Hi everyone,

Welcome back, and a happy Saturday to you all.  Are you having a good weekend?  We're still out of the office, but we have a little bit of quiet time on today's schedule, so BDH and Little Buddha rigged up this temporary workstation again so we could say hi.  Are you ready to check out the headlines?  Let's do it.  The guys also made coffee, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Clutter.

(P.S.  Someone on our staff is having a birthday in 11 days.  I'll give you a hint:  He's small and blue.  All present suggestions are welcome!)

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Donald Trump's federal election interference trial has been postponed, while his imaginary claim of unlimited presidential immunity works its way through the courts.  Voters have a right to know the outcome of this case before casting their ballots in November.  Plus, Trump's best hope of staying out of prison is to try to run out the clock and hide from prosecutors if he returns to the White House.  The man has weaponized the courts for his entire life, and the country is suffering because of it.  In the meantime, the criminal case against him for hush money payments to Stormy Daniels appears to be on track to move forward later this month.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis formally confirmed a personal relationship with the attorney leading the Georgia prosecution of Donald Trump.  However, she says that relationship with Nathan Wade began after he was hired, and both lawyers argue that neither of them has a vested financial interest in the case.  This unwarranted intrusion into Willis' private life is just another attempt by Team MAGA to try to muddy the waters enough for the case against Trump and his co-defendants to be thrown out of court.  These efforts should be shut down immediately, and the trials should continue as scheduled.  Nothing about Fani Willis' romantic life changes the fact that Donald Trump tried to overturn the legitimate 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

The U.S. added 353,000 jobs in January, which is many more than analysts were expecting.  The economy continues to be remarkably strong, even with interest rates at elevated levels.  That's good news for Main Street, while not so much for Wall Street, because there's almost no chance that a rate cut is in the cards for the immediate future.  It's also bad news for Donald Trump and Republicans who were counting on being able to hammer President Biden on this issue before November. They're furious because things are going well for the country.  We prefer politicians who actually like the United States.

The economic news keeps getting better and better for President Biden.  (pic via sandiegotribune.com)

The best Trump can come up with now is an absurd claim that the stock market is thriving because people expect him to return to the White House.  If that doesn't work, Trump also launched an absurd attack on Fed Chair Jerome Powell, claiming Powell is trying to help Democrats.  Do you remember who appointed Powell in the first place?  That's right, Trump.   The pathological liar really can't help himself.  He's allergic to speaking the truth.  If you set aside how dangerous he is, Trump's pathetic never-ending need to be admired (and desperation to stay out of prison) is really sad.

Our crew was happy that Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow yesterday, so early spring is obviously coming.  After all, you can't argue with science.  It doesn't really matter our staff whether the prediction is accurate or not.  They're just happy we're even starting to talk about spring's arrival.  This has been a mild winter, but let's move on to the rest of the year.

It's intriguing to hear that Theo Epstein is now a senior advisor to the Fenway Sports Group.  However, our excitement is limited for the time being.  Epstein's role currently means he'll be working with the Boston Red Sox ownership on all of their projects, not just the Sox.  Sorry, we don't care about Theo's views on how to run the Pittsburgh Penguins more effectively. 

However, it has been stated that Epstein will also be a resource for Sox baseball boss Craig Breslow.  That can't hurt, but you know what would really help?  If FSG would just sell the team to Theo and head out of town.  His return to Boston doesn't mean much if John Henry and company still don't care about winning anymore.

ICYMI - The New England Patriots hired Alex Van Pelt to be their new offensive coordinator this past Thursday.  Van Pelt is a former quarterback who has been in the NFL for 28 years, between his playing and coaching days.  He doesn't have much play-calling experience, which is unfortunate.  However, Van Pelt seems to be regarded as someone who works well with quarterbacks, and that's something the Patriots desperately need these days.  He will also add some much-needed coaching experience to Jerod Mayo's staff.

The news keeps getting worse for Vince McMahon:  After being sued by a former WWE employee who accused him of sexual abuse and trafficking, it's been revealed that the federal government is also investigating these allegations to see if a criminal prosecution is warranted.  McMahon was first forced out of the WWE in 2022 after it was revealed that he paid four women a total of almost $15 million to stay quiet about his sexual misconduct.  (That includes the woman who is currently suing him.) 

There are also many other damaging stories out there about McMahon.  If the government really wants to act on all of it, he's in trouble. Regardless of how this all plays out, this would be a good time for new WWE owner TKO Holdings to clean house in the company and get rid of all of McMahon's enablers.

We were sorry to hear that actor Carl Weathers died on Thursday.  He was 76 years old.  According to his family, Weathers passed away peacefully in his sleep.  The actor was best known for his role as Apollo Creed in the first four Rocky movies, and he was terrific in every one of them.  He also starred in a variety of other projects, including Predator, Happy Gilmore, The Mandalorian, and many more.  Weathers is currently featured in a FanDuel ad campaign with Rob Gronkowski, but the sports betting company says adjustments will be made in light of his passing.  Our condolences go out to Weathers' family and friends.

BDH and Little Buddha think you'll enjoy this video of Scarlett Johansson on a "dream date" with a pooch named Ocean.  It's okay that the clip is really mostly an ad for Johannson's Outset skin care products, because Ocean is just adorable:

There's been a lot of cast turnover in Dick Wolf's shows this season, and the latest is the news that Sam Waterston is leaving Law & Order as of February 22.  While Waterston's Jack McCoy wasn't an original character when the series began way back in 1990, it's hard to imagine it without him.  It also makes us wonder even more how much longer the L&O and "One Chicago" shows are going to last.  They all have a lot of miles on their tires, and everything comes to an end at some point.

While Jack McCoy is leaving Law & Order, a familiar character (with a different face) has returned to General Hospital.  We won't give away the surprise, but it would be interesting to hear how the writers decided it was time for this guy to come back to Port Charles.

Oh hold on, another character is also returning to GH, and this one has the same face.  That should be fun, but is this a short stint, or will they be around for a while?

Hey Ozzy fans, you can rent out his West Hollywood condo for just $9500 a month.  That sounds like a deal.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here are the Goo Goo Dolls to close things out with, "Beautiful Lie" 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 weekend, 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.