News On Tap For Monday, June 15, 2026

Joy Will Defeat Cruelty

Today’s “News On Tap” is a contrast, like a layered drink. On one side, there was the collective joy of the NBA & NHL Finals, the World Cup, & the ripping off Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center. Then there was the spectacle of performative outrage on the White House lawn. Meanwhile, Trump claims to have gotten a real cease fire with Iran, just ahead of the G7 summit in France. The war over democracy continues, as does the Trump regime’s corruption. And there’s Media Matters to discuss, along with Movie & Music news, and more. Plus, Brooklyn Dad Defiant is joining us tonight to recap the weekend, and look ahead this week. Read up, get informed, and then join us at the bar tonight!

First Round - Collective Joy vs MAGA Madness

A Weekend Of Joyful Events

• Trump’s Name Removed From Kennedy Center Late Friday Night, But Tarp Hiding Proof Of Name Removal Stays Up

• Chris Geidner: The Kennedy Center Fight Is A Reminder That We Can Win - But It Will Be Messy & Trump Will Be Petty

• NY Knicks Defeat The San Antonio Spurs 94-90 To Become The NBA Champions For The First Time In 53 Years

• Knicks Fans Celebrate In Unity, Joy, & Togetherness After Team Wins First NBA Title In 53 Years [Gift Link]

• Mayor Mamdani Announces Ticker-Tape Parade And City Hall Ceremony This Thursday To Celebrate Knicks Championship

• Jo Carducci: The Good Guys Won When The Knicks Won. We All Needed That More Than We’ve Realized.

• Carolina Hurricanes Win First Stanley Cup In 20 Years By Defeating Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 In Game 6

• Adam Kinzinger: The World Cup & How Americans Are Hosting Teams, Shows What The Real America Is Like - Not That Circus On The White House Lawn

• Kristol, Egger, & Swift: We Can Reject Trump’s Orgy Of Decline - And In Many Ways, We Already Are

Trump’s Psycho Birthday Circus

• Trump Celebrates ‘America 250’ - & His Birthday - With Bizarre UFC Spectacle

• Veterans & Military Members Outraged As Trump Uses Sacred Honor Guards As Staging At UFC Event

• UFC Paying White House Fighters In Crypto Issued By Trump Company

• Tom Nichols: This Weekend, Trump Was Celebrating Himself, While Surrendering To Iran [Gift Link]

Second Round - Trump’s Many Foreign Failures

Updates On The Iran War

• United States And Iran Reach Tentative Agreement To End War And Reopen The Strait Of Hormuz

• U.S. Crude Oil Price Drops Below $80 For The First Time Since March As Iran Deal Is Set To Open Hormuz Strait

• Trump Claims Strait Will Be ‘Permanently Toll-Free’ Under New Agreement With Iran, But No Verification That’s True

• Iran Declares Victory And Israel Is Upset As U.S. Framework Deal Faces First Tests

• Trump Blasts Netanyahu, Says Israeli Leader Has “No Fu**Ing Judgment” But Iran Deal Still On

• Perez & Suebsaeng: The New Iran Peace Deal Is A Humiliation For Trump And Netanyahu, While Tehran Is The Winner - And It’s Not Afraid To Say So

The G7 Summit

• Trump To Face European Allies At Odds With Him Over Two Wars At G7 Summit

• At G7, It’s Clear Europe’s Leaders Are Building Safeguards Against A Less Reliable U.S.

Other Foreign Affairs

• Ebola Cases In Eastern Congo Continue Climbing To 782, As Deaths Reach 181

• Russia Unleashes A Barrage On Ukraine, Killing 11 And Damaging A Religious Landmark

• Swiss Voters Reject Right-Wing Extremist Proposal To Cap Population At 10 Million By 2050

• Right-Wing Czech Government’s Attacks On Public Media Outlets Spark Criticism & Concern

Third Round - Republicans Can't Govern

The War Over Democracy

• Trump Now Demanding Republicans In Congress Tie FISA Renewal To His Failed Voter Suppression SAVE America Act

• Senate Republicans Wish Trump’s Favorite Voter Suppression Bill, The ‘SAVE America Act’, Would Just Die Already

• Georgia Lawmakers Plan To Redraw District Lines For The 2028 Cycle, Even As Dispute Over Current Maps Remains Unsettled

• Votebeat: Trump’s Moves To Erect Voting Hurdles Are Facing A Race Against The Clock

War In The Courts

• Supreme Court Preps Big Rulings In Coming Weeks: Birthright Citizenship, Trump’s Power, Mail-In Ballots, & More

• Another Win For America Over Trump: Federal Judge Orders Halt To Trump Administration’s Censorship Of Park Exhibits

More Trump Regime Corruption, Criminality, & Failure

• Haberman & Swan: Frustrated By The Courts, Trump Regime Weighed Suspending The Constitutional Right Of Habeus Corpus [Gift Link]

• Trump Picks James McDonald, Another Of His Former Personal Lawyers, To Run SDNY

• Officials Rule Haitian Asylum Seeker’s Hypothermia Death In Pittsburgh, After Her Release From ICE Custody, Was A Homicide

• Trump Dept. Of Energy Director Told Congress His Agency Didn’t Punish Blue States. His Lawyers Admitted In Court That It Did. [Gift Link]

• Algae Comes Back, Covers National Mall Reflecting Pool, After Trump’s Multimillion-Dollar “Fixes”

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

Polls & Politics

• New NBC News Poll Shows America At 250 Is Riven With Doubt And Pessimism — But Also Still Has Glimmers Of Hope

• New Reuters/Ipsos Poll Shows Trump’s Support In Rural America Slipping As Fuel And Food Prices Climb

• Robert Reich: The Midterms In A Nutshell, As Of Mid-June 2026 - What We Need To Do Now

Miscellaneous But Important

• New Reports Confirm Solar Now Generating More Energy Than Coal In U.S., Providing 90% Of All New Power Added

• 12 Killed After Missouri Plane Crashes In One Of The Deadliest U.S. Skydiving Incidents In Decades

• Former Senate Leader Mitch McConnell Is In The Hospital, But Little Information Is Known About His Illness

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Rest In Peace

• Musician Oliver Tree, 32, Killed In Helicopter Crash With Six Others In Rio De Janeiro

• Gene Shalit, Longtime ‘Today’ Show Movie Critic, Dies At 100

• Ronnie Schell, Actor On ‘Gomer Pyle: USMC,’ Dies At 94

Media Matters

• Trump’s DOJ Approves Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger, As State Lawsuits Flood In To Stop It

• Paramount-Warner ‘Not A Done Deal,’ Says California Atty. General Rob Bonta; Deal Could Be Delayed For Many Months

• UK To Ban Social Media For Children Under 16

• Fox Is Buying Roku In $22 Billion Deal

Movies & Music

• Box Office: Spielberg’s ‘Disclosure Day’ Launches To $93 Million Globally

• Boy George Launching New Company Aiming To Use AI To Assist Legacy Artists To Re-Record Their Masters, To Regain Control Of Their Music

Other Sports Notes

• U,S. Breaks Through With First-Ever Four Goal Win, In 4-1 Opening World Cup Game Over Paraguay

• World Cup Updates: Live Scores And Updates Today As Spain Kicks Off, Iran’s Game In L.A.

• World Cup Referee Omar Artan Of Somalia To Receive Full Fee From FIFA Despite Being Denied Entry To The U.S. By The Trump Regime

• Colorado Rockies Set Club Record For Runs With 23-9 Victory Over A’s In Las Vegas Heat

Today’s Special Guest

Brooklyn Dad Defiant, AKA Majid M. Padellan, is a author, activist, blogger, and host/co-host of TWO online shows – ‘The Defiant Weekly’ on Wednesdays, and ‘The JoJo & BDD Show’ with Jo Carducci on Thursdays. We’ll talk with him about this weekend’s events of collective joy - the Knicks, Hurricanes, U.S. Men’s World Cup Team, & Trump’s name being ripped off the Kennedy Center. We’ll also draw a few rounds from the News On Tap, & find out what entertainment he’s been watching & listening to. Grab a drink & join us tonight!

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