
Monday, June 8th, 2026 Today, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is going to stop reporting deaths of newly released detainees; massive protests break out in Albania over Jared and Ivanka’s planned resort; the House bucks Trump and passes Ukraine aid and Russian sanctions, but they’re rolling back food and health care to pregnant women and children; the Senate has blocked extending FISA section 702 over Bill Pulte being named acting DNI; the DOJ says Trump could tear down the Statue of Liberty if he wanted; a whistleblower claims DOGE planned to mark 2.7M as dead; the Pentagon has cut 180 religious identities from personnel records; the hair loss drug Donald has taken for years is now absent from his medical record; the governor of Hawaii has signed a powerful trans shield law; and Allison and Dana deliver your Good News.
Loading summary
A
It's no surprise that newsmakers try to manipulate the audience. They want you to believe that they are the one holding the line, and they'll use any trick they can to get you there.
B
But don't let them fool you.
A
Get Unspun. I'm Amanda Sturgel. I've been a reporter, and today I teach future reporters to cut the spin and think critically about what newsmakers say. My podcast, Unspun, shows you how to know when you're being manipulated by the news. Learn to spot the tricks, and how to make up your own mind about what's true. So if you're tired of being fooled by the news, subscribe to UNSPUN today. Unspun because you deserve the truth.
B
MSW Media.
C
News whispering
B
daily beans.
C
Daily beans. Daily beans.
B
Daily beans. Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Monday, June 8, 2026. Today, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is going to stop reporting the deaths of newly released detainees. Massive protests have broken out in Albania over Jared and Ivanka's planned resort. The House has bucked Trump and passed Ukraine aid and Russian sanctions, but they're rolling back food aid to pregnant women and children. The Senate has blocked extending FISA sect 702 surveillance over bill Pulte being named Acting Director of National Intelligence. The Department of Justice says Trump could tear down the Statue of Liberty if he wanted to. A whistleblower claims Doge planned to mark 2.7 million people as dead. The Pentagon has cut 180 religious identities from personnel records. The hair loss drug that Donald has been taking for years is now absent from his medical records. And the Governor of Hawaii has signed a very powerful trans shield law. I'm Alison Gill.
C
And I'm Dana Goldberg.
B
Hello, my friend. Happy Monday.
C
Happy Monday to you. Thank you so much for covering me. I had an extraordinary event for Lambda Legal on Thursday and I always appreciate you having my back.
B
Yeah. Here you were able to raise a lot of money for that very, very important organization.
C
I did. I broke my own fundraising record by a lot. I raised about $1.7 million for Lambda Legal. On Thursday, I had the pleasure of meeting Kara Swisher, who I had not, as we know, massive powerhouse in the tech industry and all things. It's almost all things Silicon Valley, in my opinion. And, man, Annette Benning. I was sort of blown away. Like, I've been a fan of Annette Benning for so long. She's raising a trans son and is a hell of an ally and one of just the most lovely human beings. And also got to see Becky Pepper Jackson, if you do follow Becky's case, Becky is the trans athlete that has a case before the Supreme Court. Basically all of the lower courts said that she could participate in sport in her school. And so they said, we're going to take this to the Supreme Court. And unfortunately we're still waiting that hearing. Not hearing that.
B
Oh, the decision.
C
The decision. Thank you very much. So the decision is supposed to come down fairly soon. They're worried. But at the same time, the amount of courage in that young lady's pinky is more than most of the, you know, the conservative supreme courts have in their entire body.
B
Yeah, the bought and paid for don't like to fill out financial disclosure forms. Oligarchs that sit on the Supreme Court.
C
Those would be them.
B
That's them. Also, we're still counting votes here in California. And let me explain something to the MAGA idiots who every time we vote in California, they're like, why does it take so long? It must be rigged. We accept ballots, mail in ballots postmarked on election day and we accept them up to seven days after the election. So while people are saying, why is four days, five days? We don't even have all the ballots in yet to count them. We always take weeks to count our ballots. It's absolutely normal. We have to verify most of our ballots are mail in ballots and each signature has to be verified. We figured you'd like that. Yeah, extra step of verification and signatures and whatnot. And then we have a period to cure our ballots if there's a problem with our mail in ballots. So just shut up. But anyway, we're still counting. It looks like Nithya Raman could surpass Spencer Pratt in the LA mayors, which would be amazing.
C
Spencer's only holding on to 1%. 1%. A lot of the pundits say he's cooked.
B
There are still. She's down by like 8,000 votes. I think there's still 175,000 votes to count.
C
Lovely, lovely, lovely.
B
California is on track for a record breaking turnout.
C
That makes me very happy to hear.
B
If we get between, you know, the registrar's Office is estimating 9.2 million ballots. Vote Hub is estimating 9.5 million ballots. And it's looking more like that. That would be a 41% turnout and that is the highest since they've been keeping track of this. And I know it sounds low, but it's actually smashing records. In 2018 when we flipped 40 seats in the House, our turnout here in California was 37%.
C
Wow.
B
That is amazing for the primary, for the midterm primaries, the gubernatorial election, they call it. Also, Becerra is now leading. He's taken over Steve Hilton's top spot. We knew that he would. Steyer is gaining on Hilton, but I don't think he's going to catch him. So I think it's going to be Becerra has been called, but they haven't called either Steyer or Hilton yet. But I think it's going to be Hilton. The progressive Randy Villegas is ahead of the DCCC selected Jasmeet Baines, who I don't like very much. So I'm very happy that that Vellegus is ahead there. One of them will face the Republic David Valadao in House District 22. And Democrat Richard Pan has overtaken Republican Michael Stansfield to face Republican turned Independent Kevin Kiley in House District 6, which is amazing news because it looked for a second there like Democrats would be shut out of the final two spots. So we're still counting. Things are looking good. So I just wanted to share that information. All right, everybody, we have a ton of news to get to. Let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right. First up from the Washington Post is the number of immigrants dying in government custody rises. ICE is shrinking the scope of which deaths it will require itself to report. In a memo sent to agency employees Thursday and reviewed by the Washington Post, Acting Director David Venturella says that ICE is eliminating its requirement to report deaths that occur 30 days after people are released from custody. The 30 day requirement was adopted by President Joe Biden right when he got into office in 2021. And it sought to hold ICE accountable for detainees released from its custody with serious medical conditions. That's what Deborah Fleischecker said, who was the acting chief of staff at the time. Earlier that year, a man who had contracted coronavirus while detained at the Atalanto Detention center in California died three days after ICE released him. And Biden was like, we need to count these deaths. Especially thinking of like, that refugee that they just dumped off in the middle of the night at a bus station who, who ended up dying. But now they're not going to count those anymore. Quote, the policy change to make clear that ICE should not release people simply to avoid, you know, logging a death in custody. And that's what they're remember when he said if we don't test for Covid, we won't have as many cases of COVID Right. That's what's happening here.
C
There. This is actually a surprising Story to me, anyway. This is from the Times. The House voted on Thursday to approve new aid for Ukraine and impose a fresh round of sanctions targeting the industries fueling Russia's war economy. This is after 18 Republicans defied leadership 18, not just a few, defied leadership to join the Democrats in support of a bill that runs counter to Trump's agenda. The legislation, which passed 226 to 195, would provide $8 billion in loans to Ukraine and 1.8 billion in aid for military and security assistance. In addition to putting new sanctions on Russian affiliated businesses and officials, it would also punish foreign companies, organizations, individuals that attempt to evade sanctions and effort to support Moscow. It's now heading to the Senate, where Mr. Trump's opposition has stopped similar attempts at new penalties on Russia and its allies. And even to clear both chambers. It would likely be vetoed by the president, who has repeatedly balked at the legislation that ceased to constrain his ability to negotiate in foreign policy matters. But still, backers of the measure said the vote Thursday sent a strong bipartisan message to the president that significant support remains in Congress for Ukraine. It was the second time this week that Republicans have broken with Donald over foreign conflicts after a handful of them joined Democrats on Wednesday to push through a war powers resolution that seeks to require the president to seek congressional approval to continue the war in Iran. Well, the Ukraine bill that was led by Representative Gregory W. Meeks of New York, and he is the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee. That was introduced in April of 2025. But it languished after Republican leaders refused to take it up in committee and Mike Johnson blocked it from coming to the floor. Mr. Meeks turned to a discharge petition. That's a procedural move that allows lawmakers to circumvent the leadership and speed a bill to the floor if they collect signatures from majority of House members that require the backing of all Democrats and a small group of Republicans. A threshold reached last month when Representative Kevin Kiley of California, who's an independent who caucuses with Republicans.
B
That's the guy we're talking about.
C
Yep.
B
The House district.
C
Yeah. But he actually signed on to this petition, which is surprising. Now, two Republicans, Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, they were already on board, having broken with their party months earlier to back the effort. So the vote on Thursday, it even drew broader Republican support than they expected.
B
Yeah. And these guys realize that they have to run for Congress.
C
Yes, they do.
B
So they're like, oh, shit, how can I defend not sending aid to Ukraine and not sanctioning Russia.
C
And I wonder what the two Republicans who just lost their are going to lose their seat because they lost their primaries. The Senators Massie and Cornyn, what they're going to do with this vote. I wonder if they're going to tell Trump to go himself even if he vetoes the bill. I really interested to see what they do.
B
And there are other senators that are still having to run for their seats as well.
C
Yep.
B
All right. But not so fast on glad handing Republicans in Congress because as grocery prices continue to rise nationally, the House on Thursday passed an appropriations bill that cuts funding for a program that helps pregnant women and children purchase healthy food cuz them kids.
C
Right, Right.
B
By a vote of 213 to 210, the House passed an appropriations measure to fund the Agriculture Department, among other agencies. And the bill, which the Senate has yet to consider, aims to cut about 1.5% from overall federal agriculture spending in fiscal year 2027. Four House Democrats voted with Republicans to pass this measure, but five Republicans voted against it. Under the legislation, the special supplemental nutrition program, SNAP for Women, Infants and Children, more commonly known as WIC, would lose $141 million in funding for fruit and vegetable benefits.
C
Good lord.
B
For the 5.4 million children and pregnant postpartum women that are enrolled. Additionally, the National WIC association, which is an advocacy group for public health nutrition providers, estimates the bill would reduce monthly fruit and vegetable benefits from $52 to $13 for breastfeeding mothers and $26 to $10 for young children.
C
Wow. Sorry. I just, I.
B
They're still Republicans.
C
Thank you. Yep. All right. This is from pbs. The Senate blocked an extension early Friday of a key surveillance program used by US Intelligence as concerns mounted over Donald's selection of that federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte, who likes to give away money on Twitter to serve as director of National Intelligence. Some Republicans joined Democrats in a 47 to 52 vote against a procedural motion that would have set up a final vote on the extension next week, complicating efforts to extend the critical program before it expires on June 12. The vote came after an oversight session on separate legislation funding immigration enforcement agencies. And I quote the naming a poll to that position. Although the timing arguably wasn't the best, I still don't think it ought to derail something that's this important. That was th still a Republican. The vote marked the latest setback for Trump and intelligence officials who have spent months pushing to extend a key provision of the foreign intelligence surveillance act that allows agencies such as the CIA, National Security Agency, and the FBI to collect communications from foreign targets without a warrant. Seven Republican senators joined nearly all Democrats in voting against the bill, with John Fetterman voting for it. Oh, my God. Senator Mark Warner is a top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who had worked to negotiate the bill, voted against it, which is interesting. He said earlier Thursday that he and committee chair Senator Tom Cotton had reached what he described as a compromise on a strong bill, but that the complete irresponsibility of putting forward Pulte had changed the equation. Yeah. Pulte has seen push back to his appointment from both Democrats and Republicans because he has no experience, none in national security. Th said that the position shouldn't be weaponized and should be led by professionals. Well, it's already been weaponized, but maybe we should start with professionals, at least
B
somebody who knows how to spell intelligence.
C
That would be nice.
B
Fantastic. And I will point out here on the daily beans last week, Dana, I said, I brought up the point Marcy Wheeler made. They should hold FISA section 702 reauthorization hostage unless they get Bill Pulte out of that position.
C
Yes.
B
Because he's only acting. He's only named as interim. He doesn't have to be confirmed by the Senate. And that is exactly what they did. So, again, listening to the beans. You're always one step ahead of the game, so we're very happy that you're here. Next up from the post, thousands of Albanians. Have you seen this? They're protesting a luxury resort planned for a strip of the Mediterranean coastline.
C
Good.
B
Backed by Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared. Jared Kushner. The protests, they're massive. They raise concerns about conservation, transparency, and the project's ties to the Trump family. They began Sunday after heavy machinery started working on this project, which has two parts. One beachfront development along the Adriatic coast and another resort on the nearby uninhabited Cezanne Island. In an interview that published on the same day, Ivanka spoke about the project at length, calling it the culmination of all my experience in real estate. Okay, okay, sure. I don't. I've never heard of a George Glass at our school. Anyway, quote, it's an unbelievable, beautiful, 1400 hectare private island in the middle of the Mediterranean, she said on David Senra's podcast, describing how she and Jared had became aware of the area. She said, we were on a friend. We were on a friend's boat, and we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that's how we found it. We swam to the island and went on a hike barefoot all the way to the top. And we were just captivated. And it stayed with us ever since. Protesters in Albania, including environmentalists, say the coastal land targeted for the development is among the Mediterranean's most pristine, untouched, most ecologically important pieces of land, encompassing centuries old coastal dunes and lagoons, forests and marshlands that serve as habitats for diverse wildlife. So lots of protests right now in Albania for that.
C
Good, good, good, good. All right. This is from Politico. A federal appeals court panel expressed skepticism Friday about the Trump administration's view that courts are powerless to stop the construction of the White House ballroom now that the East Wing has been demolished. Two members of a three judge panel of the U.S. court for the District of Columbia Circuit repeatedly pressed administration lawyers about its argument that Donald Trump's pet project, now well underway, could not be stopped by the courts even if it was found to be illegal because it was way too far along and involved significant national security interests. And this is a quote. When did it become a fate accompli? This is Judge Patricia Millet. That's what she asked. And went on to say if this were complete lawlessness by the government, it couldn't be stopped on those theories. I think that's right. This is from Yakov Roth, Justice Department attorney. Love to know the background of that person. Millet, an Obama appointee, peppered Roth with questions about the extent of the Trump administration's view of its power to, and I quote, move fast and break things. Also the goddamn motto of Facebook without being subject to legal challenge. And I quote, if the government decides very quickly to bulldoze the Statue of Liberty, the people whose ancestors that was the first thing they saw coming into this country. But the moved too fast. Nothing could be done. That's what the judge asked. I think that's a fair question. And Roth responded with, I think that's right. Yes.
B
What?
C
That's. I know.
B
You could just bulldoze the Statue of Liberty. Okay, Y.
C
That's fine. A federal judge in March halted construction on the ballroom during the legal battle. But the D.C. circuit quickly paused the ruling, allowing construction to continue while the litigation's ongoing. The Friday exchange underscored the Trump administration's full throttle effort to defend Trump's massive reconstruction project, which the president has made clear is a personal priority along with our aesthetic and architectural ambitions he has across Washington. Is that what we're calling it? Millett was joined, by the way, in her skepticism by Judge Bradley Garcia, who's a Biden appointee now Judge Naomi Rao, I know a Trump appointee is the one questioning whether the plaintiff in the lawsuit, which is the National Trust for Historic Preservation, had a basis to sue in the first place, especially when set against Trump's claim that the ballroom would serve as a critical national security bulwark in addition to an event space.
B
Okay, but we're having an outdoor wrestling match.
C
Exactly. It's really hard to defend that when you're having an outdoor wrestling match, but
B
there'll be a lot of young soldiers
C
with short sleeves, so they're so excited.
B
All right, next up from the Post, the Trump administration had plans to classify 2.7 million living people, including some U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, as dead as part of its immigration enforcement efforts, according to a former Social Security executive. Wild, the previously unreported plan, which the Social Security Administration said was not carried out, would have used one of the government's most consequential identity databases to effectively erase people from the financial system, potentially cutting them off from wages, banking government benefits and other services, and voting. Jeremiah Schofield, who worked at Social Security for 25 years and helped lead the agency's IT modernization efforts before leaving in October, said he refused to help implement this plan after agency lawyers warned that falsely marking living people as dead could violate federal law. So there's some lawyers still at the agency who are like, you can't do this, so that's good to know. Schofield said he realized the plan's possible intent to intimidate and worsen the finances of immigrants, as well as its potential unlawfulness after taking a sample of people from the 2.7 million and discovering they were all all alive. Some were US citizens, lawful permanent residents, teenagers, senior citizens, including one widow who was a legal permanent resident receiving survivor benefits. Schofield has provided details on the plan in a 49 page whistleblower disclosure to Senator Elizabeth Warren, who's on the Senate Finance Committee, and Senator Richard Blumenthal, the ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The disclosure was reviewed by the Post, and it offers the most detailed account yet of how officials at Doge Elon Musk's service sought to use Social Security data in service of Trump's immigration crackdown. In an interview with the Post, Schofield said he's speaking publicly for the first time because he believes Americans need to understand how government data can be misused and in some cases already has. Social Security carried out a smaller version of this effort last year. We reported that here on the Daily Beans, the Post previously reported it as well, they moved 6,100 immigrants into its death master file. Remember this?
C
Mm.
B
This is a database used by banks, employers, government agencies to determine whether someone is alive. Some of those people later showed up at Social Security field offices to prove they were alive and have their agency records restored. So this was a test run, then? They did it on 6,100 people. They were going to do it to 2.7 million people. Schofield's whistleblower complaint describes a tumultuous period inside Social Security as career officials questioned the legality of these efforts and watched DOGE officials gain access to some of the government's most sensitive databases. In one meeting, Schofield said a DOGE official working with the Department of Homeland Security described the goal of declaring 2.7 million Living people dead to make immigrants so miserable that they self deport or go to Social Security offices for help where they would be arrested.
C
Thank you, Allison. We knew that that was going to just be a fucking disaster. Those kids. All right, this is from the Times. The Defense Department is no longer allowing military service members to claim roughly 180 different religious traditions in their personal records, leaving just 31 to choose from 22 of those Christian denominations.
B
Of course.
C
The change, which was reported earlier by Military.com was announced on Friday afternoon in a statement posted in social media by Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, who called it, and I quote, a long overdue move. Mr. Parnell framed the change as a largely administrative exercise intended to simplify data collection for military leaders and chaplains. I would disagree. According to the memo, the new system will provide chaplains with clear, readily available information that will better enable them to anticipate the religious support needs of service members and to provide religious support activities that align with service members personal faith and practices, apparently only if they're Catholic or Christian. That's basically what we're saying here. Now, service members would not, however, be limited to the new policies. 31. Religious affiliation codes. When choosing to include their religious preference on the stamp metal identification tags that are worn around their neck, their dog tags. Now, aside from the Christian faiths, the newly consolidated quote, religious affiliation codes will allow soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guard and space force personnel to identify in their records as agnostic, Baha', I, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish or Sikh, Wicca, Paganism, Humanism and Atheism are among those that are removed from the list. So you must believe in a God, but you've got to choose from these?
B
Yes.
C
Now, those who identify with one of the 180 eliminated faith groups will have just two options under the new policy. No religion or other religions.
B
Okay.
C
Wow. Yeah.
B
I'm sure this world better help the military anticipate the religious.
C
Absolutely. Sure, sure, sure, sure.
B
Totally. All right. From the Post. President Trump's medical reports no longer include a common hair loss prevention drug that his physicians say he routinely used during his first term in office, Finasteride, also known as Propecia. The brand name Propecia is used by millions of American men as a gender affirming care to prevent male pattern hair loss. Three if tried threw a little. I threw that in there. Three of Trump's past physicians have said he's used the drug before and during his first term as president. But the drug has not appeared in Trump's medical records since he returned to office last year, including a report released Friday night that mentioned three other medications. And it's, it's important to note that Propecia actually causes cognitive dysfunction which is counteracts any anti dementia medications that someone might be taking. Just throwing that out there.
C
All right. From Aaron Reed, who we love. This is Aaron in the Morning. Definitely follow her Substack. Subscribe to it After a three year push, Hawaii officially has implemented a shield law to explicitly protect providers and patients of gender affirming care for the trans community. House Bill 1875, known as Act 059, was signed by Governor Josh Green, himself a physician, by the way, late last week. The bill explicitly adds gender affirming care to its existing shield law, which broadly covered reproductive health and established safeguards from abusive litigation coming from outside states. Shield laws create, and I quote, legal protections for patients, health care providers and people assisting in the provision of certain health care in states where that care is legal from the reach of states with civil, criminal or professional consequences related to that care. That's according to the center of Reproductive Health Law and Policy at ucla. For example, it means Hawaii state actors, they may not aid out of state attacks such as, say, through the extradition of healthcare providers over lawful care rendered in Hawaii. And I quote, the legislature finds that the people of Hawaii have a long tradition of protecting an individual's right to privacy and bodily autonomy independently of and more broadly than the United States Constitution. That's what the bill reads. It emphasized that the right to privacy and bodily autonomy extends to minors. Yep. Quote it is the policy of the state that the rights of equality, liberty and privacy guaranteed under the Hawaii state Constitution are fundamental rights. That those rights include an individual's right to make health care decisions about one's own body, including the right to seek and receive health care services that affirm their expressed gender. Amen. The signing was a resounding victory for LGBTQ activists on the islands. Hawaii was among the last of the blue states to enact a shield law for transgender community and their providers. Wow.
B
Wonderful. And again, definitely subscribe to Aaron in the Morning. Over on Substack, our friend Aaron Reed writes that you get all sorts of really important news and updates for. For the LGBTQ+ community that. All right, everybody. That's the news. It took a minute to get through. We had a really long news weekend this weekend. Also, I want to recommend it's Monday night as you're listening to this unless you're a patron and you get this episode the night before it comes out. But for the public Monday night at Madison Square Garden, Donald Trump is going to show up to the Knicks game disrupt the whole damn night. For fans. Fans have to get there, Dana. Two hours early. Yep.
C
And they can't have watch parties outside Madison Square Garden anymore. And I tell you, I've been in New York for the first two games that were in San Antonio, they had watch parties outside and inside the Garden. And it's been an extraordinary celebratory energy here. And of course, he's got to fuck it all up.
B
Yeah. So everybody tune in tonight to watch him get booed into outer space.
C
Oh, yeah.
B
And let's see if ABC or ESPN edits out those boos. I'm sure we will get actual footage of the booing from cell phones recording inside Madison Square Garden.
C
Oh, yes, we will.
B
So go go Nicks. I'm a Knicks fan, so. But, you know, of course it's, you know, if you're a Spurs fan, then go Spurs. But definitely tune in to watch Trump get booed into outer space. It's going to be. I'm looking forward to it, everyone. All right, we've got some good news to get to, but we have to take a quick break. Stick around.
C
We'll be right back after these messages. We'll be right back.
B
Your personal information is not as difficult to get a hold of as it used to be. And that should bother you. If you want to make yourself harder to target for stalkers, scammers, and hackers, go to www.joindeleteme.com DailyBeans and enter code DailyBeans for 20% off. Delete Me removes your personal information from being sold online. Now, in the age of AI, the risks are even worse. Scammers can do a lot with information that they couldn't do before. And this information is already floating around the Internet. So if you've ever googled yourself and found your home address, phone number, even the name of a family member, you know how unsettling that is. Delete Me does the hard work of wiping your personal information from data broker websites, which means you don't have to spend your own time hunting down one shady listing after another. And they pop back up too. That's the cool thing about Delete Me is they continuously monitor. It's not just a one and done thing. And so we want to thank our sponsor for today's episode, Deleteme. Because with Delete Me, I protect my personal privacy and the privacy of my business. As someone with quite an active online presence, privacy matters to me a lot. And I keep hearing about data breaches in the news and hacker getting names and bank, mass bank account numbers, last four of socials, phone numbers, email addresses, family member information. And then data brokers suck all that information up. They vacuum it up and sell it to the highest bidder. But Delete Me helps remove that information and keep it out of the wrong hands. It also has never been more affordable. So you can get an individual plan now for a little over $8 a month. And the discounts get even better with a two year plan or when you enroll with your partner or family. So take control of your data. Keep your private life private by signing up for Deleteme now at a special discount for our audience. Get 20 off your Delete Me plan when you go to www.joindeleteme.com DailyBeans and use promo code DailyBeans at checkout. Again, the only way to get 20% off is to go to www.joindeLeteme.com DailyBeans and enter code DailyBeans at checkout. Www.joindeleteme dot com DailyBeans code DailyBeans hey everybody, it's summer and fast growing trees has more than earned the title of America's largest and most trusted online nursery. They have thousands of trees and plants, more than 2 million happy customers, and the kind of selection that makes it easier to actually build the yard or garden you envision instead of setting, settling for whatever happens to be left at those big box stores. They offer everything from fruit trees to privacy trees, flowering trees, shrubs, house plants, all grown with care and guaranteed to arrive healthy. It's better than using your like big box nursery because it offers so much more for you. You can shop from home, you get a wider selection, you find plants that match your climate, your space and the way you live. Choosing the perf plant the first time saves you time and money and keeps you from getting frustrated with a project that can already kind of be overwhelming. So check Fast Growing Trees out. They make it so easy. You click, order and grow with healthy plants that arrive at your door ready for success. They're alive and thrive guarantee adds real peace of mind. And their plant experts give you something that a lot of plant sites don't ongoing support. They can help you plan your landscape, help you care for the plants once they arrive, which I love. I was already excited for my hibiscus, my hibbees. I love my hippies. Before they showed up at my door. It added exactly the kind of color and energy I wanted right outside my window. I had considered going with landscapers, but the price was enough to shut that idea down pretty fast. So Fast Growing Trees gave me a way to get the result I wanted without turning it into a huge expense. And right now they have great deals on spring and planting essentials, up to half off on select plants and our audience. You get 20% off your first purchase when you use the code Daily Beans at checkout. That's an additional 20% off. Better plants and better growing at fast growingtrees.com using the code dailybeans at checkout fast growingtrees.com code dailybeans now is the perfect time to plant. So let's grow together. Use Daily Beans to save today. Offers valid for a limited time. Terms and conditions may apply.
A
It's no surprise that newsmakers try to manipulate the audience. They want you to believe that they are the one holding the line, and they'll use any trick they can to get you there.
B
But don't let them fool you.
A
Get Unspun I'm Amanda Sturgill. I've been a reporter, and today I teach future reporters to cut the spin and think critically about what newsmakers say. My podcast, Unspun, shows you how to know when you're being manipulated by the news. Learn to spot the tricks and how to make up your own mind about what's true. So if you're tired of being fooled by the news, subscribe to UNSPUN today. Unspun. Because you deserve the truth.
B
Everybody, welcome back. It's time for the good news, everyone.
C
Then good news, everyone.
B
Good news.
C
Oh boy.
B
We need your good news. Please send it to us. Flood the zone with good news. Please send it to us dailybeanspod.com click on contact it could be big good news, small good news. It could be recent. Could be from the distant past. It can be a shout out. If you want to shout out your spouse or a loved one or a family member or yourself, maybe a government program that's helped you or a loved one. Maybe you want to shout out a nonprofit. You want us to know about some great community activism in your area. Maybe you have a good trouble suggestion to send us. Whatever it is, please send it in. And all you got to do to get it read on the air is just attach a photo of anything that'll bring a smile to our face. It can be your pet. We can try to guess the breeds in your shelter pup an adoptable pet in your area. Random animal photos from the Internet. We like goats and chickens, otters and pandas, both black and white and red indeed. And just, you know, birds. And it can be a bird or you flipping the bird to a Trump building. We love bird watching. Either way, send it all to us dailybeanspot.com click on contact. First up, you're good trouble. And good trouble today comes from Nancy in Virginia. Hey, Beans, Queens. The public has until June 15th to comment on the trumpful arc, which you know is the triumphal arc. Please get your comments in. I've attached pictures of my kitties, Earl Gray, eg, Batgirl, BG and Smudge is the calico. And we'll have a link to the Federal Register for parks planning in the episode notes so that you can comment against the arc. 250 foot arc that's gonna just totally be a eyesore between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. Yeah. Look at this sweet baby kitty.
C
Oh, so cute.
B
Nancy, thank you so much.
C
All right. From Crystal Pronoun. She and her in Minneapolis at a home near Lake of the Isles, we celebrate new beginnings by sharpening a huge pencil. The community gathers, there's music and even a giant pencil sharpener. This is awesome. There's a link in the episode notes, by the way. We're going to have that for you. Also, it's worth mentioning this awesome animal rescue that we have adopted all of our fur family members from. It's called the Bond Between. In order of the largest two smallest is Dottie Flurry and Jeffrey, the big orange cat. We bring Dottie to an assisted living facility one month where she gets to love all the love and attention from the residents there. That's so sweet. Also a shout out to teachers everywhere. I have a new appreciation for teachers in the public schools that are so foundational in our communities. I'm just finishing up my first year of teaching special education. I Love it. But this is by far the hardest thing I've done in my life. Please support your schools to vote, to pass your referendums. Thank you for doing what you do, AG and dg, for keeping me sane and informed during these. Fill in the blank times.
B
Okay, here's an orange cat helping with a puzzle by laying on it two cuties. Check out these doggos. Oh, so adorable. Thank you so much for that. Oh, my gosh, these photos. Next up from care. Yep, just the word care. Pronoun. She and her hello, beans queens. Gonna keep this short and sweet. Sweet. I sent in some good news in April when my incredible wife and I got gay married officially. And I'm pleased to report married life is even better than I could have imagined. I promised wedding photos, so here they are. Pod Tax is a picture of us at our wedding with our baby's nephew. Love you guys and all you do. Keep it up. Look at these gorgeous photos.
C
These are fantastic. Oh, my goodness.
B
How much love is there right there? You know, Love it.
C
It. All right. Anna Marie Pronoun. She and her dear Ag, DG and the Beans crew. Every time a journalist or comedian gets fired by a network, I think of the scene in Star Wars Episode 4 When Obi Wan and Darth Vader face off during the escape from the Death Star. So I made a meme about it. Here it is. I hope you like it. I can't wait to see what people like Scott Pelly and Stephen Colbert do now that they're free of corporate control. My pot pet tax is just this meme. Love you all and happy pride. Look at this.
B
If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
C
I love it.
B
Yeah. Hey, and you know, Anna Marie, I was fired from my government job by the Trump administration, and here we are now bringing you the beans every week. So. Agreed? Agree. Next up from James. No pronouns. I wish I could join the boycott cbs, but I've been boycotting CBS ever since they canceled the Smothers Brothers. Here's my kitty in a bucket. She loves sleeping on potting M. I love calico cats. They're so sweet. And I'll go ahead and take this last one. That was pretty short. This is from Barbro. Pronoun. She and her Hi from Norway. I've been a listener since the kitchen table days. Love your news. Chatter and laughter. And this might make you laugh. Mr. Polti. His name is Norwegian and it's Norwegian and it means fucked. Literally.
C
Funny.
B
This has to lead to some funny headlines like unexperienced fucked, unknown fucked, and my favorite, fucked in new position. It's probably easier to laugh about this from across the Atlantic. Yeah, yeah, Barbara, you don't have to deal with him as a dni. Anyway, thank you for your battle for democracy every day. I'm a local politician for our centrist social Liberal Party, and with the way the world is today, we need to take a deep breath every now and then. We celebrate pride here today, so I'm off to the parade. Love you all. Sorry I don't have any pets to show you since I only have four cats. But no available photos right now. But I promise I'll make it up to you. You and Nick, by the way, sent us a Norwegian pronunciation help. Pulte in Norwegian is pulta to
C
so funny.
B
And pul or puli to and pulte past tense. Thank you.
C
That is so funny, by the way.
B
Oh my God. Oh, that's so great. Thank you, everyone. Really appreciate you sending in your good news. Please send us. Send us all your good news. Even if you just have a picture you want to share, like, send the picture in and just put a note in there like, hi, I like beans.
C
Yay.
B
And then you know that it doesn't have to be that much. Whatever it is, just send it to us dailybeanspod.com click on Contact. Thanks so much for listening, Dana. Did you have any final thoughts?
C
Not today.
B
All right, everybody, we'll be back in your ears tomorrow. We'll see you over on Beans Talk later. Until then, please take care of yourselves. Take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health, take care of your family. What did I miss? Did I get it all? All?
C
I think so.
B
I think I got it all. I've been ag.
C
I've been dg.
B
Then them's the beans. The Daily Beans is written and executive produced by Allison Gill with additional research and reporting by Dana Goldberg. Sound design and editing is by Desiree McFarlane with art and web design by Joelle Reader with Moxie Design Studios. Music for the Daily Beans is written and performed by they Might Be Giants and the show is a proud member of the MSW Media Network, a collection of creator owned podcasts dedicated to news, politics and justice. For more information, Please visit msw media.com MSW Media. Hi, I'm Frances Collier.
C
And I'm Angela V. Shelton.
B
And we're Frangela.
C
You know what you need in your life?
B
The Final Word podcast. Yes, you do.
C
That's right.
B
It is the final Word on all things political and pop cultural, where we make real news, real funny, where we inspire you so you can resist. Subscribe and get a new episode of the Final Word podcast each week. It's the news we think you need to hear.
C
That's right. We think you need to hear it.
B
Okay. Yeah.
C
It's what we say, so.
B
That's right. And because all we do is give. Every Thursday, you can listen to our hysterical podcast, idiot of the Week. We round up the stupid. Because you know what? Somebody has to. Okay. All we do is give.
Date: June 8, 2026
Hosts: Allison Gill (AG) & Dana Goldberg (DG)
Theme: A jam-packed episode examining the sharp divides and dysfunctions in politics and governance—covering everything from ICE transparency rollbacks, surprising Congressional votes bucking Trump, major protests in Albania, rights rollbacks, whistleblower warnings, and landmark protections for trans health in Hawaii—with snark, deep dives, and calls for action.
This episode explores how cracks are widening in institutional and political ranks: House and Senate Republicans are at odds with Trump on Ukraine and Iran policy; federal agencies are making controversial policy changes behind the scenes; whistleblowers are exposing aggressive immigration tactics; right-wing social and religious restrictions escalate; and, amid all this, activists and legal advocates fight back, notably in Hawaii’s new trans shield law. As always, Allison and Dana layer in the latest headlines with context and plenty of signature snark.
(Hot Notes, 05:00)
"Remember when [Trump] said if we don't test for COVID, we won't have as many cases of COVID? Right. That's what's happening here." (07:35)
(07:40)
"They're like, oh, shit, how can I defend not sending aid to Ukraine and not sanctioning Russia?" (10:09)
(10:42)
"Sorry. I just, I—" (11:55)
(12:01)
"Somebody who knows how to spell intelligence." (14:00)
“I brought up the point Marcy Wheeler made: hold FISA reauth hostage unless they get Bill Pulte out of that position. That is exactly what they did." (14:19)
(14:41)
“We swam to the island and went on a hike barefoot all the way to the top. And we were just captivated….” (14:41)
(16:15)
“If the government decides very quickly to bulldoze the Statue of Liberty…[there’s] nothing [that] could be done?” (17:12)
DOJ:
"I think that's right." (17:38)
(18:50)
(21:53)
“…Apparently only if they're Catholic or Christian. That's basically what we're saying here.” (22:13)
(24:00)
"It’s important to note that Propecia actually causes cognitive dysfunction which counteracts any anti-dementia medications someone might be taking. Just throwing that out there." (24:40)
(24:48)
“Those rights include an individual's right to make health care decisions about one's own body, including the right to seek and receive health care services that affirm their expressed gender. Amen.” (26:36)
(03:32)
On Supreme Court Ethics:
“The bought and paid for oligarchs that sit on the Supreme Court.” – AG (03:24)
On Albanian Resort:
“I’ve never heard of a George Glass at our school.” – AG, referencing Ivanka’s “we just stumbled on it” story (14:41)
On DOGE Whistleblower:
“This was a test run, then? They did it on 6,100 people. They were going to do it to 2.7 million people.” – AG (21:03)
(33:01)
A much-needed palate cleanser, featuring:
Breaking Ranks captures the chaos, contradictions, and moments of hope in modern politics. From back-channel Congressional resistance to Trump, to bureaucratic shenanigans that threaten democracy and human rights, to fierce grassroots advocacy and joyful wins for bodily autonomy—the Daily Beans delivers the news with context, bite, and a call to keep showing up.
Until next episode: take care of yourselves, each other, the planet, and your mental health. Them’s the beans!