The Rock Chalkboard

KU football signee Mason Ellis changes enrollment plan
KU football signee Mason Ellis has had a change in his enrollment plans. The Mulvane native was initially going to grayshirt and arrive in Lawrence following the 2022 football season. Now, Ellis will enroll on a scholarship effective immediately, his family tells Phog.net. Ellis has been on KU’s campus this summer for workouts. The news was first reported to Phog.net VIP subscribers.

Kenny Logan goes in-depth on KU football's new-look safeties room
ARLINGTON, Tex. — Some quality reinforcements are headed Brian Borland’s way ahead of the start of KU football’s fall camp. The defensive coordinator and safeties coach will welcome five new safeties to his position room before KU’s fall camp begins in early August.

After offseason surgery, Jalon Daniels ready to compete for starting QB job
ARLINGTON, Tex. — Jalon Daniels still remembers when the injury happened. In the third quarter of KU football’s 31-28 loss at the hands of TCU on the road, Daniels got rolled up on by a TCU defender. Daniels hurt his lower leg on the play but played through the pain as KU looked to make it two-straight wins.

52 Days Until Kansas Football: Previewing Big 12 Media Days - Blue Wings Rising
Starting tomorrow morning, the teams of the Big 12 conference will converge in Arlington, TX to kick off the beginning of the college football season at Big 12 Media Days. Sure the action doesn't actually kick off for almost 2 more months, but it's the first opportunity to hear from the conference leadership and coaches from around the conference. And the storylines are even more intriguing after the craziness that was UCLA and USC making official a move to the Big Ten in 2024.

Eraser Dust

IRS Chief Urges Tax Professionals to File Extended Returns Early
Tax practitioners can help the IRS get caught up if they don’t wait until the last minute to file tax returns that received an extension, IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said at a conference Tuesday in Las Vegas.

“Take a look at what you can get filed now,” Rettig told the group of more than 2,000 professionals at Latino Tax Fest. “We are doing our best.” (ed note - fuck this guy)

Manchin balks at climate and tax pieces of Biden agenda bill but backs health care provisions
Instead, Manchin, a key centrist who holds the swing vote in the 50-50 Senate, said he is willing to back only a filibuster-proof economic bill with drug pricing and a two-year extension of funding under the Affordable Care Act, the source said.

U.S. Secret Service deleted texts sought in Jan. 6 probe, watchdog says | Reuters
WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Secret Service deleted text messages from Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, 2021 after they were requested by oversight officials investigating the agency's response to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the agency watchdog has claimed.

South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh charged with murder of wife and son | South Carolina | The Guardian
Former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh has been indicted for double murder in the killings of his wife, 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh, and son, 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh, almost 13 months after he made an emergency call saying he had found them dead near a dog kennel at the family’s country home.

Texas sues Biden over new abortion guidance as conservative groups mull more challenges - POLITICO
The Texas attorney general filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging new abortion guidance the Biden administration released this week — arguing that it violates the rights of doctors not to participate in terminating a pregnancy and steps on the state’s right to regulate the procedure within its borders.

Video of Uvalde shooting scene captured cop checking phone after dying wife called him: Official - ABC News
The security footage that aired this week on television and online by ABC affiliate KVUE in Austin and the Austin American-Statesman recorded Officer Ruben Ruiz, a member of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police force, checking his cellphone after his wife, teacher Eva Mireles, contacted him to say she had been shot and was dying, officials said.

Italian president rejects Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s resignation
ROME — Italy’s president rejected the resignation of Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Thursday after a day of political drama that threatened to bring down a national unity government that has been in office less than 18 months.

Final tunnel on Kalispell Rails to Trails almost finished
The artists working on the ‘Lone Pine Tunnel,’ just south of the Foys Lake interchange, are happy to be bringing more public art to the area.

Recounts Confirm Bukacek as Winner of PSC GOP Primary - Flathead Beacon
Ann Bukacek is still the Republican winner in the Montana Public Service Commission District No. 5 primary, according to recounts in three of four counties.

The Gray Man review – Ryan Gosling goes rogue in gonzo action thriller | Movies | The Guardian
wo solid hours of efficient Netflix content is what’s on offer here, the action-thriller equivalent of a conscientiously microwaved Tuscan Sausage Penne from M&S. Directed by the Russo brothers, Joe and Anthony, this has Ryan Gosling playing a CIA assassin recruited from prison for a top-secret black ops unit, one of a team of “gray men” operating in the murky shadows; he is known only by his codename Sierra Six (the other choices presumably being Cortina Six, Focus Six and Fiesta Six).

Wordle gets an official board game from Hasbro - Polygon
Hasbro and The New York Times announced Thursday that Wordle, the massively popular online word game, is getting a physical board game edition. Wordle: The Party Game will be available to purchase in North America in October and is available to pre-order today via the game’s official website.

NBA free agency 2022 - What's next for Phoenix Suns, Indiana Pacers after Deandre Ayton's max offer sheet?
Shortly after ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Ayton had signed the four-year, $133 million offer sheet from Indiana, the Suns made the decision to match it without using the full two days available to them. The move keeps Ayton in Phoenix but limits the team's options for trading the 2019 No. 1 overall pick.

A woodpecker's brain takes a big hit with every peck: study : NPR
"When you see these birds in action, hitting their head against a tree quite violently, then as humans we start wondering how does this bird avoid getting headaches or brain damage," says Sam Van Wassenbergh, a researcher at the University of Antwerp in Belgium.

Sharp Drop in Childhood Vaccinations Threatens Millions of Lives - The New York Times
Pandemic lockdowns, misinformation campaigns, conflicts, climate crises and other problems diverted resources and contributed to the largest backslide in routine immunization in 30 years.