Hi everyone,

How are you?  Our crew is fine at the moment.  BDH and Little Buddha are still working on today's to-do list.  It sounds like this one might not be that long, which is just as well, since it looks pretty gloomy outside. 

Hold up, the guys said they're going to take a break from that so we can check out the headlines with all of you now.  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 Thursday Clutter.

(Programming note:  It looks like we will be out of the office tomorrow, but we'll let you know if that changes.)

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

Donald Trump claimed yesterday that he won't sign a national abortion ban into law if he returns to the White House.  Of course, only a fool would ever believe a word Trump says.  Trump supported a national ban when he was in office, and let's not forget, this is the guy who regularly brags about appointing the Supreme Court justices who helped to overturn Roe v. Wade.   He knows Republicans have been pummeled on this issue in elections since then, and this November won't be different.  Donald Trump is trying to run away from this issue as fast as he can, because he knows the GOP's extremist position is out of touch with the majority of the country.

Donald Trump and the GOP will never stop their war on women.  (pic via www.chicago.suntimes.com)

Donald Trump's latest attempt to delay his hush money trial was shot down by an appellate court judge yesterday.  Trump has tried to escape this case three times in the past three days, but the trial is still scheduled to begin on Monday, April 15.  These pleas reek of desperation.  Trump knows he's likely to be convicted of these criminal charges, and that's the line for some swing voters who he needs to have any chance of winning this fall.  The walls are closing in on Donald Trump, and his panic is showing.

Trump Media's stock price is down almost 45% for the month of April, as investors continue to realize this is just another one of Trump's schemes.  The stock is currently valued at $34.26 per share, which is about $34.25 too much.

The S&P 500 fell about 1% yesterday after the March Consumer Price Index report was worse than expected. Prices rose 3.5% over the previous 12 months, as opposed to the 3.3% expected figure.  It looks like you can probably take any chance of interest rate cuts in June off the table, and July doesn't look great either.  At this rate, the idea of the Fed leaving rates at their current levels for the remainder of 2024 seems increasingly likely.

Vietnamese real estate developer Truong My Lan was sentenced to death yesterday in a $27 billion corruption case.  Lan was found guilty of embezzling from Saigon Commercial Bank.  We oppose the death penalty without exception, but this story is a reminder of how lightly the United States takes white collar crime.  Cryptocurrency convict Sam Bankman-Fried was just sentenced to 25 years in prison for embezzling $11 billion, but even that sentence wasn't the maximum allowed by law, and he'll probably end up getting out early.  The biggest criminals in this country wear the nicest suits.  They damage thousands, if not millions, with their actions and should be held accountable for it.

The Boston Red Sox lost 7-5 to the Baltimore Orioles last night.  It was a particularly disappointing defeat, because the Sox had a 5-0 lead after five innings.  Sox starter Kutter Crawford clearly struggled to make it through five innings, but he managed to escape two bases-loaded jams, and it seemed like things were lined up well for the bullpen.  However, the Orioles scored three runs off reliever Isiah Campbell in the sixth, and they got to Chris Martin for four runs in the seventh.  Martin has been nails for the Sox since he got here, so you just have to accept he'll have a bad night every one in a blue moon (or maybe a returning eclipse?) 

Next up:  The Sox and Orioles face off again tonight, weather permitting.  Garrett Whitlock gets the start for Boston.

BDH and Little Buddha want to make sure you get a chance to see this video narrated by former Boston Red Sox manager paying tribute to the late Tim Wakefield.  It's getting a little dusty in here:

Shohei Ohtani's ex-interpreter is reportedly being charged with stealing money from the phenom to cover his own gambling debts.  According to the linked article, Ippei Mizuhara is working out the terms of a guilty plea.  It sounds like this is almost the end of this story, and there's still no evidence that Ohtani had any involvement with Mizuhara's actions.  That's a relief, but given the way all of the professional sports leagues are getting into bed with the gambling books, it's only a matter of time before a major star is caught in a new scandal.

Congratulations to Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday on reaching an agreement with the team on a four-year, $135 million contract extension.  This is a talented roster, and it looks like the Celtics are doing what they can to keep the core together for as long as possible.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice is facing eight criminal counts related to the high speed car crash he was involved in last weekend.  Rice is being charged with one count of aggravated assault, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and six counts of collision involving injury.  In theory, Rice could be facing decades in prison for his actions.  Who thinks that's going to happen?

We can't imagine why The Little Things would be the top movie on Netflix right now.  The 2021 bomb that starred Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, and Jared Leto was a terrible film. It was bad enough that we were still angry we watched it, even though we saw it for free on HBO Max.  This must be a slow stretch for Netflix, because that film is not a good use of anyone's time.

Melrose Place is reportedly getting another reboot.  Not going to lie, we might check this out when the time comes, as long as it's not only available via the Paramount+ streaming service.  We didn't see much of the show during its original run from 1992 - 1997, but it became a guilty Netflix pleasure for a stretch in the early 2000's. 

There's also a Heroes reboot in the works.  We never got into this show, so let us know - is this return good or bad?

Jim Parsons is on board with the idea of Michael Keaton playing an older version of Sheldon Cooper in another Big Bang Theory spin-off.  That might be interesting for an episode or two, but really, let's give Sheldon an extended rest after the Young Sheldon series finale. 

Mike Post shared some interesting thoughts about what it was like to produce Van Halen III, which was as close was the world ever got to hearing an Eddie Van Halen solo album.  That record is pretty close to the bottom of our Van Halen rankings.  However, you have to give Eddie credit for trying something new. (Plus, that lineup put on some amazing live shows.)  While Van Halen III may not hold together well overall, there are interesting fragments in every song.  It's such a tragedy we'll never hear new tunes from the late icon.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Given that this is probably it for us this week, BDH and Little Buddha wanted to take one more trip in the Wayback Machine.  We're going to close things out this time with a tune that was at the top of the charts in April 2014.  We leave you with Pharrell Williams and, "Happy" for today's, "Song of the Day."

Thanks for stopping by, folks.  It was great to see you, as always.  Enjoy the rest of the week and 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.