Fourth of July

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Fireworks Explode Into Crowd, Injuring 28

20 hospitalized after Independence Day event near LA

(Newser) - A crowd gathered for Fourth of July fireworks saw celebration turn to disaster as an explosion hurt 28 people. Twenty of those were hospitalized, four with "moderate to severe injuries," NBC Los Angeles reports. Their wounds, however, aren't life-threatening, the AP notes. The incident occurred in Simi...

Dad Fatally Runs Over Son Who Fell From Parade Float

Boy, 8, either fell or jumped from float: police

(Newser) - Tragedy at an Oklahoma Fourth of July parade, where an 8-year-old boy either fell or jumped from a parade float and was fatally run over. Making the story much worse: The boy's father was driving the flat-bed trailer, which was being used as a float for a karate group,...

Why Hot Dogs Are an All-American Food
Why Hot Dogs Are an All-American Food
OPINION

Why Hot Dogs Are an All-American Food

Bruce Kraig argues that the founders would have loved these things

(Newser) - Fact: The Founding Fathers did not eat hot dogs. They didn't exist at the time, and besides, "food connoisseurs Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin would have considered hot dogs to be the lowest of foods," writes culinary historian Bruce Kraig in the LA Times . But Kraig nonetheless...

The American Revolution Was a Failure

Historian Paul Pirie argues that the Founders fell short of their aims

(Newser) - Americans adore their revolution, but former historian Paul Pirie doesn't think it was terribly successful—at least not if you judge it against countries like Canada (from whence Pirie hails) that kept their monarchies, or by its own stated goal of advancing life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness....

Boston Suspects First Planned Attack for July 4

But they built their bombs too fast: reports

(Newser) - Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told investigators that he and his brother originally planned their attack for July 4th—but they built their bombs so quickly that they moved the mission up to the day of the Boston Marathon, reports outlets including the New York Times , Boston Globe , and CBS News . All of...

At White House, Marine Band Plays ... Romney Song

Fourth of July celebration gets just a bit awkward

(Newser) - The White House Independence Day fete took a bit of an awkward turn yesterday: As President Obama was visiting with the service members gathered on the South Lawn, a subset of the Marine Corps band started playing Rod Atkins' "It's America"—which just so happens to be...

San Diego Fireworks Suffer 'Premature Ignition'

Entire 4th of July show goes up in seconds

(Newser) - Millions of Americans had a firework-free Fourth of July because of wildfire fears, but San Diego got a big show—that lasted less than 30 seconds. The official display in San Diego Bay was called off after at least three of four barges suffered what authorities called "premature ignition,...

Cost of Freedom: Everyone&#39;s Selfish
 Cost of Freedom: 
 Everyone's Selfish 
OPINION

Cost of Freedom: Everyone's Selfish

From hippies to capitalists, US has embraced individual liberty: Kurt Anderson

(Newser) - The 1960s brought a raft of cultural freedoms, from women's rights to new attitudes about drugs. But anyone dreaming of economic equality has been sorely disappointed; old-school free market ideas have only gotten stronger. Kurt Anderson has a theory to explain the divide: On both the cultural and economic...

4 Weird Fourth Facts
 4 Weird Fourth Facts 

4 Weird Fourth Facts

3 presidents died and one was born on the holiday

(Newser) - As you're watching fireworks tonight, consider this: If John Adams had had his way, you would have had a three-day weekend. That's because the second president believed Independence Day should have been celebrated on July 2, when the Founding Fathers voted for independence, rather than the day John...

All Over US, Fireworks Axed Due to Heat

They're banned in scores of communities, particularly in the West

(Newser) - The red glare of rockets will be missing from scores of Independence Day celebrations tonight, Reuters finds. Dry conditions and record-breaking heat have turned much of America into a tinderbox and caused many communities—particularly those in the West—to cancel their annual fireworks displays. "All it would take...

4th of July Deadliest Day on US Roads

Teens make up 10% of day's traffic deaths, AAA warns

(Newser) - Independence Day is no time to forget about road safety, AAA warns. Today is the deadliest day of the year for American drivers, with an average 140 fatalities, and teenage drivers and their passengers account for nearly a tenth of those deaths, reports the Los Angeles Times . Road deaths in...

In Time for the 4th: Solar Fireworks?

Electrically charged particle belch could light up sky

(Newser) - The most intriguing fireworks tomorrow may already have been sparked 93 million miles from Earth. The sun yesterday belched out a major a M5.6-class solar flare—extremely close in power to a maximum X-class flare, notes Discovery . The flare from the large sunspot known as AR1515 produced waves of...

CBS Airs Fake Views of Boston Fireworks

Network showed images that couldn't really exist

(Newser) - Something was off about the broadcast of Boston's Fourth of July celebration—a few miles off. CBS aired footage of fireworks exploding behind the State House, Quincy Market, and Fenway Stadium, but astute viewers soon realized such views would have been physically impossible from where the fireworks were launched....

American Celebs Born on July 4
 American Celebs Born on July 4 

American Celebs Born on July 4

Really, is there anything more American than 'The Situation'?

(Newser) - While celebrating our nation's birthday, pause and raise your beer can and toast these famous Americans, born on the fourth of July. Highlights from the Daily Beast's list:
  • Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino: Which news do you find most surprising? That "The Situation" turns 30 today, or
...

Teen Straps Camera to Fireworks

Spy cam gives rocket-eye view in this viral video

(Newser) - Ever wondered what July 4 looks like from a firework's perspective? Well wonder no longer. Just watch this clip from 19-year-old videographer Jeremiah Warren, who strapped a tiny spy camera onto a series of fireworks. The little 808 #11 camera miraculously survived multiple flights, and provided some pretty high-quality...

Brian Palmer: Make This Year's Fourth of July Cookout a Green One
 Make This Year's 
 Cookout a Green One 
OPINION

Make This Year's Cookout a Green One

Three easy tips for a tasty—and eco-friendly—Fourth

(Newser) - With 10% to 30% of greenhouse gas emissions coming from food, why not make this year’s Fourth of July cookout a green opportunity? In the New York Times , Brian Palmer offers some tips:
  • Don’t boil your potatoes—cube and pan-fry them. That method takes less than a third
...

One Dead After Runaway Horses Trample Paradegoers

Bellevue, Iowa, 4th of July celebration ends in bloodshed

(Newser) - Two horses pulling a buggy in the Fourth of July parade through the streets of Bellevue, Iowa, got loose and rampaged through the crowd yesterday morning, injuring 23 people and killing the 60-year-old wife of the carriage driver. Thirteen of the victims are children, reports the Telegraph Herald of Dubuque....

Oil Cleanup Spoils Gulf's July 4th Parties

Tourism crisis, danger of fire dampen celebrations

(Newser) - Fourth of July celebrations will be scaled down in many Gulf Coast towns, where the BP oil spill and cleanup effort are taking a big bite out of holiday fun. Cash-strapped governments dealing with the tourism bust have canceled fireworks displays, and some have moved their pyrotechnics inland because of...

Americans Flunk History
 Americans Flunk History 
happy independence day

Americans Flunk History

One-quarter of Americans don't know who got the short end of Revolution

(Newser) - On July 4th, Americans from all walks of life will gather to celebrate their independence from … someone or other. According to a new poll, more than 1 in 4 Americans can’t name England as the country the colonists fought in the Revolutionary War, CNN reports. That figure includes...

Colbert, Ga., to Stephen Colbert: Don't Come to Our Parade

Comedy Central star won't be invited for Fourth

(Newser) - Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert won't be invited to the Fourth of July parade in Colbert, Ga., because "his satire is probably something that we didn't feel suited our small-town atmosphere," the city's mayor says. A local professor circulated a petition seeking to invite Colbert and change the pronunciation...

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