News On Tap For Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Corrupt, Asleep, & Stupid Is No Way To Run A Country

Today’s “News On Tap” should keep you awake (unless you’re like Sleepy Donald). To start, it’s Election Day (in four states), We’ve also got updates on Trump’s failing war in Iran, and the endless Republican war against democracy. There’s also updates on the stupid & corrupt actions of the Trump regime, the failing Republican Congress, and their bumbling Immigration war. Plus, Music & Entertainment news, and Sports news, including NBA Finals news. And since it’s Two-Fer Tuesday, we’ve got TWO guests joining s at the mics in the bar tonight - our friends Jared Rizzi & Julie Francella! Read up, get informed, and we’ll see you here at the bar tonight!

First Round - Trump's Iran War Shambles On

Updates From The Middle East

• U.S. Military Helicopter Goes Down Near Strait Of Hormuz, Two Crew Members Rescued

• Trump Says U.S. ‘Must’ Respond, Claiming Iran Took Down U.S. Army Helicopter Near Strait Of Hormuz

• Iran War Has No End In Sight At 102 Days, Despite Trump’s Vow Of No Endless Wars

• Israel Launches New Lebanon Strikes Even As Trump Insists Iran Deal Coming Soon

• Aaron Blake: How Many Times Has Trump Claimed An Iran Deal Is Around The Corner? More Than You’d Think.

• One Of The Biggest Challenges In The U.S.-Iran Peace Talks? Both Sides Are Demanding Victory.

The Costs Of War

• Netanyahu Taking Growing Political Heat Over Iran War, Facing Angry Voters At Home And An Irate Trump Abroad

• Another Cost Of The Iran War: U.S. Airline Carriers Fuel Bill Spikes 78% As Global Profit Outlook Is Cut Nearly In Half

Other Foreign Affairs

• Strongest Earthquake In Nearly 150 Years Hits Off Cuba, Shakes Mexico & Florida

• UK And European Allies To Develop Patriot-Style Missile System As American Shipments Fall Short During Iran War

• EU Now Set To Ban Russian Soldiers From Any Entry, As Part Of Fresh New Sanctions On Moscow

Second Round - The War Over Democracy

• Trump Previews His Fall Election Strategy With Baseless Claims Of California Vote Fraud [Gift Link]

• Speaker Mike Johnson Says His Election Conspiracy Theories About California’s Elections Feel True, Regardless Of Facts Proving They’re Not

• Richard Hasan: Why Pushing Back On Trump’s BS Claims Of ‘Voter Fraud’ Now Will Help In The Fall

• Trump DOJ Cancels Election-Integrity Training Sessions, Further Confirming Agency Is Not Trying To Protect The 2026 Elections From Interference

• Trump Again Calls On Senate Majority Leader Thune To Fire Senate Parliamentarian, So He Can Ram Through His Vote-Suppressing “SAVE America Act”

Third Round - This Is Republican Government

A Corrupt & Stupid Administration

• Trump Nominates Todd Blanche To Be His Permanent Attorney General, Setting Up Serious Confirmation Fight

• New ProPublica Investigation Shows Trump DOJ Killed Criminal Investigation Of Republicans Sen. Jim Justice’s Coal Companies

• Hegseth Rolls Back Declassification Of Mormon Church As A Christian Denomination, After Severe Pushback From Utah Lawmakers

• David Dayen: Your Next Hamburger Is Going To Cost You More, Thanks To Doge, Republicans - & The Screwworm They Ignored

Trump’s Bumbling Immigration Wars

• House Set To Vote Today On Senate’s ICE & CBP Funding Reconciliation Bill, After Months-Long Impasse

• New Report Confirms Trump’s Understaffed IRS Failed To Accurately Match Taxpayer Records With ICE Data

• Border Czar Tom Homan Confirms Agency Planning Largest ICE Deployment In New York City: ‘It’s Coming’

• Trump Regime Moves To Revoke Naturalized Citizenship From 17 People

The Failing Republican Congress

• House Ways & Means Chair, Republican Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) Warns Johnson & Other Republicans He ‘Won’t Support’ Another Reconciliation Bill Without Tax Provisions

• Senate Republican Susan Collins Calls Off Committee Work On 2027 Funding Bills For Second Week In A Row, Because Republicans Refuse To Give Democrats Topline Spending Estimates

War In The Courts

• Federal Judge Throws Out Trump Regime’s Policy Imposing $100,000 Fees For H-1B Visas As An Unlawful Tax

• Federal Judge Strikes Down Trump Regime Attempt To Restrict Federal Tax Credits For Wind And Solar Energy

• JD Vance Refers Gov. Tim Walz And Minnesota Atty. Gen. To Trump DOJ For Bogus Fraud Investigation

• Judge Hits Trump’s Personal Lawyers With Threat Of Sanctions As They Blow Off Deadline In $10B Lawsuit Libel Lawsuit Against The BBC

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

Elections & Politics

• Election Day Live Updates: Voters Head To The Polls In Maine, South Carolina, Nevada And North Dakota

• Democrat Nithya Raman Advances To November Runoff Against Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass

• San Francisco Voters Appear To Reject Tax Hike On Highly Paid CEOs

Miscellaneous But Important

• Lesley Groff, Longtime Epstein Assistant, Testifies Before House Oversight Committee Today

• Kennedy Center Removes Trump’s Name From Its Website After U.S. Judge’s Order

• Democrats Blumenthal & Frost Introduce Bill In Congress To Codify First Amendment Right To Film Law Enforcement And Sue For Violations

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Rest In Peace

• Gordon S. Wood, Pioneering Historian of Early America, Dies at 92, After Being hit By Car [Gift Link]

Media Matters, Music, & More

• Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Now Being Formally Investigated By UK Competition Watchdog; Approval Not A Given

• Jay-Z Announces ‘Jay-Z 30’ Concerts In Paris And Los Angeles

• Netflix’s Live-Action ‘Scooby-Doo’ Series Announces They Will Use A Real Dog — See The Pup For Yourself Here

NBA Finals

• Wembanyama Carries Spurs To 115-111 Win That Cuts Knicks’ NBA Finals Lead To 2-1

• Trump Loudly Booed By Crowd During The National Anthem, Prior To Game 3 Of The NBA Finals

• Trump Has Audacity To Fall Asleep During Knicks Game After Ruining Vibes (& Jinxing The Team)

• Furious Knicks Fans Blame Trump For Jinxing Team’s Winning Streak As They Lose To Spurs

• NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Takes In Knicks-Spurs NBA Finals Game, Sticks With Nosebleed Seats

Other Sports Entertainment

• Vegas Golden Knights Aiming To Take A 3-1 Edge, As A Wild Stanley Cup Final Heads To Game 4 Tonight

• College Baseball World Series 2026: Ranking The Field Of 8 As They Head To Omaha

• Iran Soccer’s Ruling Body Claims Iranian Fans’ Tickets For World Cup Games In The U.S. Have Been Revoked

• Top African Soccer Referee From Somalia, Omar Artan, Has His Visa Refused By Trump Regime, And Will Miss World Cup

Tonight’s Bar Regular

Jared Rizzi, freelance journalist, former White House Correspondent for SiriusXM & former reporter for CBS Radio News (RIP) – as well as our favorite fill-in co-host - is back at the bar tonight for another round of drinks & laughter! We’ll pull a few rounds from the News On Tap, and ask Jared his thoughts on today’s elections.

Tonight’s Special Guest

Julie Francella is an artist, writer, mental health counsellor, Professor of Indigenous Studies, and a proud Ojibwe woman and citizen of Batchewana First Nation. She’s back tonight to talk with us about her special appearance (with Simon Moya-Smith) at The 2026 James Beard Awards in Chicago, at The House of Smoke & Ash (Presented by IndigeHub)! We’ll talk about this special experience that will center Indigenous food, Indigenous chefs, and a celebration of Indigenous foodways and culture. Plus, we’ll talk about politics, including the primary win of Deb Haaland, who is likely to become New Mexico’s next governor, and the first Native American woman governor in the U.S. Join us tonight!

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