Fireworks, heat and politics: America celebrates its 250th birthday

Fireworks, heat and politics: America celebrates its 250th birthday 0 seconds of 1 minute, 25 secondsVolume 0% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up Drone show lights up night sky over Philadelphia's Independence Hall 00:52 Subtitle Settings OffEnglish(US)_v Font Color White Font Opacity 100% Font Size 100% Font Family Arial Character Edge None Edge Color Black Background Color Black Background Opacity 50% Window Color Black Window Opacity 0% Reset WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25% 200%175%150%125%100%75%50% ArialCourierGeorgiaImpactLucida ConsoleTahomaTimes New RomanTrebuchet MSVerdana NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop Shadow WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% 00:00 01:25 01:25 More Videos 00:52 Drone show lights up night sky over Philadelphia's Independence Hall 00:51 Federal Reserve Chair Warsh emphasizes political independence, signals focus on inflation 00:58 Rare copy of Declaration of Independence found by UK National Archives in papers of captured US ship 01:10 People experiencing homelessness seek respite from the heat at a cooling center in Georgia 00:46 Supreme Court strikes down limits on political party spending, backing Republican appeal 01:59 AP/NORC poll: Who flies the US flag, who won’t and what it signals about America 05:35 Global scammers are using US tech to fleece people out of life savings 00:43 US ‘light artist’ opens his most daring skyspace yet Close 1 of 6 | Extreme heat in the U.S. is impacting festivities commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence, including a temporary closure of the Great American State Fair in Washington D.C. (AP Video shot by Nathan Ellgren) 2 of 6 | A flight of F-18s, F-35s and a F-22 fly past a picture of President Donald Trump hanging on the U.S. Department of Labor near the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard) 3 of 6 | Todd Shaw, left, kisses his wife Shannon Shaw, right, as they pose for portrait during the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, Thursday, July 2, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) 4 of 6 | Duane Schwingel plays a harmonica on the National Mall, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 5 of 6 | President Donald Trump speaks at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, near Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Matt Gade) 6 of 6 | Rain runs down a sculpture of George Washington at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Matt Gade) By STEVEN SLOAN Updated 7:14 AM MESZ, July 4, 2026 Leer en español Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit WASHINGTON (AP) — The 250th anniversary of American independence is colliding with a country gripped by political polarization and a heat wave bearing down on millions of people across multiple states as celebrations get underway across the United States on Saturday. The signing of the Declaration of Independence, one of history’s most celebrated articulations of democratic ambitions, is being marked in myriad ways. President Donald Trump, set to take a central role in festivities, plans to speak on the National Mall in Washington ahead of what’s being billed as a historically enormous fireworks show that will rain down over the nation’s capital. The president was in South Dakota at Mount Rushmore on Friday, where he delivered a dark speech about the threat of communism in the U.S. as the chiseled images of four of his most prominent predecessors loomed behind him. Elsewhere, fireworks are scheduled to be set off Saturday over Navy Pier in Chicago and against the skyline of New York City, which also hosted a ball drop at midnight to usher in the holiday with the same fanfare as New Year’s Eve. Bristol, Rhode Island, describes itself as home of the nation’s oldest Independence Day celebrations dating to 1785. In Los Angeles, Queen Latifah will host a concert featuring performances by The Smashing Pumpkins and Chris Stapleton. Chaka Khan is billed as a special guest. Trump pardons former Abramoff partner, 9 people convicted of violating vehicle emissions controls 2 MIN READ 15 Trump administration’s interpretation of slavery under George Washington can be reinstalled 2 MIN READ 289 Brazil’s top presidential candidates Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro clash over US tariff proposal 3 MIN READ Anticipation for the milestone holiday has been building for much of the year, serving as an opportunity for Americans to reflect on their complicated history as onetime colonists of an empire who became a superpower of their own. Celebrations months in the making had to adjust or cancel activities entirely as much of the East Coast sweltered under heat that approached and in many cases surpassed triple digits. In Washington, the Great American State Fair was closed for several hours Friday afternoon during the worst of the heat. The city’s Independence Day parade scheduled for Saturday was canceled. To the chagrin of many on the East Coast, the weather was downright pleasant on the other side of the country. The Pacific Northwest enjoyed temperatures in the 60s on Friday with a few light showers. In the Seattle suburb of Issaquah, Megan Kurowski, 31, brought her two dogs to the dog park so they could get some exercise before she went to work. Kurowski said she was feeling positive about America’s 250th anniversary and was planning a possible paddleboard to watch the fireworks. “Everyone’s just, from what it seems, been pretty excited about celebrating 250 years,” she said. Other American pastimes are overlapping with the holiday. More than a dozen Major League Baseball games are on the schedule for Saturday. The World Cup, being hosted in the U.S. for the first time in 32 years, will have matches in Houston and Philadelphia on Saturday following a nail-biter overtime win by Argentina over Cape Verde on Friday outside Miami. Pop culture enthusiasts can obsess over Taylor Swift’s Friday wedding to football player Travis Kelce at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. And Madonna released her 15th studio album, a collection of dance tracks. The celebrations are unfolding against the backdrop of a deep divide that has been expanding for years, visible in everything from political expression to cultural norms to age-old questions over race, class and immigration. At Mount Rushmore on Friday, Trump spoke of communism as a “mortal threat to American liberty.” “It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor or even 9/11,” he said. Without naming Trump, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat who is also a democratic socialist and recently backed several successful congressional candidates in their primaries, appeared to reference Trump during a speech Friday. “Those ideals upon which our nation was built — they are strong enough to endure any authoritarian regime, but only if we reach for them,” he said. Ahead of the holiday, auto technician Joe Fuqua-Bejarano in Topeka, Kansas, sized up “what makes us awesome” as a people. It is clearly not the politics, in his view, but rather resilience. “We’ve just all got to find unity somewhere, whether that’s in laughter or perseverance, and keep everybody cool,” he said from the fireworks stand where he is doing a booming business as a side hustle. Jerry Chin of Newcastle, Washington, said he wasn’t aware that the U.S. was celebrating its 250th anniversary and planned to stay low-key around the holiday. He and his wife generally skip the fireworks and instead stay home with their fearful dogs to keep them calm. “America’s a great place,” he said, “but there are some concerns.” Associated Press writers Martha Bellisle in Seattle and John Hanna in Topkea, Kansas contributed to this report. STEVEN SLOAN Sloan is the Washington correspondent at The Associated Press. He managed the AP’s coverage of the 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns. twitter