News On Tap For Friday, January 9, 2026

What A Year This Week Has Been

What a year, right? Today’s “News On Tap” covers it all, or as much as we can - the news keg is only so big, y’know? We’ve got updates on the ICE monsters & the murder in Minneapolis, along with Trump’s dictatorial imperialism. Meanwhile, Trump’s economy is bad and getting worse, he’s still losing in courts, and Republicans in Congress are starting to ‘test the fences” even more in trying to move away from him. There’s also important news from Iran, and from the Trump/Epstein files too. And It’s another awards weekend, and a big sports weekend too. Plus, our friends Karen & Anita from the Tru Blu Politics podcast are back in the bar tonight. But first, read up & get informed!

First Round - ICE Monsters & Immigration Wars

• Minn. Gov. Walz Readies National Guard To Stand Ready, As DHS Sends In More Officers, & Tensions Mount In Minneapolis

• MN Atty. General & Hennepin Co. Atty. Ask Residents To Submit Evidence In ICE Shooting Investigation, After Trump Admin. Blocks Out Local Officials

• Jonathan Ross Identified As ICE Officer Who Fatally Shot & Killed Renee Good In Minneapolis

• Do ICE Agents Have Absolute Immunity? No, Experts Confirm, But It’s Not Easy For A State To Prosecute

• Nicole Renee Good Wasn’t The First Person Shot In Her Car By ICE. The Agency’s Justification Is Following A Familiar Script.

• Adam Serwer: First The Shooting. Then The Lies. The Trump Regime Has Perfected The Smear Campaign. [Gift Link]

• Federal Agent Shoots 2 In Oregon, Further Raising Tensions Over Trump Regime’s Immigration Actions

• Sen. Thom Tillis, Retiring At The End Of 2026, Places A Hold On All DHS Nominees, After Sec. Noem Refuses To Appear Before Senate

• Strength In Numbers: Support For Abolishing ICE Hits A New High, As Americans Turn Sharply Against The Group

Second Round - This Is What Dictators Do

Trump’s Half-Assed Imperialism

• U.S. Forces Board Fifth Tanker In Trump Regime’s Campaign To Take Over Venezuelan Oil

• Trump Claims He Canceled 2nd Wave Of Strikes Against Venezuela

• Trump Pitching Oil Execs On A Venezuela Oil Plan At White House Today That Experts Say Won’t Work

• Lots Of Companies Are Eager To Spend In Venezuela — Except The Giant Energy Corporations Trump Needs Most

• Trump Now Says He Plans To Meet With Venezuelan Opposition Leader María Corina Machado Next Week

A Dictatorial Regime

• In New Interview, Trump Lays Out An Authoritarian Vision Of Power Restrained Only By His “Own Morality” [Gift Link]

• VP Vance Announces Trump Regime Creating New “Assistant AG For Fraud” That Will Operate Out Of The WH, Not DOJ

• Senate Republicans Angry After Trump Threatens Five Republicans Who Voted With Dems On War Powers Resolution

Third Round - Republicans Can't Govern

Trumponomics Is Failing

• December Jobs Report Released, Showing US Economy Added Only 50,000 Jobs In December, Capping One Of The Weakest Years Of Job Gains In Decades

• Trump Posts Unpublished Jobs Data Early On Social Media, In Action That Could Have Shifted Markets By Trillions Of Dollars

War In The Courts

• Democratic Attorneys General From Five States Sue Trump Admin Over $10 Billion Child Care Funding Freeze

• Trump’s DOJ Now Set To Pursue New Investigation Of Ny A.G. Letitia James, After Other Efforts Fail [Gift Link]

• New York Judge Rules Another Trump-Installed Prosecutor Is Unlawfully Serving, The Fifth During Trump’s Second Term

Capitol Hill Shakeup

• Republicans Say Trump’s Coalition In Congress Is Fraying But Not Broken, Yet

• 17 House Republicans Vote With Democrats To Extend Obamacare Subsidies For 3 Years; Fate Of Bill Murky In Senate

• Cowards Remain: Republican-Led House Fails To Override Trump’s Vetoes Of Two Bills That Previously Passed With Large Bipartisan Majorities

• After Years Of Delays By Republicans, Missing Jan. 6 Plaque Will Finally Be Displayed At The U.S. Capitol

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

Foreign Affairs

• Iran’s supreme leader sets stage for harsher crackdown as protest movement swells

• Five things to know about the current protests in Iran

• Russia uses nuclear-capable missile in ‘massive strike’ on Ukraine

The Trump/Epstein Files Scandal Continues

• Rep. Jim Jordan Commits To Public Hearing For Jack Smith Later This Month

• Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna & Republican Rep. Thomas Massie Ask Judge To Appoint Official To Force Release Of All Epstein Files

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Media Matters

• Spotify Confirms ICE Recruitment Ads Are No Longer Running on Their Platform

• Twitter/X Limits AI Image Editing to Paid Users After Grok Deepfake Controversy Spurs U.K. Ban Threat

Entertainment & More

• One Awards Battle After Another: A-Listers To Face Off At This Year’s Golden Globes This Weekend

• Sarah Jessica Parker Gets Golden Globes’ Carol Burnett Award And Helen Mirren Gets Demille Prize

• No. 1 Indiana & No. 5 Oregon Set To Face Off Tonight In CFP Semifinal Peach Bowl

• Miami Escapes Ole Miss In The College Football Playoff Semifinal At The Fiesta Bowl, Winning 31-27, With A Late TD Run

• Six NFL Wild Card Games Set For This Weekend; Predictions, Schedule, & More

Your Bar Regulars Tonight…

Our friends Karen from Chicago, & Anita From San Antonio, co-hosts of Tru Blu Politics (and now on Patreon too) are back tonight for the second time in 2026! WE’ll talk about all the news from this week - and there was a lot of it - including the latest on the ICE monsters, Trump’s failing economy, and more. Plus, we’ll have a few drinks too. Come on by, grab a seat & a sip, & join us!

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