Notebook: Jalen Wilson Receives Summer League Honors

The Rock Chalkboard

KU baseball’s Cole Elvis signs with Minnesota Twins - KU Sports
The Kansas baseball team didn’t earn any selections in the draft, but has now had two players sign with MLB teams since it concluded.

KU announced Tuesday that catcher and first baseman Cole Elvis, who started every game for the Jayhawks in 2023 after four seasons at Cal, has signed a contract with the Minnesota Twins.

Wilson completes Summer League with second-team honor, improves NBA outlook - KU Sports
If Jalen Wilson’s draft position — second round, 51st overall — made it an uphill battle for him to carve out time on the Brooklyn Nets’ roster, he’s already done plenty to offset those unfavorable circumstances.

Self reveals more details of Puerto Rico trip - KU Sports
Self told reporters from the Jayhawk Club, where he was speaking at the Crimson and Blue Classic fundraiser hosted by the Mass St. Collective, that KU expects to play one game against a professional Puerto Rican team and two games against the Bahamian national team.

Practices underway for Mass Street TBT team - KU Sports
“I don’t remember us being in the gym as much,” Young said Sunday. “We practiced a couple times … I got there like a day before. I feel like it’s a little bit more organized, not to knock anybody from the last one or anything.”

Eraser Dust

Matt Gaetz launches bill to defund Jack Smith probe as Trump asks Capitol allies for Jan 6 indictment help | The Independent
Rep Matt Gaetz of Florida said on his podcast that he will in the coming days introduce a bill to defund Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into former President Donald Trump as Mr Trump reportedly asks Capitol Hill allies for help as he faces another potential indictment.

Oversight Committee to hear from 2 IRS whistleblowers Wednesday | CNN Politics
The House Oversight Committee is expected to publicly hear Wednesday from two IRS whistleblowers whose closed-door testimony alleging that the Hunter Biden criminal probe was mishandled has ignited a firestorm among House Republicans and led to calls to impeach Attorney General Merrick Garland.

‘There’s nothing American about promoting violence’: country star Jason Aldean criticised for anti-protest song | Country | The Guardian
Jason Aldean, one of the biggest stars of US country music, has been widely criticised for a new song and video, Try That in a Small Town, which features threats of violence against police protesters.

The song’s lyrics include the lines: “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, you think you’re tough / Well, try that in a small town / See how far you make it down the road / Around here, we take care of our own.”

January 6 probe: Trump says he expects indictment after target letter - BBC News
The ex-president said in a social media post he had been informed by special counsel Jack Smith on Sunday night that he was a target of their investigation.

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Bridge The Oasis Divide With 'Council Skies' In Boston [Photos/Videos]
Noel and Liam Gallagher have largely spent the past decade in the depths of their on-again, off-again, sometimes fake, sometimes real, inter-family feud. The animosity between the two siblings typically revolves around the possibility of an Oasis reunion that seems as equally likely never to happen, as it does to occur sometime late this year.

Biden's student loan forgiveness Plan B has begun. Here's what to know
Dozens of people, most of them student loan borrowers and many holding back tears, on Tuesday implored the federal Education Department to finally do something about their debt. The four hour-long, livestreamed hearing was the first step in a process that President Joe Biden is tapping as part of his revamped effort to provide broad relief.

House Republicans propose planting a trillion trees
The idea — simple yet massively ambitious — revealed recent Republican thinking on how to address climate change. The party is no longer denying that global warming exists, yet is searching for a response to sweltering summers, weather disasters and rising sea levels that doesn’t involve abandoning their enthusiastic support for American-produced energy from burning oil, coal and gas.

The Myth of Homeless Migration - The Atlantic
The overwhelming majority of homeless people surveyed were locals, not migrants from far away: 90 percent lost their last housing in California, and 75 percent lost it in the same county where they were experiencing homelessness. Of the 10 percent who came from elsewhere, 30 percent were born in California. Most of the others had familial or employment ties, or had previously lived in the state.

In-N-Out Burger to bar employees in five states from wearing medical masks | Burgers | The Guardian
In-N-Out Burger, the popular fast-food chain, has told employees in five states that they will no longer be allowed to wear medical masks at work and could lose their jobs if they refuse to comply unless they have a note from their doctor.