News On Tap For Monday, August 25, 2025

Time To Suit Up

Today’s “News On Tap” is full of Trumpian fascism, from his occupation of DC, to Governors Moore & Pritzker fighting back. Plus more on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Trump/Epstein/Maxwell scandal, some good Mamdani news from New York, & entertainment news too. Plus, Jody’s back in the bar tonight! And thankfully, we’ve got two great friends to help us wade through all of it, Joan Walsh & Brooklyn Dad Defiant. Time to get informed…

First Round - Fascism Has Come To America

Trump's DC Occupation Continues

• Some National Guard Units In Washington DC Are Now Carrying Firearms In Escalation Of Trump Regime's Occupation

• As Part Of The Occupation Of DC, Trump's DOJ Is Making A Federal Case Out Of Low-Level Arrests [Gift Link]

• Trump Signs Executive Orders To Try And End Cashless Bail In DC And Across The Nation, & End Flag Burning. Neither Is Legal.

• Fact Check: The Truth About Cashless Bail Vs Trump's Lies

• SCOTUS Case: Texas Vs Johnson, 1989 - When The Supreme Court Upheld The Right To Burn An American Flag In Protest

• Joan Walsh: Is Trump’s DC Military Deployment The Start Of A Slow-Motion Civil War?

Trump's Fascist Threats Keep Growing

• Trump Pentagon Reportedly Plans Military Deployment In Chicago. For No Legitimate Reason [Gift Link]

• Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker To Speak Today (3P Central) To Push Back On Trump's Threats Of Possible National Guard Deployment To Chicago

• Maryland Gov. Wes Moore Claps Back At Trump’s Threats To Deploy National Guard To Baltimore, And Pull Funding For The Massive Key Bridge Rebuilding

• Trump Threatens New Investigation Of Fmr. NJ Gov. Chris Christie Over ‘Bridgegate’ Scandal

• Mark Jacob: We're Not Living In A Dictatorship Yet. But We're Far Closer Than We Should Be.

• David Rothkopf: Yes, What Trump & His Regime Are Building IS a Police State. And Yes, You Can Do Things To Fight It.

The War Over Voting

• The California Redistricting Measure Is Now On The Ballot For Nov. 4, 2025, This Fall. Here Are All The Details On The Bill.

• Advocates File Immediate Legal Challenge To Texas Republicans' Gerrymander

• Democratic Leaders Are Promising A Real Showdown As The Redistricting War Republicans Started Goes National

Second Round - The Other Wars Of The Right

Immigration Wars

• Kilmar Abrego Garcia Taken Into ICE Custody Again At Immigration Appointment In Baltimore, After Being Freed & Returned To Maryland

• Federal Judge Blocks Trump From Cutting Federal Funding To Chicago, L.A., Denver, And 30 Other Cities Over ‘Sanctuary’ Policies

• Trump’s ICE Is Now Using Coast Guard Planes To Move Immigrants

• Houston Homeowner Shoots & Kills 2 Men In Masks Claiming To Be Police Officers, Appearing As Many ICE & CBP Officers Currently Do

War On Good Government

• Homeland Security Admits To Watchdog Group It Hasn’t Kept Text Message Data Since April - A Major Violation Of Federal Record Laws

• In Letter To Congress, Nearly 200 FEMA Employees Warn Trump Admin Is Gutting Disaster Response, Risking Another Katrina-Level Disaster

• Hegseth Fires Head Of The Defense Intelligence Agency, A General Whose Agency’s Intel Assessment Of Damage From Iran Strikes Angered Trump

• Mail Carriers From Around The World Set To Suspend Postal Deliveries To The U.S. This Week Amid Confusion Over Trump's Tariffs

Power Struggle

• Trump Admin. Orders Work Halted On Wind Farm That Is Nearly Built [Gift Link]

• Connecticut & Rhode Island Officials Vow To Fight Trump Admin's Stop-Work Order On Offshore Wind Farm

• Paul Krugman: Trump's Kilowatt Madness

Third Round - More News To Drink About

The Trump/Epstein/Maxwell Scandal

• Ghislaine Maxwell, Who Wants A Pardon, Claims In Newly Released DOJ Interview That She Never Saw Trump ‘In Any Inappropriate Setting’

• Trump DOJ Sent Congress Epstein Files That Were Already Overwhelmingly Public

Election Land

• A Special Election This Tuesday In Iowa Could Be A Big Strike At A MAGA Governor

• Mamdani Draws Crowd Of Thousands With Scavenger Hunt As NYC Mayoral Race Heats Up

Over There

• Israeli Strike On Gaza Hospital Kills 19, Including 5 Journalists Working For AP, Reuters, NBC, And Al Jazeera

• Russia, Ukraine Both Claim Battlefield Successes In Eastern Regions As Drone Attacks Persist

• Pres. Zelensky Marks Ukraine's Independence Day With Diplomacy In Kyiv And A Plea For Peace

Fourth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

• Media Matters: Trump Threatens NBC & ABC Licenses Over News Coverage

• Box Office: Netflix’s ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ Leads With Estimated $18 Million Debut, ‘Weapons’ Stays Strong With $15.6 Million

• Lorne Michaels Confirms SNL Cast Members Will Leave Before Season 51, Reveals On Actor's Return

• MLB Announces Matchup For 2026 Field Of Dreams Game: Twins Vs Phillies

• Tennis Star Daniil Medvedev's U.S .Open Match Turns Chaotic As Cameraman Enters Court Early On Video

Today’s Special Guest

Joan Walsh has many titles - mom, dog mom, journalist, radio host, producer, author - and the national affairs correspondent for The Nation, where she recently published the informative & important piece, “Yes, Texas Representative Nicole Collier Was Under “House Arrest” in the Texas Capitol”. Joan also authored the legendary book on class wars & our modern political divide "What's the Matter with White People?" as well as co-authoring the book "Corporate BS: Exposing the Lies and Half-Truths That Protect Profit, Power, and Wealth in America" Joan was also a coproducer of the documentary "The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show," and she's been a radio host for WNYC. To cap all that off, she's also someone Shawn has owed a beer to since the first Trump regime - so we're glad to have Joan in the bar tonight, so Shawn can finally pay off his bar debt to her.

Your Bar Regular Today

Brooklyn Dad Defiant, AKA Majid M. Padellan, author, blogger, & activist will join us at the bar tonight for a little dancing, a little drinking, and little talk about Trump’s current attempt at a fascist takeover. We’ll also talk Trump’s attempt to change the past with his takeover of the Smithsonian, that he wrote about in his latest piece “Don’t Let Trump Whitewash America’s Dark Past.” Plus, we’ll laugh about how California Gov. Gavin Newsom is still turning Trump’s own style of media communication against him.

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