Looking Forward to the 250th Celebration of July the Fourth : The Rich, Richer and Mightier

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/financial-disclosure-1-billion-cryptocurrency-earnings-meme-coins-rcna352497 Trump’s financial disclosure lists $1.4 billion in crypto earnings, powered largely by meme coins The annual report also includes $80 million in income from settlements tied to his lawsuits against companies like ABC, CBS, Meta and YouTube. June 30, 2026, 6:27 PM CDT By Rob Wile President Donald Trump earned more than $635 million from a licensing agreement with a cryptocurrency group specializing in “meme” coins bearing his name last year, an amount that pushed his total crypto holdings past $1 billion, according to a lengthy financial disclosure form he released Tuesday. The figures from 2025 — the first year of Trump’s second term — were disclosed to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics in a 927-page document. By comparison, President Barack Obama’s final disclosure form was eight pages, while President Joe Biden’s was 11. Vice President JD Vance’s form for last year is 17 pages. Trump’s meme-coin earnings came on top of more than $236 million worth from additional crypto token sales, and an additional sale of equity worth more than $65 million associated with Trump family crypto venture World Liberty Financial. There’s also more than $290 million classified as income from cryptocurrency wallets associated with World Liberty. The $635 million was earned from a group called “Celebration Coins.” No digital footprint could be found for the group, and a representative for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night. A recent letter from Senate Democrats said a company called “Celebration Cards” registered in Wyoming — which is now a major crypto hub — facilitated a crypto conference at Mar-a-Lago in April. “Neither the President nor his family has ever engaged — or will ever engage — in conflicts of interest,” a White House representative said in a statement Tuesday. “President Trump proudly made the United States the crypto capital of the world through executive actions, supporting legislation like the GENIUS Act, and other commonsense policies to drive innovation and economic opportunity for all Americans.” Unlike past presidents, Trump did not divest his assets or place them in a blind trust before taking office. The Trump Organization has said the assets are managed by third-party financial institutions, with trades executed through automated technology. “What strikes me as remarkable is how many pies Trump has his fingers in,” said Douglas Brinkley, a history professor at Rice University. “There is no precedent to compare it with. No president in the 20th or 21st century has had something that’s vaguely comparable.” Trump has faced bipartisan criticism for alleged conflicts of interest, assertions the White House has vigorously denied. Trump’s total crypto earnings totaled some $1.4 billion during his first year back in office, when he began making liberalized cryptocurrency regulations a cornerstone of his presidency. The disclosure also lists Trump’s investment accounts as buying and selling shares of the GEO Group, a private prison company and one of the largest contractors with ICE. Starting just 10 days after his inauguration, the disclosure shows Trump’s investment accounts made purchases of the prison company. As the number of immigrant detainees swelled from 35,000 to almost 70,000, the purchases increased with the total ranging from $143,000 to $445,000. The last purchase was listed in late November. The stock that was sold ranges from $67,000 to $180,000. Because many of the amounts listed on the disclosure form are reported as ranges, it is impossible to state exactly how much Trump earned last year from his tens of thousands of investments. Before Tuesday, Forbes estimated the president’s net worth at $6 billion, while Bloomberg put it at $7.6 billion. “This disclosure once again demonstrates that The Trump Organization continues to maintain a strong financial position, supported by world class, valuable assets, substantial liquidity and a conservative balance sheet,” a representative for Trump’s business firm said in a statement, adding that the form’s length “underscores our commitment to transparency.” “At nearly 1,000 pages, it represents one of the most comprehensive financial disclosure reports ever submitted and demonstrates a level of financial transparency unmatched in presidential history.” Other disclosures in the form include: • First lady Melania Trump making more than $10 million from licensing her image to the producers of the documentary “Melania.” • $80 million listed as income from settlements with ABC and anchor George Stephanopoulos, as well as CBS, Meta, YouTube and Sundar Pichai, chief executive of YouTube parent company Google. The proceeds from those settlements were paid to The Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation Inc., according to the disclosure form. • Gifted tickets to sporting events for the president worth thousands of dollars by multiple professional team owners and the heads of various pro sports leagues including FIFA, NASCAR, PGA of America and UFC. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/birthright-citizenship-argument-shifting-medicare-covers-weight-loss-d-rcna352515 One year after President Donald Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” it has reshaped the country — altering who gets help from the government. The most consequential legislation of Trump’s second term reaches into nearly every corner of American life. It supercharges immigration enforcement. It rewrites student loan rules. It dismantles tax incentives for electric vehicles and clean energy. It creates a national school-voucher tax credit. And at its core is a seismic shift: extending roughly $4.5 trillion in tax cuts disproportionately benefiting corporations and the wealthy over 10 years while cutting about $1.1 trillion from healthcare and food assistance programs serving poor and working-class people. Supporters frame the act as a long-overdue correction. They argue it’s reducing dependence on government programs, rooting out waste, encouraging work and making American businesses more competitive. But many health policy experts, economists and antipoverty advocates see it as something else: one of the largest transfers of resources from low-income Americans to the rich in U.S. history. NBC News poll https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/different-worlds-americans-see-huge-divide-haves-nots-new-poll-shows-rcna350523 …A majority of Americans (54%) say most Americans share the same core values but disagree about policies and issues, while 44% say most Americans have fundamentally different core values, according to the survey, which was sponsored by More Perfect, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing democracy. There are notable splits along some lines, including age and geography. But even those are overshadowed by the overwhelming shares who see sizable divisions between Republicans and Democrats (80%) and between the wealthy and the not wealthy (81%). Do you think people from these backgrounds have more that unites them than divides them, or vice versa? More than unites – Not sure – More that divides Women and men 60% …. 38% People of different races/ethnic backgrounds 59% …. 39% Immigrants and U.S.-born citizens 55% …. 43% People who went to college and did not 50% … 48% Young people and older people 46% …. 52% People in cities and rural areas 43% …. 55% Republicans and Democrats 18% …. 80% Wealthy people and not wealthy people 17% …. 81% Notes: The poll was conducted May 29-June 7 and surveyed 3,000 adults nationally. The margin of error is plus or minus 1.8 percentage points. Some questions were asked of a half-sample, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. Source: NBC News poll …Still, most Americans say they feel disconnected from those in power, according to the NBC News poll, which was conducted by Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies and Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates. An overwhelming share of respondents — 82% — agree that most ordinary Americans, regardless of political party, have more in common with one another than with people in the country who hold a lot of power. And some voters believe wealthy Americans have far more access to that power. “When it comes to politics, those that have money are able to actually have a voice that is heard and have opinions that matter, versus those of us that don’t have money,” said Amanda Larson, a 50-year-old independent from Minnesota who works in childcare. “Our opinions don’t matter. What we need doesn’t matter.” Many Americans also believe those with wealth effectively operate under a different system of justice, with 86% agreeing that in the U.S., wealthy people can often avoid consequences that ordinary people would face for the same actions. “Laws and rules don’t apply to people if they can just pay their way out of it,” said Ann, a 26-year-old Democrat from Kansas who is unemployed. Inflation - Gas Price https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/gas-prices-iran-war-state-national-cost-trump-rcna265835 Average gas prices have increased more than a dollar since the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran. In five states — Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington — average gas prices are at or near $5 per gallon. In California prices are near $6, the highest in the nation. States toward the middle of the country are paying the least, according to AAA data. According to one analysis, the increase in gas prices since the start of the war has cost Americans more than $30 billion. The Cost of the Iran War https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/iran-war-cost-25-billion-dollars-us-munitions-hegseth-armed-services-rcna342714 Iran war has cost the U.S. $25 billion so far, Pentagon official says Acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst said most of the costs came from munitions. April 29, 2026, 10:55 AM CDT / Updated April 29, 2026, 2:10 PM CDT By Alexandra Marquez A top Pentagon official said Wednesday that the cost of the ongoing U.S. war with Iran is estimated to be $25 billion so far, as the conflict nears a 60-day mark. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/heat-wave-temperature-danger-rcna352470