News On Tap For Friday, August 21, 2026

The Election Is Now – 74 Days To Election

If today’s “News On Tap” tastes like General Election season, that’s because it is. We’ve got your Elections, Polls, & Politics news - including a deep dive on the data center issue, where Republicans are scrambling. Meanwhile, Donald’s Middle East Mess rolls on, even as he continues Disrespecting The Troops. Also, Republican Economics Sucks - & they don’t care about you. Their stupid Immigration Wars keep going, and we’ll keep Harp-ing About A Dangerous Devotee in the White House. We’ve also got news on Media Matters, TV & Music News, & Sports News too. And we’ve got Karen & Anita of The Tru Blu Politics podcast stopping by tonight too. Read up, get informed, and we’ll see you here tonight!

First Round - The Election Battlefield

Elections, Polls, & Politics

• Democratic State Senator Aisha Wahab Wins Special Election To Fill Eric Swalwell’s Former House Seat

• Republicans’ Senate Map Gets Much Shakier As Texas And Iowa Senate Races Tighten In Midterm Elections

• New Poll In Arizona Governor Race Shows Democrat Katie Hobbs Up 13 Points On Republican Andy Biggs

• Missouri Republicans Are Trying To Repeal Voter-Approved Abortion Rights By Attacking Trans Kids With New Amendment

• Here’s What Democrats Will Investigate If They Win Back Congress In November

• Tom Schaller: Ossoff’s Gift To Dems This Week - How Dems Can Knock Trump & MAGA Off-Message And Retake Control Of The Media

War Over Democracy

• Homeland Security Made A Big Claim About Noncitizen Voting. Now It Can’t Prove It.

• Trump’s Dhs Can’t Verify Its Claim Of Nearly 16,000 Noncitizen Voters In Nevada. They’ve Only Confirmed 185.

• Trump Boasts Of Declassifying Secrets, But Has Ignored A Congressional Requirement To Disclose A Report On Foreign Meddling In The 2024 Election

• Journalists Discover Website Behind Widely Shared Fake Election Polls Run By 21-Year-Old Using A.I.

Second Round - Key Election Issue: Data Centers

• Trump Keeps Embracing Data Centers, An Unpopular Topic In Midterm Races

• Senate Republicans’ Campaign Arm, In A Private Memo To Top Ai Companies, Warn Companies Their Ties To Republicans May Cost Them Elections

• Feb 12, 2026: Super Pac Backed By Ai Titans Pledges $5 Million To Boost Byron Donalds’ Run For Florida Governor

• July 21, 2026: David Jolly, Democratic Front-Runner In Florida Governors’ Race Pushes For Data Center Moratorium

• July 24: Byron Donalds, Data Center Advocate, Now Says Some Local Regulations Over Water & Energy Prices Is Ok, Though He Still Opposes A Statewide Moratorium

• July 30: Byron Donalds Defends Hyperscale Data Centers, Rejects Protests

• Days After His Data Center Investments Were Revealed, Republican Mike Rogers Flips Positions, Now Claims To Back Statewide Moratorium In Michigan

• Sophie Hurwitz: Republicans Are Belatedly Realizing No One Wants Data Centers

Third Round - Trump's Many Foreign Failures

Donald’s Middle East Mess

• Top Iranian Official Says Trump Regime’s Focus On Economic Warfare Shows He Has Failed Militarily

• Trump’s Threats Of An “Economic D-Day” Carry A Clear Signal To Iran - Trump Does Not Want To Go Back To War

• Oil Markets Are Finally Mostly Ignoring Trump’s Social Media Posts On Iran War

• New Data Shows Ships Passing Through Hormuz Strait Now Hover In Single Digits

Disrespecting The Troops

• USS Abraham Lincoln Heads Home After Over-Extended Deployment To The Middle East

• How The Incompetence & Dishonesty Of The Trump Regime Left The USS Abraham Lincoln Short On Supplies During Trump’s Iran War: ‘We Didn’t Plan For This’

• Trump Regime Now Discussing Renaming Aircraft Carrier After Trump Instead Of Heroic Black Sailor

Other Foreign Affairs

• North Korea Fires Barrage Of Missiles Toward The Sea After Dismissing Overture From Trump For Summit With Kim

• Russian Strike Kills At Least 6 At Shopping Center In Central Ukrainian City

• France Announces Meeting Of Ukraine Allies Next Monday, As Russia Steps Up Airstrikes

Fourth Round - Failures In Governing

Republican Economics Sucks

• After Months Of War With Iran, People Across The U.S. Say They’re Feeling The Strain Of High Prices

• Trump Announces U.S. Will Temporarily Waive Higher Tariffs On Ground Beef Imports, In Effort That Will Lower Prices For Consumers - But Hurt U.S. Cattle Ranchers

• As Families Struggle, Trump Says The U.S. Economy Is ‘Doing Unbelievably (Well) From The Standpoint Of Wall Street’

• Trump’s Economic Advisors Say He’s Mulling New Tax Breaks – Mainly For The Rich & Big Corporations

• Eduardo Porter: America’s $40T Debt Is The Cost Of Republicans 45 Years Of Lies And Obfuscations

Immigration Wars

• Trump Admin Sends First Deportation Flight To Haiti Since Ending Temporary Protected Status

• 19 Bodies Found Along Arizona Border Last Month, As New Data Shows Highest Increase In Monthly Migrant Deaths In Two Years

• Chris Lehmann: As Resistance To Trump’s ICE & DHS Forces Grows, One Of The Biggest Myths Of The Trump Era Is Unraveling

Fifth Round - More News To Drink About

Harp-ing About A Dangerous Devotee

• Natalie Harp’s Intimate Letters to Trump Revealed in Full

• Excepts of Natalie Harp’s Love Letters To Trump Beg Serious Questions About What She Does

• Greg Greene: Natalie Harp Should Concern Everyone - I Should Know, I Once Had Her Job

Miscellaneous But Important

• Jason Arday’s Marathon Challenge And Other Claims Found To Be True After His Death

• Academic Who Accused Jason Arday Of Plagiarism Suspended By His University

• Treasonous Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Allows Work On Trump’s $400m White House Ballroom To Continue For Now

Sixth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Media Matters

• New York Times Breaks News of Own Loss in Defamation Case, Its First Defamation Loss In More Than 50 Years

• L.A. Mayor Karen Bass Throws Her Support Behind Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Settlement, After Previously Opposing The Merger Unless Jobs Were Preserved

TV & Music News

• Trump’s White House Claps Back Weakly At Rosie O’Donnell After Her Record ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ Substitute Hosting Run

• Bonnaroo Festival Announces It Will Not Take Place In 2027, Taking A Break Due To Years Of Challenges Tied To Severe Weather

• CNN To Air Farm Aid 2026 Live Featuring Performances By Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Neil Young And More

• The Hollies Officially Call It Quits, As Last Two Members Of Classic 1960s Band Retire After Being Together For 63 Years

Sports Entertainment

• Texas Rangers’ Pitcher Jacob Degrom Surpasses 2,000 Strikes In 2-0 Win Over Nationals

• Zach Neto Homers In 5-Hit, 7-Rbi Night To Help The L.A. Angels Rout The Houston Astros 18-3

• Angel Reese Has Stunning Perfect Shooting Night In The Atlanta Dream’s 124-88 Romp Over The L.A. Sparks

• Jacob Cowing Returns Punt For A Touchdown To Spark The San Francisco 49ers In 41-17 Preseason Win Over The L.A. Chargers

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: The last major primaries this week, the creepy & dangerous Natalie Harp situation, and Democrats finally uniting & fighting back - all that and more. Plus we’ll talk about The Tru Blu Politics daily podcast at Resistance Journal too. Grab a drink & join us tonight!

---

Join us today, on any of our radio affiliates, or subscribe and listen ad-free anytime!

• Progressive Voices Radio - Worldwide, Via Tune In

• WCPT AM 820 – Chicago

• AM 950 - Minneapolis/St. Paul

• Georgia Now Radio - Atlanta

• Detour Talk Radio - Tri-Cities Area Of Tennessee

---

Join us today, on any of our radio affiliates, or subscribe and listen ad-free anytime!

• WCPT AM 820 – Chicago

• AM 950 - Minneapolis/St. Paul

• Georgia Now Radio - Atlanta

• Detour Talk Radio - Tri-Cities Area Of Tennessee

• Progressive Voices Radio - Worldwide, Via Tune In