On today’s BradCast: With voters in Hungary demonstrating on Sunday that the ballot box can be mightier than the autocrat, and with shake-ups in the U.S. House this week and fresh news from the Gerrymandering Wars, it seems a good moment to consider all of this news in light of the critical November midterms. [Audio link to full show follows this summary.]
Also today, some weather and climate news, and an update on paper tiger Trump in the Middle East. Among our stories today…
- As we go to air, the most powerful storm currently on Earth — and of 2026, so far — Super Typhoon Sinlaku is slamming tens of thousands of citizens on U.S. territories in the western Pacific Ocean, including the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam. The damage may continue for a while, as the devastating storm — unusual for this early in the year — slowed down as it reached the islands, potentially resulting in maximum destruction.
- Back here on the mainland, it’s a political storm blowing through the U.S. House this week. Following serious sexual assault allegations first reported on Friday, California‘s Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell resigned from the U.S. House on Tuesday. He may now also be facing a criminal probe following a fifth woman stepping forward today with still more disturbing accusations. His resignation was followed shortly after by the resignation of Texas Republican Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, whose affair with a married staffer lead to her suicide. While the allegations against Gonzalez have been known for some time, it was only after Swalwell’s announcement that he was stepping down on Monday (facing threats of expulsion) that the Texas Rep. agreed to leave as well, safeguarding the GOP’s razor-thin majority in the lower chamber during the interim.
- Speaking of which, new news today in the Gerrymandering Wars kicked off last year by Donald Trump‘s order to Republican states to redraw their U.S. House maps to steal “blue” seats from voters this November. One of the hopes for Democrats to redraw their own maps in response to the GOP campaign was dashed on Monday night, as state Senate Democrats in Maryland ended their latest session without voting on a new state map, as sought by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore. He had asked for a redrawn map to help flip the state’s last Republican-held House District in favor of the Dems, but was blocked by the Democratic state Senate President who felt the move might end up harming Democrats.
- In other related Gerrymandering War news, the Republican-dominated Florida legislature is set to convene a special session next week to consider redrawing its already gerrymandered U.S. House map, even as Virginia voters are already early voting on a state Constitutional Amendment sponsored by Democrats to temporarily set aside the state’s independently drawn U.S. House map in favor of one that could flip as many as four more seats from “red” to “blue” this November. The Special Election Day is next Tuesday, April 21, and pre-election polling suggests it could be a close contest!
- In Congress’ upper chamber, meanwhile, the Cook Political Report this week made four adjustments to their November forecast for the U.S. Senate, with all four changes moving toward the left for this year’s races in North Carolina, Ohio, Nebraska and Georgia. That said, Cook’s current forecast for the Senate still predicts Republicans hanging on to majority control of the upper chamber next year — if just barely for now.
- Why has Trump ordered the U.S. Navy to blockade traffic in the Strait of Hormuz in his effort to prevent Iran from blockading traffic through the Strait of Hormuz? We try to explain today, before noting that China now seems to be calling Trump’s bluff.
- Finally, Desi Doyen joins us for our latest Green News Report, as the war on Iran deepens global poverty even as Big Oil is rolling in profits; as news policies in the UK and France seek to permanently reduce dependency on fossil fuels; and as birds turn out to be smarter than Donald Trump when it comes to wind energy, according to newly released studies…
The BradCast
with Brad Friedman
4/14/2026
Midterm Elections Reality Check: ‘BradCast’ 4/14/2026 | House, Senate and Gerrymandering War updates; Also: Super typhoon slams U.S. territories; China calls Trump's blockade bluff in the Strait... · · · · · Midterm Elections Reality Check: ‘BradCast’ 4/14/2026 | House, Senate and Gerrymandering War updates; Also: Super typhoon slams U.S. territories; China calls Trump's blockade bluff in the Strait...
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I breathed a sigh of relief when the U.S. Navy allowed a Chinese tanker to pass.
Trump’s announced blockade is far more perilous than most, who are reporting on it, realize. But then, most are too young to remember the Cuban Missile Crisis that was triggered when, upon an October 1962 discovery of nuclear missile launch sites in Cuba via a U-2 flight, President John F. Kennedy ordered a naval blockade.
The fear that the boarding of a Cuba bound Soviet ship would trigger a nuclear holocaust was so palpable that, within days, you couldn’t find any can goods on supermarket shelves. Fortunately, the crisis ended on my 15th birthday, Oct. 28, 1962 after direct communications between JFK and Nakita Krushchev.
Ernest @1: well said, well written.
Thank you for your kind words, Dredd.