Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Thursday issued an emergency order that effectively bans fireworks across the state through July 5. “Gov. Spencer J. Cox today announced temporary statewide fireworks restrictions as Utah faces extraordinary wildfire conditions that have produced hundreds of fires, exhausted firefighting resources and created some of the most dangerous fire behavior in state history,” a press release from Cox’s office read. “An executive order issued today enables the state forester to prohibit fireworks statewide during the upcoming Independence Day holiday while allowing municipalities, in consultation with their local fire officials, to designate areas where fireworks may still be used safely,” the release continued. “The order applies through July 5. State officials will evaluate wildfire conditions before determining whether any restrictions are necessary for the July 24 Pioneer Day holiday,” it added. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox bans July 4th fireworks over 'historic' wildfire conditions across state https://t.co/hycpN95GHx pic.twitter.com/u9iVk51jOX — New York Post (@nypost) June 26, 2026 More from The Salt Lake Tribune: In typical years, Utahns may only legally ignite fireworks between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. during the three days surrounding the two July holidays, as well as during two-hour windows on New Year’s Eve and Lunar New Year. “As I’ve seen these fire officials who aren’t scared of anything, I’ve seen real fear for the first time in my time working with them,” Cox told reporters, with firefighters and city officials standing alongside him. “When people who have dedicated their lives to protecting Utah tell us this year is different, we desperately need to listen.” Utah Forestry, Fire and State Lands Director Jamie Barnes said at the news conference that the state will move into Stage 2 fire restrictions Friday, meaning no open fires of any kind are allowed on state and private, unincorporated lands. “Most of the fires we are fighting this year did not have to start,” Barnes said. “We are pushing nearly 80% of human-caused fires. We track ignition causes closely, and we see the same patterns year after year.” “Nothing about this decision was easy,” Cox said. “Utahns love celebrating the Fourth of July with family, friends and fireworks. I do too. But this year is different. We are seeing fire behavior that even our most experienced firefighters say they’ve never witnessed before. This is a temporary measure for an extraordinary year. It protects lives and homes while allowing local leaders, working alongside their fire officials, to identify areas where fireworks can be used safely,” he added. “Since the beginning of fire season, more than 75 percent of Utah’s wildfires have been human-caused. State fire officials warn that prolonged drought, critically dry vegetation and extreme weather conditions have created an unusually volatile environment where even small ignitions can quickly become catastrophic,” the release continued. “Our first priority is protecting lives and keeping people safe,” said Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety. “We are increasing patrols in high-risk areas, supporting local law enforcement, and reminding Utahns that anyone whose illegal actions start a wildfire can face significant criminal and civil consequences,” Mason continued. “Our officers are working alongside our partners at the Salt Lake City Fire Department and the state to protect lives and property during this extraordinary fire season,” said Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd. “We ask everyone to celebrate responsibly, respect local restrictions and help prevent the next wildfire before it starts,” Redd added. Watch below: Fireworks are now banned in Utah through the July 4 holiday weekend, as devastating wildfires continue to burn tens of thousands of acres across the state. “If on July 3rd, 4th or 5th, we have multiple fire starts in this valley, we're screwed,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said. pic.twitter.com/iXwtwymO9e — CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) June 26, 2026 KUTV shared further: The temporary ban comes as firefighters work to contain five large wildfires, including the Iron Fire near Eureka and the Cottonwood Fire, which surpassed 70,000 acres on Thursday. The Iron Fire and Cottonwood Fire are currently the largest fires in the nation. The fires have devastated the state, forcing evacuations and destroying numerous buildings and homes. While the exact causes of each fire have not been released, fire officials have determined they were human-caused. Gov. Cox said the Iron Fire, which forced evacuations in Eureka and burned over 37,000 acres, is believed to have been ignited by illegal fireworks. The governor’s call comes as Utah continues to deal with extremely dry conditions and strong winds, made worse by record-worst winter snowpack. The executive order states that this year’s wildfire conditions are “extremely hazardous,” with 94% of Utah in severe or extreme drought. Fire dangers only continue to rise with dry thunderstorms moving into the Beehive State, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a near-statewide Red Flag Warning set to go into effect Friday afternoon. Officials said new and existing fires could spread rapidly as strong winds with gusts as high as 50 miles per hour move into Utah. This comes with a severe thunderstorm risk for central and northern Utah that could bring the possibility for dry lightning. The post Republican Governor Bans Fireworks Statewide Through Fourth Of July Amid Destructive Wildfires appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.

The Texas State Board of Education has approved a proposal to make Bible passages required reading for its K-12 English and literature curriculum. The Republican-controlled board voted 9-5-1 in favor of the new required reading list, which includes sections of the Book of Exodus for fifth graders, The Shepherd’s Psalm for seventh graders, and others. Just in: The Texas State Board of Education has approved a proposal to require reading lists for K-12 English and literature classes that include biblical stories and Bible verses. pic.twitter.com/d06FJ5XcSr — The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) June 26, 2026 CNN shared further: The plan will impact more than 5 million public school students, as Texas emerges as a leader in a national conservative effort to infuse Christian teachings into American classrooms. Multiple titles will be mandated for each grade, and each one must be read “in its entirety.” The effort goes far beyond a 2023 law that requires at least one state board-approved literary work be taught in each grade level. While it is not unusual for states to suggest book titles for schools, Texas may be the first to prescribe a literary canon for every public school student, two experts told The Associated Press. Many Texas students are already familiar with at least some Christian teachings: The state last year became the largest state to require classrooms to display the Ten Commandments, a law recently upheld in federal court. The new list of required titles will include a picture-book adaptation of the David and Goliath story for elementary students and Bible passages about Adam and Eve for older students, among other references, according to a proposed list online. It will also heavily emphasize classic literature and historic American texts such as Abraham Lincoln’s “The Gettysburg Address.” The required reading list will begin a phased rollout in 2030, starting with elementary school students. “We need to focus on what our nation was founded on and not apologize for that,” said Susan Perez, founder of Citizens for Education Reform, according to the Associated Press. “It is the truth and we should not be afraid,” she added. Watch below: The Texas State Board of Education is preparing for a final vote on sweeping curriculum changes, including expanding Bible-based lessons across grade levels. @xmanwalton MORE: https://t.co/oW1Xds2TB6 pic.twitter.com/SPkJXFBNyG — NewsNation (@NewsNation) June 26, 2026 More from the Associated Press: One proposed Bible story, a picture book about Noah’s Ark, was removed from a list of first-grade titles this week after a board member said it only had one page of text and voiced objections to descriptions of animals killed in the flood. By middle school, students would be expected to read several passages about Jesus, including passages from his most famous sermon, and another where he instructs people to cast aside earthly anxiety and seek the kingdom of God. Another would connect a reading from the Book of Lamentations and its themes of the destruction of Jerusalem with readings about the Holocaust. In high school, students would read the parable of the prodigal son, portions of the Book of Job, and the story of Adam and Eve. Texas may be the first state to enact a required reading list that includes Bible passages. Antero Garcia, president of the National Council of Teachers of English and a Stanford University professor, said he doesn’t know of any other state that has such a list. Educators at the district and school level usually choose what texts their students will read, Garcia said. Kasey Meehan, director of PEN America’s Freedom to Read program, said she believes a reading list with mandatory religious texts is “unique” to Texas. “I think there’s lots of state lists that exist that are like advised readings, suggested readings,” she said. The required readings rely heavily on the King James Bible, one of the most popular translations, and more recent evangelical translations that critics argue lean too heavily on Christian interpretations of the texts. Other critics question whether religious stories should be taught at all in schools attended by thousands of children of Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and other faiths, and others who identify as atheist or agnostic. The post Red State To Make Bible Passages Required Reading In Public Schools appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.

President Trump stood in front of the Faith & Freedom Coalition on Friday and refused to play the polite Washington game of pretending the far left is just a few well-meaning idealists. He called them what he believes they are. Speaking at the group’s 2026 Policy Conference in Washington on June 26, 2026, Trump told the crowd that the rise of democratic-socialist candidates inside the Democratic Party is the most serious threat the country has faced in 250 years. He said these figures are not social democrats. He called them hardcore godless communists. .@POTUS continues his attack on Democratic socialists while speaking at the Faith and Freedom Conference. “These are hardcore, godless communists, they are godless communists, all communists are godless. They don't believe in God,” he said. He added they are a “serious… https://t.co/8icMjSHusS — Stephen Anderson (@stephenreports) June 26, 2026 The warning did not come out of nowhere. It followed primary wins by Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York City. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani backed both winners and framed the result as a beginning, not an endpoint. Trump heard that message clearly and answered it. He warned the movement is not stopping with New York, and he said the Democratic Party is in real trouble because it will not fight its own communist wing. Anadolu Agency reported that Trump made the remarks at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference and called the democratic-socialist surge the most serious threat to the country in 250 years. The report tied his comments directly to the New York primary results and to the candidates Mamdani lifted up. Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, both backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, won congressional primaries in New York City. Anadolu also noted that Avila Chevalier defeated five-term incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat, which is exactly the kind of internal-party warning sign Trump was pointing at. The report said Trump accused Democratic leaders of lacking the courage to fight that faction, and warned they are turning the party itself into a communist party. That is the heart of his case. The danger runs through the activists who win primaries and the party that lets them. Then Trump explained why this politics sells so easily before it wrecks everything it touches. He joked that he would be the greatest communist in history if the system actually worked, because promising free rent, free housing, and free food is the easiest pitch in politics. President Trump: "Communism is very easy to sell. It destroys everything, but it's very easy — I'll be honest, I think I'd be the greatest Communist in history." pic.twitter.com/qbbaDLzEqo — CSPAN (@cspan) June 26, 2026 Mediaite captured that longer stretch of the speech and the point underneath the joke. Trump argued that the free-stuff promises buy a short burst of popularity and then collapse. His point was that a politician can win applause by promising free rent, free housing, and free food, but the bill always arrives after the election. The report’s transcript section showed Trump walking the crowd through the cycle: a first year of easy popularity, followed by empty shelves, neglected property, broken services, collapsing public order, and national decline. He described the outcome as squalor, no food, no housing, no military, and no law and order. A third-world ending for cities that fell for a first-world fairy tale. His own line summed it up. Communism is very easy to sell, and it destroys everything. The housing fight made the warning concrete. PBS News reported that Trump went after Mamdani’s housing push after New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board approved a citywide rent freeze for certain lease renewals. The live coverage explained that the rent freeze affects nearly a million rent-stabilized apartments and helps fulfill one of Mamdani’s signature campaign promises. Trump warned the policy would backfire and turn buildings into ghettos and slums. His reasoning was simple: freeze the rent and starve the building of revenue, and landlords cannot maintain the property, so the property rots. PBS also reported that Trump tied the New York wins to a larger trend, warning that the left’s victories are not stopping there and that the Democratic Party is in big trouble. The takeaway for conservatives is not complicated. Trump named the ideology out loud, explained exactly why it keeps winning elections before it collapses cities, and put the Democratic Party on notice that the fight is not contained to one borough. The post President Trump Names the Threat Inside the Democratic Party: “Hardcore Godless Communists” appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.

The Justice Department announced another arrest this week in the case surrounding an alleged plot to launch a violent attack on the Ultimate Fighting Championship event at President Trump’s White House. On June 26, 2026, the DOJ said Alexander Iniguez Mercado, 20, of Chicago, was arrested and charged with obstruction of justice in connection with the planned attack on the Freedom 250 UFC event. An indictment was returned Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Mercado is the eighth person charged so far. Seven other individuals from multiple states had already been charged in connection with the alleged plot. Chicago Man Arrested in Connection With Planned Violent Attack at Ultimate Fighting Championship Event at White House @FBIChicago @SecretService https://t.co/qvxvC5G9MR — U.S. Attorney’s Office (NDIL) (@NDILnews) June 26, 2026 According to the Justice Department, prosecutors allege Mercado was an administrator and member of Signal messaging groups that included people communicating about planning a violent attack on the White House UFC event. The DOJ says an FBI agent called Mercado the day before the event to discuss online threats and to ask whether he planned to travel to Washington, D.C. Mercado allegedly denied any plans and then stopped responding to follow-up calls from investigators. Prosecutors say agents later learned he had uninstalled the Signal app from his phone, deleting data tied to the group’s messages. That alleged cleanup is the basis for the obstruction charge. The official DOJ release also makes clear this was not an isolated charge in a vacuum: seven other people from multiple states had already been charged in connection with the alleged plot. ABC7 Chicago reports Mercado was arrested Thursday and appeared in federal court the following day. The station reported he pleaded not guilty at his initial appearance and arraignment. Prosecutors asked the court to keep him in custody, meaning the first courtroom fight is already about whether he should remain behind bars while the case proceeds. ABC7 also laid out the timeline at the center of the obstruction allegation: FBI contact on June 13, one day before the White House event, followed by the alleged Signal deletion after the call. That timing is why the obstruction count matters. The government says Mercado talked in a group chat, then wiped the app after federal agents came looking for answers. The Chicago Sun-Times reports Mercado faces up to two decades in prison if convicted on the obstruction charge. The outlet identifies him by full name as Alexander Iniguez Mercado, 20, and notes the grand jury indictment was made public Friday. It also tied the alleged target to the UFC event held at the White House on President Trump’s birthday. The Sun-Times account is useful because it shows the charge is narrow but serious. Mercado is not being presented here as the alleged mastermind; he is accused of obstructing investigators by deleting the encrypted app tied to the planning channel. BREAKING: Chicago man charged with obstruction of justice in connection to White House UFC attack plot A 20-year-old Chicago man has been arrested in connection with a thwarted violent plot targeting the Freedom 250 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event at the White… pic.twitter.com/kfVEpdyiEO — Alexandra Koch (@alexandrankoch) June 26, 2026 Mercado has pleaded not guilty, and the charge against him is an allegation that prosecutors must prove in court. What the case shows is that the FBI and Secret Service were watching the chatter, made contact before the event, and kept building the file after it ended. Eight charged suspects later, the message from federal law enforcement is plain. Threats aimed at the President and the people around him get tracked, charged, and pursued, deleted apps or not. The post Eighth Suspect Charged in Plot to Attack President Trump’s White House UFC Event appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.

President Trump just drew a hard line for foreign governments hungry to tax American companies. On June 26, 2026, he posted that numerous European countries have been discussing the imminent rollout of Digital Services Taxes on American firms, and that some are close to actually doing it. His response was simple and direct. Any country that imposes such a tax will immediately face a 100% tariff on all goods sent to the United States. And he made clear that threat does not come with loopholes. Trump said the tariff would supersede any trade deal with the United States, whether already implemented, signed, or not yet finalized. BREAKING: President Trump sends a massive warning to European countries considering adding a new digital services tax on U.S. companies, saying any nation that moves forward will "immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United States." "This TARIFF… pic.twitter.com/UURMNGSwPZ — Fox News (@FoxNews) June 26, 2026 This is leverage, plain and simple. Foreign governments want the revenue that American tech and digital companies generate, but they also want full access to the American market. Trump is telling them they cannot have both. Just the News reported that Trump issued the warning Friday as European governments were weighing taxes aimed at American companies. The threat applies to any country that imposes a digital services tax, and it covers every good that country sends into the United States rather than a narrow product category. The report also highlights the most important part of Trump’s message: the tariff would supersede trade deals that are already implemented, already signed, or still waiting to be finalized. That means a foreign government cannot sign a friendly trade framework with Washington, then turn around and raid U.S. companies through a digital tax system. Trump is putting the penalty right where those governments feel it: market access. The fight has been building for years. The Associated Press noted that the threat mainly targets European countries looking to tax U.S.-based tech giants operating on their soil while still selling heavily into the American market. The recent U.S.-EU trade deal capped most European exports at 15%, but digital services taxes were never resolved, leaving a major fight over American technology revenue sitting outside the core tariff agreement. AP also reported that a July 4 deadline was tied to implementing that trade framework, which puts the digital-tax fight right in the middle of the next trade deadline. The United Kingdom has run a 2% digital services tax since 2020, hitting large international companies that profit from UK users and proving that these taxes are already active policy across major U.S. allies. The broader issue is simple: European governments want to treat American digital companies as permanent revenue targets while keeping their own exporters protected under lower tariff caps. Trump: Numerous European Countries have been discussing the imminent implementation of a Digital Services Tax on American Companies. Some are close to actually doing this. Any Country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods… pic.twitter.com/6jD1ztlsT8 — Clash Report (@clashreport) June 26, 2026 France has been one of the loudest offenders. WTAQ’s Reuters republication reported that France has applied a 3% digital services levy since 2019, making Paris one of the clearest examples of the fight President Trump is now escalating. That levy targets revenue from digital services earned by companies with more than 25 million euros in French revenue and 750 million euros worldwide, which means the law is aimed at massive international firms rather than local startups. Reuters also reported that Emmanuel Macron said France would not bow to pressure and scrap the tax before meeting Trump at the G7, making Paris a central test case for the warning. Trump has already shown he is willing to answer that defiance. He previously warned that the U.S. could slap 100% tariffs on French wine unless Paris dropped its digital tax, putting a signature French export directly in the line of fire. The French example shows why Trump’s threat matters: once a digital tax becomes permanent, foreign governments have little incentive to give it up unless Washington makes the cost bigger than the revenue. Friday’s warning is the next move in a policy the administration laid out in writing. A February 2025 White House presidential action described foreign digital services taxes as unfair targeting of American firms, especially technology companies that built the platforms and infrastructure foreign governments now want to tax. The White House said those taxes could cost U.S. companies billions of dollars and criticized foreign officials who openly designed taxes around American digital revenue instead of applying neutral rules to all companies. The same action also targeted foreign rules that restrict cross-border data flows, force American streaming services to fund local productions, impose network usage fees, or penalize U.S. technology firms for operating abroad. That order directed federal agencies to examine foreign taxes, fines, penalties, and regulatory actions that discriminate against American companies or pressure them into subsidizing foreign markets. It also framed the issue as a national-interest fight, not a normal tax disagreement, because the targeted companies are central to American innovation, jobs, and global competitiveness. In other words, the administration named the problem more than a year ago. Friday’s tariff threat is the enforcement teeth. U.S. President Trump on Friday threatened to impose a 100% tariff on all goods from any country that imposes a digital services tax on American companies. Trump said in a social media post that the new tariff would supersede any trade deals with the U.S. | via Reuters… pic.twitter.com/QfZcdgfCuT — GMA News (@gmanews) June 26, 2026 For years, foreign capitals treated American companies like a piggy bank they could shake whenever their own budgets ran short. Trump is making clear those days are over. If a country wants to grab U.S. revenue through digital taxes, it can do so without selling a single product into the American market. That is the kind of leverage only a president willing to use it can wield, and Trump just put every government in Europe on notice. This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here. The post President Trump Threatens 100% Tariff on Any Country That Taxes American Companies appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.