Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  Come on in, have a seat.  BDH and Little Buddha were just looking around to see if there are any birds in the neighborhood this morning, but it's pretty quiet right now.  Looks like we're going to get some rain soon, which would be good for the Clutter Tree.  The coffee is ready, so help yourself to a nice medium DD, and let's clear out some Friday Clutter.

The Department of Justice Inspector General's report about the Hillary Clinton email investigation was released yesterday.  James Comey takes some hits for being way too overzealous about the entire thing, and it turns out that Comey also used a personal email account for official business.  Apparently irony is lost on the man.  The White House tried to claim that the report proves political bias against Trump at the FBI, and that Comey is not to be trusted, but at the end of the day, Comey handed the Great Pumpkin the election with his ridiculous public comments right before voting began.

The New York Attorney General's office is suing the Trump Foundation, accusing the "charity" and the Trump family personally, of, "sweeping violations of campaign finance laws, self-dealing and illegal coordination with the presidential campaign."  Letters have also been sent to the IRS and FEC, so this is just the beginning of a whole new set of legal problems for Trump, and he wouldn't be able to pardon himself if he was found guilty of violating state laws.  Also, filing a false report with the IRS when it comes to non-profits not engaging in political activity carries penalties of perjury.  We really should start drawing a flowchart to keep track of all of these court cases.

"Everyone, just stop investigating me!" (pic via eastbaytimes.com)

Michael Cohen's lawyer wants a judge stop Stormy Daniels' attorney from publicly talking about the case any further.  The public has a legitimate interest in lawsuits involving the occupant of the White House, so hopefully the judge will not issue a restraining order against Michael Avenatti.

The White House is now talking about a summit with Vladimir Putin.  That makes sense, it's got to be time for Trump's mid-year employee evaluation.

It's outrageous that federal regulators won't publicly name the other banks that also opened unauthorized accounts like Wells Fargo.  We have a right to know what other institutions are stealing from consumers.  Keeping that information private eliminates any pressure on them to stop engaging in these kinds of predatory practices.  As we often say around here, the biggest crooks in this country wear the best suits.

Facebook communications head Elliot Schrage is stepping down after a decade with the company.  We don't blame him for wanting a change of scenery. It must be tiring to have to craft the messaging for so many user privacy scandals.

Cheers to David Spade for donating $100,000 to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, following the recent death of his sister-in-law Kate Spade.

In a fitting tribute, Stephen Hawking's voice will be broadcast into space as part of his burial ceremony today.

A new report says that teens are having less sex and using fewer drugs, but mental health and bullying problems are still widespread issues.

Another study says that combining fats and carbs together sends the brain into overdrive and makes it harder to stop eating.  That would explain why we can not be left alone with pizza around here.

The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 last night for their fourth straight win.  David Price held Seattle to the one run on five hits over seven innings, and then Joe Kelly and Craig Kimbrel took care of the rest.  Kelly really seems to be coming into his own as a reliever this year, and he seems more like a pitcher than just a thrower.  The Red Sox offense came from a Jackie Bradley Jr. RBI double and a Xander Bogaerts home run.  Boston is now 48-22 on the season, which is their biggest differential of the year.  Rick Porcello will take the mound tonight as the team goes after win #49.

Sorry baseball fans, if you haven't already watched the video of former New York Mets manager Terry Collins chewing out an umpire in 2016, you might be out of luck, because Major League Baseball is on a mission to yank the clip from the Internet.  We'd love to hear how and why that was leaked in the first place.

Former NFL tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. has been arrested on charges of  burglary, kidnapping, and rape, which apparently includes multiple victims.  Winslow was also arrested on an unrelated charge of burglary last week.

It's the return that everyone has been clamoring for:  That's right, Between Two Ferns is back!

Bill Cosby is changing his legal team while he awaits sentencing in September after being found guilty of aggravated indecent assault in April.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  We just saw what might be the most dramatic mash-up of bands yet, and we can't get over how well it works.  Here to close things out are Wham! and Slayer (you heard us), with, "Careless Whisper in the Abyss," for today's, "Song of the Day."

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  Enjoy the rest of your day, be good, and we'll see you back here again for more fun (and maybe some birds) soon.  Until then, that's today's Clearing out the Clutter, and we are outta here.