The 'tradition' behind Nathan's hot-dog eating contest is a fake news PR stunt

Every July Fourth, announcers retell the same origin story before Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest: In 1916, four immigrants on Coney Island settled an argument over who was the most patriotic American by seeing who could eat the most hot dogs in 12 minutes. James Mullen, an Irish immigrant, won with 13.It never happened.‘A hot dog is like a pop idol. Hot dogs are cute.’The story was invented in the early 1970s by two Nathan's press agents, Max Rosey and Mortimer Matz, who needed a brand-new publicity stunt to make the contest look like a decades-old American tradition.In 2010, Matz admitted to the New York Times: "In Coney Island pitchman style, we made it up." A Nathan's spokesman later confirmed the company "had no evidence of the contest" before Matz and Rosey got involved.The fabrication came well embellished. The dates weren’t even fixed yet — early contests popped up near Memorial Day, Labor Day, and once in April. Some versions of the legend cast entertainer Jimmy Durante as a competitor, judged by Eddie Cantor and Sophie Tucker. According to a former president of Nathan's, the real first contest happened in 1972. "We'd honestly wait for a couple of fat guys to walk by and ask them if they wanted to be in a hot dog contest," said Wayne Norbitz, who served as president for 26 years.RELATED: 'Alarming violence' leads community to cancel Fourth of July celebration ahead of America's 250th anniversary Bobby Bank/Getty ImagesNathan's still markets the event as an unbroken tradition dating back to 1916. It's a strange irony for a holiday built around an honest declaration.Six-time champion Takeru Kobayashi, known as "The Tsunami," was once asked point-blank whether a hot dog counts as a sandwich. "No! No. You have to have a lot of respect for hot dogs. It's completely different. First of all, the hot dog is American. Sandwiches are not American. They're different. Second of all, a hot dog is like a pop idol. Hot dogs are cute. It's a pop image — everyone knows what a hot dog is."Anthony Bourdain called the bun "a ballistic delivery system" and warned that ordering a "hot dog sandwich" at any respectable stand would get you reported to the FBI. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council agrees, officially classifying the hot dog as its own category rather than a subtype of sandwich.Maybe the only thing more mythical than Nathan's 1916 origin story is the idea that anyone has actually settled what a hot dog is.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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.

Trump’s assault on nation’s founding promise hands the left perfect opportunity: historian

Donald Trump's assault on the nation's founding democratic promise has handed the political left a perfect opportunity to reclaim its legacy, argued historian Harvey Kaye in an analysis published in Zeteo on Saturday.Kaye, professor emeritus of democracy and justice studies at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, wrote that the nation is marking its 250th anniversary even as "Donald Trump and his minions" pursue their "reactionary ambitions" – a timing he called "nothing less than ironic, as if history were playing a cruel joke on us."“Hardly the grounds for a grand celebration. And yet, the 250th comes at the perfect time for the Left,” Kaye wrote. “Indeed, rather than dismiss or scorn the occasion as we may be wont to, we progressives, populists, and democratic socialists should step up and embrace it. For are we not also finally seeing the beginnings of a real democratic surge – a surge that might actually lead to taking back the Democratic Party from the neoliberals and billionaires?”Kaye called on Americans to remember they are "heirs to the promise and project of the American Revolution," invoking Thomas Paine's declaration that "we have it in our power to begin the world over again."Kaye pointed to past national crises – the Civil War and the Great Depression – as models for how Americans previously responded to authoritarian threats, writing that each generation made the country "radically freer, more equal, and more democratic than ever before."“Reminding ourselves of all of that, and sensing the democratic possibilities that are emerging, let us toast the 250th with words from the man who first turned us into radicals,” Kaye wrote. “Angered by misrepresentations of the American Revolution in a history published in 1782 by the famed French writer, Abbe Raynal, Paine replied, ‘It is yet too soon to write the history of the Revolution.’”

Heat wave cancels some DC Independence Day celebrations

A dangerous heat wave blanketing much of the East Coast disrupted Fourth of July celebrations in Washington, D.C., forcing organizers to cancel or delay several events planned for the nation’s 250th Independence Day. A heat dome settled over much of the eastern United States through the holiday weekend, sending temperatures into the triple digits. Washington […]

Something Is Going On With Mitch McConnell’s Health, and His Office Is Being Mighty Cagey About It

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America 250: Inside Colonial Williamsburg, where America’s story began

For America’s 250th birthday, the Washington Examiner is taking you to Virginia’s Historic Triangle, where the story of our nation began. From the Jamestown settlement, the first permanent English colony in America; to the Yorktown battlefield, where the fight for independence was won; to Colonial Williamsburg, where America’s founding principles were debated and shaped; step […]

AMC CEO posts then deletes play-by-play of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding

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Trump wants to sabotage his own party to send a message about himself: biographer

A Trump biographer suggested that Trump is sabotaging his own party ahead of the midterms for a selfish reason.On an episode of The Daily Beast Podcast, Michael Wolff said that he believes Trump's strategy is to lay the groundwork for the Republicans to take the blame for losing the midterms, and his goal is to prove that the party needs him."You can actually kind of get inside his head, and that's what he's doing. He is now undermining the Republicans," Wolff said, adding that it's to "blame it on them, to reinforce the fact that they can't do anything if he's not running."Wolff said that Trump's strategy when losing is "he just denies it [and blames] it on somebody else," and "it would seem now that he has gone down the path to do almost everything to undermine the Republicans."On that point, Wolff looks to the bipartisan housing bill that Trump refuses to sign as a sign of undermining the GOP, explaining, "This was actually a bipartisan win that might have helped them during the midterms."By refusing to sign the housing bill, "what he's stolen from the Republicans is the ability to show that they care, and this would have been very helpful" for them ahead of the midterms, which are now four months away.Co-host Joanna Coles agreed that Trump is prepared to blame the GOP ranks, predicting, "He's going to blame John Thune (R-SD)," the Senate majority leader, and "He's going to blame John Cornyn (R-TX)," the veteran senator who was "scooped out of the way" by the Trump-endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the primaries."He's good at blaming," Wolff said.

What Jack Smith wouldn't say about Kash Patel raises major red flag: journalist

Former special counsel Jack Smith's refusal to answer questions about FBI Director Kash Patel during his first television interview since resigning is raising red flags, journalist Kaitlyn Pierce, who writes under the name “Kait Justice,” argued in an analysis published Saturday.Smith sat down with MS NOW’s Nicolle Wallace on July 2 for his first on-camera interview since stepping down from the investigations into President Donald Trump. When Wallace pressed him on the classified documents case – the probe into national security records Trump kept at Mar-a-Lago after leaving office – Smith repeatedly declined to answer, citing the sealed status of Volume II of his final report.Writing on her Substack, Justice argued that Smith's silence was notable given Patel's own history in that same investigation. Patel was subpoenaed before the grand jury investigating Trump's handling of classified materials and invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent rather than answer questions. Prosecutors granted him immunity, and a judge issued a sealed order compelling his testimony – an order that remains under seal.Justice noted that Patel had spent months publicly insisting he witnessed Trump declassify the documents before leaving office, a claim that became part of Trump's defense, before the same man was later put in charge of the FBI.“I don’t think people are truly looking at how extraordinary that is,” Justice wrote.“What [Patel] said behind those closed doors is locked inside the report Judge Aileen Cannon sealed under a permanent order, and two watchdog groups, American Oversight and the Knight First Amendment Institute, are still in court fighting to get released.”The questions Patel’s secret testimony raised, Justice argued, were endless.“So what did Kash Patel tell prosecutors once immunity forced him to talk?” Justice wrote. “What did Smith’s team conclude about his testimony? Why did the man who now runs the FBI need immunity before he would answer questions in the investigation into the president who gave him the job?”

Watch live: Donald Trump to give major speech as America celebrates 250th anniversary

President Trump is expected to hold a “long” speech on the National Mall Saturday evening as the U.S. marks its 250th anniversary, even as record heat threatens to upend the festivities. Military flyovers, events at the Great American State Fair and a massive fireworks show are also scheduled throughout the day. First lady Melania Trump…

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Library of Congress celebrates America 250 with massive birthday cake

The Library of Congress celebrated the Fourth of July with a cake worthy of America’s 250th birthday. The National Birthday Cake Tribute was unveiled at the Library of Congress’s Madison Hall, according to a press release sent to the Washington Examiner.  The six-foot-tall sculpture was made by acclaimed cake artist Grace Pak, owner of Duchess […]

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.

Pope praises US history of welcoming migrants in implicit rebuke to Trump

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

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Defiance Against Trump Drives Rise of Democratic Socialist in DC Mayor’s Race

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Trump biographer exposes why Melania's 'preposterous' legal move is doomed to fail

First Lady Melania Trump is pursuing new sanctions in her battle against Michael Wolff, but as the prominent former biographer of her husband explained this week, her "preposterous" legal strategy is doomed to fail.Wolff is a veteran reporter and author, best known for several books documenting President Donald Trump's first term in the White House. In the last year, he has also been embroiled in a legal battle with the first lady after she initially threatened to sue him over comments about her and her family's connections to Jeffrey Epstein. He responded with an anti-SLAPP lawsuit, accusing Melania Trump of attempting to silence him, in breach of freedom of the press.In May, New York District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, a Trump appointee, tossed out Wolff's suit, saying that he must wait for an actual defamation suit from the first lady, while also noting that there appeared to be legitimate issues brought up between the two parties. In the past week, Melania Trump has moved to try and have Wolff's lawyers sanctioned, over what she described as "factual misrepresentations, frivolous legal arguments and bad-faith conduct."In the latest episode of his Daily Beast podcast, Wolff touched on these new developments in the situation, calling the first lady's strategy "preposterous.""Essentially, they are moving to sanction my lawyers for doing nothing more than bringing the lawsuit against Melania Trump,” Wolff explained. “So this is preposterous on its face."Speaking further on the matter, he said that the first lady's move fits the strategy established by her notoriously litigious husband, which means that it is almost certain to fail."... It is just another... kind of thing that comes with all of Trump-style... litigation, which is you do everything, no matter how... sordid and not respectable... and bound to be thrown out of court, you do this stuff to cost your opponents more money and to cause delay," Wolff explained.Indeed, Judge Vyskocil seemed to urge the first lady against continuing to pursue legal action against Wolff and his team during a hearing earlier this week."I wonder if it’s in the interest of the parties to continue litigating in this court," she said. "I think sometimes people get so caught up in the fervor of the moment that they don’t really stop and think about the cost-benefit analysis of motions that are contemplated and the burden you put a court to."Wolff further claimed to have known that this sort of sanction request was coming after he accidentally received a text from one of the first lady's lawyers, which also exposed how the case "was being coordinated at the highest levels of Trump law.”"On January 26th of this year, I got a text... from the president’s personal lawyer, a man by the name of Boris Epshteyn, and the text said, ‘Hey team, what’s our timing on the Section 11 filing?’” Wolff detailed. "I was not part of the team. I am in Boris Epshteyn’s address book because he’s... a frequent off-the-record chatterer... and as can happen, he was thinking about me and writing a text about me, but it wasn’t supposed to go to me.”

Historian dismisses Trump Independence Day rhetoric as 'Red Scare idiocy'

A presidential historian slammed Trump's Independence Day speech as nothing more than "Joe McCarthy Red Scare idiocy."During an appearance on MS NOW on Saturday, Doug Brinkley tore into the speech that Trump gave in front of Mount Rushmore to kick off the Independence Day weekend. In particular, Brinkley found it "deeply offensive" that Trump would spend time warning about communists because of recent primary victories by democratic socialists."It was just Joe McCarthy red scare idiocy because he's out there talking about this communist menace as if it's the early Cold War years," Brinkley went off. "It's just what he wants the Republicans to run on in this election cycle." MS NOW anchor Alex Witt agreed, adding, "When the president says, 'America will never become a communist country,' I was thinking to myself, 'Well, who said it was going to anyway?'"Brinkley compared Trump's speech to "McCarthy starting to have his list in Wheeling, West Virginia, waving it, that they are infiltrators all over." McCarthy famously tried to root out alleged communists during a period called the Red Scare.Trump's speech was "utter nonsense," Brinkley continued, while admitting that "politicizing" is "natural in our days."However, he optimistically viewed most Americans "watching on Main Street" as having the "spirit" of "a red, white and blue blast, and let's have a barbecue, let's see some family, see some friends, and then we'll get on to the bickering of politics during Monday or Tuesday."He also suggested, "I think our inclination for this weekend should be to try to transcend Donald Trump's rhetoric and just sort of block it out for 48 hours."

'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."

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.

‘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

New York’s Heat Wave Exposes the Cost of Political Fantasy

Trump sneaks in Nobel Prize jab while touting America’s achievements

President Trump slipped a familiar grievance into his remarks at Mount Rushmore on the eve of the nation’s 250th birthday, complaining about not having won a Nobel Prize. The aside came as Trump rattled off a list of inventions and advancements pioneered by Americans, while also touting the country’s dominance in music, sports and culture.  …

'Say no to drugs': Stephen Miller heaped with scorn for pious Trump praise

Online critics slammed top White House aide Stephen Miller after he implied President Donald Trump's second term was an act of God. Miller praised the Trump presidency in a Saturday post on X. "It is impossible to review the events of the last decade and conclude that it is anything other than divine providence that Donald J. Trump is the President of the United States on the year of America 250, July 4th, 2026," he wrote.Not everyone responding to Miller's post saw the Trump presidency the same way.Veteran political columnist Bill Kristol reacted by writing, "Stephen Miller, for some reason trying to give divine providence a bad name."The account PatriotTakes, which monitors right-wing extremism, responded, "Trump is a religion for MAGA.""Easy to dismiss this as the delusional fevered rantings of a diseased mind," wrote former GOP strategist Jeff Timmer. "But the disease is rampant at the epicenter of the most powerful government ever known on the planet. We should be far more alarmed than we are. Far more."Tom Nichols, another long-time political commentator and staff writer for The Atlantic, reacted to Miller's post with an Abraham Lincoln quote and a Bible passage."The Almighty has His own purposes," he wrote. 'Woe unto the world because of offenses for it must needs be that offenses come but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.'"Meanwhile, journalist John Harwood simply advised, "Just say no to drugs."

Fireworks Canceled in Some Western Towns Because of Wildfire Danger

This Fourth of July, fires burning in several states have forced local officials to rethink celebration plans.

Canada’s Jesse Marsch says ‘I’d rather be us than them’ after World Cup Round of 16 loss to Morocco

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Mexico boosting security for England World Cup clash after fan deaths

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Kylian Mbappe’s girlfriend Ester catches eyes in hot pink outfit amid France World Cup game

Ester Exposito, the girlfriend of France soccer star Kylian Mbappe, posted a pink outfit before France's July 4 World Cup game against Paraguay.