News On Tap For Thursday, July 30, 2026

Accountability is Coming

While today’s “News On Tap” looks great for Democratic voters, Republicans are terrified of it. First, Donald’s Iran War Quagmire is getting worst every day, as The Costs Of War keep rising. Meanwhile, the Trump Republican economy is failing BADLY, while Donald is playing with his toys, and the Republican Congress is in Chaos. There’s also terrible polling news for Republicans, and great polling news for Democrats. We’ve also got some Movie, TV, & Music news, & some Sports news too. Plus, we’ve got Richard Chew and John Fugelsang joining us tonight! Red up, get informed, and we’ll see you here tonight at the bar!

First Round - Trump's Middle East Mess

Donald’s Iran War Quagmire

• U.S. Strikes Iran Again, As Trump Encounters A More Determined Adversary In Widened War [Gift Link]

• Trump Reportedly ‘Exasperated’ On Iran As His Top Officials Can’t Agree On A Winning Strategy

• U.S. Weapons Stockpiles Continue To Dwindle With Permanent End To Iran War Nowhere In Sight

• Iran Now Set To Receive Up To 400 Chinese Shoulder-Fired Air-Defense Systems Within Weeks

• Senate Republicans Again Block War Powers Resolution To Halt Iran War 49-50

The Costs Of War

• America’s Crude Inventories Are Getting Perilously Low - And May Even Be Nearing ‘Tank Bottoms’

• New Quinnipiac Poll: 6 In 10 Voters Oppose Further U.S. Military Action In Iran, As Majority See Economy Worsening Due To War

Other Foreign Affairs

• Russian Strikes Across Ukraine Kill 9, As NATO Forced To Scramble Jets After Russian Missile Falls In Poland

• Ukraine Ramps Up Campaign Against Russia’s Version Of Amazon, Wildberries, With Two New Major Strikes

• Congo Warns The Death Toll In The Fastest-Ever Measured Ebola Outbreak Has Now Passed 1,500

Second Round - America Is Demanding Change

Life In A Republican Economy

• New GDP Report Confirms U.S. Economy Slowed To 1.5% Growth Rate In Q2, Due Largely To Trump’s Tariffs And Iran War

• Jobless Claims Rise To 197,000 In The Week Ending July 25, As Stagnant Jobs Environment Continues

• U.S. Borrowing Costs Hit 19-Year High As Fed Holds Interest Rates In Place

• Chronically Ill People Now Facing Confusion Over Republicans’ New Medicaid Work Rules And ‘Medically Frail’ Exemption

• After Republicans’ Cuts To ACA Subsidies, Hospitals Report Numbers Of Uninsured Patients Are Rising Sharply [Gift Link]

Let Them Eat Ballrooms

• In Spite Of Contested Legality, Construction On Trump’s Ballroom Is Racing Ahead.

• As Most Americans Suffer Under His Economy, Trump White House Orders 250 New Cadillac Escalades

• Trump Unveils $22.5 Billion Plan To Overhaul Dulles International Airport That He’s Been Focusing On For Months, Instead Of The Economy & Ending His Wars

The Republican Polling Apocalypse

• New Quinnipiac Poll Shows Trump Losing Ground With Republicans Too, As His Overall Approval Sinks To 32 Percent

• Multiple Polls Show A Midterm Nightmare For Trump & Republicans, As Dems Gain 8 Point Generic Ballot Lead - & A 20 Point Lead In Highly Motivated Voters

• Greg Sargent: Multiple New Polls Confirm Majorities Of All Americans Are Tired Of Trump’s Vanity, Venality, & Megalomania

• It’s Still A Cult: New Politico Poll Shows A Majority Of Maga Supporters Would Still Vote For A Maga Republican Candidate Despite Any Scandal

Third Round - Republicans Can't Govern

The Admin. From Hell

• New Documents Confirm Secret Service Agents Received Severe Pressure From Trump Regime To Illegally Surveil James Comey

• New Legal Filing Confirms Trump Demanded To Personally Review Of Secret Service Agents’ Interview Of Comey

• New Senate Report Confirms Trump’s Regime Has Been Dismantling Post-9/11 Counterterrorism Protections

• New Documents Confirm Trump Overrode His Own Agencies To Deny Fema Disaster Aid Requests From 4 Democratic-Led States

• After Talking A Good Game, Trump Fails To Follow Through On Appeal In Birthright Citizenship Case

Immigration Wars

• Newly Released Court Filings Confirm Ca Gov. Newsom’s Accusation, As Texts Show Trump’s DHS Agents Griping That ICE’s Presence At Newsom Presser Was Political ‘Stunt’

• They Immigrated Into The U.S. Legally & Properly. Under The Trump Regime, 1.8 Million Have Now Been ‘De-Legalized.’

Cluster On Capitol Hill

• Todd Blanche’s Nomination Paused, Won’t Get Thursday Vote In Senate Judiciary Committee

• Even As Blanche’s Nomination Is Paused, Payouts To Trump Allies Continue [Gift Link]

• Trump Now Floating Idea Of Pulling Blanche’s AG Nomination Back - Until After Republican Senate Holdouts Leave Office

• Russ Vought & Trump Regime Still Trying To Push Senate Repubs To Pass Repub Only Reconciliation Bill Before Election

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

Polls & Politics

• Sabato’s Crystal Ball Moves Thirteen House Ratings In The Directions Of Democrats

• New Fox Poll: Democrat Roy Cooper Leads Ex-RNC Chair Michael Whatley By 9 In North Carolina

• New Poll Shows Francesca Hong With Strong Double-Digit Lead In Wisconsin Democratic Gubernatorial Primary

• New Emerson Polling: Abdul El-Sayed Leads Haley Stevens For Democratic U.S. Senate Nomination By 15

• Perry Bacon: How Democrats Can Win By Losing In Montana And Other States

• Musk Claims He’s Planning To Spend Massive Amounts For Republicans In Midterms

• Flashback Apr. 2025: Democrats Defeat Musk’s Flood Of Campaign Spending In Wisconsin Supreme Court Election

• July 2026: Wisconsin Elections Commission Says Elon Musk Likely Violated Bribery Law In 2025 Race

• New Study Confirms Republicans’ Attempts To Disenfranchise Voters Has Actually Driven Black Voters To Polls In Record Numbers

Miscellaneous But Important

• Trump Doj Loses Bid For New Jersey Voter Rolls, Making Them Now 0 For 18

• Senate Unanimously Passes Resolution Opposing Any Possible Pardon For Ghislaine Maxwell

• One Small Good Thing: Trump Admin. Says Hhs & State Depts. Finally Overriding RFK Jr, Will Finally Release $600m Congress Appropriated To Dispense Vaccines To Developing Nations

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Movies, TV, Music, & More

• ‘The Odyssey’ Passes ‘Oppenheimer’s $330m U.S. Lifetime Box Office Haul In 13 Days - Just As ‘Spider-Man’ Swings In

• NBC News Now Sets Monday Aug 3 Debut Date For Christine Romans’ New Show

• Trump White House Raging At Singer Noah Kahan For Refusing To Let It Use His Music

• Ben Affleck Wins Rare Million-Dollar Prize For Charity, With Jeopardy! Champ Jamie Ding On Who Wants To Be A Millionaire

Sports Entertainment

• Washington Nationals Fall To Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 In Ugly Pitching Collapse, Losing Series 2-1

• Dodgers’ Laufer Stifles Mariners, As L.A. Defeats Seattle 4-2

• Allisha Gray & Angel Reese Lead The Atlanta Dream Past The Dallas Wings In A Squeaker, 82-81

• Former Nebraska Cornhusker & Green Bay Packers Career Rushing Leader Ahman Green Announces He Has Early Onset Parkinson’s Disease At 49

• European Soccer Body UEFA Votes To Boycott All FIFA Events, Including The World Cup, Unless FIFA Drops Its Controversial Plan To Sell Off Part Of Its Commercial Business To Private Investors

Tonight’s First Special Guest

Richard Chew is one of our favorite fellow radio hosts, heard on some of the same affiliates we are, like WCPT AM 820 and KTNF AM 950, and we’re so glad he could stop by the bar tonight to help fill in for Jody while she’s away this week. Many of our regulars are also familiar with Richard’s show, the acclaimed Chew’s Views, on weekday mornings (before Stephanie Miller). Richard is always up on his news & politics, in Chicagoland and beyond, so we’ll pull a few rounds from today’s News on Tap with him, and maybe even get to the Drink Of The Day with him!

Tonight’s Bar Regular:

John Fugelsang, our friend, broadcaster, podcaster, Substacker, comedian, author of the bestselling book “Separation of Church and Hate” , & host of his own show on SiriusXM is back in evenings tonight, to hang out with us! We’ll talk about the collapsing Trump & Republican govt., including RFK Jr. & the rejection of science & facts on the Right. We’ll also talk about how Democrats might finally be uniting to win, and more. Join us tonight!

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