News On Tap For Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Time To Vote & Unite - 91 Days To Election

Today’s “News On Tap” is a mix in progress - after all, it’s election day in 5 states! We’ve got your primary election day news, including the views from Democratic Land, & the view from Republican Land. Meanwhile, Trump’s Iran Quagmire Rolls On, as does Republicans’ War On The Economy. We’ve also got news about the latest Senate Republican capitulation on Todd Blanche, Republicans’ Immigration Wars, and even more Corruption from the Trump Regime. Rep. Max Miller is still weighing Republicans down, and things keep looking better for Democrats in the general election. Plus, Media Matters, Movie, TV, & Music news, & Sports news too. And we’ve got another candidate in the bar tonight, a fighting Democrat from North Carolina, Ashley Bell, who will talk with us about her campaign, and about what she thinks can be done in Congress and elsewhere to help get us all out of this mess created by Trump & Republicans in Congress. Read up, get informed, & we’ll see you here at the bar tonight!

First Round - Fall In Love Now -Then Fall In Line

Election Day

• Live Updates: Primary Elections In Virginia, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, & Washington State Will Set The Table For Fall Elections

• Five States Have Primary Elections Today. These Are The Races To Watch.

• Reuters: Five More Things To Watch In Tuesday’s U.S. Primaries

The Views From Democratic Land

• As Michigan Votes In Key Senate Primary Today, Democrats Battle Over Party’s Future

• David Dayen: The Michigan “Revolution” Isn’t About Left Or Center. It’s About Doing The Work Of Old-Fashioned Politics

• Virginia Democratic Voters Pick Nominees In 2 U.S. House Seats They Hope To Flip In Midterms

• Paul Waldman: With Some Progressive Wins In Primaries, Centrist Democrats Have A Choice To Make - Do They Want To Win This Fall? Or Whine?

The View From Republican Land

• As Elections Head Towards Final 90 Days, Reliably Red Ohio Is Suddenly A Red-Hot Mess For Republicans

• With Three Months Until General Election, Longtime Republican Strategist Liz Mair Admits ‘Republicans Are Already Cooked’

Second Round - Fuzzed-Up Foreign Affairs

Trump’s Iran Quagmire Rolls On

• Status Of U.S.-Iran Talks Uncertain As Ship Struck In Strait Of Hormuz

• An Emerging Deal Between Iran And Oman To Reopen Hormuz Could Cement Iran’s Control Of Strait Of Hormuz [Gift Link]

• U.S. Military Under Hegseth, Now Openly Crowdsourcing Its Strategy, Asks Troops For ‘Creative And Unconventional’ Ideas To Punish Iran

• New Report Confirms The Trump Regime Has Used ‘Virtually All’ Of The U.S.’ Long-Range Precision Missiles In Pointless War With Iran

The Costs Of War

• BP Reports Their Profits Have More Than Doubled, After Shell Posts Record Profits, As Iran War Continues Sending Oil Prices Soaring

• James Surowiecki: Even If The Iran War Ends Tomorrow, Don’t Expect Relief At The Pump Any Time Soon.

Other Foreign Affairs

• Ukraine Continues Targeting Warehouses Of Russia’s Main Online Marketplace, As Russia Hits Kharkiv Publishing House

• Cuba Plunges Into Darkness As Electric Grid Collapses, Driven By Severe Fuel Shortages & Sanctions From The Trump Regime

• U.S. State Department Now Set To Close Consulates In Canada, Japan, Indonesia, & Elsewhere In Rare Downsizing, With No Legitimate Reason

Third Round - Republicans' Wars On Americans

War Over The Economy

• New Data Confirms More Than 1 Million U.S. Children Have Lost Access To Food Benefits Due To Trump & Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill

• Over 4 Million People Are No Longer Receiving Food Aid Amid Republicans’ Sweeping Changes To Snap

• New Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds Democrats Now Lead Republicans On Economy, As Trump Approval On Economy Continues Falling

• Twenty Five States Sue Trump Administration Over New Tariffs, Citing Supreme Court Ruling

Republicans’ Lost War Of Integrity

• Todd Blanche Clears Senate Judiciary Committee Hurdle 11-9, Along Party Lines

• Republican Senators Have Been Turning Todd Blanche’s Confirmation Fight Into An Anti-Abortion Free-For-All

• Philip Rotner: Not Dead Yet - Don’t Believe Todd Blanche About Trump’s Slush Fund From Hell

Immigration Wars

• Another Immigrant Held At Delaney Hall Detention Center In New Jersey Has Died [Gift Link]

• N.Y. State Law Barring ICE Agents From Wearing Masks Is Blocked By Judge; Law Barring Local LEO’s Cooperation With DHS Allowed To Stay Active

• Greg Sargent: DHS Dir. Mullin Just Said The Unsayable - That Immigration Can Sometimes Help The Economy & The Country. Now MAGA Wants His Head.

• Allison Gill: ICE Seized Drawings From Children In Immigration Detention. I Sued, And Got Them.

War In The Courts

• DC U.S. Attorney’s Office Moves To Dismiss Even More Reflecting Pool Cases [Gift Link]

• Trump DOJ Now 0 For 20 After Judge Dismisses Colorado Voter Roll Lawsuit ‘With Prejudice’

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

Polls & Politics

• New Texas Poll Finds Most Black Texas Voters Back Talarico Over Paxton, Despite Earlier Senate Primary Tensions

• Former Sen. Jeff Flake Endorses Sen. Jon Ossoff, Saying ‘Character Matters’

• Paul Krguman: The Oligarchs Are Clearly Doubling Down On Republicans. Democrats Should Make The Most Of It - And Hold Them All Accountable When Dems Regain Power

• Vote It Down: Republican Anti-Trans Ballot Initiative, Set For November In Washington State, Would Subject Elementary School-Aged Girls To ‘Sex Verification’ Before Being Allowed To Play Sports

When They Show You Who They Are

• Fmr. Trump Press Sec. Stephanie Grisham Files Temporary Restraining Order Against Her Former Boyfriend Rep. Max Miller

• Republican Senators Sound Alarms About Accusations Against Rep. Max Miller, Saying ‘He Should Quit’:

• Trump Tells Max Miller His House Re-Election Bid Is In Trouble

• North Carolina House Republican Chuck Edwards Recommended For Censure By House Ethics Committee For Sexually Harassing Two Of His Own Staff Members

Corruption Land

• Capital One Asking Federal Judge To Diss Trump’s Lawsuit, Confirms Trump Org. Accounts Were Closed After Money Laundering Review Raised Many Red Flags

• New Report By Sen. Ron Wyden Confirms The New Maga-Fied 60 Minutes Quietly Killed Story About Epstein’s Shady Banking Tactics, At Banks That Also Worked With Trump

Miscellaneous But Important

• Republicans Try To Set Another Perjury Trap: Republicans Invite Jack Smith To Testify Before Senate Next Month

• Spokane Wildfire Arson Suspect Arrested; Had Prior Manslaughter Conviction; Blazes Leave Some Residents With Nothing

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Media Matters

• David Ellison Lies His Ass Off In New Nytimes Op-Ed, Falsely Claims He Won’t Be Ideological (Even Though He Already Has Been With CBS)

• Sharon Waxman: The Paramount Deal Is In Trouble, & It’s Not About The Movies. It’s About Bias & CNN.[Gift Link]

Movies, TV, & Music

• ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Crosses $1 Billion In Six Days, Second-Fastest Movie To Hit Milestone

• Nielsen Report Released: ‘Stranger Things’ And ‘The Pitt’ Were The Most Streamed Original Series In The First Half Of 2026

• Time To ‘Break Free’: Ariana Grande Clarifies Her Upcoming Step Back And Says It Was Planned In Advance

Sports Entertainment

• Cubs Host A Homer-Fest, Beating The Slumping Dodgers At Home, 10-5

• Derek Hill Hits Go-Ahead Grand Slam In Phillies’ 6-3 Win Over Nationals

• Cleveland Sirens Reveal Name And Logo As New 2028 Wnba Expansion Team

• Serena And Venus Williams Now Set To Play Doubles Together At The Cincinnati Open

Today’s Special Guest

Ashley Bell, Democratic candidate for the U.S. House seat in North Carolina’s Tenth District, is swinging by The Politics Bar tonight, and we’re thrilled to have her. Originally born in Texas, she grew up & became a junior high & high school band teacher. But she decided she wanted to serve the public good in a different way, in medicine. So she went back to school in North Carolina, and became a doctor - but even doctors get sick, and run head-long into our abominable system of health insurance in the U.S. Previously a Republican, like many Democrats today, she couldn’t stand being in a party that would make Donald Trump their leader. Now a fighting Democrat, she wants to go to Congress to help the people of her chosen home state, North Carolina, and all of the U.S., fix our federal government so it actually works for everyone, especially working Americans. We’ll talk with her about her run for Congress and more tonight. Join us!

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