Hi everyone,

How are you?  Week going okay so far?  Our crew is generally doing fine, but we have two issues right now:  The first is that I just got a "freeze watch" alert that runs from 1:00 a.m. -7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.  Apparently the temperatures are expected to drop down to 30 degrees during that spell.  Don't care for that.  At.  All.  I'm concerned about what it's going to do to the garden.  As far as I can tell, all I can do is keep my fingers crossed.  Really not digging that even a little bit.

The second issue is that BDH and Little Buddha wrote two different to-do lists for today.  The errands are bunched by geography, and I can't decide whether to go north or south.  We've been meeting about it all morning, and none of us can decide which list makes more sense to prioritize.  We might have to flip a coin after we finish going through the headlines with all of you. 

Speaking of which, let's get to work.  The guys made coffee, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Wednesday Clutter.

(We have teamed up with Clearly Balanced Days, a NH-based/women-owned CBD company.  Enter promo code "cmoore" to get $5 off your purchase!)

A federal appeals court panel will hear the case regarding access to the abortion drug mifepristone today.  The Justice Department will seek to convince a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk's outrageous decision last month to block the FDA's decades-long approval of the drug.  Conservatives went judge shopping to get to Kacsmaryk, whose anti-abortion views were well-documented.  He put his personal ideology before science and the law when he placed his views ahead of the FDA's experts. There's also the larger issue in that Kacmaryk is attacking the ability of the FDA to establish national safety standards for any drug.

This extreme power grab should not be allowed to stand.  However, one has to be concerned about today's hearing:  Two of the three judges involved were also nominated by Donald Trump, while the third was nominated by George W. Bush, and all three of them are anti-choice.  No matter the ruling, this case will likely return to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

This is yet another example of why Mitch McConnell and other Republicans obsess over the judiciary, folks.  Controlling the courts allows conservatives to impose their views on the public that they can't get approved via legislation, because they're out of step with most of the country.  It provides them with another way to control the political debate long after the Republican president leaves the White House.  It's a long-term power grab which is harmful to our democracy.

Conservative judges hear the mifepristone case today.  (pic via abcnews.go.com)

A new poll shows Donald Trump crushing Ron DeSantis 61% - 18%.  Of course it's still early, but Republican voters have been clear so far:  They love their criminals, and they don't want MAGA-lite when they can have the real thing.  Plus, who gets excited about a guy whose biggest opponent is Mickey Mouse?  The donors to the DeSantis campaign might as well just set that money on fire.

House Democrats will force their Republican colleagues to vote on expulsion for Rep. George Santos, who was recently charged with fraud in a 13-count indictment.  Rep. Robert Garcia (D-California) started the process yesterday, and the rules require the matter be addressed by tomorrow.  The most likely outcome is that the Republican majority will kick the proposal to the House Ethics Committee, and hope it dies there.  However, they'll still have to go on record about this sociopath.

We're glad to hear the IRS will launch a pilot program to allow people to file their taxes for free next year.  There aren't much in the way of details right now, but the cost of many online tax prep services is prohibitive for many people.  There's no reason the government shouldn't have a cost-free option like it already provides to lower-income taxpayers  If the agency can make filing easy to understand, without charging the average $140 online service fee, we're here for it.  Of course, now we're waiting to see who is the first Republican to claim this idea is somehow "an assault on freedom" or some other insanity.

If you have a Google account you haven't used in ages, be warned - the company plans to delete accounts that have been inactive for at least two years, starting this December.  If you want to keep things as they are, all you have to do is log in to your account.  Apparently the dormant ones are security risks, according to Google.

BDH and Little Buddha just found this article about a guy who apparently strapped a tiny camera to his cat to see what life is like from his feline's eyes.  Mervin the Cat apparently isn't that wild and crazy, but it's pretty cool to see his perspective on the world.  Also, the last 15+ seconds of the clip is adorable.  Now BDH and Little Buddha want to know if we can get them one of these cameras...

The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 9-4 last night to snap their four-game losing streak.  The Red Sox blew an early 4-0 lead, but they fought back to get the win.  Whatever their issues, this team remains a group of grinders.  Boston starter Nick Pivetta gave up the four runs over 5 1/3 innings.  He remains our pick for the member of the starting rotation most likely to be sent to the bullpen.  The Red Sox offense came back to life after a few quiet nights, with 11 hits, including home runs from Justin Turner, Triston Casas, and Jarren Duran.  Hopefully that's the start of a new trend.  Next up:  The Red Sox will go for the series win when Bryan Bello takes the mound against the Mariners tonight.

(Side note:  Keep an eye on Triston Casas.  The rookie first baseman was batting .159 as of May 4, but he's since improved to .189.  That's obviously still what you would call "not great," but he's trending in the right direction.)

ESPN obtained a copy of the prospectus new Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris prepared for other potential members of his ownership group.  Long story short, Harris is counting on the team's financial situation sharply improving simply because of the removal of the toxic soon-to-be-former owner Daniel Snyder, plus the building of a new stadium.  The linked article is a long, but interesting, read.  It does seem like the Commanders organization has nowhere to go but up from here.  In the crazy world of NFL finances, the $6 billion the Harris group paid for the team might actually end up being a reasonable price.

Disney is laying off 7,000 employees, including some at ESPN.  However, the sports network still has enough money to convince Pat McAfee to walk away from his $120 million/four-year contract with FanDuel. 

All Elite Wrestling is expected to announce the launch of a new show today.  AEW Collision is believed to be scheduled for 8:00-10:00 p.m. on Saturday nights, starting June 7, on TNT.  If that's correct, it's a major step forward for the company and a significant boost for the pro wrestling industry as a whole.  Saturday night wrestling was a staple for decades on TBS.  If AEW is healthy enough to air two major programs a week, then that's a great sign of their ability to continue to provide an alternative to WWE for wrestlers and fans alike.  The more options for everyone, the better.

ABC just announced their fall schedule.  As of right now, the whole thing is unscripted programming, apart from some Abbott Elementary reruns, because the network apparently expects the writers strike to last a long time.

It's finally confirmed that the second season of Loki will arrive on Disney+ on October 6.  We were hoping to be able to enjoy it this summer, but that's okay.  This gives us a fun way to pass the final few weeks before Doctor Who's 60th anniversary specials air on the same streaming service in November.

Kaley Cuoco stars in an upcoming comedy called Based on a True Story, which sees Cuoco and her husband get involved in the podcast business and wind up closely involved in a murder.  The whole series comes out on NBC's Peacock on June 8.  This trailer isn't doing a lot for us, but we usually like anything with Cuoco, so we'll at least give this a shot:

John Cleese revealed a few key details about the start of his Fawlty Towers reboot.

Priscilla Presley has apparently settled her lawsuit against granddaughter Riley Keough regarding the administration of the late Lisa Marie Presley's estate.  Priscilla was challenging an amendment to Lisa Marie's will that replaced her with Keough as a co-trustee of the estate.  No terms of the settlement were released, but Priscilla Presley's comments about the settlement ring insincere to us, and the Daisy Jones & the Six star had no comment.  Pure speculation on our part, Priscilla was paid to go away.  In any case, hopefully this is the last we'll hear about this story.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Liz Phair is going on tour this fall to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her debut album, Exile in Guyville.  Here's Phair to close things out with a track off that record.  We leave you with, "Never Said" for today's, "Song of the Day."

Thanks for stopping by, folks.  It was great to see you, as always.  We're still trying to figure out our schedule, but BDH and Little Buddha want you to know you're definitely invited to come back later to watch tonight's "One Chicago" shows with them.  (A reminder - the season finales are next week!)  Otherwise, enjoy the rest of your day, be good, 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.