Launcher will not load profiles

Put the summary of the bug you're having here

What I expected to happen was...:
Launcher starts, loads profiles, allows me to download game and play

What actually happened was...:
The Launcher starts, the update notes is blank, it appears to be stuck on loading profiles. I cannot click on the Launcher Log or Profile Editor tabs, nor will the profile drop-down menu or New Profile or Edit Profile buttons work. the big Play button reads Loading... and is grayed out. on the bottom right the text reads 'Welcome guest! Please log in. Loading versions...

Steps to Reproduce:
1. download and start launcher? that's all I did. however, I have no Java installed other than what the Minecraft.exe application downloaded
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