Set Rating Doesn't Happen, just "Waiting"

My "set rating" is not working in Lightroom Classic. I am up to date, the catalog has been optimized.  I select some photos in the library, hit "2" to give the selected photos 2 stars. The "Set Rating" bar shows up in the upper left corner of the screen like it is showing me the progress, but it never moves. I click on it and it says "waiting".    Same for setting color...nothing happens.  If I just select 1 image, i can't set the rating either. 

I don't sync my photos to the cloud, everything local.

Please help! 

[moved from bugs to discussions according to the community rules - Mod.]