News On Tap For Friday, June 5, 2026

A Regime Of Corruption & Failure

From the Senate’s vote-a-rama to Trump’s failed Iran war, from Platner to Pulte, today’s “News On Tap” is full - of all those stories & more. There’s news n the Ukraine front, and not great news on the economic front. There’s also news on Trump’s monument fights, & news from Corruption Land too. Plus, some Wins For America, some Movie & Music News, & some Sports News too. Plus, Karen & Anita of the Tru Blu Politics podcast are joining us tonight to help wrap up the week. Read up, get informed, and we’ll see you here tonight!

First Round - Trump's Foreign War Failures

The Iran War Rolls On

• Iran Declares Support For Hezbollah As Wider Peace Deal With U.S. & Israel Remains In Doubt

• Monetary Compensation Becomes Key Sticking Point In Iran Deal As Trump Bristles At Comparison To Obama Agreement

• First IAEA Report On Iran’s Nuclear Program Since February Shows Little Change Despite War

Trump’s Other Foreign Failures

• With Ukraine Stronger On The Battlefield, Zelensky Offers To Meet Putin In Neutral Country For Peace Talks

• Putin Rejects Zelenskyy’s Offer To Meet, Saying He Sees ‘No Point’ In It

• U.S. House Passes Ukraine Aid With All Democrats & 18 Republicans, In Defiance Of Republican Leaders & Trump

• Pentagon Likely To Cancel Missile Deal With Germany, In Continued Trump-Driven Retrenchment From NATO

• Protests In Albania Grow Over Jared Kushner-Backed Luxury Resort

• Paul Krugman: Trump’s Mounting Failures, Abroad & At Home, Have Exposed America As A Far Less Essential Nation Than We Used To Be

Second Round - Trump's Failed Executive Branch

Trumponomics Is Failing

• May Job Growth Stronger Than Expected Adding 172k, But Wage Growth Only 3.4%, Lowest In 5 Years - & Inflation Is Wiping Out Pay Gains

• U.S. Now Set To Reach $41T Debt Ceiling As Soon As Late Winter

National Insecurity

• Deal To Renew FISA Surveillance Law Fails In The Senate Amid Fight Over Pulte Nomination

• In Mostly Symbolic Vote, Three Republicans Join All Senate Democrats In Vote To Bar Pulte From Serving As Temporary Director Of National Intelligence

• Trump Rules Out Pulte As Permanent Director Of National Intelligence, After Getting Major Pushback From Congress Members Of Both Parties

• Trump Claims Bill Pulte Will Investigate ‘Rigged Elections’ In Temporary Intelligence Role

• In Response To Hegseth’s Meritless Culling Of Experienced Officers, House Armed Services Adopts Provision For Defense Funding Bill To Force Pentagon To Inform Congress Why Senior Military Officers Are Fired

• At Hegseth’s Direction. Dept. Of Defense Officially Drops 180 Faiths From Military’s Recognized Religion List

• House Armed Services Committee Injects Another Partisan Wedge Issue Into Mandatory Defense Spending Bill, Endorsing Renaming Of Dept. Of Defense To Dept. Of War

War On Good Govt.

• ICE Updates Reporting Policy To Help Further Hide Their Failures Amid Rising Detainee Deaths

• Trump Regime Launches Broadest Firearm Deregulation Push In Decades, & Make America More Dangerous

• Trump FDA Launches Study Of “Abortion Pill Safety,” A Step That Could Pave The Way For The Trump Regime To Restrict How Mifepristone Is Distributed And Used

• New Study Confirms Wildfires Are Making The U.S. Smoggy Again, Reversing Progress On Cleaner Air

• Trump Uses Wartime Powers To Dole Out $700m To ‘Clean, Beautiful’ Coal Corporations

Third Round - Battles On Capitol Hill

• After 18 Hours Of Debate, Senate Republicans Ram Through $70 Billion Reconciliation Bill To Fund ICE & CBP, With= No Limits On Trump’s Insurrectionist Slush Fund

• Senate Democrats Block Amendment To Add ‘SAVE America Act’ To Reconciliation Bill, As Four Republicans Join Them

• Senate Republicans Block Ossoff Amendment To Protect Patients From Insurance Corporations Denying Or Delaying Medically Necessary Health Care

• House Republicans Advance Bill 213-210 To Cut Food Aid For Pregnant Women & Babies, Even As Grocery Prices Keep Rising

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

Monumental Bullsh**

• Federal Appeals Court In DC Hears Challenge To Trump’s White House Ballroom, Appears Skeptical Of Trump Regime Arguments

• Trump-Packed DC Planning Commission Clams They’re Seeking More Details On Trump’s Planned 250-Foot Arch Near The Lincoln Memorial

• Trump Announces Idea To Add Proposed Walkway Between Lincoln Memorial And Potomac River

Corruption Land

• New Brennan Center Poll Shows Over 90% Of Democrats, Independents, & Republicans Agree That Corruption In Govt. Is A Major Problem

• Govt. Watchdog Group Finds More Than Half Of The Publicly Identified Donors To Trump’s Ballroom Project Won New Or Expanded Federal Contracts Worth More Than $50B [Gift Link]

A Question Of Judgment

• NYTimes Report: Several Women Who Dated Graham Platner Recall ‘Unsettling’ Behavior, Others Say He Was Fine [Gift Link]

• Platner Denies Some Of New Allegations In Interview With Chris Hayes On MS NOW As ‘Simply Not True’

• Alexandra Petri: A Very Calm, Not-Panicked Message From The Graham Platner Campaign [Satire]

• Bill Scher: On Platner, Democrats Need To Decide Whether Character Matters

• Paul Waldman: Whether Dems Are Still With Him Or Not, It’s Worth Asking What Made Graham Platner So Compelling In The First Place

Wins for America

• Kennedy Center Lawyers Tell Staff To Immediately Remove All References To ‘Trump Center’ By June 12, To Comply With Court Ruling

• U.S. Postal Service Frees Up Enough Cash To Keep Operating For ‘Several Years’

• Arizona Atty. General Kris Mayes To Seek New Indictments Against Insurrectionist Trump Allies Who Tried To Aid His Quest To Overturn The 2020 Election

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Rest In Peace

• Anthony Head, ‘Buffy’ And ‘Ted Lasso’ Star, Dies At 72, Of Complications Due To Pneumonia

• Well-Known Character Actor James Handy Murdered By Girlfriend’s Mentally Ill Adult Son

Media Matters

• SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify Contract With AI Terms And Pension Merger

• Remaining ‘60 Minutes’ Correspondents Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker And Jon Wertheim Agree To Stay, Saying They Want To Try And ‘Save’ The Program

• Dan Rather: Paramount Has Delivered “60 Minutes” To Donald Trump On A Gold Platter

• Trump Cancels ‘Freedom 250’ Concerts, Says It Will Now Be A Trump Rally With Lee Greenwood

Movies, Music, & More

• Box Office: ‘‘Scary Movie’ Brings In $7.7M, Near ‘Scream 7’ Levels; ‘Masters Of The Universe’ Rings Up $4M+ In Thursday Previews

• Taylor Swift Net Worth Rises To $2 Billion, Becomes Richest Female Musician In History

• Mister Rogers Is Now Officially On YouTube

Sports Entertainment

• Seth Jarvis Scores In Overtime, As The Carolina Hurricanes Beat The Vegas Golden Knights In Game 2 To Tie Stanley Cup Finals Series

• Game 2 Of 2026 NBA Finals Tonight: When, How, & What To Watch For

• Trump Accepts Invite To Attend NBA Finals Game 3 In New York

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, to talk about another crazy busy week of news. From election returns, to Congressional fights, from Platner to Pulte, there’s been a lot of news that’s happened this week. We’ll recap most of it. Plus, we’ll talk about The Tru Blu Politics daily podcast at Resistance Journal too. Grab a drink & join us this evening!

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