrambling to get out of the way of a powerful tropical cyclone that made landfall this morning. Cyclone Mora hit the country's southern coastline and is headed north. Evacuation of low-lying areas is under way, and airports and sea ports in the storm's path have also been abandoned. With more than 400 miles of coastline, Bangladesh is often battered by deadly storms. Seven of the 10 deadliest storms in recorded history have occurred in either Bangladesh or Myanmar.

Also in that part of the world, nearly 200 people are missing in Sri Lanka after flooding brought on by monsoons. It's the worst flooding there in 14 years.

5. Manuel Noriega

Manuel Noriega, the ex-dictator of Panama, has died. He had recently had surgery to remove a brain tumor. For a time, Noriega had pretty good relations with the US because of Panama's strategic location on the Panama Canal. Then things went really sour, and the US invaded his country in 1989 and captured him. He was convicted of drug trafficking charges and spent years in US prisons before eventually ending up back in Panama. He was the first foreign head of state to be convicted in a US court, and his trial revealed a shocking secret -- he was a paid asset of the CIA for years.

TODAY'S QUOTE

"The times when we could completely rely on others are, to an extent, over"

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said her experience with Donald Trump at international summits showed her that Europe can't totally rely on the US

TODAY'S NUMBER

3 a.m.

That's when golfer Tiger Woods was arrested on Memorial Day on suspicion of DUI. He blamed "an unexpected reaction" to prescription medication.

Breakfast Browse

People are talking about these. Read up. Join in.

Icy reception

Ivanka Trump told us all to make champagne popsicles for Memorial Day, but the internet was having none of that.

Glad grad

An 89-year-old World War II veteran proves it's never too late to graduate from high school.

Shark tale

Fishing gets a little complicated when a great white shark jumps into your boat.

Larger than life

Legends we lost over the weekend: Frank Deford, the voice of Sports Illustrated, died at 78; Southern rock hero Gregg Allman died at 69.

New beau

The Barack Obama-Justin Trudeau bromance may be over, but don't worry, Trudeau has a replacement in new French President Emmanuel Macron.

And finally ...

Back it up

This brave baby elephant "protects" his mommy from tourists in South Africa's Kruger National Park because, you know, tourists ruin everything.