Hi everyone,

How are you?  Boy, did I have a case of the Mondays yesterday.  I got through about 75% of the to-do list, but it was a struggle.  Not sure what that was all about, but BDH and Little Buddha suggested we just put it in the rear view mirror and move on to today.  Works for me.  The guys say we've got the usual Tuesday tasks, and that the weather should be okay, so hopefully everything will go smoothly. 

First, let's take a peek at the headlines.  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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Donald Trump's criminal trial began yesterday.  He's charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to hide payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.  The first step is jury selection.  However, the biggest challenge of the whole case might be finding people who can keep an open mind either way about the defendant, something the court was unable to do on Monday, but the process continues today. 

Donald Trump learned that he won't be in control of his schedule like usual, after Judge Juan Marchan shot down several requests to leave the courtroom.  No matter how hard Trump tries to escape this trial, he gets rejected at every turn.  That's sure to be the subject of additional rantings from the MAGA cult leader on his lame Twitter knock-off.  Perhaps this is all too much for Trump, who appeared to fall asleep a few times during yesterday's proceedings.  That's some serious low-energy from the GOP's idea of ultimate masculinity.  Who would put someone in the White House who can't even stay awake for his own court proceedings?

Someone should wake up the defendant.  (pic via www.ksltv.com)

Trump Media's stock price fell another 18% yesterday on the news that the company plans to issue another 21 million shares.  The stock, which had a high of $66, is now trading at $26.61.  That number still has no connection to reality for a company which lost $58 million last year and serves no purpose but to help Donald Trump cover his legal costs. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced plans for votes on separate aid bills for Israel and Ukraine this Friday.  Johnson is doing his best to not make Marjorie Taylor Greene angry enough to force a vote to remove him from his position.  As the linked article points out, the bills could still end up in the Senate as one piece of legislation, so Greene might pull the trigger anyway.  This is the GOP - the leader is a serial criminal, and the speaker is constantly being held hostage by his own party.  Send them all packing in November and replace these clowns with people who actually want to govern.

Rudy Giuliani's attempt to have the $148 million defamation judgment against him dismissed failed yesterday.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas missed yesterday's session.  No reason was given for his absence.

The Biden administration reportedly expects Israel to have a limited response to last weekend's missile attack from Iran.  Given that the damage was minimal, the White House believes Israel will focus outside Iran on non-human targets.  Hopefully this assessment is correct, because de-escalation is needed in that region before an all-out war starts.

The S&P 500 fell 1.2% yesterday, largely due to a growing realization that the Federal Reserve likely won't be cutting interest rates soon, if at all this year.  The index is still up just over 6% so far for 2024, so the Clutter investment team doesn't see it as cheap yet.  However, the staff will start paying a little more attention to see if these concerns eventually turn into an overreaction.

The Boston Red Sox lost 6-0 to the Cleveland Guardians yesterday.  Apparently no one told the Sox offense that the game started at 11:10 a.m., because Boston could only muster three hits on the day.  The team wasted a solid performance from starter Kutter Crawford, who threw 5 1/3 innings of two-hit scoreless baseball.  The worst part of it is that Red Sox left fielder Tyler O'Neill had to leave the game in the seventh inning after colliding with Rafael Devers in the outfield, and it sounds like O'Neill might be out with a concussion.  He was off to a good start this year, so here's hoping he can return soon.

Next up:  The Red Sox and Guardians are back at it again tonight.  Garrett Whitlock gets the start for Boston.

The New England Patriots were reportedly scheduled to have dinner with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. last night.  That fuels a new round of speculation that the team might not pick a QB with the #3 draft pick, because Penix Jr. would probably be available later.  At this point, we just want the NFL Draft to get here already so we can finally stop all of this speculation.  If the team likes QB Drake Maye, that's who we expect New England to choose at #3 and then start targeting other needs like a left tackle and wide receiver.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice is being sued for the car crash he caused in Dallas last month.  The two plaintiffs were injured in the accident and are looking for $1 million in actual damages and $10 million in punitive damages.  Rice and Teddy Knox (who was racing Rice at the time) are also facing criminal charges for their reckless behavior.

We were sorry to see Rhea Ripley vacate the WWE Women's World Championship on Monday Night Raw last night.  Ripley apparently suffered a legitimate injury in a segment the week before that will have her out of action for, as she put it, "quite a few months."  The wrestler has been one of the company's best performers, both in the ring and on the mic, since winning the title 380 days ago.  It's a shame her momentum comes to a sudden halt like this, but we wish her the best and look forward to her eventual return to action.

Last night's NCIS was the 1000th episode of that TV universe, and it was a solid celebration of that milestone.  This week's crime had its roots in the NCIS pilot, and there were all sorts of Easter eggs and some quick shots of familiar faces. 

We watched Conan O'Brien's viral Hot Ones appearance yesterday, and it lives up to the hype.  O'Brien both gives thoughtful answers to host Sean Evans' questions, while also losing his mind during the consumption of the various hot sauces.  He may well be the greatest guest in the history of the show:

It turns out that the stories about Millie Gibson leaving Doctor Who next season are incorrect:  Apparently Varada Sethu is joining the cast as the Doctor's second companion in 2025, not replacing Gibson's Ruby Sunday.  Shame on those sites who tore into Gibson, claiming she was fired.  There's plenty of room in the TARDIS, especially with the new massive interior set.  We don't know much about Sethu, but we look forward to seeing how she works with Gibson and Ncuti Gatwa next year.  In the meantime, we're still anxiously awaiting the start of this season, which starts on May 10.

CBS announced it will air last Sunday's Billy Joel special in its entirety this coming Friday, after the initial broadcast ended two minutes early for local news.  The rerun will start at 9 p.m., so now fans can hear the rest of "Piano Man."

Courtney Love has some thoughts about Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Madonna, and other current female musicians.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Let's have Phish close things out with their new single, "Evolve" 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, 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.