News On Tap For Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Playing With His Ballroom While The World Burns

Today’s “News On Tap” isn’t putzing around, playing with our ballroom. We’ve got actual news, including updates on Trump’s Middle East muddle, and the high costs of his war. There’s also news about Trump & his #BallroomRepublicans playing with their ball…room, along with the truth about political violence in the U.S. Meanwhile, Trumponomics is still failing, and Trump’s DOJ is going to war against James Comey (again). Also, Trump & the Right are still trying to steal the vote, as the polls continue to look worse for them. Trump’s FCC lackey is trying to attack Jimmy Kimmel (again), but there is good news in the Entertainment section today. And we’ve got Carolyn Fiddler and Jared Rizzi in the bar, filling in for Jody tonight. Read up, get informed, and then join us tonight!

First Round - Trump's Middle East Muddle

Updates On The War/Not War

• Trump Remains Cool On Iran Proposal To End War And Reopen Hormuz Without A Nuclear Deal

• VP Vance Now Appears Worried The Pentagon May Not Be Telling Trump The Full Picture About The War [Gift Link]

• Germany’s Chancellor Merz Openly Says U.S. Is Being ‘Humiliated’ By Iran’s Leadership On Trying To Reopen Strait

• Iran’s Economy Has Been Battered By Trump’s War & Blockade. Its Leaders Still Think Trump Will Blink First.

Oil & The High Costs Of War

• U.S. Gas Prices Hit Highest Level Since Beginning Of Trump’s War In Iran

• Global Oil Prices Top $111 A Barrel After Reports That Trump Is Unhappy With Iran’s Proposal To End War

• Nearly 60% Of U.S. Farmers Say Their Finances Are Getting Worse As Fertilizer, Fuel Costs Rise, Due To Iran War

• United Arab Emirates To Quit OPEC Oil Cartel After Nearly 60 Years, As Iran War Continues Raising Oil Prices & Regional Tensions

• Trump Regime Now Set To Pay Even More Energy Corporations To Cancel Wind Farm Projects & Invest In Oil Projects, Even As Green Energy’s Cost Drops

Second Round - Ballrooms & Belligerence

TrumpLand’s Attempted Ballroom Blitz

• Senate Republicans, Led By Lindsay Graham, Push New Bill To Authorize $400M For White House Ballroom

• Congressional Republicans Openly Split On Using Taxpayer Funds To Build Trump’s Ballroom

• Ballroom-Related Corruption: Firm Contracted To Build Trump’s Ballroom Got A Secret No-Bid Contract For Work In Lafayette Park [Gift Link]

• National Trust For Historic Preservation Rejects Trump Demand To Drop Suit Preventing Ballroom Construction In Wake Of WHCD Shooting

• Allison Gill: Todd Blanche’s New & Unhinged Midnight Ballroom Motion Is Incoherent Babble, Straight From Truth Toilet

• Garrett Graff: Is Trump Building A Bunker & Ballroom To Sustain An Attack? Or Survive The End Of Democracy?

The Truth About Political Violence

• MAGA Snowflakes Unleash Blizzard Of Hypocrisy Over WCHD Shooting And Hateful Political Rhetoric

• Jimmy Kimmel Confirms His Joke, Two Days Before WHCD, Was Not A Call For Assassination, As Trump Once Again Calls For His Ouster

• Proof With Data: Right‑Wing Extremist Violence In The U.S. Is More Frequent And More Deadly Than Left‑Wing Violence

• Pew Study Shows Democrats And Republicans Even Disagree On What Political Violence Is

• Jo Carducci: Spare Me The Bullcrap About “Lowering The Temperature”

Third Round - Republicans Can't Govern

Trumponomics Is Failing

• New Gallup Poll Shows Most Americans Feel Worse Off Financially Than At Any Point In Past 25 Years

• Millions Of Americans Planning May Day Economic Blackout: ‘No School, No Work, No Shopping’

Chaos On Capitol Hill

• Speaker Johnson Says Senate DHS Funding Bill, Passed Through Reconciliation, Will Have To Change

• House Republicans May Scrap Senate Republicans’ DHS Funding Bill, Likely Extending Partial Government Shutdown

• Senate Democrats Begin Investigating Attack That Killed 6 U.S. Service Members In Kuwait Amid Iran War

Immigration Wars

• Trump Regime’s ICE Warehouse Plan Faces Further Delays Over Lack Of Environmental Reviews

• New DHS Chief Markwayne Mullin’s Call For Quieter Immigration Enforcement Alarms MAGA Base, Who Wants Loud & Violent Actions To Continue

• ICE’s Quieter Crackdown Is Pointed Sharply At Already Legal Immigrants

War In The Courts

• **BREAKING** Trump DOJ Indicts Former FBI Director James Comey For A Second Time

• Second Circuit Federal Appeals Court Rules Against ICE’s Mandatory Detention Policy, Putting It At Odd With Extremist Right-Wing Fifth Circuit Ruling

• Supreme Court Appears Divided Over Roundup Weedkiller Case That Could Limit Americans’ Ability To Sue Pesticide Companies

• Judge Rules Maurene Comey’s Lawsuit Challenging Her Firing Can Move Forward In Federal Court

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

The Fight To Vote

• Justices Sound Skeptical In Virginia Redistricting Fight Hearing

• Desantis Unveils New Florida Congressional Map That Would Likely Give Republicans An Extra Four Seats

• Reuters: How The Trump Regime Is Trying To Gain Control Of U.S. Elections, One State At A Time

Polls & Politics

• Republicans Brace For Brutal 2026 Election Losses As Trump’s Popularity Continues To Slip [Gift Link]

• New Texas Senate Race Poll Shows Democrat Talarico Leading Both Republicans, Slightly

• G. Elliott Morris: No, Higher Turnout Won’t Fix Republicans’ Midterm Problems

The Trumpstein Files

• Journalist Katie Phang Files Suit Against Trump DOJ Over Missing Epstein Files

• Epstein Scandal Looms Over King Charles’s U.S. Visit, As King Charles Refuses To Meet With Victims

Other Foreign Affairs

• King Charles To Reaffirm UK-U.S. Relationship In Rare Address To Congress

• ‘Stolen’ Grain Shipments Spark Furious Clash Of Words Between Ukraine And Israel

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Media Matters

• Federal Appeals Court Rules Pentagon Can Somewhat Restrict Journalists’ Access, Require Them Be Escorted In Building, For Now

• Defiant Jimmy Kimmel Refuses To Apologize For ‘Widow’ Joke, Pushes Back On Trump’s Calls For Him To Be Fired (Again)

• Why Trump Is Really Threatening Kimmel: Trump Regime’s Corrupt FCC Preparing Review Of Disney’s Broadcast TV Licenses

• Taylor Swift Files To Trademark Her Voice And Likeness In Era Of AI Deepfakes

Entertainment & More

• New ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 4 Trailer Reveals August Release Date

• Ariana Grande Announces New Album ‘Petal’ And Sets July Release Date

• Phillies Fire Manager Rob Thomson After Losing 11 Of 12 Games, Name Don Mattingly Interim Manager

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Scores 31 As OKC Thunder Outlast Phoenix Suns 131-122, To Cap A 4-Game Playoff Sweep

• No. 8 Seed Magic Beat No. 1 Seed Pistons 94-88 For A 3-1 Series Lead

• Overtime Goal Lifts Vega Golden Knights To 5-4 Win Over Utah Mammoth; Playoff Series Tied 2-All

• Pittsburgh Penguins Fend Off Elimination Again With 3-2 Game 5 Win Over Philly Flyers

Today’s First Special Co-Host

Carolyn Fiddler is a political consultant, and former Communications Director for multiple progressive and Democratic organizations, including the Democratic Attorney General’s Association, Daily Kos, and Courier Newsroom. She’s also one of the nation’s foremost experts in state politics, and the author of the “This Week In Statehouse Action” newsletter on Substack, where you can get some of the best info on state politics anywhere. She’s also a cat mom and a connoisseur of wine and drinks - which always makes things easier for us here at The Politics Bar!

Tonight’s Bar Regular & Co-Host

Jared Rizzi, freelance journalist, former White House Correspondent for SiriusXM & former reporter for CBS Radio News (RIP) – as well as our favorite fill-in co-host - is back with us at the bar tonight, to fill in for Jody once again! We’ll check in with him on what he’s heard about the WHCD incident, about Trump’s stupid ballroom, and of course, about the mess on Capitol Hill. Plus, we’ll pull a few rounds from the News on Tap. Join us tonight!

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