News On Tap For Friday, July 24, 2026

Turning The Tide

Today’s “News On Tap” tastes like the good folks are turning the tide. From Trump’s frustrating & failing Iran war, to The Affordability Crisis caused by Trump’s war & his tariffs, things are far worse for Republicans than they’ll admit. We’ve also got updates on Trump’s Failed Federal Administration, the Cluster on Capitol Hill, and the War Over Democracy. Plus, great news in Polls & Politics, and some good news in Media Matters too. Plus, Movies & Music news, & big news in Sports too. And we’ve got both Carolyn Fiddler AND Karen & Anita of the Tru Blu Politics podcast joining us at the bar tonight. Read up, get informed, and we’ll see you here at the bar tonight!

First Round - Donald’s Failed Foreign Affairs

Trump’s Frustrating Forever War

• U.S. Hits Iran For 13th Night, As Trump Again Threatens To Widen The War

• Trump Is Losing Patience Over The War With Iran That He Started, And Now Has No Clear End In Sight

• Multiple New Polls Show Trump Approval Dropping To 34 Percent Amid Iran Conflict

• Trump Reportedly Threw Expletive-Laden Tantrum Over His Own Iran War Failures

• Republican War Hawks Urging Trump To Go Big As He Weighs ‘Massive Attack’ On Iran

• Satellite Images Show Iran’s Speedy Recovery From Damage Done By The U.S. And Israeli Air Campaign Raises Concerns About Its Further Effectiveness

The Costs Of War

• Number Of U.S. Military Service Member Deaths In Iran War Suddenly Lowered On Pentagon Website [Gift Link]

• Trump Dept. Of Defense Quietly Changes Official Number Of Soldiers Killed In Iran War, Claiming Four Most Recent Were Under Cease Fire

Other Foreign Affairs

• Russian Attack Cuts Power To Around 150,000 In Ukraine’s North, As Ukraine Hits More Missile & Oil Facilities In Russia

• MAGA Influencer Laura Loomer Meets Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskyy In Ukraine After Her Major Reversal On War; Now Admits Her Previous Pro-Russia Position Was Wrong

• German Chancellor Merz Reshuffles Top Posts As He Tries To Counter Far-Right Political Advance

• Tens Of Thousands Forced To Evacuate As Wildfires Tear Through Spain And Southern France

Second Round - The Affordability Crisis

• Gas, Groceries, And Back-To-School Items Are Where Shoppers Are Certain To See Higher Prices, Due To Iran War & Trump Tariffs

• Trump’s New Blanket Tariffs Aimed At Over 80 Countries Go Into Effect [Gift Link]

• Trump Regime Accused Of Using Forced Labor As ‘Convenient’ Justification For Tariffs

• Natasha Sarin: Trump’s Tariff Runaround Defies Both The Courts And Common Sense

• New Poll Shows Growing Number Of Trump Voters Are Finally Accurately Blaming Trump & Republicans For Worsening Economy

• New Politico Poll Shows Republicans’ Gas Price Problem Is Even Worse Than It Seems

Third Round - Republicans Can't Govern

Trump’s Failed Federal Admin.

• Cyclosporiasis Outbreak Expands To 9 States, With Nearly 2000 Cases Confirmed By Trump CDC

• Measles Cases Hit New Record In U.S., As Vaccination Rates Wane Under Trump [Gift Link]

• RFK Jr’s Fda Panel Votes To Add Peptides To Permitted Compounding List Despite Opposition From Agency Scientists

• Trump Regime ‘Education Department’ Rescinds Disparate Impact Rule, A Key Tool Used To Assess Discrimination In Schools

Cluster On Capitol Hill

• Senate Republican Leader Thune & The Trump Regime Are Now Openly Fighting Over The SAVE Act

• A Seemingly Impotent Speaker Johnson Reportedly Loses His Cool, Says He’s ‘Sick Of This Sh**’ As Small Band Of Republicans Continue Upending His Agenda

• Anti-Deep Fake AI Porn Bill Passes In Senate, But Rep AOC Fears It May Die In The House, Due To Spite By Johnson & Other Republicans

• Mitch McConnell’s Absence Is Now Grinding Some Senate Business To A Halt

War In The Courts

• Trump Regime Drops Subpoenas Seeking List Of Jewish Employees At The Univ. Of Pennsylvania

• More Than 24 States Sue Trump Regime After Unrelated Conditions Placed On Receiving DHS And FEMA Disaster Funding

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

War Over Democracy

• Three-Judge Federal Appeals Court Allows New Highly Biased Tennessee Congressional Map That Favors Republicans, While Dividing Majority-Black District In Memphis

• Alaska Sends 3,000 Letters Asking Voters To Verify Their Citizenship Ahead Of This Year’s Elections

• Trump-Appointed Judge Hands Trump DOJ Its 17th Loss As Yet Another Red State Rejects Trump’s Voting Data Gambit

• Current & Former Officials Confirm Trump DOJ Now Desperately Struggling - And Often Failing - To Turn Bogus Voter Fraud Claims Into Criminal Charges

Justice & Injustice

• State Of Wisconsin Opens Homicide Investigation Into Police Killing Of Madison Man [Gift Link]

• Fatal Madison, Wisconsin Police Shooting Considered Open, Active Homicide Investigation

• Man Who Killed Minnesota Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman, Her Husband, & Their Dog Sentenced To Two Life Terms Plus 40 Years

Polls & Politics

• DNC Rules Committee Votes To Put South Carolina First In 2028 Presidential Primaries; Decision Now Goes To Full Party Execs.

• Good News: MAGA Extremists Mike Lindell & Michelle Tafoya Grabbing Widening Leads In Minnesota Republican Primaries

• Michigan Republican Senate Candidate Mike Rogers Makes ‘Shielding’ Elon Musk From Accountability A Focus Of His Campaign

• New Poll Shows Sen. Jon Ossoff Leading His Republican Challenger By 9 Points In Georgia’s U.S. Senate Race

• Republicans Now Openly Skeptical That Darline Graham Can Win A Full Senate Term In South Carolina

Corruption Land

• Donald Trump Jr.’S Investment Firm Posts Staggering Returns Of 200%, Spurring Wave Of Questions Around Corruption

• Trump Regime Quietly Revives Crusade To Slap His Name On Major NYC Landmark: New York’s Penn Station

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Media Matters

• Trump’s DOJ Forced To Take A Big Loss, As They Drop Effort To Subpoena New York Times Journalists Over Qatari Jet Story

• Federal Judge Extends Temporary Restraining Order Pausing Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Until At Least Aug 17

• Trump To Attend Rescheduled White House Correspondent’s Dinner Tonight

• Journalists Call On WHCA To “Forcefully Stand Up For Freedom Of The Press” In Front Of Donald Trump As He Attends Rescheduled WHCA Dinner

• Fired ‘60 Minutes’ Correspondent Cecilia Vega Confirms She Was Pushed To Report On Events ‘That Never Happened’ Under Bari Weiss’ At CBS

Movies & Music

• ‘The Odyssey’ Achieves Over $346 Million In Its Opening Week, Surpassing Oppenheimer To Mark Christopher Nolan’s Highest Box Office Debut

• Jon Bon Jovi Ends Madison Square Garden Show Early Due To Sinus Infection

• ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Turned Down Million-Dollar Offer To Perform In Saudi Arabia: ‘I Don’t Need To Take Any Money If It Makes Me Feel Icky’

Sports Entertainment

• LeBron James Signs 2-Year $8 Million Contract With The Philadelphia 76ers

• Former President Barack Obama Surprises WNBA All-Stars At Their Practice At His Presidential Center In Chicago

• King Charles Emerges From Doctor Who’s Tardis To Open Commonwealth Games In Glasgow

Tonight’s Special Guest

Carolyn Fiddler is a political consultant, lawyer, and former Communications Director for multiple progressive & Democratic organizations. She’s also one of the nation’s foremost experts in state politics, and the author of the “This Week In Statehouse Action” newsletter on Substack. And with more key primary elections coming up, and major legal actions too, we’re thrilled to have Carolyn stop by again this week!

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 - and there’s a lot to talk about! From the end of Lindsay Graham, to the ridiculous confirmation hearings this week, to Trump’s stupid lie-filled election disinfo speech last night, it’s been a busy week. We’ll recap all of this week’s political news, & talk about The Tru Blu Politics daily podcast at Resistance Journal too. Grab a drink & join us tonight!

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