President Trump handed out a round of pardons on the Fourth of July that lands right at the kitchen table for truckers, farmers, and small-shop mechanics. He wiped out the convictions of nine people the federal government went after under the Clean Air Act for tampering with diesel emissions-control systems. Most of them were diesel mechanics and tuners. The cases centered on diesel emissions modifications the Biden Justice Department treated as Clean Air Act crimes. One of the men Trump pardoned is a Wasilla, Alaska mechanic and Air National Guard veteran named MacKenzie “Mac” Spurlock. U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan says President Trump has granted a full presidential pardon to Wasilla diesel mechanic and Air National Guard veteran Mac Spurlock, whose federal conviction stemmed from diesel emissions system modifications.https://t.co/GBtCSw78Ov — YourAlaskalLink (@YourAlaskaLink) July 4, 2026 Fox News reported that Trump announced six of the pardons on Truth Social and described the men as people prosecuted for repairing vehicles under the previous administration. Eight of the recipients were diesel mechanics or car tuners accused of selling or installing so-called defeat devices in trucks. Fox explained why this became more than an abstract regulatory fight. The devices at issue reprogram trucks to bypass federally required emissions controls and suppress diagnostic warnings, while emissions-system failures can also force diesel trucks into limp mode even when the engine itself is still running. The technical piece here matters to anyone who actually drives a diesel for a living. Fox noted that limp mode can cut a truck’s speed to as little as 5 mph until the system is restored. On a highway, a farm, or a remote job site, that turns a mechanical fault into a roadside hazard. The Spurlock case shows why these prosecutions rubbed so many people the wrong way. Sen. Dan Sullivan welcomed the full presidential pardon for Spurlock, calling him a Wasilla diesel mechanic, small business owner, and Alaska Air National Guard veteran. Sullivan said the Biden EPA raided Matanuska Diesel in June 2022 with dozens of armed agents plus personnel from other federal agencies flown in from California, Washington, and Oregon. Dozens of armed agents. For emissions modifications on diesel trucks, in a case involving a small business owner who wanted to return to the Alaska Air National Guard. Sullivan pointed to the cold-weather reality that Washington regulators rarely confront. Emissions systems can trigger shutdowns when a fault is detected, and cold weather can make DEF-related components struggle to reach or hold operating temperature. He cited the Dalton Highway as an example of where those failures can turn genuinely dangerous. When your truck quits on a remote Alaska road in the cold, that is a survival problem, not a paperwork problem. Sullivan also tied Spurlock’s pardon to the larger cold-weather fight he has been pressing in Congress. His office pointed to the Cold Weather Diesel Reliability Act, a bill meant to force EPA to account for how diesel engines and emissions systems actually behave in places like Alaska instead of treating every state like the same test lab. The full scope of the clemency went a little further than the Clean Air Act cases. President Donald Trump on Friday pardoned 11 people, including former Jack Abramoff business partner Adam Kidan and nine individuals convicted in cases involving violations of the Clean Air Act. https://t.co/cdT8yu60MP — LiveNOW from FOX (@livenowfox) July 4, 2026 CBS News reported that a White House official confirmed 11 pardons in all after the White House expanded the initial list beyond the six people first mentioned publicly. The list included Ryan and Wade Lalone, Matt Geouge, Tim Clancy, Mac Spurlock, Joshua Davis, Barry Pierce, Aaron Rudolf, Adam Kidan, Jack Harvard, and Jonathan Achtemeier. CBS also reported that the Justice Department earlier this year had already ordered prosecutors to drop pending prosecutions and investigations tied to aftermarket defeat devices. That timeline matters. The pardons did not appear out of nowhere on a holiday weekend; they followed months of pressure from advocates, earlier clemency for Wyoming mechanic Troy Lake, and a broader Trump administration decision to back away from criminal enforcement in this lane. So the clemency came on top of a wider pullback from the enforcement campaign that swept these men up in the first place. None of this means every case was identical or that the Clean Air Act stopped existing. The pardons close out convictions the administration viewed as unjust, not the entire statute. What they do reflect is a simple judgment about proportion. Sending armed federal teams to raid a small Alaska diesel shop over emissions modifications was overreach, and Trump treated it that way. For the truckers, farmers, and mechanics who watched the last administration turn a repair job into a federal case, this one hits close to home. The post President Trump Just Pardoned The Diesel Mechanics Biden’s EPA Went After appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.

The biggest names in artificial intelligence are racing to get close to President Trump, and one of them just floated an idea that would put the federal government inside the ownership structure of a leading AI lab. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is reportedly considering an offer to hand the United States a 5% stake in his company. There is a catch. Altman reportedly wants his competitors to do the same before he moves. That single condition tells you how much leverage the Trump administration now holds over an industry that wants federal blessing more than it wants to admit. OpenAI's Sam Altman wants to negotiate a 5% stake in company for US if competitors agree to key provision https://t.co/smahvpDlWS — Fox News AI (@FoxNewsAI) July 4, 2026 Fox News reported on July 4 that Altman is weighing a deal, negotiated directly with President Trump, that would give the U.S. a 5% share of OpenAI if rival labs agree to the same approach. According to the report, which cites the Financial Times, Altman met with Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about taking OpenAI public in some form. He also reportedly met with Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has pushed his own plan for broader public ownership of AI companies. The proposal would ask competitors like Meta, Google, and Anthropic to also contribute 5% of their companies to the public. OpenAI and Anthropic are both reportedly preparing to go public soon. So the timing is not an accident. These companies are heading toward massive listings, and the question of who holds a piece of them is suddenly worth a fortune. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, in the Financial Times: "Democratic institutions must not cede their responsibilities to AI labs. The labs develop the technology, but citizens and their elected representatives must make the rules." Also via the FT: OpenAI has reportedly floated giving… pic.twitter.com/Pk1mjRfJVZ — The Rundown AI (@TheRundownAI) July 2, 2026 Axios reported that the conversations are very preliminary and nowhere near a signed deal. It also flagged the obvious strategic angle. A government stake would give Washington a vested interest in decisions about limiting the release of OpenAI’s models. Axios noted the idea could run through Trump accounts or a similar vehicle, giving American households direct exposure to AI investments. It also pointed to the policy tension sitting underneath the pitch: Washington is already weighing how and when the most powerful OpenAI models should be released. Critics and some investors questioned whether the plan is more political than practical. Their concern is easy to see: a company that makes the government a shareholder may also be trying to make the government a friend. And any government stake in an AI lab would likely require an act of Congress, which means nothing happens on a handshake. The Guardian described the plan as conceptual and early-stage, modeled in part on a public-wealth-fund idea like the Alaska Permanent Fund. It reported that OpenAI and Anthropic policy papers have floated public or sovereign wealth funds as a way to distribute shares to the public down the road. The Guardian also noted that the plan would depend on other major AI players joining in, including names like Anthropic, Google, and Meta. That is a massive condition, because none of those competitors has agreed to give up the same slice. With OpenAI and Anthropic potentially eyeing trillion-dollar valuations, a 5% public slice would be no small thing. Depending on valuation, the number could run into tens of billions of dollars before the public ever sees a dime. The plan still has three locked doors in front of it: the White House, rival companies, and Congress. But the direction is clear enough. The most powerful AI companies in the world now understand that the road forward runs through this White House, and they are offering equity to prove it. The real fight will be over who benefits, who writes the rules, and who gets squeezed out. When the government becomes a shareholder in the very companies it is supposed to police, ordinary Americans deserve to know they are the ones who come out ahead, not the insiders cutting the deal. The post Sam Altman Reportedly Floats Giving America A 5% Stake In OpenAI appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.

Australians in Texas for the World Cup went on a field trip to an Arlington Walmart, creating a hectic scene. The large group of Socceroos fans chanted, “We’re going to Walmart,” as they entered the store wearing their yellow jerseys. The Aussies continued shouting until the police arrived. “FOX 4 viewer zekey says he and his dad were headed to the Arlington Walmart to buy some Australia shirts when a crowd of Aussies marched into the store,” FOX 4 wrote. Watch below: "WE'RE GOING TO WALMART" FOX 4 viewer zekey says he and his dad were headed to the Arlington Walmart to buy some Australia shirts when a crowd of Aussies marched into the store. https://t.co/yyxjbj6i3j pic.twitter.com/x0D6C7su8E — FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) July 3, 2026 Fox News shared further: Walmart has been a hotspot for World Cup tourists because, while we take it for granted, it’s pretty incredible if you think about it. You can get a giant sack of pizza rolls, take 20 steps, buy a dress shirt, take another 20 steps, buy a PlayStation, then take 20 more steps and grab a new garden hose. And, in between, you can even score some Dunkin’ Donuts and a pair of prescription glasses. That’s kind of cool. Fox 4 Dallas-Ft. Worth shared some clips on social media of Australian fans hitting up a Walmart in Arlington, and it was one of the wildest fan-related scenes of the World Cup so far. Which is saying a lot, because we had a guy stick his head in a cotton candy machine. If you were headed to that Walmart to stock up on Vegemite, go elsewhere. It’s definitely sold out. All I could think of was the poor person who stopped at that Walmart on the way home from work for a gallon of milk and some toilet paper, only to encounter throngs of Aussie soccer hooligans. Upon leaving, the Aussies chanted, “We’re getting deported.” “Australian chant while exiting the Arlington Walmart after police arrive,” FOX 4 noted. Check it out: "WE'RE GETTING DEPORTED" Australian chant while exiting the Arlington Walmart after police arrive. https://t.co/pF8D5J5buy pic.twitter.com/WhaVx25Yj3 — FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) July 3, 2026 news.com.au has more: Once inside, grinning staff joined in on the chaos as the store shook with drumming and songs of “Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la! Oh Aussie boys!” But the fun wasn’t to last. The same fans were also filmed chanting: “We’re being deported” as several police officers herded them out of the Walmart. There were no reports of arrests, and it can only be assumed the fans proceeded in orderly fashion to AT&T Stadium, where they watched the Socceroos come up tragically short. Egypt beat Australia 4-2 in a penalty shootout secured by Hossam Abdelmaguid, after misses by Australia’s Harry Souttar and Lucas Herrington. The match had ended 1-1 after extra time, with Emam Ashour scoring for Egypt and an own goal by Mohamed Hany putting the Socceroos level. The post World Cup Fans Chant “We’re Getting Deported” In Trip To Walmart appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.

President Trump took a July 4 victory lap on the economy, and this time the market data gives him plenty to point to. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq just logged their best quarter since 2020. The Dow closed out its strongest first half since 2021. And Trump used the holiday weekend to remind Americans what that means for their 401(k)s. His message was simple: the Trump economy is roaring again. THE TRUMP ECONOMY IS SOARING! The Stock Market just completed its BEST QUARTER since the last time I was President. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow are all SURGING, sending Americans’ 401(k)s higher and higher. My Working Families Tax Cuts mean MORE MONEY IN AMERICAN POCKETS. Our… pic.twitter.com/RabqewEwcT — Commentary Donald J. Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) July 4, 2026 MarketWatch reported that the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed out its best first half of a year since 2021, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted their best quarter in six years across a market that had started the year under pressure. The hard numbers were the real headline: MarketWatch said the S&P 500 rose 14.9% in the second quarter, while the Nasdaq surged 21.4% as growth and technology stocks powered the move. Both of those indexes logged their strongest quarterly performance since mid-2020, when markets were rebounding from the early COVID panic. That gives President Trump a very different July 4 economic backdrop than the one Democrats and the media had been trying to sell. The market did not limp into Independence Day. It charged into it. The Wall Street Journal framed the second-quarter rally as Wall Street’s best quarter in six years, noting that the Dow industrials closed June at a record high while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq delivered 2020-level quarterly strength. WSJ said stocks pushed through a turbulent stretch that included oil-shock worries, questions about whether the artificial-intelligence boom could keep going, and concerns about higher interest rates that might normally spook investors during a fragile rally. The report pointed to highflying chip stocks, AI-linked winners, and confidence that American corporations can keep producing higher profits into the second half. That context matters because it gives the rally some substance beyond one good trading day or one good headline. Markets climbed through real pressure, then finished the quarter at a level that forced even skeptical outlets to acknowledge the strength. US President Trump says "Trump economy" is soaring#DonaldTrump #Trump #USEconomy #USMarkets #WallStreet #SP500 #Nasdaq #DowJones pic.twitter.com/kzOpEpXyVw — ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) July 4, 2026 Investopedia also tracked the June 30 close, reporting that the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.5%, the S&P 500 gained 0.8%, and the Dow added 0.3% to finish the quarter. The site said the tech-heavy Nasdaq, the benchmark S&P 500, and the blue-chip Dow were all set to record double-digit gains for the second quarter. Investopedia reported that the S&P 500 and Nasdaq climbed 15% and 21%, respectively, over the quarter, marking their best showing since the second quarter of 2020. The Dow’s roughly 13% quarterly gain trailed the S&P and Nasdaq, yet it still capped a powerful first half and added to the sense that the market had shifted from fear to momentum. Trump tied the rally to his tax cuts, exports, a shrinking trade deficit, and trillions in announced investment. Market analysts will point to AI, chips, earnings, and geopolitics too. Both things can be true at once: the market had technical drivers, and President Trump now has the kind of market performance every president wants to own. For Americans with retirement accounts, the practical takeaway is even simpler. When the indexes move like this, it can show up in real balances. That is why Trump’s 401(k) line lands. It is not an abstract political talking point for people watching their retirement accounts climb. Democrats wanted a crash narrative. Instead, July 4 arrived with President Trump celebrating one of the strongest market stretches in years. This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here. The post President Trump Celebrates “Soaring” Economy After Stock Market’s Best Quarter In Six Years appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.

President Trump just put a hard Independence Day deadline on one of Washington’s longest-running green-energy giveaways. Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced that, after roughly 35 years, federal tax-credit subsidies for new wind and solar projects are ending on July 4, 2026. And yes, that timing is almost too perfect. The message from the Trump administration is simple: taxpayers should not be forced to keep propping up favored energy projects forever. I'm thrilled to report that after 35 years, on July 4th, we will end the subsidies for new wind and solar projects, thanks President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cut. pic.twitter.com/OKgFYIIEF8 — Secretary Chris Wright (@SecretaryWright) July 2, 2026 Department of Energy placed the announcement squarely inside the Working Families Tax Cut’s July 4, 2026 deadline for new wind and solar projects not currently under construction. The department says wind and solar have received federal backing for more than three decades, yet accounted for roughly 3 percent of total U.S. primary energy consumption in 2025. Wright’s case against the subsidies was practical and direct. He pointed to the huge land requirements, the heavy use of materials such as steel, cement, and polysilicon, and the need for long transmission lines to move power from remote production sites back to demand centers. His bottom line was that intermittent power forces more costs onto the grid, because the wind does not always blow and the sun does not always shine. The administration is arguing that ending the subsidy stream is part of lowering electricity costs, not raising them. IRS Notice 2025-42 fills in the tax-code machinery behind the announcement, and it shows this is more than a press-conference talking point. The guidance deals with the clean electricity production credit under section 45Y and the clean electricity investment credit under section 48E, the two key incentives reshaped by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Under the guidance, the credit termination rules hit applicable wind and solar facilities placed in service after December 31, 2027, when construction begins after July 4, 2026. That means the construction date is the gatekeeper for whether those projects can keep chasing the old tax-credit treatment. The notice also gets specific about what counts as starting construction, which matters because developers had every incentive to beat the deadline on paper. The IRS guidance focuses on physical work of a significant nature rather than early planning activity. For wind facilities, examples include excavation for foundations, anchor bolts, and concrete pads. For solar, examples include installing racks or structures that hold photovoltaic panels, collectors, or solar cells. The IRS guidance also draws a line around preliminary activity. Planning, designing, financing, permitting, mapping, modeling, and other early-stage work do not automatically equal physical construction. In other words, paperwork alone is not the same thing as building. The clock is now real. Breaking: Trump to cut solar, wind subsidies on July 4th https://t.co/YpSSNTgxHf — Just the News (@JustTheNews) July 3, 2026 Just the News, carrying a Center Square report, put a price tag on the larger fight over green-energy subsidies. The Center Square account cited estimates that solar and wind projects received more than $141 billion in government subsidies over 16 years, more than any other U.S. energy source over that period. It also explained the two major tools involved here: the Investment Tax Credit, which is tied to qualifying project investment, and the Production Tax Credit, which is tied to electricity generated once a project is operating. The same account pointed to a Congressional Budget Office estimate that those two programs would have added $308 billion to the federal deficit between 2026 and 2035 before the Trump administration’s rollback. That is the budget backdrop behind the July 4 cutoff. Industry groups have not exactly been calm about the deadline, either. Solar developers reportedly raced to get projects moving before the cutoff, while the wind sector’s development pipeline came in far below earlier expectations. The same report said the Solar Energy Industries Association estimated more than 200 gigawatts of solar capacity in the pipeline, while the wind industry showed 23 gigawatts under development against an earlier 46-gigawatt expectation. That is the whole point of a deadline like this. If a project only works because taxpayers are dragged into the financing, President Trump’s team is saying it is time to let the market sort it out. Democrats, unsurprisingly, are furious. I am not thrilled to report that the trump Administration is jacking up energy costs even more by reducing supply. November is coming. https://t.co/F6j7BEWIhH — Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) July 3, 2026 That reaction tells you plenty. The left is treating the end of a federal subsidy stream as if it were an attack on energy itself. But the Trump administration is making a different bet: cheaper, more reliable energy comes from abundance, competition, and dispatchable power, not permanent taxpayer favoritism for politically preferred projects. After 35 years of federal wind and solar subsidies, that debate just got a July 4 reset. This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here. The post President Trump Ends 35 Years Of Wind And Solar Subsidies On July 4 appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.