Your weekly recap for Politics, Entertainment, Business, Sports and Global Events.
Politics
- The Mueller Report… Fall Out
Remember last week when Attorney General William Barr skipped out on testifying in front of Congress? Well, Congress has decided to hold him in contempt. Americans simply asked, “But, has Congress tried to fix my rising healthcare costs?”
… and just when you thought we could move on Russia, this development unfolded. 
- Trump’s Taxes
The New York Times ‘leaked’ or ‘published’ detailed info on Mr. Trump’s taxes.
The thing is, Trump had literally written a book titled Art of the Comeback regarding his massive debt and losses. Also, Trump begins his first episode of The Apprentice stating to the camera that he was down and out in the early 90s. It is supposedly news that Trump didn’t pay taxes on his losses. Most investors don’t.
- Iran
Either Iran is up to no good and the Trump administration is onto something, OR we have a pending repeat of the Bush administration’s biggest mistake. Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction. America really ramped up our military against the Iranians this week, led by war hawk John Bolton.
- National Gun Registry
Senator Booker has decided to announce his legislation on gun ownership in the event he is elected President in 2020. The right, and especially the NRA, will make this look like a repeal of the 2nd Amendment. Fact is, it really isn’t a bad idea.
- Democrat Poll Gone Bad
Democrats had egg on their face when Republican voters, or Moderates, hijacked a poll they must have felt was initially a slam dunk. They proceeded to delete the poll.
- Democrat Investigations
Another investigation this week dealt with Trump’s recent tax returns. The Democrats are trying to jail Treasury Secretary Mnuchin for not releasing the returns. Americans simply asked, “But, has Congress tried to fix my rising healthcare costs?”
- John Kerry
Trump surprised folks with this quote during a press conference. For those who do not know, the Logan Act prevents regular American citizens from meddling or negotiating on American international affairs / diplomacy. While Kerry was a Secretary of State, he is no longer, therefore, he is not to engage in diplomatic relations with Iran. 
Entertainment
- Jeopardy & Ken Jennings 2.0?
Holzhauer didn’t lose this week. Why? He didn’t play. Jeopardy’s favorite ‘professional gambler’ is in the middle of a two-week hiatus for Teacher Appreciation Week.
- Guess who’s back? TYRA BANKS
Here she is gracing the SI Swimsuit edition at the young age of FORTY FIVE!
- The Game of Thrones CUP
G.O.T. had TWO years to edit and film SIX episodes but still couldn’t catch an Emilia Clarke’s coffee cup hanging around in the final cut.
- CNN Layoffs
There’s more than one way to skin a cat. That’s the saying, right? Well, that’s what is happening over at CNN. Call it a layoff, buyout, forced retirement, voluntary departure, or whatever. Here is how CNN defended it.
- The Met Gala
The Oscars of The East, or just another way America’s richest celebs can force it down our throats that they look better, dress better, and are paid better than all of us. However, the event did have Kanye showing up in a $42.99 jacket.
- Disney Movies
The bad – Avatar 2 has been delayed for the umpteenth time. Who knows if it will actually ever come out. Does anyone really care at this point?
The good – MORE Star Wars. Disney announced the dates for Episodes X, XI, and XII. Maybe one day there will be more Star Wars than Super Bowls. 
- Heck of a Crowd
Check out this concert duo of the summer.
Business
- US Home Sales
Realtor.com provided us with some insightful information regarding housing in 2019. Las Vegas and Phoenix remain OK, while the rest of America’s hot markets are slowing. Take a look at some of the findings.
- American Unemployment
The job market is hotter than Death Valley in July. Check out these numbers. Allegedly, we have more job openings than unemployed workers. If only American students were educated in hard labor or S.T.E.M. instead of the Arts while they spent their $40,000 a year at University.
- Trump’s Economy & Rural America
A lot of reports are coming out that show rural America, and, in particular, our farmers, are not doing well. They have been whacked by a double-edged sword. First, tariffs implemented by Trump hurt them. Second, and more importantly, massive flooding has begun to officially destroy them.
Just take a look at the amount of bankruptcies amongst our farmers.
The flooding is the worse since 1993, and it is crippling agricultural workers.
Take a look at more of these stats regarding how severe the flooding is along the Mississippi River.
And, this jaw dropping info –
- Wells Fargo’s New Boss?
Buffett and Senator Warren want an outsider, and they may get their wish. This is a good move for the company, and the industry. Both need female leadership, as well as outside blood.
- Fidelity Goes CRYPTO
Fidelity Brokerage has decided to cater to Millennial gamblers and their obsession with trading crypto currency.
- Boeing… Week Eight
The bad news keeps on coming. It appears that Boeing had serious breakdowns. Breakdowns that may have been so egregious that hundreds of lives were lost in two plane crashes. The stock received another downgrade this week, and sent them officially well below the $375 price they had been hovering at.
- Huawei
The CFO is about to stand trial. This will be very interesting, especially as America tries to conclude its trade deals with China.
- Ride Share Disasters
First, Lyft went public. Then, the stock fell over 25% since its debut. Then, the company announced they lost $1,140,000,000 in 90 days. But, they claim they “have a clear path to profitability.” Uh huh. 
Then, Uber and Lyft drivers went on strike ahead of Uber debuting on Friday.
Finally, the Uber IPO. Wall Street’s most anticipated debut since Facebook. Uber decided to play it safe. They priced their IPO at the low end of their range. The stock collapsed 7.5% on its first day of trading. Welcome to Wall Street!
- Tariff Drama
Trump decided to freak out markets by tweeting he was frustrated with China and trade negotiations. The market fell at first, tried to recover, but ultimately fell about 2.5% on the week. Take a look at the two tweets that began the wild ride.
- Poverty Redefined
Trump wants folks off welfare. How will he do it? Change the requirements. He is going to make it more difficult to get on welfare. Democrats are going to have a fit with this one.
- America, You’ve Gone Soft
Well, at least the Americans bitching on Twitter. They took to their phones to complain this week about an info-graphic from USA Today. Remember, last week Chase got called out for ‘teaching’ financial literacy in a tough love manner. This week, the term ‘finance shaming’ was born.
- An Accounting Disaster
The story out of Heinz is just stunning
- Buffett Says BUY BUY BUY
But, Buffett also said BYE BYE BYE to $377 million when his company was duped into a Ponzi scheme involving a solar company.
- Facebook Breakup?
It is beginning to seem like Facebook is that drunk and depressed friend crying out for help but no one cares to listen. How many more cries out for help or regulation do we need to hear until Washington DC wakes up and listens? They have all but admitted they cannot control the monster they created.
Sports
- Champions League
OK, we have to start off with soccer, or shall we say, football. Two of the most amazing matches ever set the stage for an all British final.
How did this happen? Let’s begin with Tuesday’s match. Barcelona and their stacked lineup that includes Lionel Messi against everyone’s lovable losers, Liverpool. Liverpool needed to win by FOUR goals! They ended the first half up 1-0. No chance, right? Wrong. They began the second by scoring twice in two minutes. Still, all Barcelona had to do was either score a goal, or hold Liverpool to no more goals in the final forty minutes. Well, at the 79th minute Barcelona allowed their FOURTH goal sending Liverpool to the Championship. Queue the social media staff of Barcelona for taking this L on the day.
Now, onto our second match. This pitted Tottenham against Ajax. Ajax, like Barcelona, was the favorite. Ajax was solidly ahead and looking like they’d meet Liverpool in the final. They were leading 2-0 with only 34 minutes left when Tottenham scored twice in four minutes. Still, all Ajax had to do was hold off Tottenham from scoring again, or score one themselves. Well, as time was expiring in the 96th minute, Tottenham did the improbable. They scored a goal as the clock ran out to clinch a spot against Liverpool in the final. INCONCEIVABLE!
- Lakers Drama
Supposedly, LeBron James was on his way to getting his old coach back in La La Land, until the deal fell apart. The Lakers are an absolute disaster.
- The Kentucky Derby
Only ten months after Justify won the Triple Crown for the second time in three years, the Kentucky Derby was dealt the worst possible situation imaginable. First, the favorite was given the boot after Maximum Security initially won, but replay via a Steward’s Inquiry showed the horse impeded others trying to pass. This awarded Country House, a tremendous long shot, a stunning reversal of fortune.
The inquiry was justified. This happens often at horse tracks. Problem is, it typically doesn’t involve the winning horse. It never happens on the biggest stage.
Well, the problems escalated. Maximum Security will not run in next week’s Preakness, so bettors will never know if the horse could have won the Triple Crown with an asterisk. Problems got even worse when the owner of Country House says the horse has come down with a cough and won’t race at Pimlico either! This has become an unmitigated disaster for a sport that was finally on the up and up. 
Oh, by the way. Of course Trump had to tweet about this. Somehow this was a result of Political Correctness? Weird flex, but OK. Sidebar, our president misspelled STOLEN this week. Stollen. He has since deleted the unforced error.
- Cry Me A River
A basketball wife is mad that other women try to steal her man. A tale as old as time.
- Tiger Woods
Way too much Trump in this recap. Tiger Woods was honored this week at the White House by his friend, President Trump. Why? Because, Tiger is the G.O.A.T. Well, actually Jack is. But, Tiger is back on the prowl!
- Playoff Hockey
Yep, it is still going on, despite most of America likely not even knowing where some of the teams are even from. Check out this stat from Game 7’s losing goalie.
- No-Hitter
Baseball no-hitters aren’t that big of a deal these days. However, it is important when a pitcher throws his second.
- NBA Playoffs
The first team to bite the dust was Boston. Kyrie disappeared in the latter half of the series, and the Bucks powered through. You really have to assume he’ll be leaving Boston for LA or NYC.
Next, Philly forced Game 7 against the Raptors in Toronto. Then, Portland forced Game 7 against the Nuggets in Denver.
Finally, Kevin Durant strained his calf in a pivotal Game 5. He’s out the rest of this series. The Warriors secured the win, and closed out the Rockets in Houston on Game 6.
An amazing quarterfinal in the NBA playoffs giving fans two Game 7s!
Global Events
- Anti-Vaxers
The saga continues. Take a look at these Measles cases out of Europe.
- We’re All Going To Die
The UN published a hell of a study with regard to climate change and earth’s species. In short, we’re all fucked. In other news, scientists have been telling us this since Nostradamus.
Here’s a little more about the world killing off our species. Super optimistic stuff here!
- Chinese Spying
Shocked by that headline, aren’t you? The findings released from Symantec this week in conjunction with multiple other reports will not only confuse the hell out of you, but likely put you to sleep. Here is a nice summary for you. Basically the Chinese found out how the NSA was spying on us, and in turn used the same tactics to spy on our allies. What a wonderful world.
If you haven’t fallen asleep yet, here is some more from the study.
- Float Across the Atlantic
A Frenchman literally floated across the Atlantic Ocean in the vessel seen below. It took him over 100 days.
- Airplane Crash
Boeing had to be saying, “well, at least it wasn’t our jet this time.” Sadly, however, it was a Russian commercial jet that burst into flames soon after takeoff while it attempted to make an emergency landing after a fire inside.
- The ROYAL Baby
Ooh, la, la. The Royal Baby has been presented to the world. He’s like sixth or seventh in line. Who knows these days? Anyway, what is the Boy from Sussex to be called? Archie Harrison, or Archie Bunker for true royalty.
- North Korea
Does anyone have a clue what is really going on? Trump signaled he wants a third summit. He says he doesn’t believe most of the reporting out of the communist regime. Here’s the recent update. 
National Events
- Sunscreen Study
OK, more of an ‘Honorable Mention,’ but something worth checking out. Look at the results from this recent report on sunscreen and chemicals entering the body!
- Denver In Wonderland
Aside from prostitution, it seems as if anything goes in Denver, Colorado nowadays.
- School Shooting
Tragic news out of a Colorado S.T.E.M school this week.
We lost a high school senior who was only weeks away from graduation. Horrible tragedy.
- Millennial Migration
Who would have guessed MADISON, WISCONSIN is the hot bed for Millennials on the move?
‘Entirely Scientific’ Prediction Meter
Because, why not?
1. Chance of Impeachment = 1%
Unchanged
2. Chance Trump wins reelection in 2020 = 50%
Up 3% From Last Week
3. Most likely Democrat contender = Joe Biden
Unchanged
4. Chance Howard Schultz runs as an Independent? = 90%
Unchanged
5. Chance of a US Recession in 2019 = 5%
Down 5% From Last Week
I never lose. I either win, or I learn.
-Nelson Mandela
Phil Your Day 