America’s 250th Falls on Shabbat. That’s Fitting

The men who built this country drew, again and again, on the same ancient source.

Morning news brief

Heat threatens U.S. 250th celebrations, Russian advances slow as Ukraine hits back, infighting risks derailing Democrats' House hopes.

The Morning Briefing: It's America 250 Party Time, Patriots!

Americans disgusted at Trump earning $1bn from crypto as president: ‘Obviously a grift’

Hundreds of Guardian readers expressed concerns over greed in the White House and a billionaire president unconcerned with high gas and grocery pricesDonald Trump has earned more than $1bn from his crypto businesses since returning to the White House, according to recent financial disclosures.Amid questions of conflict of interest, more than 400 Americans expressed feelings of outrage, disgust and despair at their president. They answered a Guardian call for their views on Trump’s fortune. Continue reading...

‘Disgusting’: Alien flag flown in honor of ‘independence’ creates hailstorm of reaction

'City hall is not a foreign embassy. … I am repulsed by the anti-Americanism here'

Freedom 250 dancer nearly struck by plunging panel as event stage 'falls apart': report

A stage panel plunged toward dancers rehearsing for President Donald Trump's Freedom 250 July 4th celebration on the National Mall, narrowly missing them.Video of the incident, posted to X at 3:18 PM Thursday by independent journalist Aaron Parnas, showed the panel falling from the arched stage structure as dozens of dancers performed below."The stage is falling apart at the rehearsal for Freedom 250's July 4th celebration," Parnas wrote."This is incredibly dangerous stuff," journalist Ryan Grim wrote on X."Trump cutting safety corners with stage building is the kind of thing somebody can genuinely be prosecuted for if someone dies," Grim added. Under criminal law, causing a death through reckless safety failures can result in prosecution even without intent to harm."This equipment is deadly when falling from those heights," he wrote.Since Freedom 250's Great American State Fair opened on the National Mall on June 25th, the event has been plagued by power outages that melted ice cream, a 110-foot Ferris wheel that repeatedly broke down, and plywood booth facades painted to look like marble columns, Forbes reported. Freedom 250 is a public-private partnership created by Trump to organize the nation's semiquincentennial celebrations, operating separately from America250, the nonpartisan organization Congress created for that purpose."MAJOR BREAKING: Trump's Freedom 250 stage collapses in the midst of a rehearsal for the July 4 performance," political commentator Brian Krassenstein wrote on X."People literally could have died," he added.Trump is scheduled to deliver a speech at the National Mall celebration at 9:45 PM on July 4th, two days away, according to WTOP.

'Literally falling apart': Critics pounce as Trump's Freedom 250 stage crumbles

A large panel fell seemingly dozens of feet from above onto the stage during a rehearsal for a performance at an event for President Donald Trump’s Freedom 250, according to video posted by attorney Aaron Parnas.“The stage is falling apart at the rehearsal for Freedom 250’s July 4th celebration,” Parnas wrote.After the panel fell, someone can be heard on the video saying, “I was waiting for something like that to happen.” Critics blasted the administration while others issued warnings.“This is incredibly dangerous stuff,” wrote journalist Ryan Grim. “Trump cutting safety corners with stage building is the kind of thing somebody can genuinely be prosecuted for if someone dies, which is not uncommon if you slap it together like this. This equipment is deadly when falling from those heights.”“Literally a miracle no one was hurt here,” noted journalist Philip Lewis.“In all seriousness, that actually looks really dangerous for the performers. It’s scary how unsafe this all seems,” observed journalist Pablo Manríquez.“The sheer incompetence of this administration is really rather astonishing. Everything these people touch is shoddily done. This era is replete with evidence that experience and professionalism actually matter,” wrote author Jennifer Erin Valent.“If there was ever a metaphor for how historians will look back at Trump’s presidency at this moment in time, it’s this,” wrote health care consultant and National Organization for Women vice president Melanie D’Arrigo.“The Freedom 250 rehearsal stage falling apart is the perfect analogy for the Trump administration,” The Lincoln Project commented.“Glad everyone’s ok — it’s also hard to imagine a better metaphor for the current state of [America] than this,” wrote the progressive media outlet The Tennessee Holler.“Trump’s state fair is *literally* falling apart,” remarked liberal political commentator Harry Sisson.One commenter added, “Those performers are incredibly lucky. That falling piece of debris looked heavy, sharp and came down at incredible speed.”Trump’s Freedom 250 July 4th event is also besieged by a massive heat wave enveloping part of the country.“U.S. Capitol Police have already restricted Thursday night’s rehearsal for ‘A Capitol Fourth Concert’ to essential personnel, posting on X that they came to the decision after consulting with the Capitol’s Office of the Attending Physician,” The New Republic reported.“For safety reasons, the public will not be able to attend tonight’s rehearsal concert,” the Capitol Police’s post read. “Everyone is sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. The National Weather Service is forecasting an extreme heat watch with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees.”

Markwayne Mullin and Others Slam Tim Walz's Disgusting Pardon of Laotian Child Predator