News On Tap For Friday, April 24, 2026

Laughter Before The Fall

Today’s “News On Tap” has a touch of dark humor, as Trump’s troubles continue swirling around him. From Trump’s stupid Middle East wars, to his failing economy, falling polls, & ridiculous side projects, his failure his clear. Of course, TrumpLand is Corruption Land, a place where Republicans’ Tiny Johnson continues to be impotent. Meanwhile, politics is still happening in the states, & the Trumpstein files are still causing him problems too. Plus, we’ve got fresh Media & Entertainment news. And we’ve got friends joining us - Zach Wahls from Iowa, along with Karen & Anita from The Tru Blu Politics podcast! Read up, get informed, & join us tonight!

First Round - Trump's Stupid Middle East Wars

Updates From The Middle East

• Live Updates: Trump Confirms Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Extended By Three Weeks, But Says He Won’t Rush Iran Deal

• Israel & Hezbollah Trade Ceasefire Violation Accusations As IDF Tries To Block Civilians’ Return

• Third U.S. Aircraft Carrier, USS George H.W. Bush, Arrives In Waters Near Iran

• Fawaz Gerges: Trump’s War Has Backfired Spectacularly. Iran Is Now More Influential Than Ever.

The Costs Of Trump’s Wars

• Oil Prices Fall On Report Iran’s Foreign Minister To Arrive In Pakistan For Peace Talks With U.S.

• Iran War Costs Complicate Future U.S. Military Contingency Plans; Fully Replacing Munitions Could Take Up To Six Years

• New Report From The Costs Of War Project At Brown University Shows Dept. Of Defense Also Spent $4.7 Billion For Venezuela & Caribbean Operations

Second Round - TrumpLand Hell

Trump & Republicans’ Failing Economy

• In New Fox Poll, Democrats Top Republicans On Economy For First Time Since 2010

• Data Guru Harry Enten Confirms Trump Has Worst Economic Approval Rating Ever At This Point In Any Presidency

• Related: Trump DOJ Drops Criminal Probe Of Fed Chair Powell, Clearing Route To Confirmation Of New Fed Chairman

Trump’s Falling Polls

• Strength In Numbers: New Polling Shows, By Geography And Demographics, How Small The Trump Supporting Coalition Has Become

• New Fox Poll Finds 56% Doubt Trump Admin. Competence At Managing Government

• Trump’s Disapproval Polls Hit Highest Point Of His Second Term (So Far) [Gift Link]

Immigration Wars

• Trump Regime Now Aiming To Strip Citizenship From Hundreds Of Naturalized Americans [Gift Link]

• DHS Starts Deportation Of Woman Whose Loved One Died In Baltimore’s Key Bridge Collapse

• Trump’s ‘Gold Card’ Visa Starting At $1 Million Granted To Just 1 Person So Far

Fiddling While The World Burns

• Trump Says He’ll Renovate ‘Filthy’ Reflecting Pool On National Mall (Instead Of Concentrating On Governing)

• Chris Geidner: Trump Admin Marijuana Rescheduling Actions Follow Up On Moves Stared By The Biden Administration

• Experts Confirm Trump Admin. Psychedelics Order Largely Symbolic

Corruption Land

• U.S. Soldier Involved In Maduro Raid Charged With Betting On The Operation Through PolyMarket

• Trump DOJ Arrests Soldier Who Made $400,000 Betting On Maduro’s Removal

• Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Calls On Trump To Pardon Solider Indicted For Betting On Maduro’s Ouster

• Trump DOJ, After Claiming Watergate-Era Records Law Is Unconstitutional, Significantly Weakens Mandatory Requirements For Preserving Presidential Records

Third Round - Republicans’ Weak Tiny Johnson

• Republican Senators Ratchet Up Pressure On House Speaker Johnson To End DHS Partial Shutdown

• After Two Failed House Votes, Speaker Johnson Unveils New Plan To Extend Key U.S. Spy Powers

• House Democrats Poised To Escalate Pressure On Johnson & Republicans With Repeated Votes On Iran War Powers

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

States Of Politics

• Gov. DeSantis Has Launched Three-Tiered Effort To Go Around Florida Law, In Republican Gerrymandering Efforts

• Virginia Gov. Spanberger Signs Bill Enacting Paid Family & Medical Leave Program, Set To Start In 2028

• Democrats Fighting To Fill Iowa’s U.S. Senate Seat Debate Over Campaign Finance & Democratic Leadership

• Democratic Candidate Zach Wahls Releases Economic Agenda Targeting Corporate Power, While Aiming To Help Working Iowans

The Trumpstein Files

• DOJ Watchdog Now Investigating Handling Of Jeffrey Epstein Files

• Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick Dodges Epstein Questions During Senate Budget Hearing

• New Report Says Epstein Housed Abuse Victims In London After London Metropolitan Police Refused To Investigate Him

Other Foreign Affairs

• Netanyahu Reveals He Was Treated For Prostate Cancer During Iran War, But Held Back Publicizing Diagnosis

• Trump Says He’d Like To Have Putin At G20 Summit In Miami In December, But Hasn’t Invited Yet, & Putin “Probably Wouldn’t Come”

• After EU Approves €90 Billion Loan, Zelensky Urges EU Membership For Ukraine At EU Leaders’ Cyprus Summit

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Media Matters

• Hegseth’s Pentagon Fires ‘Stars & Stripes’ Congressionally Mandated Ombudsman, Jacqueline Smith, Without Cause

• Jacqueline Smith: The Pentagon Is Trying To Silence Me

Entertainment & More

• Jimmy Kimmel Provides The White House Correspondents Dinner Roast That Trump Didn’t Want

• Box Office: ‘Michael’ Moonwalks To $12.6 Million In Previews, Biggest Of The Year So Far

• Fernando Mendoza, David Bailey, And Jeremiyah Love Go 1-2-3 On Day 1 Of The NFL Draft

• Minn. Timberwolves Dominate Denver’s Nuggets To Pull Ahead 2–1 In The Series

• Barnes & Barrett Each Score 33 As The Toronto Raptors Beat Cleveland Cavaliers 126-104 To Cut Series Deficit To 2-1

• Colorado Avalanche Get A Pair Of Lucky Goals And Hold Off L.A. Kings 4-2, Taking A 3-0 Series Lead

• Carolina Hurricanes Beat The Ottawa Senators 2-1 To Take A 3-0 Series Lead

• Buffalo Sabres Rally To Beat Boston Bruins 3-1, Take 2-1 Lead In NHL Playoff Series

Today’s Special Guest

Zach Wahls is a Democratic state senator from Iowa, and one of two candidates for U.S. Senate to replace Republican Joni Ernst. As a sixth generation Iowan, a writer, & the youngest member of the Iowa state senate, he’s got a few ideas on how Democrats in Congress might do something better to really help Iowans & other Americans. Josh is joining us tonight for the first time at the bar to talk about his campaign, his ideas, and more.

Your Bar Regulars Tonight

Our friends Karen from Chicago, & Anita From San Antonio, co-hosts of Tru Blu Politics (and on Patreon too) are back in the bar tonight, to talk about another crazy busy week of news. We’ll recap this weeks news, from Trump’s stupid Iran war, to TrumpLand’s massive corruption, to Trump & Republicans’ horrific polls, and of course Democrats’ big win in Virginia. We’ll also talk about Karen’s latest Substack post on those Americans who choose to ‘sit out’ elections (She’s NOT a fan of them), All that & more tonight. Come in this evening, grab a seat & a sip, & join us!

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