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What This Fourth of July Is Really About

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An unfinished ode from 1876 offers a lesson for America’s 250th.

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GOP pundit faces right-wing backlash over apparent July 4 plea to bomb funeral

Raw Story

59 minutes ago

GOP pundit faces right-wing backlash over apparent July 4 plea to bomb funeral

Fox News host Mark Levin disturbed onlookers Saturday after expressing disappointment that the Trump administration hadn’t authorized a strike on funeral proceedings for Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes back in late February.“Yesterday, the enemy gathered [en masse] all in one place,” Levin, a close ally of President Donald Trump’s, wrote Saturday in a social media post on X. “Opportunity lost.”That Levin spent part of America’s 250th anniversary presumably expressing disappointment that a funeral had not been targeted in an attack disturbed a handful of critics.“Mark Levin spends July 4th fantasizing about the US breaking its ceasefire with Iran to bomb a funeral,” wrote Chris Menahan, an independent journalist and publisher of Information Liberation.Conservative podcast host Robb Carter called Levin “the most nauseating human in media” in response to his July 4th musings, and conservative author and political analyst Rich Baris called Levin’s remarks “clinically insane.”“This is literally talking about executing the heads of state – including allies – and starting a World War we cannot win,” Baris wrote. “Insane.”Previously a “Never Trump” conservative, Levin has championed the president amid his deeply unpopular war against Iran. After the Trump administration reached a tentative peace deal with Iran, however, Levin appeared to reverse course and repeatedly attacked the Trump administration for having “capitulated” to Iran’s demands.Clinically insane.This is literally talking about executing the heads of state—including allies—and starting a World War we cannot win.Insane. https://t.co/FiUZRVSQLL— Rich Baris THE PEOPLE'S PUNDIT (@Peoples_Pundit) July 4, 2026

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Gavin Newsom goes on Trump-bashing tirade in tedious 4th of July address

New York Post

2 hours ago

Gavin Newsom goes on Trump-bashing tirade in tedious 4th of July address

Newsom spent much of his eight minutes entirely focused on President Donald Trump.

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Pope Leo’s July 4 Message to America Was Unmistakable

The Atlantic

4 hours ago

Pope Leo’s July 4 Message to America Was Unmistakable

By spending the semiquincentennial mourning the plight of migrants, Leo sent a clear challenge to his native country.

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How to watch the Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks for free: Time, performances and more

New York Post

4 hours ago

How to watch the Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks for free: Time, performances and more

America is turning 250 — and Macy's is going all out to celebrate.

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'It won't work': Columnist claims massive Trump's July 4 stunt is act of revenge

Raw Story

4 hours ago

'It won't work': Columnist claims massive Trump's July 4 stunt is act of revenge

Fears are mounting over President Donald Trump's massive Independence Day fireworks display for one simple reason. His administration "couldn't even paint a pool blue."That's the criticism from MS NOW editor Ryan Teague Beckworth in an opinion piece detailing his pending dread of a 40-minute pyrotechnics "stunt" slated for 11 p.m. in Washington D.C."Organizers aim to launch more than 850,000 fireworks — compared to the 7,000 at the 2025 show," wrote Beckworth. "The fireworks display is just another attempt to force the city to submit to his whims. As with all his grandiose gestures, it won’t work."Beckworth pointed to multiple problems that have plagued the Great American State Fair in Washington D.C. — the extreme heat, complaints of "inedible" food and a collapsing stage, among them — as reasons not to trust the Trump team to pull off the last big shebang.The writer also suggested the firework show was a form of revenge. "Ninety percent of Washington voted against Trump in 2024, one of the largest margins of any U.S. city," wrote Beckworth."Trump doesn’t like that. He envisions himself as a grand potentate overseeing the capital city. Like Ozymandias, he wants its residents to build him a great arch and an opulent ballroom and hold elaborate events in his honor."Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Kyle Whitmere had another complaint for Trump, not as a citizen, but a dad."Donald Trump might have kids," he wrote on X, "but anyone who schedules fireworks at 11 p.m. never parented children."

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Merriam-Webster delivers patriotic eight-word smackdown for Fourth of July

New York Post

5 hours ago

Merriam-Webster delivers patriotic eight-word smackdown for Fourth of July

Merriam-Webster just won Independence Day with a brilliant patriotic eight-word smackdown on the Fourth of July against the United Kingdom.

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‘Going to be brutal’: Trump’s ‘dangerous’ July 4th finale hit with ominous predictions

Raw Story

5 hours ago

‘Going to be brutal’: Trump’s ‘dangerous’ July 4th finale hit with ominous predictions

President Donald Trump’s record-breaking fireworks show slated for Saturday night has a growing number of critics worried about the safety of Washington, D.C. residents, with one commentator offering a particularly disturbing prediction as to how the event could take a turn for the worse.Trump announced the fireworks show in June, and proudly touted that it would be “the LARGEST FIREWORKS SHOW IN HISTORY” in a post on social media. Around 850,000 fireworks are expected to be launched during the show, scheduled to begin around 11 p.m. Saturday night.A handful of internal National Park Service documents obtained this week by The Washington Post, however, revealed that the fireworks show is expected to cause “dangerous pollution” and “very unhealthy conditions” around the National Mall, conditions so severe that several critics feared the event could turn into a disaster.“They'll probably accidentally set the White House on fire,” predicted Nathan Robinson, editor-in-chief of Current Affairs and political commentator, in a social media post on X Saturday.The air quality at the fireworks show is expected to be so dire that the Park Service advised that attendees “wear an N95 mask when outdoors,” and that they should “remain indoors as much as possible during and after the show.”“Air quality is already bad due to the heat, this is gonna be brutal,” predicted Amanda Carpenter, writer and editor at Protect Democracy and former writer for The Bulwark and CNN contributor, in a social media post on X Saturday.Democratic communications strategist Josh Dorner predicted it was unlikely that attendees would adhere to the Park Service’s warning, further exacerbating the danger present at the event.“The air is going to be SO BAD because of the enormous quantity of fireworks to be set off tonight in DC that officials cautioned people nearby to wear an N95 mask, which I am guessing approximately no one will do,” Dorner wrote Saturday in a social media post on X.And Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center of Economic & Policy Research, argued that a show of such magnitude was simply beyond Trump’s ability to oversee safely.“This is waaaay too complicated for an 80-year-old man suffering from dementia to understand,” Baker wrote Saturday in a social media post on X.they'll probably accidentally set the white house on fire https://t.co/feXssTlI2i— Nathan J Robinson (@NathanJRobinson) July 4, 2026

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LeBron James spends Fourth of July near potential NBA free agency destination

New York Post

5 hours ago

LeBron James spends Fourth of July near potential NBA free agency destination

The basketball world is waiting with bated breath regarding where LeBron James will sign in free agency. ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania already conveyed James’ decision is likely among six teams: the Cavaliers, the Heat, the Nuggets, the Warriors, the 76ers and the Timberwolves. LeBron James still is mulling his options after deciding to leave...

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