Hi everyone,

Welcome back, and a happy Friday to you all.  What's on tap for the weekend?  I don't think we have anything too crazy on the schedule.  BDH and Little Buddha are confident there will be some garden time, so that's all I need to know. 

The guys also said today's to-do list is pretty straight forward, so let's get started by checking out the news.  There's a fresh pot of coffee on the counter, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Clutter.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson's Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan aid bills moved out of the Rules Committee yesterday on a 9-3 vote, thanks to the Democrats on the committee voting to advance the legislation.  That tees the package up for a vote later today, and President Biden has already said he'll vote for it if it reaches his desk.  Assuming that happens, everyone will then be looking to see if Russia's delegation in the House, led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, moves forward with their threat to vote to remove Johnson from the speaker's chair.  (Current over/under on the number of House speakers for the rest of the year:  1.5.)

Will Mike Johnson still be House speaker a week from today?  (pic via www.nashuatelegraph.com)

It must have driven Donald Trump nuts to have to listen to people rip him to his face during the hush money jury selection process and not be able to do anything about it.  The man's ego is as fragile as tissue paper.  Every incessant self-brag about his own greatness shows off the gaping hole where his self-esteem should be. 

Donald Trump's latest bid to delay the January 6 - related lawsuits against him was rejected yesterday.  Trump wanted the lawsuits put on hold until his criminal case over the coup attempt is completed.  His entire legal defense is to delay as long as possible in hopes he can hide in the White House next year.  Voters can't allow this serial criminal to escape the consequences of his actions.

Your latest reminder that the House Ethics Committee is still investigating Rep. Matt Gaetz.  The committee is now reportedly looking into whether or not Rep. Gaetz used illegal drugs in 2017 after becoming a member of Congress.

Israel launched a retaliatory attack on Iran early this morning, following Iran's missile attack on Israel last weekend.  We're waiting to hear more about the scope and impact of the assault.  At the moment, Iran doesn't appear to be escalating in response yet, and the U.S. wants everyone to know they had no involvement, as diplomats continue to work to find a way to de-escalate tensions in the region. 

A NBC News report shows that verified pro-Nazi accounts are thriving on Twitter.  Elon Musk doesn't care what bigots spread on his site.  If they're willing to pay $8/month to do it, Musk is happy to amplify their hate.

There's another Trader Joe's recall:  This time it is for a basil sold in 29 states which may cause salmonella. 

The Boston Red Sox lost 5-4 to the Cleveland Guardians yesterday to finish with a 3-7 record for the first homestand of the year.  The Red Sox got off to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, and their pitchers kept them in the game, just giving up two earned runs for the day.  However, the fielding continues to be atrocious, as the Sox made two more errors to give them a major league-worst 20 miscues so far this season.  They're lucky the starting pitching has been outstanding this year, because they could easily be closer to 4-16 than 10-10.  Of course, if they didn't play so sloppily, they could also be more like 16-4.  It has to kill manager Alex Cora that these guys are so bad at the fundamentals.

Next up:  The Red Sox start a weekend series on the road against the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight.  Brayan Bello takes the mound for Boston.

The Boston Red Sox put outfielder Tyler O'Neill on the 7-day IL yesterday with concussion-like symptoms after he collided with Rafael Devers his past Monday.  The good news is that O'Neill is not expected to be out longer than that, at least at the moment.  The move was retroactive, so he could theoretically return next Tuesday.  However, head injuries can be tricky, so here's hoping O'Neill has a full and speedy recovery.

New England Patriots director of scouting/de-facto general manager Eliot Wolf said yesterday that the team likes the quarterback options in this year's draft, but they're still open to the idea of trading the #3 pick if someone makes them a ridiculous offer.   We would prefer to see the Patriots stay in the third spot and choose a QB (say, Drake Maye), so if they do trade out of that slot, they better get one hell of a haul in return.  Thankfully, the NFL Draft starts in six days, so we're almost done with all of this speculation.

Harvey Kitel, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, and John Travolta shared their thoughts about working on Pulp Fiction at an event celebrating the movie's 30th anniversary last night.  We still remember being spellbound by that movie.  The soundtrack was on a loop at home for months afterwards.

Check out the trailer for M. Night Shyamalan's new movie, Trap, which sees Josh Hartnett as a father who takes his young daughter to a show, only to discover that the police are looking for him at the venue.  (At least, that's what we think happens.  You know a Shyamalan movie is going to have a major twist.)  Trap opens in theaters on August 9:

There's more casting news for NCIS: Origins, the upcoming NCIS prequel which will look at the early days of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. 

ScreenRant.com goes pretty heavy on the clickbait material, but they're right about this one:  Penny and Sheldon were the most important relationship on The Big Bang Theory.  You can read the linked article to get their argument.  We would also add that the pairing was bolstered by the fact that Kaley Cuoco and Jim Parsons legitimately seemed to get a kick out of each other on-screen.  It was their little moments/quick reactions that made them feel like the strongest duo on the show.

BDH and Little Buddha got a kick out of this clip of comedian Bill Burr watching other people do their impressions of him:

Taylor Swift's new The Tortured Poets Department record came out at midnight, and to no surprise, the initial reviews are glowing.  (Also, it turns out this is a double album.)  Let the next wave of T-Swift global domination begin, as she unpacks her latest stories of heartbreak.

We were sorry to hear that legendary guitarist Dickey Betts died yesterday.  He had been battling cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to his manager.  Betts was one of the co-founders of the Allman Brothers, and he had an incredible influence on both rock and country music, with hits like "Ramblin' Man" and "Jessica."  The Allman Brothers were also a great jam band.  We were lucky enough to see them in 1994, and some of those solos would go on for so long, we'd forget what song the group was playing for a minute.  Dickey Betts was 80 years old.  Our condolences go out to his family, friends, and fans.

Former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony said he hasn't talked to David Lee Roth in "quite some time," and that Roth is "kind of a crazy guy," but he'd still work with his ex-bandmate if the right opportunity presented itself.  In the meantime, Anthony and Sammy Hagar are getting ready for this year's Van Halen-focused tour with guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Jason Bonham.

Okay kids that's going to do it for now.  Let's have Taylor Swift and Post Malone close things out with their new track, "Fortnight" for today's, "Song of the Day."

You can already hear the sounds of falling Billboard records.

Thanks for stopping by, folks.  It was great to see you, as always.  Enjoy 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.