News On Tap For Tuesday, July 22, 2025

A Blizzard Of Distractions

In today’s “News On Tap”, we’ll try to guide you through the blizzard of distraction, deflection, & lies. We’ve got updates on Trump’s collapsing economy, the immigration wars, Republicans’ war on government, two big losses in the entertainment world - and yes, updates on Trump’s Epstein files mess too. Thankfully we’ve also got our friends & neighbors stopping by, including Richard Chew of WCPT Chicago & Allison Gill of The Daily Beans. But first…

First Round - Distraction, Deflection, Donald - & Epstein

• Observers Note Trump & His Sycophants Are Clearly Trying To Distract From The Epstein Files Story By Talking About Everything But Epstein

• Trump Administration Releases FBI Records On MLK Jr., Despite His Family’s Opposition, In Another Clear Attempt To Distract From Epstein

• Judge Overseeing Trump Admin. Request To Unseal Epstein's Grand Jury Records Requires More Information Before Proceding

• Deputy Attorney General Now Set To Meet With Epstein Accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell

• Trump-Supporting Republicans Stop Work On All Major Legislation In Congress In Desperate Rush To Try To Shut Epstein Votes Down

• In Bipartisan Vote, House Oversight Committee Approves Motion To Direct Chairman To Subpoena Ghislaine Maxwell

• Re-Up: Sen. Dick Durbin Confirms FBI Agents Were Told To Flag Mentions Of Donald Trump In Jeffrey Epstein Records

• Allison Gill: The Epstein Files Cover-Up At The FBI

Second Round - Real News, Real Worries

Trump's Collapsing Economy

• U.S. Inflation Rate Increases As Economists Warn Of Impact Of Trump's Tariffs

• After Promising To Keep A Lid On Prices, Amazon Raised Prices On Hundreds Of Essentials, After Trump Unveiled Tariffs

• Stellantis (Dodge) Warns Of $2.7 Billion Loss For 1st Half Of 2025 Due To Trump's Tariffs

• GM Says It Lost $1.1B In The Second-Quarter, As Core Profits Fell 32% Due To Trump’s Tariffs

The Immigration Wars Continue

• After Being Assigned Supposedly To Help With Protests Against ICE, Pentagon Confirms 700 Active-Duty Marines To Finally Be Withdrawn From Los Angeles

• Two Immigrants Detained In NYC Shooting Of Off-Duty Border Patrol Agent; Shooting Appears To Be Part Of Random Robbery

• Trump Deportation Czar Homan Vows To Escalate ICE Actions After Off-Duty CBP Officer Allegedly Shot By Undocumented Immigrant In NYC

• 21 Democratic A.G.'s Sue Trump Admin. Over Immigrants’ Access To Federal Health, Education, & Safety Net Programs They're Allowed To Take Part In

Third Round - The Many Wars Of The Nutjob Right

The War On Education

• Judge Challenges Trump Admin. In Hearing On Harvard Funding, Calling Their Case Against The School "Cooked Up" [Gift Link]

• Trump Lashes Out At Federal Judge Presiding Over Harvard's Lawsuit Against The Trump Admin. In Monday Afternoon Social Media Post

The War On Govt.

• Trump WH Now Leading Push With Trump's Congressional Allies To Block Govt. Accountability Office's Inquiries Into Illegally Withholding Federal Funds

• FEMA Search & Rescue Chief Resigns After Frustration With DHS Dir. Noem's Texas Flood Response

• Trump’s Labor Department Proposes More Than 60 Rule Changes In A Push To Deregulate Workplaces

• In A Disgraceful Step Backward, USDA Ends Support For Black Farmers, Falsely Claiming The Govt. ‘Sufficiently’ Handled Discrimination

• Trump’s Lawsuit Against The Wall Street Journal Now Has A Judge — And It’s Not Aileen Cannon

• Accountability: Federal Judge Sentences Ex-Ofcr. To Nearly 3 Years In Prison For Deadly Breonna Taylor Raid, Rebuffing Trump DOJ Request For No Prison Time

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

Climate Realities

• U.S. Now Faces Alarming Shortage Of Firefighters During Peak Wildfire Season

• The Climate Change/Corn Sweat Feedback Loop Amps Up Again, And Will Intensify Heat Wave In The Central U.S. This Week

• Bill Mckibben: If You're Looking For Hope, Look To Solar. In The Past Two Years, Solar Power Has Begun To Transform The World’s Energy Systems

Foreign Affairs

• Trump Regime Pulls U.S. Out Of U.N. Cultural Agency UNESCO Again, Only 2 Years After Rejoining

• Zelenskiy Says Ukraine, Russia Now Plan To Hold Peace Talks In Turkey On Wednesday

• New Investigation Finds Russia Using Children To Design And Test Its Military Drones To Use Against Ukraine

Fifth Round - Entertainment & More

Rest In Peace

• Ozzy Osbourne, Pioneering Heavy Metal Singer And Black Sabbath Frontman, Dies At 76,Just Weeks After His Farewell Show

• Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Best-Known For His Role In ‘The Cosby Show’, Dies At 54 In Drowning Incident In Costa Rica

Media Matters

• Stephen Colbert Claps Back In Part Of Monologue At Trump’s Gloating About ‘Late Show’ Cancellation: ‘Go F*** Yourself’

• Trump WH Removes Wall Street Journal From Scotland Press Pool In Petty Action Over Bombshell Epstein Story

• Trump Run FCC To Make Internet Us Worse, Ditch Biden-Era Standards For Gigabit Speed And Scrapping Efforts To Track The Affordability Of Broadband

• L.A. Times Owner Patrick Soon-Shiong Now Says He Plans To Take The News Org Public

Entertainment & Sports

• 'South Park' Creators Reach $1.5-Billion Streaming Deal With Paramount After Tense Negotiations

• Ted Lasso' Season 4 First Look Revealed As Filming Begins In Kansas City

• Phillies Secure Bizarre Walk-Off Win In 10th Inning Over Red Sox With Help Of Rarely Invoked Catcher's Interference Rule

• Milwaukee Brewers One Win Away From Triggering Unique Promotion - Free Burgers For All From Local Chain

Today’s Special Neighborhood Guest

Richard Chew has been part of the WCPT AM 820 family for nearly a decade - and we’re thrilled to have him here tonight at The Politics Bar! Currently, Richard hosts Chew’s Views, the early morning show on WCPT (before Stephanie Miller). While he has a long history in financial planning, wealth management, and insurance - before his radio days - Richard’s real wealth is his knowledge of his hometown, Chicago, and the people who live in the city and the greater Chicagoland metro. We’ll talk with him tonight about what Chicagoans really think about the second Trump regime, about our U.S. media environment, and more.

Today’s Special Intelligence Guest

Allison Gill is currently the host & executive producer of multiple award-winning podcasts including Mueller She Wrote & The Daily Beans. She's also the CEO of podcasting network, MSW Media, who distributes The Politics Bar podcast. In another life, she was also a U.S. federal govt. employee & whistleblower. Now she’s got a key piece up at her Substack, “The Epstein Files Cover-Up At The FBI” that highlights one of the key problems with Trump & his allies trying to dodge everything Epstein, that the cover up may be worse than the crime.

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