News On Tap For Wednesday, August 20, 2025

The Fight Is Far From Over

Today’s “News On Tap” is a busy buzzy one, as Trump’s authoritarian cosplay in DC continues, the Redistricting Wars heat up, the economy is stumbling, and Trump is adding a new concentration camp - in Nebraska. The good news? Charlie Pierce will be in the bar tonight to talk about all of it. But first…

First Round - The New American Civil War

Trump's Authoritarian Cosplay In DC

• DC National Guard Members Actively Training To Carry Pistols In Capitol Mission

• National Guard Troops In Washington DC Are Mostly Sticking To Tourist Areas

• Further Proof Trump's DC Occupation Isn't About Crime: DC US Atty. Pirro Says Her Office Won’t Pursue Felony Gun Charges For Carrying Rifles Or Shotguns

• New Poll Finds Most D.C. Residents Oppose Trump’s City Police Takeover, Don't Think His Actions Are Making DC Safer

• Jamelle Bouie: Trump's Real Reason For Occupying DC Isn't To Fight Crime. It's An Attempt At A Strongman Show Of Intimidation [Gift Link]

The Redistricting Wars Are Heating Up

• First Domino In National Redistricting War Likely To Fall Today As Texas House Republicans Are Poised To Ram Through Vote On Heavily Biased Maps

• More Texas Democrats Spend The Night In The State Capitol Amid Redistricting Fight

• California State Democrats Are Sprinting Towards Passage Of Their Own Redistricting Legislation [Gift Link]

• California Redistricting Vote Begins With Overwhelming Support, Pollster Confirms

• Election Lawyers & Obama Alumni Renew Illinois' Redistricting Push Amid Attacks From Republicans In "Red" States

Second Round - Economic Realities

• Taxing The Rich Works: Massachusetts Collected $2 Billion More In Tax Revenue Than Expected Because Of Millionaires Tax

• Red-State Republicans’ Next Stupid Promise: No Property Taxes

• Trump's Tariffs & Republicans' Green Energy Rollbacks Have Already Pushed U.S. Household Electricity Bills Up 10% This Year

• Hundreds Of Items Just Got A Lot More Expensive To Import Into The U.S. Because Of Trump’s Tariffs

• Target's CEO Forced To Step Down As Company Faces Weak Sales Amid Customer Boycott Over Anti-Diversity Stance

Third Round - The Right's Many Wars

Wins Against The Monsters

• Russ Vought & Trump OMB Forced To Restore Public Spending Database After Losing Multiple Court Cases

• Treasury Department's Internal Watchdog Finds Trump IRS Broke Rules In Firing Probationary Employees

Immigration Wars

• Nebraska Gov. Pillen Embraces 'Cornhusker Clink' In Rural Southwest Nebraska As Next Federal Concentration Camp

• Steven Benen: With Black Paint Demand For Border Barriers, Trump & Noem Are Repeating An Expensive & Wasteful Failure They Made Once Before

War On Good Government

• Trump Now Plans To Expand His Crusade Against Facts & Reality From The Smithsonian Museum To Museums Across The Country

• Trump Regime Revokes Security Clearances Of 37 Current And Former U.S. Government Officials

• Trump Is Bypassing The Senate — And The Courts — To Install U.S. Attorneys Loyal To Him Above The Constitution

• Trump Regime Attempting To Use Legal Threats To Push Federal Reserve Member To Resign

• Lawyer For NY AG Letitia James In Trump DOJ's Retaliatory Lawsuit, Says The Trump DOJ Is Trying To Use "Mob Rule" To Attack His Personal Enemies

• Transgender Park Ranger Who Hung Trans Pride Flag From El Capitan Has Been Fired By Trump Admin.

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

Putin's War On Ukraine

• Kremlin Plays Down Zelensky Talks As Trump Warns Putin May Not Want To Make Deal

• S.V. Date: With Hie Adult Supervision From Europe Gone, Trump Reverts To Blaming Ukraine For Getting Invaded

Netanyahu's War On Gaza

• Under Growing Arab Pressure, Hamas Signals New Willingness To Compromise

• Israeli Govt. Approves "Settlement" Project That Could Physically Divide The West Bank, In Response To Foreign Governments Supporting Peace & A Palestinian State

Election Land

• New AARP Poll Shows Mamdani Up By 18.4% Over Next Closest Opponent

• Spanberger Maintains Lead In New Poll Of Governor's Race, But The Gap Is Narrowing

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Media Matters

• Ari Shapiro To Exit NPR At End Of September After 25 Years, Amid Trump & Republican Funding Cuts

• Top Philanthropy Orgs Now Working To Stabilize Public Radio Stations Most At Risk From Federal Funding Cuts

Entertainment & More

• South Park’ Heads To A Militarized D.C. In Next Episode, Then Will Skip Yet Another Week

• Kelly Clarkson Returns To ‘The Voice’ After Brief Absence, As Her Talk Show Remains On Track For A New Season

• NY Yankees Become 1st MLB Team To Hit 9 Home Runs In A Game Twice In One Season

• WNBA News: Short-Handed Indiana Fever Suffer Another Blow As Sophie Cunningham Sustains Season-Ending Injury, & Caitlin Clark Is Still Out

• Coco Gauff Makes Major Coaching Changes, Firing Two Coaches Ahead Of U.S. Open

Today’s Special Guest

It’s a boys day at the bar, as Charlie Pierce, political & sports journalist extraordinaire joins us to talk about all the news, including two of his latest pieces, “Trump Thinks American History Is Too “Woke. Now He Wants to Reduce Focus on Slavery in Museums.” and “Trump’s Wacko Team of Attorneys Will Try to Prove D.C. Officials Faked Crime Data.” We’ll also talk a little sports, and how all of us miss Jody and hope she’s enjoying her vacation..

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