News On Tap For Wed. June 25, 2025

What If We Didn't Suck?

Today’s “News On Tap” starts with the question candidate Kat Abughazaleh has been asking for a while - What if we all tried not to suck? - and how that worked out in the NYC mayoral race. We’ve also got news on Republicans’ big ugly budget bill, Trump’s stupid war episode with Iran, and yes - MTV is bringing back music videos. Plus Harry Litman’s here to get us ready for the Supreme Court’s coming bad decisions, and Bob Cesca stops by to make fun of Donnie Boom Boom & more.

First Round - The News Of The Day

• Change Is Possible

• Zohran Mamdani Declares Victory In New York City’s Democratic Mayoral Primary After Andrew Cuomo Concedes The Race In A Stunning Upset

• Cuomo Says He Will Reassess Plans To Run As Independent In The General NYC Mayoral Election After Stunning Loss To Mamdani

• House Democratic Leader Jeffries Praises Mamdani’s Affordability Messaging After Shock Victory

• MAGA Monsters Are Losing Their Minds Over Mamdani’s Win

• Rebecca Kirszner Katz: Old Democratic Leaders Tried To Crush Zohran Mamdani. They Should Have Been Taking Notes From Him Instead. [Gift Link]

• The Big Ugly Budget Bill

• Trump's White House Now Trying To Ramp Up Sales Pitch For Trump Tax Plan

• Sen. Thom Tillis, Key Republican Senator, Warns Medicaid Cuts Included In The Big Ugly Budget Bill Could Spell Political Disaster For Republicans

• House Republican "Moderates" Tell Leadership They Won't Back Senate Republicans' Tax & Spending Bill Over Medicaid Cuts

• Related: Russell Vought & Trump Regime Preparing To Test Constitutionality Of Budget Impoundment Law, Which Gives Congress Alone The Power Of The Purse

Second Round - War & Immigration

• The Realities Of Stupid War

• Newly Leaked Report Confirms Massive U.S. Bombing Only Set Back Iran’s Nuclear Program By A Few Months [Gift Link[

• Initial Defense Intelligence Damage Report Shows Iran Nuclear Program Only Set

• Hegseth Claims He's Launching Investigation Into Iran Strike Intel Leak

• Speaker Mike Johnson Asserts (Falsely) That The War Powers Act Is Unconstitutional

• House Shelves Effort To Impeach Trump Over Iran Strikes

• Greg Sargent: A Warning For Trump & The Media, Who Keep Beating The War Drums, As New Poll Offers Harsh Verdict Against U.S. Bombing Of Iran

• Foreign Affairs

• NATO Leaders Endorse Historic Plan To Boost Defense Spending Among All Members

• Trump At NATO Meeting Now Says NATO Is "Very Strong" And Says The U.S. Is With NATO "All The Way"

• Related: Ukraine's Zelensky & UK's Starmer Hail 'Massive Step Forward' In Military Cooperation Ahead Of NATO Meeting

• Immigration Wars

• Federal Appeals Court Rules Second Man Who Was Wrongfully Deported To El Salvador Must Be Returned To U.S.

• New Report Confirms Stephen Miller Has Financial Stake In Palantir, A Company Helping ICE With Deportations

• National Guardsmen Sent To L.A. To Quell Anti-ICE Protests Are Actually 130 Miles To The East Doing Drug Busts

Third Round - More News To Drink About

• The Worst People

• During Senate Hearing For Federal Judgeship, Trump’s Top DOJ Enforcer Emil Bove Denies Whistleblower Report That Bove Told DOJ Staff To Tell Courts "F**K You" Over Court Orders On Immigration Matters

• Whistleblower Says Top Trump DOJ Official, Former Trump Lawyer Emil Bove, Told DOJ Others To Ignore Court Orders On Deportations

• Whistleblower Spills On Trump DOJ’s Strategy For Handling Courts, As Led By Emil Bove: In Short, ‘F-Ck You’

• DOGE Employee ‘Big Balls’ Has Resigned, Says White House Official

• Making America Unhealthy Again

• CDC’s Once-Revered Vaccine Panel Now Considered A Farce, As Calls Grow To Scrap Meeting Of Committee

• Presentation Set For New CDC Vaccine Committee Appears To Cite Nonexistent Study To Support Claims About Risk Of Vaccine Preservative

• Fighting Back: House Democrats Reintroduce Abortion Rights Bill On Dobbs Anniversary

• Climate Crisis

• As Extreme Heat Bakes U.S., 160+ Global Groups Demand 'Real' Climate Action From Governments & Corporations

• Is Climate Change Making Heat Domes More Likely? Scientists Say Resoundingly Yes

• New Global Survey Shows Most People Support Taxing Carbon, Even If It Costs Them More

• Recent Poll Shows Both Democrats And Republicans Underestimate Significant Support For Environmental Issues

Fourth Round - Entertainment & More

• Bobby Sherman, Teen Idol In The 1960s & '70s, And Later A CPR Teacher, Dies At 81

• MTV To Bring Back Music Videos 24/7 In Week Leading To The Vmas This September

• Taylor Swift Wows Fans With Surprise ‘Shake It Off’ Performance At Boyfriend Travis Kelce’s "Tight Ends & Friends" Benefit Concert In Nashville

• New Marvel TV Series "Ironheart" (On Disney+) Gets Off To A Breezy And Reasonably Engaging Start

• NBA Draft Storylines To Watch As 2025 NBA Draft Begins Tonight

• As MLB Heads Towards All Star Break, Tigers, Dodgers, & Phillies All Looking Strong

• Cubs Fan Ejected During Arizona Diamondback's Game For Heckling MLB All-Star Pitcher About The Death Of His Late Mother

Today’s Special Guest

Harry Litman, host and producer of the Talking Feds podcast and the Talking Feds Substack, and legal expert commentator for MSNBC and CNN - as well as a former United States Attorney and Deputy Assistant Attorney General - will join us today to talk about all kinds of legal issues from the Trump regime’s abuse of immigration laws, to the War Powers Act, to the Supreme Court, and what laws they might screw up still this week.

Your Bar Regular For Today

Bob Cesca, broadcaster, podcaster, journalist, artist, & host of The Bob Cesca Show returns tonight The Politics Bar, to talk about all the insane - and some good - news, including the NYC Democratic mayoral primary, the big ugly bill, and more. Plus, Bob will talk about his latest piece at The Banter, Donald’s Madman Theory Will Fail, and how Donald Trump can’t successfully navigate a peace treaty between Iran & Israel - or frankly, much of anything else

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