News On Tap For Friday, August 14, 2026

Corruption, Betrayal, & Accountability

Today’s “News On Tap” is full of Trump & Republican halfascism, betrayal, & corruption - but there’s some good news too! We’ve got news on Trump & Hegseth Betraying Our Military, and Trump’s Continuing Middle East Mess. We’ve also get news on Republicans’ Failed Economy, Trump’s Weaponized Govt., and a pile of stories in Corruption Land today. There’s also news in our Justice & Injustice section, and some good news in our Polls & Politics section. We’ve also got Media Matters, Movie & TV news, & Sports news too. Plus, Karen & Anita of The Tru Blu Politics podcast are back tonight to go over today’s news & recap this crazy week of news. Read up, get informed, and we’ll see you here tonight!

First Round - Betraying Our Military

• USS George Washington Headed To Middle East To Relieve USS Abraham Lincoln, In Wake Of Reports About Dire Conditions

• Senate Democrats Demanding Answers From Military & Trump Regime About Disastrous Conditions Aboard USS Abraham Lincoln

• Trump Orders Navy To Restore Old Steam-Powered Launch Tech On Aircraft Carriers, Which Would Unnecessarily Cost Billions

• New Trump Memo Calls For Pentagon To Consider Foreign-Built Warships, & Steam Catapults On Ford-Class Carriers

Second Round - Trump's Failing Foreign Affairs

Donald’s Middle East Mess

• Hormuz Traffic Slows Further After Trump Regime Levels New Threats Of More Economic Pressure On Iran

• JD Vance Now Claims Low Oil Prices Are The New ‘Goal No. 1’ In Iran War, As U.S. Threatens Iran With New Economic Pressure

• Anonymous Military Officials Confirm The U.S. Military Has Now Lost Roughly 25% Of Its Reaper Drones As Iran War Continues To Deplete Arsenal

• U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee Issues Rare Rebuke Of Israeli Settlers’ Siege Of Palestinian Homes In West Bank

Other Foreign Affairs

• Right-Wing Reform UK Party’s Nigel Farage Beats A Slate Of Fringe Candidates In Election Boycotted By Major Parties, That He Initiated

• Record-Breaking Rainfall Leaves Eight Dead & Thousands Stranded In Japan

• Ukraine Offers Russia Temporary Truce Over Attacks On Civilian Vessels In Black Sea As Threats To Global Food Supplies Mount

Third Round - Trump's Failed Regime

Republicans’ Failed Economy

• U.S. National Average Gas Prices Stuck Above $4/Gallon As Trump’s Iran War Drags On

• U.S. Retail Sales Slump Unexpectedly And Sharply After Early Summer Tax-Refund Boost Fades

• Trump Regime Cancelling Biden-Era Efforts To Speed Up Power Line Construction Efforts That Would Lower Costs For Americans

• New Research Confirms U.S. Corporations & Businesses That Kept Policies On Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Thrived, Despite Threats From The MAGA Right

• New Report Confirms Small Businesses In U.S. Have Lost Millions In Revenue As Both Workers & Shoppers Try To Avoid Trump’s Immigration & ICE Agents

Immigration Wars

• Illegitimate Fifth Circuit Federal Appeals Court Runs Cover For Trump Regime’s ICE Thuggery, Kills Case Without Answering Key Immigration Question Over Trump’s Abuse Of Wartime Law

• U.S. Attorney Confirms FBI Tests Did Not Find Meth In Van Driven By Immigrant Man Fatally Shot By ICE In Houston, As Trump Regime Previously Claimed

• Trump’s ICE & DHS Keep Racking Up Losses In Federal Appeals Courts Over Mandatory Detention

• ProPublica: How The Trump Regime’s Unprecedented Effort To Prosecute Noncitizen Voters Keeps Falling Apart

Trump’s Weaponized Govt.

• New Records Reveal Trump Regime Conducted ‘Mass Spying Campaign’ Against Leftwing Groups & Anti-ICE Protesters In Wake Of Minnesota ICE Attacks

• New Legal Filing Confirms Trump DHS Began Spying On Left-Leaning Groups In Minnesota 4 Days After Alex Pretti Was Murdered

• New Info Confirms Trump’s DHS Also Spied On Labor Unions During Anti-ICE Protests In Minnesota

Corruption Land

• Trump Files Appeal, Demanding Supreme Court Allow His White House Ballroom Construction To Continue

• Corrupted Kennedy Center Board Filled With Lackeys Votes To Illegally Re-Add Trump’s Name To Building

• Trump’s Bizarre & Corrupt New Plan To Get His Name Back On The Kennedy Center [Gift Link]

• Private Texas-Based Oil Corporation Tied To Trump Delays Attempt To Drill In Greenland After Arctic Island’s Govt. Issues Strong Warning

• Aligning The U.S. With Russia & China, Trump Gives Green Light To Allowing U.S. Spy Agencies To Rely On Private Sector Hackers To Go After Cybercriminals

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

Justice & Injustice

• Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty To Federal Charges In The Killing Of United Healthcare CEO

• Federal Judge Dismisses Trump Regime Lawsuit Alleging Harvard Failed To Protect Jewish Students

• State Judge Drops Nevada’s Fake Elector Case Tied To Trump’s 2020 Loss

• Judge Shows Signs Of Frustration With Trump DOJ Attorneys Over Continual Mishandling Of Epstein Files

• Newly Discovered Court Docs Show Hugh Hefner Reported Jeffrey Epstein To FBI For Alleged Rape Of Playboy Playmate; FBI Didn’t Investigate For 15 Years

• In Remarks At NABJ, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Makes Clear When Democrats Regain Power Major Changes Will Come To SCOTUS

Polls & Politics

• Democrat Sherrod Brown Continues Maintaining 8 Point Lead Over Republican Jon Husted In New Ohio Senate Poll As Inflation Fuels Voter Concerns

• Six New Polls Show Democrat Gina Hinojosa & Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, Statistically Tied In Texas Governor Race

• G. Elliott Morris: More Data Proves Further The Divide In The Democratic Party This Cycle Isn’t Young Vs Old. It’s Progress Vs Doing Nothing (Or Not Enough)

• Elie Mystal: The Gaping Hole In Abdul El-Sayed’s Progressive Agenda? His Thinking On The Supreme Court

Miscellaneous But Important

• Nyc Mayor Mamdani Announces City Is Now Making Childcare Free For 22,000 New York City Families

• Woman Arrested And Facing Felony Charges In World War Ii Memorial Vandalism Case

• In Preliminary Injunction, State Judge Orders Kalshi To Cease Most Operations In Washington State

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment. & More

Media Matters

• Teamsters Union Pounds Paramount Execs Over Wbd Merger Promises & Threats: “Stop Playing Games”

• David Dayen: Paramount’s Merger Strategy So Far? Empty Promises And Empty Threats

Movies & TV News

• New ‘End Of Oak Street’ Dinosaur/Horror Movie Chomps $2.5m In Box Office Previews

• ‘The End Of Oak Street’ First Reviews: Anne Hathaway’s Jurassic Park Riff Is Hailed As ‘Dumb Fun Done Well’

• DC’s ‘Lanterns’ TV Series Review: Kyle Chandler & Aaron Pierre’s Chemistry Helps HBO’s Clever Action-Comedy Transcend Lackluster Superhero Backdrop

Sports Entertainment

• Philly Knocks The Corn Out Of Minnesota 7-1 In Annual MLB Field Of Dreams Game

• In Pregame Pomp, 26 MLB Hall Of Fame Members Emerge From Corn Before Field Of Dreams Game

• Major League Baseball Awards 2028 All-Star Game To San Francisco, Which Last Hosted In 2007

• Another Bullpen Meltdown Leaves Dodgers Frustrated, As Brewers Rally For 3 Runs In The 9th To Beat L.A. 5-4

• Trailblazers Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne, Chamique Holdsclaw. & The 1996 Olympic Women’s Basketball Team To Be Enshrined In The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame On Saturday

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 and as usual, there’s a lot to talk about. From Food Truck Trump’s Great Escape, to more Democratic primary election wins, and Democratic unity, to Trump & Kegbreath’s betrayal of the troops, we’ll talk about all that and more - & we’ll talk about The Tru Blu Politics daily podcast at Resistance Journal too. Grab a drink & join us tonight!

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