News From All Over, Part 4 -- July 31, 2019

Burned: For those millennials worried about plastic straws, this is the real problem: the plastic in the #1 litter problem in the world. From The WSJ: the world's most littered item comes under fire -- the cigarette butt / the filter contains non-biodegradable plastic. Yup. Non-biodegraable. Yup. Plastic.

Fed cuts rate for the first since 2008! Wow, I think that's what I read -- or maybe first time in eight years -- yes, I think that was it -- I was right the first time -- first time since 2008:

• the markets tank after the announcement 
• social media blames Trump for the Fed cutting rates

Fed cuts rates: now the post-mortem. No, I won't be watching CNBC.

GE cash flow: hit by 737 MAX groundings. Link here. The debacle is tracked here 'cause I think this ends badly for Boeing.

Khashoggied: looks like Saudi Arabia took out Osama bin Laden's son and heir. Link here.

Going, going, gone OR Mueller Report. Mueller Lite. Mueller Gone. According to one source, the following words were not even mentioned at the debate last night: "Mueller," "report," "Russian," "collusion," either separately or as a phrase. The CNN anchors and the Democratic dwarfs running for their party's nomination have seen the polls: not only do Americans not "rank" this as an issue with which to deal," they are getting tired of hearing about it and are tuning it out, as in switching networks when any combination of the words "Mueller report Russian collusion" are mentioned.

Speaking of which: any bets we never see Bob Mueller again speaking in public? And with Congress on a 6-week sabbatical, we won't even hear Needler or Pencil-Neck talk about it from the Capitol steps for awhile.