News On Tap For Tuesday, April 14, 2026

The Strangest Timeline

If you think today’s “News On Tap” seems like it comes from another universe, we definitely agree. We’ve got your news updates today on the Middle East Muddle, and the ongoing costs of a stupid war. We also have details on the Swalwell & Gonzales resignations due to sexual assaults, and Trump angering his right-wing base by pretending to be Jesus. Meanwhile, Trumponoics is still failing, & the Immigration Wars roll on, as do the Trump/Epstein files. There’s some mixed news in Polls & Politics today, and some rockin’ news in Entertainment today. Plus, Hal Sparks is stopping by tonight for some mocktails & laughs. Read up, get informed, & join us!

First Round - Trump's Iran War Shambles On

Middle East Muddle

• Efforts Underway For Second Round Of US-Iran Talks As Ships Reported Transiting Strait Of Hormuz

• U.S. & Iranian Teams Could Return To Islamabad For Peace Talks Later This Week

• JD Vance Accuses Iran Of ‘Economic Terrorism’ In Strait Of Hormuz And Threatens ‘Two Can Play That Game’

• In First Direct Talks In Decades, Israeli And Lebanese Officials Also Appear To Be Seeking Path To Cease Fire

• How Iran Won The Meme Wars

• U.S. Is Trying To Negotiate An Iran Deal That Would Buy Time, Again (Like The JCPOA/Obama Deal Did)

The Ongoing Costs Of A Stupid War

• Factcheck: How Many People Have Been Killed In The Iran War So Far? An Accounting By Nation.

• Harvard Academic Calculates The Iran War Could Cost The American Taxpayer $1 Trillion

• Robbert Kuttner: The Faltering War Economy Will Continue To Struggle, Even If The War Ends Soon

Second Round - The Strangest Timeline

Some Measures Of Accountability

• Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell Of California To Resign From Congress After Accusations Of Sexual Assault

• Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales Of Texas Follows Swalwell, Saying He Will Resign From House, After Admitting To An Affair With A Staffer

• The Whisper Network That Finally Caught Up To Eric Swalwell

• Exits By Reps. Swalwell & Gonzales Shift Spotlight To Other Embattled Lawmakers

Trump Angers His Base

• Trump Deletes ‘Blasphemous’ Image Depicting Himself As Jesus

• Donald Trump As Jesus Post Angers Christian Conservatives Who Say It’s ‘Blasphemy’

• Nine Other Times Donald Trump Has Insulted Christians

• Staunch Trump Supporters Are Now Asking If He’s The Antichrist

• Trump’s Erratic Behavior And Extreme Comments Revive Mental Health Debate [Gift Link]

America’s Questionable Health

• Poll Finds Very Small Minority Of Voters Identify With RFK Jr’s “MAHA” Movement, Despite Some Support For Its Goals

• New Long-Term Major Study Confirms Fluoride In Drinking Water Has No Effect On IQ Or Brain Function, Contradicting Claims By RFK Jr.

Third Round - Republicans Can't Govern

Trumponomics Is Still Failing

• U.S. Wholesale Prices Surged 4% Last Month After The War In Iran Sent Energy Prices Soaring

• New Analysis Shows Trump Regime Attacks On Federal Workforce Cost The U.S. Economy More Than $165.6 Billion

• Trump Says Gas Prices ‘Could Be The Same’ Or ‘A Little Bit Higher’ By The Midterms

• Trump Promised Tax Relief, But Polling Shows Most Americans Still Think They’re Overpaying

Immigration Wars

• Minnesota Authorities Investigate ICE Arrest Of Hmong American Man As Possible Kidnapping

• In A Twist, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Threatens To ‘Defund The Police - Literally - By Cutting State Funding For Houston Police Over New City Ordinance Related To ICE

On Capitol Hill

• Republican Senate Members Preparing To Steamroll Opponents Of DHS Funding Plan

• Key Senate Appropriator Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) Rejects Trump Admin. Proposed NASA Budget Cuts

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

The Trumpstein Files

• House Oversight Ranking Member Rep. Garcia Threatens To Hold Pam Bondi In Contempt After Deposition No Show

• In unverified report, Brazilian model Amanda Ungaro claims she can ‘expose’ Melania Trump-Epstein link

• Amanda Ungaro: From sharing soirées with the Trumps to being deported by ICE

Polls & Politics

• Swalwell’s Exit Helps Democrats In California Governor’s Race, Reducing Chance Two Republicans Advance To General Election

• Cook Political Report Shifts 4 Senate Races Toward Democrats: North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, & Nebraska

• ActBlue Raises Record $568 Million For Democrats Since January

• Former Pence Adviser Olivia Troye To Run For Congress As A Democrat In Virginia

• Early Voting Numbers Point To An Edge For Virginia Democrats Trying To Enact A U.S. House Map That Could Flip Four Seats

• Maryland Lawmakers End Session Without Redrawing Congressional Map To Boost Democrats’

• New York House Republican Mike Lawler Pelted With Boos & Rage At Chaotic Town Hall

Miscellaneous But Important

• Trump Administration Agrees To Return Rainbow Pride Flag To New York’s Stonewall Monument After Court Decision

• Prime Minister Mark Carney Secures True Majority Government In Canada After Special Election Win

• Newly-Elected Hungarian PM Péter Magyar Says Orbán Was Paying CPAC, Calls It A ‘Crime’ That ‘Will Have To Be Investigated’

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Rest In Peace

• Sid Krofft, Producer and Creator of ‘H.R. Pufnstuf,’ ‘Land of the Lost,’ Dies at 96

Entertainment & More

• Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame’s 2026 Inductees: Oasis, Phil Collins, Iron Maiden, Sade, Billy Idol, Wu-Tang Clan And More

• Kacey Musgraves Mocks Trump’s Jesus Photo With Dolly Parton Homage

• Dolly Parton Tops List Of Global Figures In New U.S. Favorability Poll’

• No Doubt Guitarist Tom Dumont Reveals Early-Onset Parkinson’s Diagnosis

• ‘Malcolm In The Middle’ Revival Hits 8.1 Million Views In Three Days, Disney+ And Hulu’s Biggest Premiere Of The Year

• Dallas Wings Select Azzi Fudd Of UConn No. 1 In WNBA Draft - With A $500,000 Payday Waiting For Her

• 2026 WNBA Draft Winners And Losers: A Few Surprising Picks And One Strange Trade

• Famed ESPN College Basketball Voice Dick Vitale Diagnosed With Cancer For A Fifth Time

• Matt Crocker Quits As US Soccer Federation Sporting Director, Just 2 Months Before World Cup

Today’s Special Guest

The one and only Hal Sparks is back at the bar tonight! Hal - an original member of the Sexy Liberal Comedy Tour - is the host of the Hal Sparks Megaworldwide show, streaming weekdays on his Infotainment Wars YouTube Channel, and on Saturday’s on WCPT radio! He’s also been the star of multiple TV shows, including Talk Soup, Queer as Folk, Dude Where’s My Car, and Lab Rats. Today, we’ll talk about the insanity of this stupid Iran war, Trump’s god complex, and how Democrats & Independents may just be able to rescue the U.S. yet. Join us tonight!

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