SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

MAJOR SPORTS NEWS – FROM THE HILL:   The Justice Department on Thursday dropped the legal challenge to the the Washington Redskins' name, the Associated Press reported.  According to the AP, the Trump administration dropped the challenge in a letter to the Supreme Court in response to last week's ruling in Matal V. Tam, in which an Asian-American rock band won the right to copyright the name "The Slants," despite the name's offensive connotation.  In the Thursday letter, the Justice Department argues that the Matal V. Tam decision means that the court would decide in favor of the Washington Redskins if the case went before the justices.  Last week, Redskins owner Dan Snyder drew the same conclusion, and said he was "thrilled" by the court's decision in the copyright case His lawyer, Lisa Blatt, issued a  statement saying that the court's decision resolved the dispute over the NFL team's name.   The issue of the name should be settled in the marketplace of ideas, not in a court case.  If Native Americans find the name offensive, they can loudly voice their objections.  So far, I have heard no sense of outrage. 

SAD – FROM NEWSMAX:   Greta Van Susteren said Thursday on Twitter that she was "just wondering, so what happened?" after she was abruptly cancelled by MSNBC because of low ratings. Hours earlier, Van Susteren tweeted she was out at the cable network, less than six months after she was hired after 14 years at Fox News. Van Susteren's "For the Record" program has failed to hold on to the ratings of its 5 p.m. lead-in, "Meet the Press Daily," Adweek.com reported.  The move comes as MSNBC is seeing some of it best ratings in its 21-year history, according to the report.  MSNBC president Phil Griffin said chief legal correspondent Ari Melber would take over Van Susteren's time slot. Greta is a fine, thoughtful broadcaster.  I hate to see her leave the air.  However, she's had a very long run, and has done some excellent reports.

THIS IS CHILLING – FROM BLOOMBERG:   Bison Capital, a Hong Kong-based investor in film and TV production, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Cinedigm Corp., which creates programs for Netflix Inc. and other online outlets  Bison will buy 20 million newly issued shares of Cinedigm for up to $30 million and provide as much as $10 million in working capital, according to a statement Thursday. Los Angeles-based Cinedigm is also in talks to exchange its 5.5 percent convertible notes due in 2035.  The takeover of Cinedigm, which got its start helping smaller theater chains convert to digital projection, highlights the growing interest Chinese investors have in owning the films and TV shows that play in their fast-growing domestic market.   Very disturbing, in my view.  China is a hostile country.  I don't want them having a say the artistic content of any American film company.

June 29,  2017