Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  I'm sorry it's already so warm in here.  BDH and Little Buddha are trying to position the fan for maximum effectiveness.  It looks like we've got a rough couple of days ahead of us.  I've got a couple of errands to run after we're done here, so that should be an adventure.  I'm also still debating when to water the garden.  It's supposed to still be 90 degrees later this afternoon/early evening, which doesn't seem optimal, and it is supposed to rain during the second half of the week, but we know that can be a tease.  Well, we'll figure that out later.  The guys made coffee, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Monday Clutter.

It sounds like New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance are ready to move forward with indictments against the Trump Organization:   The company's lawyers were reportedly given 24 hours yesterday by the prosecutors to explain why their client shouldn't face criminal charges.  The first target appears to be chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, but all eyes will be focused on whether or not Donald Trump will personally face any criminal liability.

It looks like Donald Trump's lengthy legal problems are about to get worse.  (pic via abcnews.go.com)

The numbers continue to worsen in the Champlain Towers South condominium tragedy, as now nine people are confirmed dead and 152 are still missing.  A class action lawsuit has already been filed against the condo association for not addressing in a timely fashion the 2018 engineering report that showed major structural problems with the building.

Senator Joe "preserve the filibuster at the cost of the country" Manchin says he feels good about the status of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, even though Republicans are trying to hold it hostage in order to kill the rest of President Biden's legislative agenda.  Meanwhile, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says Biden shouldn't be limited by Republicans when Democrats control everything at the moment.  We agree with AOC:  Democrats should be doing everything they can to pass a bold agenda and then make Republicans try to repeal it.  We've seen how well it worked with the Affordable Care Act, and the same could result could be achieved on a number of other issues like climate change, education, and child care, among others.

A new study suggests that people who get the Pfizer or Moderna coronavirus vaccines might not need a booster shot anytime soon after all.  That's assuming there's no significant mutation in the virus, which is not at all guaranteed.  The science on this continues to evolve, but this is certainly encouraging news.  As we've said before, we don't object to the idea of getting a booster shot down the road, if that's deemed to be warranted.  We just don't want to have to go through another chaotic process like this year. 

Google will now notify users when search results about "rapidly evolving" issues might not be reliable.   Let's see if that actually helps reduce the spread of misinformation, or if the right-wing manages to spin it into yet another complaint about supposed anti-conservative bias from Big Tech.

It's interesting to watch how companies are handling the prospect of having workers return to the office after being at home for the last 12-15 months.  For example, financial services firm UBS says two-thirds of its employees will be permanently allowed to work in a hybrid model moving forward, while the remaining third must be in the office full-time. 

BDH and Little Buddha love this story about a guy who is trying to convince lawmakers that an aging bridge that crosses the Mississippi River should be converted to a buffalo preserve.  (The bridge would be rebuilt in a different location.)  The guys wish Chad Pregracke the best of luck and hope the buffalo have a new place to roam in a few years.

Look at that:  The Boston Red Sox crushed the New York Yankees 9-2 yesterday.  The win means that Boston is now 6-0 against New York after sweeping two series this year, and it puts the Red Sox back in first place by a half game over the Tampa Bay Rays.  Well done, everyone.  We were talking about this with a friend at Friday's game - "the rivalry" is nowhere near as intense as it used to be "back in the good old days," but beating New York is still a unique level of fun.   This Red Sox team is also showing a resiliency which is steadily raising expectations for an entertaining second half of the season.

The Red Sox jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, thanks to home runs from Kiké Hernández  and Rafael Devers off Yankees starter Gerrit Cole, and never looked back.  Meanwhile, Boston's Eduardo Rodriguez gave up the two New York runs over six innings, which is the best start he's had in a while.  Next up, Garrett "I can't pitch if I can't cheat" Richards takes the mound against the Kansas City Royals tonight.

Seattle Mariners reliever Hector Santiago became the first pitcher to be ejected for violating MLB's new rules about sticky substances on baseballs during yesterday's game against the Chicago White Sox.  Santiago insists he only had rosin in his glove, which is legal, and now MLB will have the glove tested.  If Santiago is right, he'll be fine, but if the lab results say otherwise, he'll be suspended for 10 games, and the Mariners will not be allowed to call up a replacement during that time.

Chauncey Billups will reportedly be the next head coach of the Portland Trailblazers.  We know there were some around New England who were hoping he would be the next Boston Celtics coach.  However, after being reminded that Billups was accused of sexual assault in 1997, we're glad the Celtics didn't consider him.  Yes, we know that no criminal charges were filed, but he still settled a civil lawsuit with Jane Doe, and when you read the account in the linked article, it's clear something bad happened that night.  It speaks poorly of Portland to give him this coveted position. 

Have no fear:  Simone Biles locked up a spot on the U.S. Olympics women's gymnastic team over the weekend.  Of course you should never take things for granted in sports, but it would have been beyond stunning if Biles hadn't made the cut.  This 24-year-old is one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, one of the elite athletes of our day, and she seems to be setting new standards of excellence every time she competes.

Bruce Springsteen's Broadway show returned to the stage on Saturday night for the first time since the pandemic started.

Courtney Love apparently doesn't think much of Olivia Rodrigo's new album artwork, which she feels its a rip-off of Hole's Live Through This cover.  There are similarities between the two, as Rodrigo admits, but we thought both of them owe Carrie a nod of gratitude.  Love says this is about her being disrespected her entire career, but the claim of disrespect sounds more like entitlement to us.  What do you think?

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Let's have Mr. Lenny Kravitz kick off the new week in style with, "Raise Vibration" for today's, "Song of the Day."

Thanks for stopping by, folks.  It was great to see you, as always.  Enjoy the rest of your day, stay cool and hydrated, and we'll catch up with you again soon.  Until next time, that's today's Clearing out the Clutter, and we are outta here.