Duly Noted!

Sally Yates brings her A-game to Congress.

Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates is to testify to Congress today. She will address the "elephant in the room." The controversy about Donald J. Trump having Russian influence in the 2016 U.S. election. Yates will say that she warned then president Barack Obama and Trump that Mike Flynn was disclosing information to the Russians. Flynn is facing a federal watch for taking money from Russia.

Eric Trump told a sports writer that the Trump Foundation got all the money they needed from Russia. That quickly got the junk food media's attention. Trump was talking to James Dodson about how the Trump golf courses were being funded by Russian investors. In 2014, according to Dodson, the family received "all the funding we need out of Russia." Trump was quick to denounce the claims. His brother Donald, Jr. said in 2008 that the family business "sees a lot of money pouring in from Russia."

Ohio governor John Kasich is slamming the American Health Care Act. He says that Trumpcare is inadequate. The failed 2016 presidnetial candidate said that many Ohioans could lose their Medicaid under this bill. He said that the Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) expansion of funding to high risk pools is a mere drop in the bucket. "$8 billion is not enough to fund --- it's ridiculous. And the fact is, states will not opt for that."

Sinclair Broadcasting Group is interested in buying Tribune Media. The conservative leaning TV station from Baltimore has its eyes on the Chicago newspaper and television group. The biggest owner of local TV station has a plug of $4.5 billion. The merger could make SBG a dominate force in the junk food media. It also could be more beneficial for Trump. The SBG media is truly a conservative organization. 21st Century Fox was interested in the buy. They have the disgraced Sheryl Attkisson on their programming lineup. Sinclair is interesting in competing with Fox News. With Bill O'Reilly and Roger Ailes gone from Fox News, Sinclair might find some interest in trying to pick them up. Sean "Softball" Hannity often gives plugs to Sara Carter and John Solomon of Circa News (an affiliate of SBG). When SBG launches a cable channel, maybe the softball might find an exit.

Colin Kaepernick is a free agent without a team. He was dropped from the San Francisco 49ers earlier this year. He made the news last year when he was not standing for the National Anthem. He made social activism a theme. He was donating a portion of his earnings to charity groups. He also is promoting the "I know my rights" campaign in regards to police abuse. Kaepernick was in Chicago doing a "stop the violence" fundraiser. Of course, conservative don't seem to care about Black athletes doing actual charity work. Kaepernick is sticking to his word. He said it best, "It's bigger than football!"

Texas governor Greg Abbott signed off a state law that could strip state funding from those so-called sanctuary cities in the state. He did it on social media and didn't notify the junk food media about this signing. The Republican signed off the law last night and it will certainly be challenged in federal court. The law will begin in September. He went on Fox News to brag about it. That's the only junk food media outlet this asshole went to. Abbott is disabled and uses a wheelchair to get around. He is running for reelection in 2018. This law will now force city and county leaders to become federal agents. It will now punish cities, city officials and police chiefs. It will strip funds from city governments that decide to be "welcoming" to immigrants who aren't documented.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) went to GOP Sundays to explain the AHCA (Trumpcare). He was having trouble trying to get a talking point together. He was on This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Ryan was complaining about the left trying to sabotage a great deal. He couldn't explain why he supports a state's decision to opt out of Medicaid expansion. Ryan also defended his tax break for high earners. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) are cautious about the bill. They said both on GOP Sundays that the Senate will rework some of the mandates and make sure that this "repeal and replace" bill will benefit every American.

Former President Barack Obama is the coolest ever. He was in Boston accepting the Courage Award. Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama accepted the Profiles in Courage award at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library to a very warm audience. Obama did dodge the Trump name but acknowledge that he is "pleased" that activism is in full swing. He calls upon members of Congress to improve the law instead of dismantling it. Since leaving office, Obama has become more popular than his successor.

France elected a new leader. The moderate Emmanuel Macron is the youngest leader to hold office in the Republic of France. Macron beats Trump-endorsed Marine Le Pen, a far-right nationalist who wanted to channel the anger of immigration and Islamophobia. She was hoping that Russian and American influence could help her secure a win. In the last days of the election, there was a massive email dump on Wikileaks. It was a big hack into the personal emails of Macron's staffers. He was shaken by this but managed to outwit the hackers, the White extremists and Trump. He brutally defeated Le Pen. Macron calls for investigations into the hacking. Failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton congratulated him and took a swing at the junk food media (i.e. Fox News and CNN) for pushing the emails. She said in a social media posting, "Victory for Macron, for France, the EU (European Union), and the World." Clinton also slammed the junk food media for complaining about her concerns. The hashtag Fox News in France started trending. Many post that if France had a Fox News Channel, Macron would have lost. Fox News spent most of the 2016 presidnetial election dogging Obama and Clinton over those goddamn emails.

And lastly, Bill Maher slams Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for being "purists." The two progressive senators were concerned about the speaking fees Obama and Clinton were taking in. Having that both are out of office and no longer comment on policies (to an extant), Maher blasted the two for worrying about them instead of Trump and his policies. Trevor Noah also made it clear in two words (Fuck YOU) to progressives angered by Obama's speaking fees. Noah said it on The Daily Show, why does the Black guy got to hold a standard for everyone!