News On Tap For Tuesday, December 2, 2026

War Crimes & Blame Games

Today’s “News On Tap” features more war crimes from Trumpland - and the bus – or boat – they’re trying to use to shift blame. There’s also important Election Land news (If you’re in Tennessee’s Seventh District GO VOTE), and more news updates from Trump’s failing economy, to Republican’s failures on health care, to their shambolic foreign policy. Plus we’ve got both media and entertainment news. Thankfully, Frank Conniff will stop by to help us laugh and have a good time. No clips today. Just read up & get informed!

First Round - The War Crimes of Trumpland

• Sec. Pete Hegseth, With Trump Admin. Help, Now Scrambling To Distance Himself From Boat Strike War Crimes Fallout [Gift Link]

• Zeeshan Aleem: The Trump Admin. Just Admitted To What Legal Experts Call A War Crime

• Jack Goldsmith, Former Head Of The Office Of Legal Counsel: Killing Helpless Men Is Murder - & May Also Be A War Crime

• Not The First Time: Pete Hegseth, In His Own Book, Admitted He Told U.S. Soldiers In Iraq To Ignore Legal Advice On Rules Of Engagement

• Publisher Condemns ‘Violent’ Misuse Of Children’s Character Franklin The Turtle In Hegseth’s Social Media Post

• Trump Admin. Now Claims Admiral Bradley Approved Second Deadly Boat Strike

• Sen. Mark Kelly Confirms Senate Armed Services Committee Will Hold Public Hearing On Boat Survivor Strikes

• Sanger & Cooper: For Trump, Hegseth’s Approach To Venezuela Strikes Is A Growing Liability

Second Round - Election Land

• Why Tennessee’s Special Election Has Republicans Nervous And Democrats Giddy

• Even Outside Of The Tennessee Special Election, Democrats Are Now Starting To Feel Bullish About Competing In Red Areas

• Mike Johnson’s Red Alert On Republican Quitting Congress

• At Least 11 Indiana Republicans Were Targeted With Threats Or Swatting Attacks Amid Redistricting Pressure From Trump

Third Round - Republicans Can’t Govern

Trumponomics Is Failing

• Costco Sues Trump Admin Seeking Tariff Refunds Before Supreme Court Rules If They’re Illegal

• U.S. Manufacturing Stuck In Doldrums As Headwinds From Trump’s Tariffs Persist

• Housing Affordability Now “Considerably Worse” Than Five Years Ago

• Robert Shapiro: Solving The Affordability Crisis Won’t Be Easy, But Reversing Some Key Trump/MAGA Policies Would Be A Start

Republican Health Care Failures

• Senate Republicans Barrel Toward Failure On Health Care

• Trump Admin Now Claims Trump’s MRI Was ‘Standard’ Scan For His Heart And His Abdomen

Immigration Wars

• While U.S. Is Still Facing Severe Shortage Of Immigration Judges, Trump Admin. Fires 8 Of Them In New York City [Gift Link]

• Amid Unprecedented Hiring Push, ICE And CBP Both Lose HR Chiefs

• Republican Mayor In Kansas Now Facing Deportation Over Alleged Voter Fraud

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

Foreign Affairs

• Witkoff & Kushner In Moscow For Talks As Putin Claims To Have Taken Key Ukrainian City

• Honduras Election Results In A “Technical Tie” As Trump Launches A Dramatic Intervention, Including A Threat

• Trump Admin. Now Defending Pardon Of Ex-Honduran President Convicted Of Drug Trafficking

Miscellaneous But Important

• Sen. Schumer Says Multiple NY Senate Offices Of His Have Received ‘MAGA’ Bomb Threats

• Fliers Without A ‘Real ID’ Compliant Identification Will Have To Pay TSA $45, Starting Next Year

• OU Puts Graduate Instructor On Leave After Student Claims Discrimination On Bible-Based Essay Grade

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Media Matters

• Paramount Skydance’s Latest Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Backed by Three Middle Eastern Wealth Funds

• Supreme Court Now Weighing Liability Of Internet Providers For Users’ Music Piracy

Entertainment & More

• ‘Stranger Things’ Series Finale To Be Shown In Theaters, As Locations For Showings Revealed

• Apple Music’s Year-End Replay Is Here. What’s The No. 1 Song On Apple Music’s 2025 Songs Chart?

• ‘Full House’ Star & Comedian Dave Coulier Diagnosed With Tongue Cancer, 7 Months After Beating Lymphoma: ‘It’s Totally Unrelated’

• Controversial Head Football Coach Lane Kiffin Hired As LSU’s Coach, Won’t Finish Season With Ole Miss

• A Guide To The Record-Breaking 2025 College Football Coaching Carousel

Today’s Special Guest

Frank Conniff, also known as “TV’s Frank,” is a legendary comedy writer, performer, and voice talent - and we’re thrilled to have him at The Politics bar tonight! Frank’s resume is well known, from his years starring in the Peabody Award winning Comedy Central series “Mystery Science Theater 3000”, to his roles as writer, producer and actor on the successful ABC TV series “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” to his time working on Air America with talents like Rachel Maddow, Marc Maron, and Randi Rhodes.

Of course many of our friends here in the bar also know Frank from his time with John Fugelsang, on the SirusXM show, “Tell Me Everything!” Currently, Frank is living in the Twin Cites, ad writing books, including The Time Tummlers, Dark Apnea, and his all-ages novel, Billy Gillis: Seven Year Old Screenwriter, Ha also
occasionally tours the country with Trace Beaulieu in their live movie-riffing show, “The Mads Are Back.” Tune on for a great conversation with Frank tonight!

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