SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:50 P.M. ET:

STARBUCKS NOT STARRING – FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES:  Starbucks may have appeased progressives with its social-justice workshops and open-bathroom policy, but such moves have failed to caffeinate the company’s bottom line.  The coffee giant’s stock took a tumble Wednesday after CEO Kevin Johnson announced that Starbucks would close 150 company-owned stores next year instead of the expected 50, with an emphasis on underperforming shops in densely populated urban areas, and lowered growth projections.  Mr. Johnson acknowledged that the decision to shut down 8,000 U.S. stores on May 29 for anti-bias training, driven by the high-profile arrests of two black men in Philadelphia, played a role in the company’s sluggish second-quarter performance.  “In this current quarter, certainly we had an unplanned initiative driven out of the Philadelphia incident, we closed all our stores for training, we had to delay some marketing, but none of that is an excuse,” Mr. Johnson told CNBC. “The fact is the way I think about a growth company at scale is we’ve got to deliver consistent growth, month after month, quarter after quarter, and year after year. And we have not done that.”  Concentrate on coffee and on lowering prices, and forget about saving the world.  Others do that better.

A NEWS ORGANIZATION? – FROM FOX:   The House Judiciary and Oversight committees questioned Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz over his bombshell report into FBI and DOJ misconduct during the Hillary Clinton email probe this week – but viewers who rely on NBC’s embattled “Nightly News” would have no idea.  NBC’s Lester Holt skipped the Horowitz hearing during Monday's broadcast, the only anchor to ignore the news.  Things were no different on Tuesday, when Holt began his newscast with a lengthy feature on President Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy unfolding on the Southern border that included reporter Gabe Gutierrez speaking with migrant families.  After several other immigration segments, Holt shifted to weather before a story on proposed tariffs with China.  That is not a news organization.  It is an editorial page with reporters attached.  Not exactly Huntley and Brinkley.

MARTHA ROMPS – FROM THE HILL:   Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) surged into first place with a commanding 14-point lead in Arizona’s closely watched GOP Senate primary, according to a new poll.
A poll conducted by Phoenix-based OH Predictive Insights (OHPI) has McSally ahead with a little over 39 percent of the vote, followed by former state Sen. Kelli Ward at 24.5 percent and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio trailing far behind at nearly 14 percent. About 22 percent of voters remain undecided.  This is a big shift, since OHPI’s last poll, from April, had Ward in first place and leading McSally by 9 points in the race to replace retiring GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. Arizona will hold its primary on Aug. 28.
Mike Noble, OHPI’s chief pollster, said McSally’s rise can be attributed to her improved name recognition and willingness to cast herself as President Trump's ally.   She is probably the most electable of the GOP candidates.  She is a graduate of the Air Force Academy, and rose to the rank of colonel in the Air Force.  The Republicans must hold this seat in the U.S. Senate.  The probable Dem candidate, Kyrsten Sinema, is from her party's left flank, although poses as a moderate.  She must be defeated.

June 20, 2018