Hi everyone,

Welcome back, and a happy, if cloudy, Friday to you all!  I asked BDH and Little Buddha to check the weather forecast and see when the sun is expected to return.  They tell me I don't want to hear the answer.  Hmm, well, the rain is good for the garden, but we're going to need some sunshine at some point.  Any big plans for the weekend?  It won't be too crazy here if the forecast is correct.  Hopefully I'll get my bike to the shop for a tune-up, but other than that, it may be pretty quiet.  Anyway, let's check out today's headlines.  The guys just put a fresh pot of coffee on the table, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Clutter.

Facebook banned a number of high-profile right-wing extremists like conspiracy theorist Alex Jones yesterday. It's good that they finally took any action at all, but it's not exactly timely.  For instance, Jones has been alleging that the Sandy Hook shooting was staged for the last seven years.  The social media giant's enforcement of their rules is spotty at best. 

The New York Times is dropping their paywall for the next three days, and here's why they're doing it.

The House Judiciary Committee is reportedly talking directly to Robert Mueller's team about testifying before the committee, rather than going through the Department of Justice which will do whatever it takes to keep Mueller from speaking publicly about his investigation.

Senator Michael Bennet (Colorado) announced that he is entering the crowded Democratic presidential primary field.    Senator Bennet is expected to run as a centrist with a dash of progressive leanings thrown in for good measure.

Stephen Moore proved to be such a disaster that the White House was finally forced to pull his nomination to the Federal Reserve. Moore was being criticized on all sides for misogynistic columns and being behind on his alimony and taxes, as well as terrible beliefs about economics.  He thus joins a long list of Trump nominees who had no business being considered for various roles in the first place.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is buying Amazon shares for the first time. Buffett says one of his managers is responsible for the move, but he regrets not doing it earlier.  On a related note - after much discussion, we've decided to join the Amazon Associates program.  You'll see an Amazon link at the bottom of every book review we do going forward, and we will get a portion of any sale that happens via that link.  We promise that this won't impact a single word of the reviews.  BDH and Little Buddha won't let anyone else tell them what to say.  We're just looking for a way to support our coffee budget.

The Boston Red Sox took a tough loss last night.  They fell 6-4 to the Chicago White Sox, thus snapping their three-game winning streak.  David Price turned in another solid performance, giving up seven hits and three runs over six innings.  Boston lead 4-3 with one out in the ninth inning, but another error by third baseman Rafael Devers allowed Jose Rondon to get on base.  The next Chicago batter hit a single, and then White Sox outfielder Nicky Delmonico sent everyone home with a three-run walk-off home run. 

We don't mean to pick on Devers too much.  He's currently batting .302 and shows every signs that he's going to be a productive big league hitter over the long term.  However, he's a mess in the field and already has nine errors just over one month into the season.  He was originally rushed to the majors because the Sox couldn't find anyone to play third.  However, you've got to wonder if the early call-up was detrimental to his development, because the 23 year-old clearly needs so much more work with his fielding.  Maybe he'll end up being switched to first when the Sox are ready to move on from Mitch Moreland.  In any case, Chris Sale will face his old team when he takes the mound for Boston and tries to get the Red Sox back on track, while still searching for his first win of the year tonight.

In more positive news, the Boston Bruins beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 to tie their playoff series at two games apiece last night.  That was pretty much a must-win game for the B's, who responded to the challenge in style.  The series now moves back to Boston for Game 5 on Saturday.

We're sorry to hear that Boston Celtics boss Danny Ainge suffered a mild heart attack on Tuesday, although it's good to hear he's expected to make a full recovery.  It's Ainge's second heart attack, with the first one being in 2009.

We are saddened to hear that Peter Mayhew died on Tuesday.  The actor was of course best known for playing Chewbacca in the Star Wars movies, thus earning him a special place in the hearts of millions and multiple generations of fans.  Tributes continue to pour in from around the world, as people pay their respects to the man who was described as "a gentle giant."  Our condolences go out to his family, fans, and friends.  Peter Mayhew was 74 years old.

RIP.  (pic via hollywoodreporter.com)

As we mentioned earlier this week, the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer did not go over well at all.  The backlash was so intense, director Jeff Fowler says changes will be made to the character before the movie is released in November.  It's not clear if we're talking about just fixing the animal's inappropriately human-looking teeth, or if he's getting a full make-over.  Either way, it's hard to imagine this film doing huge business at this point.

Congratulations to Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively who are expecting their third child.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here are the Beatles to close things out with, "Something," 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 catch up again soon.  Until next time, that's today's Clearing out the Clutter, and we are outta here.