Category: U.S. News

Three wildland firefighters who died fighting fires along the Colorado-Utah border are being honored as courageous pioneers who made lasting marks on their profession.

Wildfires have been tearing across the western United States, driven by months of dry conditions and historically low snowfall. The blazes have forced residents from their homes while crews continue working to bring the flames under control.

Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson, and Sydney Watson lost their lives on Saturday, June 27, when fast-moving flames overtook them in Mesa County. Two additional crew members suffered burn injuries. The firefighters deployed emergency protective shelters — devices considered a last resort when firefighters have no other means of escape.

All three were part of a Helitack crew, a specialized team transported by helicopter into remote locations with the goal of stopping new fires before they grow into uncontrollable disasters.

Their deaths occurred nearly 13 years to the day after 19 elite wildland firefighters perished when they were trapped in a steep canyon near Yarnell, Arizona.

A memorial service honoring the three firefighters is scheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday at Las Colonias Park Amphitheater in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Barker, 38, was remembered by friend and former roommate Sarah Brubeck Schnurbusch as someone whose spirit inspired everyone around her to be a better person. Barker was originally from Clinton, Michigan, and had a passion for outdoor activities including hiking, skiing, and dirt biking, as well as playing hockey. She was deeply devoted to her career in firefighting.

“I’ve never seen someone so excited to go to work,” Brubeck Schnurbusch said, adding that Barker was a trailblazer who helped open doors for women in the firefighting industry.

Brubeck Schnurbusch said she hopes Barker’s death brings greater public awareness to the relentless dedication firefighters show every single day. “I just hope that Emily knows the impact that she left on everybody else, and how many people really truly love her,” she said.

Hutcherson, 27, was a U.S. Navy veteran from Glendale, Arizona, who had aspirations of becoming a physical therapy doctor. He was assigned to the Kaibab National Forest in northern Arizona. Beyond firefighting, Hutcherson was an active participant in the Northern Arizona Deaf and American Sign Language community and a committed Muay Thai practitioner who trained at Southside Combat Academy in Flagstaff.

The Kaibab National Forest expressed deep grief over his passing, saying Hutcherson embodied the agency’s dedication to public service and the bravery that wildland firefighters bring to their work each day.

The combat academy where he trained called Hutcherson a warrior and said it would be forever grateful to have known him. “We lost a good one,” a social media post read. “If you met Nick, you loved Nick. He was such a gentle and genuine soul. We are still in disbelief.”

Watson, 27, hailed from Warrior, Alabama, and earned her degree from the University of Tennessee Southern. A former pitcher on the university’s softball team, she was described by the school as “a quiet, composed leader” who was assigned to the U.S. Wildland Fire Service Rifle Helitack crew.

In 2023, Watson took part in a training program in North Carolina run by the Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges. In her application for that program, she expressed her desire to see more women working on the fire line and to learn alongside other women in the industry.

“It’s hard for people outside of the firefighting world to understand why we do what we do. We do it because we love it. Sydney loved it,” the organization wrote in a statement.

Plans to construct six data centers in the small town of Archbald, Pennsylvania have sparked an unlikely grassroots movement, drawing together people who had never met before to push back against the proposals.

The opposition has grown beyond Archbald itself, with concerned residents mobilizing in other parts of Pennsylvania as well, all united by their resistance to the data center developments.

High school students from around the country recently took center stage in NPR’s America 250 Student Podcast Challenge, sharing their thoughts on one of the most iconic phrases in American history: “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

NPR invited students nationwide to reflect on what that foundational phrase means to them, then recorded their responses for the competition. The winning entries captured a wide range of perspectives from today’s young Americans.

Please be aware that the content of this piece includes a mention of self-harm.

At least eight people — among them four children — were struck by gunfire during the late hours of Independence Day in Brooklyn’s Coney Island neighborhood, according to a report from ABC News citing the New York City Police Department.

The shooting occurred on July 4th, casting a dark shadow over the holiday celebration in the well-known New York City community.

Reuters, which first circulated the report, noted it was unable to immediately verify the information independently.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A 23-year-old man accused of killing conservative commentator Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University is set to face his most significant court proceeding yet this week — a five-day preliminary hearing where prosecutors will present their evidence against him.

At the conclusion of that hearing, a judge will decide whether the case against Tyler Robinson moves forward to trial. If convicted, Robinson could face the death penalty.

Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, and his parents are expected to be present in the Utah courtroom, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to comment publicly. The hearing will also be available via livestream.

Robinson has not entered a plea in the case.

Kirk was the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative organization focused on young people. He was also a prominent podcaster and a close ally of President Donald Trump, and he played a major role in reshaping the Republican Party’s voter turnout strategy during the 2024 election.

Below is a detailed account of the events leading up to Kirk’s appearance at Utah Valley University, the shooting itself, and the charges brought against Robinson. All times listed are local time.

Before Kirk’s scheduled appearance, a Change.org petition was created calling on the university to prevent him from speaking. In response, Utah Valley University issued a statement reaffirming its dedication to free speech, open inquiry, and meaningful dialogue.

At approximately 11:51 a.m., university surveillance cameras recorded the suspected shooter walking onto campus, according to charging documents.

At noon, Kirk began his event in the Fountain Courtyard at the university’s Orem Campus.

At approximately 12:20 p.m., while Kirk was fielding a question from an audience member on the topic of gun violence, a single shot was fired. Authorities say the shot originated from a rooftop at a distance from the event.

At 12:23 p.m., a Utah Valley University police officer was heard on a dispatch recording obtained through OpenMHz saying,

SALT LAKE CITY — The widow and parents of conservative activist Charlie Kirk are expected to be present in a Utah courtroom this week as prosecutors begin laying out their case for why the man accused of killing Kirk should face a murder trial.

The preliminary hearing, which runs five days beginning Monday, marks the first time Kirk’s family members will be in the same courtroom as the defendant, Tyler Robinson. The proceedings will be available via livestream.

Robinson surrendered to authorities following the shooting. According to prosecutors, he also sent a text message to his romantic partner confessing to the act and left behind a written note stating he had an opportunity to kill one of the country’s top conservative voices “and I’m going to take it.”

Robinson has not yet entered a plea in the case. His attorneys have declined to comment on whether he is guilty or innocent.

Robinson, 23, faces a charge of aggravated murder in connection with the September 10 killing of Kirk, who was speaking before a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

In the months leading up to this hearing, legal disputes focused mainly on media access to the proceedings. Now the focus shifts to two key questions: whether sufficient evidence exists to take the case to trial, and whether the death penalty is appropriate. Paul Cassell, a law professor at the University of Utah and former federal judge, said the publicly available evidence already points to a strong prosecution.

“This seems like the proverbial slam dunk at this stage of the case, where the only issue is whether there is a sound basis for moving forward with a trial on the merits,” Cassell said, adding that the evidence made public so far suggests prosecutors have “an overwhelming case.”

Under Utah law, a death sentence is only possible when a crime involves aggravating circumstances. Prosecutors plan to argue that the shooting put other people in the crowd at risk, which would satisfy that requirement.

The hearing is expected to resemble a condensed version of a trial. Prosecutors intend to present DNA evidence connecting Robinson to the suspected murder weapon, testimony from investigators, autopsy results, statements from witnesses, and video footage of the killing. They are not obligated to present their entire body of evidence and may rely on secondhand accounts, known legally as hearsay.

Once the hearing wraps up, state District Judge Tony Graf will decide whether the case moves forward to trial.

Graf previously denied a defense request to limit public and media access, meaning reporters and members of the public will be permitted in the courtroom.

Kirk’s death sparked strong reactions from his Republican allies, including President Donald Trump, who first announced Robinson’s arrest during a September 12 interview on Fox News and stated, “I hope he gets the death penalty.”

During this week’s hearing, prosecutors only need to show there are reasonable grounds to believe Robinson committed the killing — a lower bar than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard required at trial.

Investigators say DNA matching Robinson’s profile was found on the trigger of the rifle used in the killing, as well as on the fired cartridge casing, two unfired cartridges, and a towel that had been used to wrap the weapon.

After authorities released a surveillance photo of the suspect along with details about the rifle, Robinson’s parents confronted him. They persuaded him to meet with a family acquaintance — a retired sheriff’s deputy — who reportedly helped arrange his surrender to authorities.

Prosecutors say Robinson left a note for his roommate, who was also his romantic partner, reading, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.” He also reportedly sent a text message about Kirk saying, “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”

Defense attorneys attempted to block prosecutors from using recorded statements from Robinson’s roommate during the hearing, arguing Robinson should have the right to challenge the witness in person. Judge Graf ruled that the time for challenging witnesses would come at a later stage. The defense effort was unsuccessful.

Before his death, Kirk and the organization he co-founded, Turning Point USA, played a significant role in energizing conservative young voters during the campaign that led to Trump’s second term.

Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, took over leadership of the organization following his death. She had previously pushed back against defense efforts to ban cameras from the courtroom, advocating for public access to the proceedings. At her husband’s memorial service, she publicly forgave Robinson.

Erika Kirk is expected to be present in court throughout the week, along with Kirk’s parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, according to a source familiar with the situation who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

NEW YORK — The U.S. Coast Guard removed an environmental organization’s ship from a July 4th sailing celebration in New York Harbor on Saturday, citing banners it described as “politically charged” during an event marking the nation’s 250th birthday.

The vessel, belonging to the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater organization, was expelled from the Sail4th 250 parade after it displayed banners reading “Save the Clean Water Act” and “Indigenous Rights, Racial Justice, Climate Solutions.”

According to the Coast Guard, all participants in the event had agreed beforehand not to display political or politically charged messages. The Coast Guard said it enforced that agreement on behalf of Sail4th.

“The owner of the sloop Clearwater was contacted and requested to remove the message being displayed or be removed from the parade of sail,” the Coast Guard said in a statement. “They declined to remove it.”

However, Jen Benson, the director of advocacy and communications at Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, told a different story. She said the Coast Guard never asked the group to take down the banners — instead, officials told the ship to leave the sailing route or face arrest.

“We don’t feel like advocating for clean water is a politically charged message,” Benson said. “People on all sides of the aisle, and no sides at all, have been fighting in the United States for clean water in different ways.”

The Sail4th 250 event was part of a broader series of celebrations organized by Freedom 250, a group established by the Trump administration to coordinate events marking the country’s 250th anniversary. The parade featured more than 40 tall ships from 20 different countries, sailing through New York Harbor from near Sandy Hook, New Jersey, all the way up to the George Washington Bridge.

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater describes its mission on its website as working to “protect the Hudson River by stewarding an intergenerational community of river advocates through education, advocacy, sailing, and music.”

NEW YORK — Flames broke out on the Brooklyn Bridge Thursday night as New York City’s Fourth of July fireworks show lit up the sky overhead, sending a thick column of smoke rising from the iconic span before firefighters brought the blaze under control. There were no reported injuries.

According to the city’s fire department, two fire engines were deployed to battle the fire. Crews were spotted actively fighting the flames on the bridge just before 10 p.m. The bridge had already been shut down to vehicle traffic in preparation for the fireworks event.

A fire department spokesperson noted that this type of incident is not out of the ordinary, explaining that it’s precisely the reason authorities keep spectators at a safe distance during fireworks displays.

The fireworks show had been pushed to an earlier start time due to the looming threat of severe weather. Dangerous storm conditions disrupted numerous celebrations up and down the East Coast, including in Washington, where a storm forced crowds to evacuate from the National Mall.

A wire service story involving Charlie Kirk has been withdrawn from circulation after being published in error on July 4, 2026.

The Associated Press, which datelined the story out of Provo, Utah, issued a notice asking news outlets to disregard the piece. According to the notice, the story was not meant to go out during the current news cycle.

The AP says the story will be released as intended on Monday, July 6.

WASHINGTON — A massive Fourth of July celebration on the National Mall hit a major snag Saturday when severe storms rolled in near Washington, forcing organizers to clear out the crowd that had gathered to hear President Donald Trump speak in honor of America’s 250th anniversary of independence.

Freedom 250 spokesperson Danielle Alvarez issued a statement directing attendees to take cover inside nearby museums and federal buildings. “Freedom 250 will share updates on programming and doors reopening,” Alvarez said, signaling that the event was not canceled but temporarily halted.

Despite the chaos in Washington, fireworks plans in other cities remained on track. In New York, a fleet of 43 tall ships sailed past the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson River earlier in the day, drawing comparisons to the grand celebrations that marked America’s 200th birthday in 1976. Chicago also pressed ahead with its own festivities.

The sweltering heat gripping much of the East Coast had already complicated celebrations well before the storms arrived. Temperatures approached or exceeded triple digits in many locations, forcing some events to be scaled back or called off entirely. At the National Mall, signs at the Great American State Fair posted an alert just after 7 p.m. urging people to leave the area.

As evacuation instructions played over loudspeakers, the response from the crowd was mixed — some people remained where they stood, chatting with those nearby, while others made their way toward exits. National Guard troops directed people to leave the exposed park, which is surrounded by museums and other buildings that could offer shelter.

Hours before the storm threat materialized, the National Mall had been buzzing with excitement. Tina Hale, 58, of Cohoes, New York, watched three of her grandchildren splash their hands in a pool of water near one of the museums. When three military jets thundered overhead, she pointed skyward and urged the children to look up. “If that doesn’t make you proud to be an American,” she said.

David Koshko, 42, and his wife Jennifer Koshko of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, had originally come to Washington for a baseball game — staying to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Washington Nationals — but planned to stick around for the city’s fireworks. They ducked into the shade beneath an overpass near the National Mall to cool off and figure out their next move. “Just to be a part of the 250 years (anniversary) is an amazing thing,” said David Koshko, a commercial driver and Marine Corps reserves veteran.

In Philadelphia, the birthplace of the nation, fireworks were already going off as early as midday near the site where the Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress. Hundreds of visitors packed Independence Hall despite the brutal heat. The festivities there coincided with a France-Paraguay World Cup knockout match at Philadelphia Stadium, which opened with holiday commemorations. “It’s one big party in here,” said Carlos Alban, who traveled from Chicago to watch the match. He noted that he spotted a fan in the parking lot dressed as one of the Founding Fathers.

In Houston, about 45 minutes before another World Cup match kicked off, a message from astronauts aboard the International Space Station honoring the holiday was broadcast inside the stadium.

New York’s waterways put on a spectacular show as the tall ships — their masts, rigging, and white sails set against a clear blue sky — made their procession. They were followed by a military air display featuring a stealth bomber and the Navy’s Blue Angels. France’s Patrouille de France aerobatic team also flew over New York Harbor, trailing red, white, and blue smoke in a nod to the American flag. “We got up early and just rode our bikes about a mile down here to come see the scene,” said Oona Moore, a Jersey City, New Jersey resident. “We saw the tall ships and we saw the planes, you know, all different manner of military aircraft. I’ve never seen it so close and in the sky at the same time.”

At George Washington’s Mount Vernon in Virginia, the day carried deep personal meaning for some. A U.S. Marine originally from Guinea was among those who took the Oath of Allegiance to become a new American citizen, standing in his dress uniform with a quiet smile. Participants stood with eyes closed and hands over their hearts as the national anthem played.

Across the country, Americans found their own ways to mark the occasion. In Brattleboro, Vermont, a 7-year-old dashed onto a parade route to grab a Tootsie Roll, while in Louisville, Kentucky, people used a Sharpie fitted with a feather to sign their names on a copy of the Declaration of Independence.

MOUNT VERNON, Va. — On the very lawn where George Washington once walked, 150 people from 50 different countries took the oath of citizenship on Saturday — exactly 250 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed.

The morning sun blazed down on the well-dressed group as they sat in folding chairs, fanning themselves with small paddle fans decorated with American flags. Their loved ones watched from the shade of nearby trees, and at least one woman had two small American flags tucked into her ponytail.

Anne Neal Petri, the regent of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, opened the ceremony with a warm greeting.

“Well, good morning, everybody,” she said, drawing an enthusiastic “Good morning!” from the crowd before she added, “And Happy Birthday, United States of America!”

Among those seated before the small stage was U.S. Marine Sgt. Diakaria Sangare, originally from Guinea, who arrived in his pressed Dress Blue uniform adorned with three medals on his left chest. Sangare had already completed two military deployments and, like every other person in attendance, had worked through the lengthy citizenship process — including tests, interviews, green cards, and biometrics. Others in the group were said to have come from countries torn apart by violence, with some having fled persecution.

Following a speech about Washington, those gathered were asked to rise for the national anthem. Hats came off, hands went over hearts, and the paddle fans went still. As the singer reached the famous lines — “And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there” — Sangare stood at a firm salute, his expression serious and steady.

When the anthem ended, applause filled the air. Then another speaker asked the group to stand and stay standing when their home country was called out.

“Albania.” A woman in the front row rose with a wide smile, a small American flag in her hand. “Bangladesh.” A man in a black shirt stood, and the Albanian woman turned to beam at him.

The roll call continued through all 50 nations — China, El Salvador, Iraq, Mongolia, and more — each person rising in their own way, some with broad grins, others with quiet dignity. When “Morocco” was called, a man in the back thrust both fists into the air, and a young boy nearby looked up and did the same, clutching a tiny flag.

Then, with hands raised together, the group recited the Oath of Allegiance — not unlike the oath Washington himself signed in 1778.

“Congratulations,” they were told. “You just became U.S. citizens.”

Applause and laughter followed, then the Pledge of Allegiance. Sangare placed his hand over his heart and briefly closed his eyes.

Standing nearby was a tulip poplar tree, planted under Washington’s direction 250 years ago, that has witnessed the full sweep of American history.

Historian Douglas Bradburn spoke before the day’s special guest, telling the new citizens: “All the stories that are part of you, now become American stories. When people ask me what are American people like, I now can talk about you, and your stories.”

He continued: “The second side of that is that, now, all America’s stories, and our history, are your stories. The father of your country is George Washington.”

As it turned out, Washington himself was next to speak — in the form of a re-enactor who stood beside a large draped American flag, a sword at his hip. He stepped onto the stage, removed his cap to the audience, and addressed the newest Americans.

“Today the name of ‘American’ belongs to you every bit as much as it does to me,” he said, acknowledging the difficult roads they had traveled to reach this moment.

“So, my fellow Americans, to you, I say simply: ‘Welcome home.’”

After the ceremony, Sangare posed for a photo — hands clasped in front of him, holding the American flag paddle fan, his Marine cap slightly tilted.

“I just became a United States citizen,” he said, a proud smile breaking across his face.

Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was involved in a hit-and-run collision in California on Friday, leaving a parked vehicle with what authorities described as “major” damage. The Napa County Sheriff’s Office says he could face misdemeanor charges as a result.

According to the sheriff’s office, Pelosi was behind the wheel of his brown convertible in Yountville — a community located in the heart of California’s Wine Country — when his vehicle struck a legally parked car along the road. He briefly stopped at the scene before driving away.

A witness observed the crash and dialed 911. Deputies later located Pelosi on a road approximately a quarter mile from the scene, where they observed damage to the front of his vehicle. He reportedly told officers he was aware he had hit something, but said he was uncertain when it happened or what caused the damage.

No injuries were reported in connection with the incident. Testing showed that Pelosi, who is 86 years old, had no alcohol in his system. The sheriff’s office referred him to the Department of Motor Vehicles for a review process to determine whether he is fit to continue driving — a step officials say is routinely taken with older drivers.

Pelosi was not taken into custody. Because no one was hurt, the sheriff’s office recommended a misdemeanor charge for leaving the scene of an accident. A staff member for Nancy Pelosi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is not Pelosi’s first legal trouble involving a vehicle. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor DUI charge in Napa County and was sentenced to five days in jail along with three years of probation. He ultimately served two days behind bars, received good conduct credit for two additional days, and completed one remaining day through a courthouse work program.

As a condition of his probation, Pelosi was required to complete a three-month class for drinking drivers and to install an ignition interlock device — a system that requires a driver to pass a breath test before the vehicle will start. He was also ordered to pay roughly $5,000 in victim restitution covering medical expenses and lost wages, as well as nearly $2,000 in fines.

Also in 2022, Pelosi was the victim of a violent attack at the couple’s San Francisco home, where he was beaten severely with a hammer.

Paul Pelosi, the husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is facing a hit-and-run charge after his vehicle struck a parked car in Napa County, California on Friday, according to media reports.

President Trump wrapped up the country’s 250th birthday celebration on July Fourth with a lengthy speech followed by a fireworks display.

The milestone anniversary of American independence was not without its challenges — extreme heat gripped the day and forced the cancellation of a number of planned events before the evening’s festivities got underway.

Despite the difficult conditions earlier in the day, the celebration concluded with the president’s address and a fireworks show to mark the historic occasion.

It may be hard to imagine a time when a person using a wheelchair simply could not board a city bus — but that was the reality before a group of determined activists changed everything in 1978.

A protest organized by wheelchair users that year resulted in a landmark victory for disability rights, securing the ability to ride public transit alongside everyone else. That access, which millions of Americans now take completely for granted, did not come without a fight.

NPR’s Joe Shapiro and Colorado Public Radio’s Stephanie Wolf examined the story behind that historic demonstration and what it ultimately meant for the future of public transportation in the United States.

This Fourth of July, a veteran journalist took a trip back to his roots to explore how one American city tells the story of the nation as a whole.

NPR correspondent Don Gonyea returned to Detroit — the city where he first began his career in journalism — to reflect on what makes the city such a powerful symbol of American identity.

His reporting digs into some of the most defining chapters of Detroit’s history, including the rise and transformation of the American auto industry, and the Great Migration — the massive movement of Black Americans from the South to northern cities like Detroit in search of better opportunities and lives.

At the heart of the story are the people themselves — the workers, families, and communities whose labor and perseverance helped build Detroit into the city it is today.

The piece draws a line between Detroit’s unique history and the larger American story, suggesting that what happened in that city — the triumphs, the struggles, and the resilience — reflects something true about the country as a whole.

When summer arrives, two neighboring cities on opposite sides of an international border put aside what divides them and come together for a celebration that has endured for generations.

Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario, Canada have maintained a beloved fireworks tradition that draws thousands of spectators to both shores. Year after year, residents from both countries line up along the waterfront to share in the festivities as the skies light up overhead.

The cross-border gathering is a testament to the unique bond between these two communities, which face each other across the water and have built a tradition that transcends national boundaries.

WASHINGTON — On the Fourth of July, hundreds of masked white nationalists belonging to the group Patriot Front made their way through the streets of Washington, D.C., hours before the city’s planned Independence Day evening events.

The organization announced on social media that approximately 400 of its members had descended on the nation’s capital. Reuters photographers captured footage of large numbers of people dressed in Patriot Front attire riding Washington’s Metro rail system.

Footage circulated across multiple social media platforms and on the group’s own Telegram channel showed members marching near the U.S. Capitol building to the beat of drummers. The marchers were dressed in a recognizable uniform of khaki pants and caps, blue shirts, white face coverings, and sunglasses. Many in the crowd carried the group’s flag, Confederate flags, and various versions of the American flag, with participants at times shouting the phrase “Reclaim America.”

By midday, the group boarded Metro trains and departed at the New Carrollton, Maryland station, located in the northeastern suburbs of Washington.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Patriot Front was established in 2017 in the aftermath of the deadly “Unite the Right” rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia. The group broke away from Vanguard America, a white supremacist organization that played a central role in that violent gathering. Patriot Front has become known for its coordinated uniforms, face masks, and flash mob-style public appearances.

A statement on the Patriot Front’s website reads, “Democracy has failed this once great nation,” and calls for a “hard reset” to “return to the traditions and virtues of our forefathers” — whom the group identifies as European settlers.

From sea to shining sea, Americans are coming together to celebrate a major milestone — the 250th anniversary of the nation’s independence. Parades, fireworks displays, and patriotic gatherings are taking place across the country to mark the occasion.

This year’s Fourth of July carries extra significance as the country reaches the quarter-millennium mark, though the celebrations are unfolding amid a sweltering heat wave gripping much of the nation and deep political divisions that continue to define the current moment in American history.

The Associated Press has put together a photo gallery, curated by its photo editors, capturing the sights and spirit of this historic day across the United States.

The United States rang in its 250th birthday on Friday, and President Trump was on hand at Mount Rushmore to mark the milestone with a speech before making his way back to Washington, D.C.

After his appearance at the iconic South Dakota landmark, the President returned to the nation’s capital to take part in additional Independence Day celebrations there.

Summer is here, and that means millions of families are making their way to the beach. But if you’ve ever watched your carefully built sandcastle crumble before you could finish it, you’re not alone — and a professional sand sculptor has some advice that might help.

Dean Arscott, a professional sand sculptor, recently spoke with NPR’s Scott Simon to offer guidance on how everyday beachgoers can construct a truly impressive sandcastle. From technique to materials, Arscott brings years of hands-on experience to the conversation.

Whether you’re packing up the buckets and shovels for a family outing this holiday weekend or just looking to up your beach-building skills, Arscott’s tips are aimed at helping anyone create something worth showing off before the tide rolls in.

Tucked within the city of New Orleans lies a place that historians consider one of the true birthplaces of American music — Congo Square.

It was at this landmark location that enslaved people were able to come together and express themselves through song, dance, and drumming, holding onto the cultural traditions that connected them to their roots.

The gatherings that took place at Congo Square were far more than simple recreation. They represented an act of cultural preservation under extraordinarily difficult circumstances, and the sounds that emerged from that space would go on to influence not just American music, but musical traditions heard across the globe.

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s 250th birthday is arriving Saturday with all the fanfare of fireworks and festivities, but also the weight of a politically divided nation and a punishing heat wave affecting millions across the East Coast.

The occasion marks a quarter-millennium since the signing of the Declaration of Independence — one of history’s most iconic statements of democratic ideals. President Donald Trump is playing a prominent role in the day’s events, with plans to address the crowd on the National Mall in Washington before what organizers are calling a historically spectacular fireworks display over the capital.

On Friday, Trump traveled to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, where he delivered a speech warning about what he described as the danger of communism in the United States, with the carved faces of four former presidents visible behind him. “It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor or even 9/11,” he said, calling communism “a mortal threat to American liberty.”

Without mentioning Trump by name, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — a Democrat and democratic socialist who recently supported several winning congressional candidates in their primaries — appeared to take aim at the president during a Friday speech of his own. “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.

Celebrations are taking place from coast to coast. Fireworks are set to light up the sky over Navy Pier in Chicago and above the New York City skyline Saturday. New York City also hosted a midnight ball drop to kick off the holiday with New Year’s Eve-style excitement. Bristol, Rhode Island, which claims to be home to the country’s oldest Independence Day celebration dating back to 1785, is also marking the day. Out in Los Angeles, Queen Latifah is hosting a concert featuring The Smashing Pumpkins and Chris Stapleton, with Chaka Khan listed as a special guest.

But the celebrations have not been without complications. Dangerous heat forced organizers across the East Coast to scale back or cancel planned events. In Washington, the Great American State Fair had to shut down for several hours Friday afternoon at the height of the heat. The city’s Independence Day parade, originally scheduled for Saturday, was called off entirely.

Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest was enjoying a completely different kind of Fourth of July. Temperatures in the Seattle area hovered in the 60s Friday, with light rain showers — a stark contrast to the sweltering conditions on the other side of the country.

In the Seattle suburb of Issaquah, resident Megan Kurowski, 31, took her two dogs to the dog park Friday before heading to work. She said the anniversary had people in good spirits. “Everyone’s just, from what it seems, been pretty excited about celebrating 250 years,” she said, adding that she was considering going paddleboarding to watch the fireworks.

The holiday is also overlapping with several other major events. More than a dozen Major League Baseball games are on tap for Saturday. The World Cup — being held in the United States for the first time in 32 years — has matches scheduled in Houston and Philadelphia on Saturday, following Argentina’s dramatic overtime victory over Cape Verde on Friday near Miami. Pop culture fans are buzzing over Taylor Swift’s Friday wedding to football player Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden in New York City. And Madonna dropped her 15th studio album, a collection of dance tracks.

The festive backdrop, however, cannot fully mask the deep divisions running through American society. Issues of race, class, immigration, and political identity continue to drive a wedge between communities across the country.

In Topeka, Kansas, auto technician Joe Fuqua-Bejarano was selling fireworks as a side business and offered his take on what makes America worth celebrating. For him, it comes down to resilience rather than politics. “We’ve just all got to find unity somewhere, whether that’s in laughter or perseverance, and keep everybody cool,” he said.

Not everyone was caught up in the anniversary excitement. Jerry Chin of Newcastle, Washington, said he hadn’t even realized the country was marking its 250th birthday and planned to spend the holiday quietly at home with his wife and their dogs, who get frightened by fireworks. “America’s a great place,” he said, “but there are some concerns.”

Celebrations marking 250 years of American independence are in full swing across the nation. President Donald Trump took the stage at Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota on Friday, July 3, 2026, describing the Fourth of July as “one of the most extraordinary days in the history of the world.”

The holiday got an early start in New York City, where a ball drop in Times Square at midnight launched the July Fourth celebrations.

While Americans gathered to celebrate, dangerous heat became a major concern in many parts of the country. In Philadelphia, officials made the decision to cancel the Salute to Independence parade due to the sweltering conditions. Even on the National Mall in Washington, the Great American State Fair was forced to temporarily shut down for several hours during the early afternoon — despite more than 200 people already waiting in line for the Ferris wheel at the time.

Taylor Swift and NFL tight end Travis Kelce have officially wed, a spokesperson confirmed on Friday, July 3.

Rather than a traditional wedding party, the couple chose to keep things in the family. According to the spokesperson, “Taylor & Travis did not have bridesmaids or groomsmen. Instead, her brother Austin Swift served as Taylor’s Man of Honor and Jason Kelce was Travis’ Best Man.”

The spokesperson also revealed that the couple had a familiar face lead the ceremony, stating, “The ceremony joined both families together and was officiated by friend Adam Sandler.”

A swimmer was bitten on the foot in what authorities believe was a shark attack Friday at a New York City beach, leading officials to temporarily shut down swimming at the location.

The incident took place at Jones Beach State Park Field 6, where the victim sustained lacerations to their foot. Lifeguards responded right away, and the injured swimmer was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital. Officials say the injuries were not life-threatening.

The attack at Jones Beach came just one day after multiple shark sightings were reported at other beaches in New York City and on Long Island.

After the bite was reported, swimming was halted so that officials could conduct a search of the water for sharks and other potentially dangerous marine life. After approximately one hour of searching with no sharks found, swimming was permitted to resume — though it was limited to wading no deeper than waist height, according to the New York City Parks Department.

On Thursday, New York City officials reported several shark sightings at Rockaway Beach in Queens, which triggered a series of temporary beach closures. The city’s Emergency Management office issued a public warning about the closures and encouraged beachgoers to follow instructions from lifeguards.

Further east, lifeguards at a Long Island beach spotted a shark Thursday in the waters off Point Lookout and immediately cleared people from the ocean. Both Point Lookout and the neighboring Hempstead beaches were also temporarily closed to swimmers following that sighting.

The surge of beach activity — and the heightened attention to shark sightings — comes as record-breaking heat continues to blanket the eastern United States, pushing large numbers of people toward coastal waters.

Authorities have increasingly turned to drones to scan the water for sharks, which experts say has made sightings more frequent. However, while sharks are a common presence in waters off the U.S. coastline, actual bites remain quite rare.

Gavin Naylor, who leads the shark research program at the Florida Museum of Natural History, told The Associated Press that globally there are between 60 and 80 confirmed unprovoked shark bites each year. He noted that it is extremely unusual for two or more people to be bitten in close proximity to one another.

PORTLAND, Maine — The co-owner of a Maine lumber mill has succumbed to injuries he received during a catastrophic fire and explosion at his family’s facility, pushing the total number of deaths connected to the disaster to three.

Alden J. Robbins passed away Thursday from injuries he sustained in the May 15 fire at Robbins Lumber in Searsmont, according to statements released Friday by Maine Gov. Janet Mills and the Robbins family. The fire sent massive columns of black smoke rising into the sky and required a response from hundreds of firefighters dispatched to a rural area of the state.

Two firefighters had previously died from injuries sustained while battling the blaze — Searsmont Assistant Fire Chief Wayne Woodbury, 76, and Andrew Cross, 27, of the Morrill Volunteer Fire Department. Ten people were injured in total, including Robbins’ daughter Lily.

The Robbins family released a heartfelt statement about their loss. “Alden was the heart of our family in so many ways, and nothing mattered more to him than the people he loved,” the family said. “Throughout his battle, he fought with extraordinary courage and determination, holding on so that his family could have precious time with him. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by those who loved him.”

Investigators are still working to determine the full circumstances of the fire, though authorities have confirmed it was accidental and started at the base of a silo. The Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office reported that a rapid ignition of particulate material triggered an explosion inside the silo, causing it to lift off its concrete base and release large quantities of sawdust and other materials. The silo then fell over, and the surrounding area was quickly consumed by flames.

Gov. Mills described Robbins as a longtime leader in Maine’s lumber industry, calling him “a devoted steward of one of our state’s most storied businesses.” She also expressed her condolences to his family. “My heart is with his family, including his father and former company President James Robbins, Alden’s wife, Amy, and their six children,” Mills said. “I ask Maine people to join me in keeping the Robbins family and all impacted by this tragedy in their hearts and in their prayers during this difficult time.”

A fight between two groups of young people at a shopping mall in Dearborn, Michigan escalated into gunfire Friday, killing two people and wounding a third, according to police.

The violence broke out at Fairlane Town Center, sending shoppers running in all directions. Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin said the chaos even resulted in a person being struck by a vehicle outside the mall while trying to get away.

Shahin made clear this was not a random attack — the two groups had a prior connection, and when they crossed paths inside the mall, a physical fight broke out before weapons were drawn. Both groups were found to have been carrying handguns, he said.

One of the victims died at the scene inside the mall, while the second died at a nearby hospital. Information on the third shooting victim has not been released by authorities.

Several individuals believed to be connected to the altercation were brought in for questioning at the police station, though no arrests had been made as of Friday.

Video that circulated on social media appeared to capture the moment panicked shoppers fled the mall as gunshots rang out.

The entire mall was evacuated following the shooting, and police planned to keep it closed while their investigation continued.

Fairlane Town Center is home to more than 125 stores and restaurants, according to its website.

Dearborn is a community of more than 100,000 residents located roughly 9 miles — or about 15 kilometers — west of Detroit.

Michigan State Police Specialist Lt. Tyhrann Howard confirmed that state police were assisting with the investigation but directed all questions to the Dearborn Police Department. A representative for mall security declined to comment when reached by phone.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore recently joined NPR’s Juana Summers for a conversation about the meaning behind July 5th — a day set aside to honor the memory of those who gave their lives fighting for equality and civil rights.

Known as Martyrs’ Day, the July 5th commemoration serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by individuals throughout history in the ongoing struggle for civil rights and equal treatment.

Governor Moore spoke with Summers about the importance of marking this occasion and keeping the legacy of those martyrs alive in public memory.

Nestled on the Nevada-California border, the casino town of Primm was once a lively and popular destination — but in recent years, it has been teetering on the edge of disappearing entirely.

Now, in a dramatic turn, the family for whom the town was named has decided to intervene, taking on the enormous task of breathing new life into the struggling community.

The road ahead will not be easy. Reviving a town that has fallen so far into decline presents a serious challenge, even for those with a personal connection to its history and legacy.

The country’s biggest power grid operator declared a federal emergency alert on Friday, ordering utilities to slash electricity use across its service territory as it struggled to keep up with demand driven by a prolonged heat wave.

PJM, which supplies electricity to 67 million people across the Mid-Atlantic states, parts of the South, and the Washington, D.C. area, said it directed utilities to cut power to customers who have pre-existing contracts agreeing to reduce their consumption during grid emergencies.

The grid operator is facing a combination of serious problems at once — generators going offline, severe overloading on high-voltage transmission lines, and a dramatic jump in air conditioning use as temperatures remain dangerously high across the region.

The financial impact has been striking. In northern Virginia — home to the world’s largest concentration of data centers — spot wholesale electricity prices have climbed above $2,000 per megawatt hour this week. Under normal conditions, when PJM is not under stress, prices typically run around $40 per megawatt hour.

Industry analysts and PJM’s own operations data indicate the price explosion is largely tied to the high cost of moving electricity across heavily congested transmission lines.

Federal safety investigators have released a preliminary report on a deadly plane crash last month in Missouri that killed all 12 people aboard during a skydiving outing — and the report does not point to any major mechanical failures as a cause.

The National Transportation Safety Board published the report Thursday following an inspection of the wreckage. According to the NTSB, investigators found no evidence of pre-crash mechanical problems or engine failures that would have stopped the aircraft from operating normally.

The agency also reported that fuel samples taken from the fuel truck after the crash showed no sediment or debris. Additionally, a review of the skydiving company’s software confirmed the plane was within its approved weight and balance limits for that flight.

The crashed aircraft was not equipped with a flight data or voice recorder — the kind used on commercial airliners — and was not legally required to have one, investigators noted. However, the NTSB said its team did recover damaged GoPro cameras from the crash site.

The federal investigation is still active, and a final determination on the cause of the crash typically takes a year or longer to complete.

The crash occurred on June 14, roughly an hour south of Kansas City. The plane, carrying a pilot and 11 skydivers, lifted off from Butler Memorial Airport at 11:25 a.m. on a clear day. During its initial climb, the aircraft began a slow leftward turn. Both wings gradually tilted until they were nearly perpendicular to the ground, and the plane then plunged nose-first into a field, erupting in flames on impact.

The fire caused severe damage to the plane’s main structural components, including the cockpit, cabin, and fuel system, investigators said.

Some of the victims’ family members had come to the airport to watch the jump and witnessed the crash firsthand, according to authorities. The United States Parachute Association, which serves as skydiving’s national governing body, confirmed that its technology director, Jen Sharp, was among those who perished.

On the day of the crash, Dennis Jacobs — the acting airport manager and Bates County Emergency Management Agency director — said he believed the plane was losing power and that the pilot appeared to be attempting an emergency landing on a nearby highway before the crash occurred.

The aircraft was operated by Skydive Kansas City, which described the tragedy as a “devastating loss.”

Investigators and safety advocates have long noted that poor maintenance is frequently a contributing factor in skydiving plane accidents. The NTSB has raised alarms in the past about inadequate oversight of skydiving operators. Following a 2019 crash in Hawaii that killed 11 people, the agency stated that the Federal Aviation Administration’s regulatory framework was not sufficient to ensure safe skydiving flights.

The FAA has not yet acted on the NTSB’s recommendations, but said it formed a committee in April that will look at ways to improve skydiving safety and will consider the safety board’s proposals.

The United States Parachute Association stated that Skydive Kansas City follows the safety standards of the world’s largest skydiving organization, including all FAA maintenance requirements. The skydiving industry points to what it describes as a strong overall safety record. The association noted that nearly 3.5 million jumps were completed last year, with 16 civilian fatalities — most attributed to human error.

The aircraft involved in the crash was a Pacific Aerospace 750XL, a model commonly used in skydiving operations and also valued for cargo transport, aerial surveys, and medical evacuation missions. The plane can carry more than 4,000 pounds (1,800 kilograms) and is designed to operate from short runways, according to its manufacturer. FAA records show the aircraft was built in 2010.

Flight tracking data from FlightAware shows the plane completed nine successful flights in the days leading up to the crash, including two on the morning of the accident. The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate and had logged more than 4,100 total flight hours. It was the pilot’s second consecutive season working for Skydive Kansas City, the NTSB said.

Skydive Kansas City told investigators they had no prior concerns about the pilot, describing him as safety-focused and cautious in his decision-making as a jump pilot.

Americans are heading out in force this Independence Day weekend, brushing aside gasoline prices that are still running well above historical norms.

Some relief has come from the easing of tensions between the United States and Iran, which calmed fears that oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz could be disrupted and send fuel costs skyrocketing.

Even so, drivers are expected to pay the second-highest Fourth of July gas prices ever recorded. Price-tracking service GasBuddy projected last week that the national average would sit around $3.75 per gallon on July 4 — trailing only the all-time holiday record of $4.80 per gallon set on July 4, 2022. As of Thursday, the national average stood at $3.79 per gallon, which is 63 cents higher than the same time last year, according to GasBuddy.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, addressed the recent price movements in his Monday weekly update. “The declines came despite a turbulent week, as fresh attacks were traded between the U.S. and Iran before both sides agreed to halt hostilities just in time for Sunday. … For now, GasBuddy anticipates the national average will continue drifting lower this week, though the situation remains anything but predictable,” he wrote.

President Donald Trump has pushed gas station operators to drop prices more aggressively, saying pump prices have not come down enough since tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz resumed last month. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed that call on Tuesday, urging retailers to lower prices as the nation marks its 250th birthday.

Despite the cost, motorist organization AAA is forecasting a record 72.2 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home over the holiday period — edging past last year’s record of 71.8 million travelers. However, the number of people driving and flying is expected to stay relatively flat compared to last year, with more travelers opting for other modes of transportation such as cruises.

AAA estimates that about 61.4 million people will drive to their destinations, while nearly 5.85 million are expected to fly. Another 4.93 million are projected to travel by bus, train, or cruise ship.

Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst at Dow Jones Energy, said Americans simply don’t let holiday plans fall apart over gas prices. “I think when it comes to summer holidays Americans will go through with their plans. … It’s the ‘I have had something planned’ mindset and ‘I am not changing it, I’ll figure it out next week,’” he said.

Demand data backs that up. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that gasoline supplied — a measure used to track fuel demand — climbed by 356,000 barrels per day ahead of the holiday weekend, reaching 9.13 million barrels per day. That compares to 8.64 million barrels per day during the same period last year.

Looking ahead, analysts warn that prices could stay high if fuel supplies continue to tighten. Gasoline stockpiles along the U.S. Gulf Coast have dropped to their lowest point since October 2024, falling to 76.48 million barrels. Overall gasoline inventories declined by 2.3 million barrels to 214 million barrels last week.

Cinquegrana flagged the Gulf Coast situation as particularly worrying. “That (Gulf Coast inventory level) is probably more concerning from a supply standpoint than the U.S. being at the current deficit,” he said. Refineries in that region account for more than 55% of total U.S. refining capacity and are a key supplier to other parts of the country.

Nationwide, gasoline stockpiles for the week ending June 26 were roughly 8% below where they stood at the same point last year, EIA figures show. Unplanned refinery outages in Russia and Mexico, along with the approaching Atlantic hurricane season, could also push prices back up in the weeks ahead.

LONDON — Just in time for America’s 250th birthday, a remarkably rare copy of the Declaration of Independence has surfaced in a London archive — hidden for nearly 250 years among paperwork from a captured American ship.

The document had been sitting in Britain’s National Archives, buried in files related to the British seizure of an American privateer vessel in 1776. For centuries, 18th century records had described it simply as “another document” — until a volunteer took a second look this past May.

“Unearthing and handling such a significant historical document has been thrilling, particularly in this important anniversary year,” said Michael Scurr, the volunteer who made the discovery while working on a cataloguing project.

The announcement came on Friday, the day before the United States marked its semiquincentennial — 250 years since the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence from Britain on July 4, 1776.

In those early revolutionary days, printers sympathetic to the cause rushed to reproduce the founding document and spread it as widely as possible throughout the American colonies. The copy found in London was printed in Exeter, New Hampshire, in mid-July 1776, making it the 11th known surviving copy of what are called the “Exeter Declarations” — and the first ever discovered outside the United States.

The document’s journey to England is a story of war and misfortune. Eleazer Johnson, captain of a ship called the Dalton, picked up the copy later that same year before setting sail across the Atlantic. His mission was to intercept and capture British vessels, and historians believe he may have brought the declaration along to inspire his crew to fight for their new nation.

That mission came to an abrupt end on December 24, 1776, when the Royal Navy captured the Dalton off the coast of Portugal. The ship and everything aboard it were brought back to Plymouth, in southwest England.

The National Archives noted that this makes the document the only known copy of the declaration to have been taken through military force.

Under the rules of the time, British naval captains were required to hand over all documents from any ship they captured in order to claim their share of the prize — a bureaucratic requirement that, centuries later, proved to be a historical goldmine.

“Thanks to the bureaucratic processes of war … we can present an unusually rich backstory that most surviving declarations do not have,” said Graham Moore, a curator at the National Archives.

Given that Britain seized roughly 3,600 ships during the American Revolutionary War, the National Archives holds an enormous collection of records that historians are still working to fully explore.

America’s 250th birthday celebration is heating up — literally — as communities from coast to coast gear up for Independence Day festivities, all while dangerous temperatures force both organizers and revelers to take extra precautions.

President Donald Trump is heading to South Dakota to speak and watch fireworks at Mount Rushmore. Meanwhile, New York City’s Times Square will host a midnight ball drop, bringing a New Year’s Eve-style countdown to the July Fourth holiday for the first time.

The biggest events are set for Saturday, when fireworks displays will light up skies in towns across the country alongside backyard cookouts and neighborhood block parties. Trump is also scheduled to speak at the National Mall in Washington before what’s being described as a historically large fireworks show.

Despite the festive atmosphere, dangerously high temperatures are gripping much of the Midwest and East Coast, raising serious safety concerns. Health officials are urging people celebrating outdoors to drink plenty of water and seek air-conditioned spaces when needed.

The extreme heat has already disrupted some holiday programming. In Washington, organizers of the Capitol Fourth concert closed a Thursday rehearsal to the public because of the conditions. The Friday concert itself — a long-standing Independence Day tradition in the nation’s capital — may be canceled entirely. Saturday’s Washington celebrations will include additional water stations, cooling areas, and expanded medical support.

Cities and venues elsewhere are also adjusting. From Boston to Norristown, Pennsylvania, and Gettysburg National Military Park, event plans are being modified to account for the scorching temperatures. Amtrak has canceled select trains in the Northeast, citing heat that could compromise the integrity of the tracks.

The holiday arrives at a particularly charged moment in the country’s history. The 250th anniversary has prompted reflection on America’s past while also highlighting its current political divisions — and even the celebrations themselves reflect that divide.

Freedom 250, an organization with ties to the White House, has emerged as a rival to America250, a bipartisan group that Congress established a decade ago. Freedom 250 has organized much of the Washington activity, including the Great American State Fair, which has drawn attention for its notably sparse attendance. America250, on the other hand, is behind the ball drops in multiple cities including New York, and is planning a concert in Los Angeles on Saturday.

A survey conducted in April by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that roughly 4 in 10 American adults feel “proud” about the country reaching its 250th anniversary, while about 3 in 10 described feeling “excited.”

Joe Fuqua-Bejarano, an auto technician in Topeka, Kansas who is selling fireworks on the side, offered his take on what makes America special — and it isn’t politics. “We’ve just all got to find unity somewhere, whether that’s in laughter or perseverance, and keep everybody cool,” he said.

Christina Zhou, a 25-year-old research assistant from Cambridge, Massachusetts, said she plans to focus on what’s happening close to home. “It feels a little bit more like within our own personal control,” she said.

With America on the verge of celebrating its 250th birthday, the Pew Research Center has published a comprehensive look at how life in the United States has transformed since the country marked its 200th anniversary back in 1976.

One of the most striking findings involves marriage. Around the time of the Bicentennial, roughly 70% of American adults were married. That number has fallen dramatically — today, only about half of adults are married.

The study also highlights a significant decline in birth rates, with a growing number of women choosing not to have children at all. Together, these trends paint a picture of a nation whose family structure looks very different than it did just five decades ago.

Just a short walk from Philadelphia’s Independence Hall — where the ideals of the American founding were once argued and proclaimed — a separate piece of the nation’s story has become a point of serious contention.

The President’s House, an early home occupied by presidents George Washington and John Adams, hosts an outdoor exhibit that the National Park Service has described as exploring “the paradox between slavery and freedom.” The exhibit highlights the lives of enslaved individuals, including Oney Judge, a woman held in bondage by George and Martha Washington who escaped in 1796 and successfully evaded all attempts to bring her back.

In January, the National Park Service pulled panels related to slavery from the site, following an executive order issued by President Donald Trump directing federal agencies and cultural institutions to review and revise programs that the administration says promote “divisive ideology.”

Administration officials argue the changes bring balance back to institutions they believe placed too much emphasis on America’s historical wrongs. Critics counter that the moves restrict meaningful conversations about slavery and race.

The removal sparked a legal fight, and a federal judge ordered the panels put back in February. However, a federal appeals court ruled last month that the Trump administration has the authority to remove and replace the exhibit.

Alan Spears, senior director of cultural resources at the National Parks Conservation Association nonprofit, said the controversy carries consequences well beyond Philadelphia, raising fundamental questions about whether historic sites can offer unfiltered interpretations of the past.

“When you take down those panels, you are sanitizing, softening, whitewashing and erasing American history,” Spears said.

As the country marks 250 years since its founding, the argument over what history deserves to be included has grown into a broader national debate: Should America’s story be told primarily as a tribute to founding ideals and national accomplishment, or should it offer a more complete picture that includes slavery, the displacement of Indigenous peoples, immigration, exclusion, and the long struggle of marginalized communities to claim the rights the founding documents promised?

Museums, historic sites, national parks, and cultural organizations across the country spent years developing events designed to bring millions of visitors to semiquincentennial celebrations. Those plans have now become tangled in a wider conflict over historical memory, national identity, and political influence.

In Florida, the Stonewall National Museum Archives and Library — one of the country’s foremost LGBTQIA+ archives — is confronting its own set of pressures.

Stonewall president Robert Kesten said the loss of funding could hamper the museum’s ability to preserve and share historical records, as corporate and private donors grow increasingly hesitant to support organizations they consider politically controversial. The museum anticipates losing between $70,000 and $90,000 in county grant funding before year’s end. Kesten attributed those cuts to Florida Republican officials he said have been opposed to LGBTQ+ inclusion.

“That’s a hell of a lot of money for an organization like ours to make up,” he said.

The museum’s current exhibit features Baron Friedrich von Steuben, the Prussian military officer who played a key role in shaping George Washington’s Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Historians have long debated his sexuality, and some scholars and LGBTQ+ advocates point to him as a possible prominent gay figure from the founding era.

Kesten said that American history has long been skewed disproportionately toward the experiences of white, Christian, and heterosexual men. “And if you are anything else, you are expendable.”

Historians, museum leaders, and cultural advocates told Reuters that the federal push risks shrinking the range of stories that museums and historic sites are able to share with the public.

The dispute is playing out even as museums that offer broader accounts of American history continue to attract large audiences. Last year, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., recorded 1.4 million visits, while the National Museum of the American Indian drew more than 620,000.

The Smithsonian Institution did not respond to a request for comment on whether its museums had altered exhibits or curatorial work in response to Trump’s “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” executive order.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture said its programming for the 250th anniversary will “explore the nation’s pursuit of a more perfect union.”

“History is remembering the full scope of the past, whether it supports or undermines a political goal,” said Howard University history professor Ibram X. Kendi.

Separately, updated application language for federal grants tied to African American history and culture museums caused many institutions to opt out of applying, according to John Dichtl, president and CEO of the American Association for State and Local History. He said the change could leave some long-established museums facing financial uncertainty.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services, a small federal agency that administers the grants, now states it welcomes projects that “foster in all generations a greater appreciation…through uplifting and positive narratives of our shared American experience.”

“It makes one wonder what was pushed out of the way to make room for that,” Dichtl said. The Institute of Museum and Library Services did not offer a comment.

Administration officials have pushed back against accusations of erasing history, saying the goal is not to eliminate difficult chapters but to restore greater focus on the nation’s founding principles, including freedom of religion and freedom of speech.

The White House-backed Freedom 250 initiative has promoted patriotic education and public programming connected to the nation’s founding through a public-private partnership. Its “Freedom Trucks” — mobile museum exhibits housed inside tractor-trailers — have traveled the country featuring displays on the Declaration of Independence, George Washington, and the Revolutionary War, with limited representation of slavery and minority experiences from the founding period.

“Our role is to integrate different initiatives so Americans can celebrate through one connected experience,” said Keith Krach, CEO of Freedom 250, in a May interview with Reuters.

Clifford Murphy, director of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, said the institution’s work surrounding the 250th anniversary is grounded in presenting American history as both a celebration and a reflection, even amid wider debates over historical erasure.

For many historians and academics, the concern is not the act of celebrating the founding era but what they believe is being left out of the conversation.

Kimberlé Crenshaw, a law professor and scholar who helped develop critical race theory, said public institutions risk promoting celebration while downplaying the harm caused by policies and systems that shaped the nation.

“If our mainstream institutions are not going to critically engage with our past, then we have to ask: What is your role in this democracy?” Crenshaw said.

Ann Burroughs, president of the Japanese American National Museum, said preserving difficult history is essential. She noted that more than 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry — the majority of them U.S. citizens — were incarcerated during World War II. She described the internment camps as “a very dark part of American history” and said the museum has not changed its programming in response to Trump’s order and has since declined to apply for federal grants.

“It tells the story of confronting the truth about race and why it’s important for us to stand up against authoritarianism,” she said.

For Indigenous communities, advocates say their history has long been pushed to the margins of American education and public memory, often reduced to a brief mention around Thanksgiving.

“This has been a continuum of failure, but even more so now,” said Joshua Arce, president of the Partnership With Native Americans nonprofit.

As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, young Americans are weighing in on what it truly means to be American in today’s world.

Student podcasters from across the country took on the challenge of exploring one of the nation’s most enduring questions: what do the founding ideals of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” look like for young people living in America today?

The project brought together some of the best student-produced podcasts tackling American identity, offering a window into how the next generation views their country as it reaches this major milestone.

From personal stories to broader social reflections, these young voices are adding their perspectives to the national conversation at a moment when the country is pausing to consider where it has been — and where it is headed.

In the aftermath of the devastating flooding at Camp Mystic in Texas, a grieving father who lost his 18-year-old daughter in the disaster has made it his mission to push for stronger safety protections at youth camps nationwide.

The father is now an advocate for change, calling on camp operators and officials to implement greater safeguards that could protect young campers from similar tragedies in the future.

The United States is set to mark a historic milestone tomorrow — its 250th birthday. But the celebrations surrounding this once-in-a-generation anniversary have been thrown into uncertainty.

A dangerous heat wave is threatening to upend the festivities, and organizers have already been forced to cancel a number of events that had been on the books for quite some time.

To mark the United States’ 250th birthday, NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge invited young people from across the country to think deeply about what it means to be American.

Students in the younger grade levels were asked to reflect on the nation’s milestone anniversary and share their perspectives on American identity through podcasting.

The competition has now announced its winners from the younger grades, highlighting the voices of the next generation as the country celebrates this historic occasion.

The man behind the design of the American flag that flies today is reflecting on the moment he first created it — not as a professional designer, but as a high school student working on a class project.

The 50-star flag, which has become one of the most recognized symbols in the world, got its start as a student assignment. The designer is now looking back on that creative moment and sharing what it was like to craft what would eventually become the official flag of the United States.

A San Francisco jury has found seven pro-Palestinian protesters guilty on misdemeanor charges connected to a 2024 demonstration that brought traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge to a standstill for four hours.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Thursday that each of the seven defendants was convicted on six misdemeanor counts, which included false imprisonment, obstruction of a thoroughfare, and unlawful assembly. One of the seven was additionally found guilty of refusing to disperse.

The seven individuals convicted are Bhavika Anandpura, River Allen, Rocky Chau, Sara Cantor, Conrad de Jesus, Sarah Ferrell, and Em Tillotson, according to local media reports.

The jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision on the most serious charge — felony conspiracy — which carries a potential sentence of up to 15 years. That charge involves an agreement between two or more individuals to commit a crime, combined with an act taken to carry it out.

All seven defendants are scheduled to be sentenced in August and could face as much as five years in a county jail on the misdemeanor convictions.

Jenkins said her office would weigh its options going forward. “At this time we will evaluate our options and consider next steps,” she stated.

Defense attorneys maintained that the protesters felt a moral obligation to speak out against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the United States government’s backing of Israel. They also argued that the demonstrators turned to blocking the bridge only after other approaches — such as writing letters and reaching out to congressional representatives — failed to produce any response.

Prosecutors from Jenkins’ office contended that the four-hour traffic blockade created a genuine safety hazard for drivers caught in the backup.

Attorney Nuha Abusamra, who represented one of the defendants, told local outlet KQED that the outcome on the lesser charges represented a win. “Taking a bridge and blocking traffic for a few hours years ago is the bare minimum that we should be doing as American citizens while our tax dollars continue to fund the mass genocide of Palestinians,” she said.

The 2024 protest was part of a broader wave of demonstrations across the United States calling for an end to Israel’s military operations in Gaza and demanding that universities pull investments from companies with ties to Israel.

Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people, created a severe hunger crisis, and displaced nearly the entire population of the territory. Rights experts, scholars, and United Nations inquiries have described the situation as a genocide. Israel has characterized its actions as self-defense, citing a Hamas-led attack in October 2023 that killed 1,200 people and resulted in more than 250 individuals being taken hostage.

Among the 16 children discovered living in appalling conditions inside an Ohio home, some were unable to speak, and one — an 18-year-old with a developmental disability — could not write her own name.

Following their rescue on Tuesday, seven of the children were hospitalized, including one who was in critical condition, according to investigators. Their conditions as of Thursday had not been publicly updated. Child welfare authorities have been granted temporary custody of all 16 children.

If investigators’ allegations prove accurate, these children face a long and difficult path toward healing — one that will require undoing years of abuse, neglect, and deep emotional trauma. Experts note that not every foster family is equipped to handle cases this severe, and Ohio, like many states, already faces a shortage of available foster homes that is only growing harder to address.

Officials have indicated that some of the children may need to be placed in specialized treatment facilities as part of their recovery process.

Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson addressed the situation at a news conference this week, saying he had never encountered anything like the conditions these children endured. “It’s going to take a lot of work to address the emotional harm and some of the issues that are going to result from this,” Wilson said. “But we need to make sure those kids are surrounded and loved and supported by people who truly care for them.”

Four individuals — the children’s parents and grandparents — have been arrested and charged with child endangerment. Defense attorneys have asked the public to withhold judgment and allow the facts to emerge through the legal process.

Past cases involving children rescued from severe abuse have illustrated just how steep the recovery challenges can be. In one Michigan case, children were found alone in a home so contaminated that law enforcement evidence technicians had to wear hazmat suits to enter.

In Southern California in 2018, 13 children were freed from a home where they had been locked up and starved by their parents for years. That abuse, centered in the community of Perris — roughly 60 miles southeast of Los Angeles — went undetected until a then-17-year-old named Jordan Turpin slipped out of the house and dialed 911. When authorities arrived, all but the youngest of the 13 siblings, a 2-year-old, were dangerously underweight and had gone months without bathing.

Their parents, David and Louise Turpin, admitted guilt to charges of torture and prolonged abuse and were sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 25 years.

Despite their rescue, the Turpin children later encountered additional failures within the very system designed to protect them. Six of the siblings were placed in a foster home where they say they were abused again — describing in a lawsuit being struck with sandals and forced to eat their own vomit. The foster family was convicted in the case, and the foster father received a seven-year prison sentence in 2024.

A 2022 investigation conducted by a law firm hired by Riverside County to examine the children’s care found that the county’s child welfare system was understaffed and underfunded. The report concluded that caseworkers were managing excessive caseloads that made it nearly impossible to ensure the safety and well-being of “our most vulnerable populations.”

Scott Britton, assistant director of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, said that not every foster family has the capacity to care for children carrying multiple and complex traumas. He noted that Ohio’s system is already stretched thin, with one in four children currently in custody not because of abuse or neglect, but due to behavioral health challenges, developmental disabilities, or juvenile justice involvement.

“We have a lot of kids with significant and serious needs, not all of which unfortunately can be met by a foster family,” Britton said. “So we unfortunately are all too accustomed to managing a very broad range of significant deficits in children.” He added that residential care facilities and psychiatric treatment centers often must fill the gap.

Across the country, child welfare systems are under enormous strain. State and federal data indicate that worker turnover rates range from 20% to 40% in some areas, driven by burnout and the emotional weight of the job. Recruiting and retaining qualified workers remains a persistent struggle, with rural communities and high-need regions often the hardest hit.

In New Mexico, the state’s child welfare agency is facing legal action following a scathing report released in April by the New Mexico Department of Justice, which outlined widespread systemic failures. The state’s top prosecutor, Attorney General Raúl Torrez, linked those failures to the deaths of 14 children over the past two years, citing lapses in decision-making and oversight at the Children, Youth and Families Department.

Back in Ohio, Britton expressed cautious optimism about new state investments in children’s services and behavioral health resources. He said he is hopeful that a statewide Medicaid-managed care plan designed specifically for children and adolescents with serious behavioral health needs could make a meaningful difference. “I’m not saying it’s enough,” he said. “We could use more and a lot of it depends on where you’re located.”

In California, Riverside County and a foster care agency agreed to a $13.5 million settlement with the six Turpin siblings who were placed in the abusive foster home. Their attorneys said the case helped drive meaningful reforms to the county’s child welfare system.

Nearly four years after the Turpin children were rescued, one of the siblings, Jennifer Turpin, spoke with ABC News in a 2021 interview about her desire to move forward. “I want the Turpin name to be, like, ‘Wow, they’re strong, they’re not broken,’” she said. She has since written a book about her experiences titled “Where was God?” Her author biography reads: “She has been through hell and came out strong and resilient.”

A Southern California man has admitted in federal court to sending fraudulent ransom messages to the family of a missing elderly woman whose disappearance has gripped the nation — the mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie.

Derrick Callella, 42, entered guilty pleas Thursday to two counts of harassment by telecommunications device in U.S. District Court in Tucson. The charges represent the only criminal conviction so far connected to the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, who vanished from her Tucson, Arizona home five months ago.

Each count carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. However, under the terms of Callella’s plea agreement with federal prosecutors, the Hawthorne, California resident is expected to receive five years of probation rather than prison time, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. His formal sentencing has been scheduled for September 10.

Despite the guilty plea, the question of what happened to Nancy Guthrie remains unanswered. The underlying kidnapping investigation continues without resolution.

Nancy Guthrie, described as being in fragile health with limited mobility, was last seen at her home on January 31. A friend alerted family members the following day after she failed to appear at church as planned. When relatives went to check on her, they found the home empty.

Investigators noted that Guthrie had left behind critical personal belongings, including her wallet, cellphone, hearing aid, and medication. DNA testing later confirmed that blood discovered on her front porch belonged to her.

Callella was taken into custody on February 5 — just four days after Guthrie was reported missing. Court records and FBI statements revealed that local media had already received a ransom note on February 2 demanding bitcoin payment and laying out deadlines.

In his guilty plea, Callella acknowledged that on February 4 he called and texted Guthrie’s family asking about a bitcoin transfer. According to the U.S. Attorney’s statement, “he acknowledged that he knew an earlier ransom demand had been made.”

The statement went on to say that “Callella also admitted that his actions were meant to harass the family by seeking information about the investigation into the missing person’s disappearance.”

The guilty plea came one day after the FBI’s Phoenix field office posted on X that investigators had received “several” ransom notes during the course of the investigation. Some were characterized as “extortion attempts without legitimacy,” while others are still being treated as potentially authentic. The FBI has continued to classify Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance as a kidnapping-for-ransom case.

Last week, celebrity news outlet TMZ.com reported receiving an email from an individual claiming to know who abducted Guthrie and claiming to possess video of the “main guy” involved, as well as footage of Guthrie on the day she allegedly died.

An FBI official, who spoke to Reuters anonymously due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, said Tuesday that the latest TMZ correspondence and two ransom notes that surfaced in February have all been determined by investigators to lack credibility.

A volunteer archivist made a remarkable discovery last May while sorting through old naval documents at Britain’s National Archives — a rare early copy of America’s Declaration of Independence, tucked away for centuries among the papers of a Royal Navy captain.

Michael Scurr, a retired insurance executive who has spent the past 11 years volunteering at the National Archives every Thursday morning, was carefully working through correspondence when he came across a document attached to a report about the capture of an American privateer ship called the Dalton on Christmas Eve 1776. The enclosure was labeled simply as “another paper.”

When Scurr unfolded it and saw the word “Declaration” at the top, he knew immediately what he had found.

“I thought, oh, right, OK, this is definitely a Declaration of Independence,” he told The Associated Press. “How exciting is this?”

Researchers at the National Archives have since confirmed that the document is a rare early printing of America’s founding document, produced just days after the original was signed on July 4, 1776, as a way to spread word that 13 American colonies had broken from British rule. This particular version was printed in Exeter, New Hampshire, between July 16 and 19, 1776.

It is one of only 11 known surviving copies of what is called the Exeter printing — and the only one ever identified outside the United States. The National Archives announced the find Thursday, just ahead of the 250th anniversary of American independence.

What makes the discovery especially significant, historians say, is not just its age. The document was aboard a ship operating under the authority of the newly formed Continental Congress, carrying orders signed by its president, John Hancock. Amanda Bevan, who leads the National Archives’ project to catalog Royal Navy captain correspondence from the American Revolution, explained that the public knows a great deal about hardships faced by the Continental Army on land, but far less attention has been paid to Americans who took to the seas to challenge British naval power and disrupt trade.

Finding the declaration on board a ship also sheds light on how such documents may have been used in practice, Bevan said. She believes the Dalton’s captain would have read both his orders and the declaration aloud to his crew, as was common custom at the time.

“They know why they’re fighting, but this puts it in a language which makes it greater than them,” Bevan said. “They’re not fighting because they’re aggrieved in particular. They’re fighting for an ideal. And I think that just to find the declaration in a theater of war where people are committing themselves to fight for their country on the wide ocean is really something special.”

The Dalton was an 18-gun privateer — a privately owned vessel authorized by the Continental Congress to fight on behalf of the new nation and bolster its small navy. Captain Thomas Fitzherbert, commanding the 64-gun HMS Raisonnable, pursued the Dalton for seven hours on Christmas Eve before capturing the vessel off the coast of Portugal. The ship’s 120-man crew was then imprisoned in Plymouth, England, under brutal conditions.

One crew member, Charles Hebert, was only 19 years old when he was taken captive. He recorded his more than two years of imprisonment in personal journals, describing starvation, sickness, and repeated punishment before finally being freed through a prisoner exchange. Despite the harsh treatment, many of the crew members survived.

American historians are equally excited about the find. Matthew Skic, director of collections and exhibitions at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, said the document offers a direct physical link to the Dalton’s captain, who carried word of American independence across the ocean.

“It’s not just a document, it’s an artifact,” Skic said. “It’s a tangible connection to the past, because holding that piece of paper in the archivist’s hand today is a way to transport us back to 1776. The baton being passed, in a way.”

Skic added that the discovery is a reminder that history still has secrets left to reveal.

“Even though 250 years has gone by, we still do not know everything about the American Revolution, and there are still finds left to be discovered.”

DALLAS — Federal prosecutors say they have video evidence showing rapper Pooh Shiesty demanding to be released from a fellow rapper’s record label while an armed man stood guard at the door during an alleged robbery at a Texas music studio back in January.

Court records show the video was entered as evidence in federal court in Dallas, where Pooh Shiesty — whose legal name is Lontrell Williams Jr. — along with eight other individuals face charges of kidnapping and extortion. According to prosecutors, the victims were held at gunpoint after traveling to Dallas to discuss Pooh Shiesty’s recording contract with Gucci Mane’s 1017 Records label.

The victims have been identified only by their initials in court filings. One victim, referred to as R.D., is described as the owner of 1017 Records. Gucci Mane’s legal name is Radric Delantic Davis. Notably, a song called “Crash Dummy” that Gucci Mane put out this spring contains the lyrics: “I thought it was a business meeting, but it was a set up.”

The court filing was submitted by prosecutors in response to a motion Pooh Shiesty filed last month seeking home confinement. In that motion, he argued the evidence against him was not strong enough to justify keeping him behind bars while awaiting trial — a detention order that a judge had put in place back in April.

Prosecutors disagreed, saying the motion should be denied and that the case against Pooh Shiesty was “extraordinarily strong.”

According to prosecutors, they have secured the cooperation of all five victims and witnesses involved in the case, along with cellphone location data. Surveillance footage also places the defendants at the scene. Additionally, there is video showing the owner of 1017 Records being pressured into stating that Pooh Shiesty had been “dropped” from the label.

Prosecutors say that just before the video was recorded, Pooh Shiesty produced a printed contract release and demanded the record label owner sign it. When the man initially refused, Pooh Shiesty allegedly pointed an AK-style pistol at his head, after which the man signed the document.

Prosecutors also say that rapper BIG30 — whose legal name is Rodney Wright — recorded the video on his cellphone, while another defendant stood at the door armed with a weapon resembling an AK-47 style rifle.

The record label owner was allegedly robbed of approximately $450,000 worth of property, including his wedding band, a watch, a pair of earrings, and cash.

Prosecutors have also noted that at the time of the alleged incident, Pooh Shiesty was already serving home confinement stemming from a prior firearms conspiracy conviction out of Florida, and was required to wear an electronic monitoring device.

Attorneys representing Pooh Shiesty and BIG30 had not responded to requests for comment as of Thursday.

Gucci Mane is widely recognized as one of the founding figures of trap music, alongside fellow Atlanta rappers T.I. and Jeezy. He first rose to prominence in the mid-2000s with his breakout hit “Icy” and has since built an extensive music catalog.

The United States is on the verge of a monumental milestone — its 250th birthday — but just how enthusiastic is the American public about the occasion?

As the nation prepares for the big anniversary celebration, many are asking whether the mood across the country reflects genuine pride and excitement, or something more complicated.

It’s also prompting a look back at the last time America marked a major anniversary of this scale: the bicentennial celebration of 1976, when the country turned 200. How does the spirit surrounding this upcoming 250th compare to the energy of that landmark year?

A couple headed out for a day of fishing in Maine got far more excitement than they bargained for when they stumbled onto a wild scene straight out of a nature documentary — a moose calf sprinting for its life with a large black bear hot on its heels.

Elvia and Todd Malcolm were in Telos Township, Maine, roughly an hour from their home in Lincoln, when they first noticed a female moose near the edge of a wooded area. The moose then turned down a side road, and Todd Malcolm saw an opportunity.

“I said to Elvia, I said, ‘Grab your phone because you’re going to get a chance to get a picture of a moose,’” Todd Malcolm told The Associated Press.

The couple pulled over to watch the moose and quickly realized something was wrong. She appeared agitated and was making grunting sounds, as though she was calling out to a calf.

Moments later, both the calf and the bear burst out of the tree line, charging directly toward them. Todd Malcolm said he immediately knew the bear would catch the calf if nothing was done — and he wasn’t about to let that happen.

“I put the truck in drive and I just stepped on the gas,” he said. He made clear he wasn’t trying to injure the bear, only to place the truck between the predator and the calf. “I knew what I had to do and I just did it.”

The bear veered off sharply and vanished into the woods. As Todd Malcolm described it, “Boom, gone, right in the woods.”

His wife was flooded with relief once the danger had passed.

“My heart was racing because I did not want to witness the bear catching the calf,” Elvia Malcolm said. “As soon as the calf got past the truck and we were able to get the bear to give up the chase, I looked up the road and saw that they were together, the mom and the calf.”

Once things calmed down, Elvia Malcolm scrolled through the photos she had snapped during the chaos and was stunned to find she had actually captured clear images of the chase in action.

“I really thought I probably got like a bug on the windshield when I started to look at them,” she said. “I took them through the front windshield of the truck. I wasn’t outside the truck. No way was I getting outside the truck.”

After confirming the mother moose and her calf were safely back together, the Malcolms carried on to their fishing destination, where they ended the day by catching brook trout.

The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that it is investigating a cyberattack on one of its information-sharing networks.

In an official statement, DHS acknowledged a “recent cyber incident” involving what it described as an “unclassified legacy information sharing environment.” The agency offered no additional details and did not answer follow-up questions from reporters.

GovExec, the outlet that first broke the story, identified the affected system as the Homeland Security Information Network — a platform used to share sensitive, though unclassified, data with a range of partners including foreign law enforcement agencies, local authorities, and other organizations. Citing two anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter, GovExec reported the breach is believed to have taken place sometime between late May and early June.

U.S. Senator Mark Warner, the leading Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, weighed in on the seriousness of the situation. He noted that the data moving through the network, “while not classified, is highly sensitive, and its exposure risks national security.”

Senator Warner urged both DHS and the Justice Department to “thoroughly investigate” the incident, calling for answers on who carried out the breach and exactly what information was accessed or exposed.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have quietly gotten married in a private ceremony, ahead of a planned celebration set to take place at New York’s Madison Square Garden, according to a Thursday report from the New York Post’s Page Six.

The celebrity news outlet said it based its reporting on multiple unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

A spokesperson for Swift did not immediately return a request for comment on the report.

When Congress passed a law to help those harmed by toxic burn pits, it left a significant group behind — thousands of American civilians who worked for the government and were exposed to the very same dangerous substances.

Now, there is a growing push to correct that oversight and extend benefits to those civilian workers who have so far been excluded from the protections that others received.

Burn pits were used to dispose of waste at military and government sites, releasing toxic smoke that has been linked to serious health problems. While the law addressed the needs of many who were affected, civilian government workers who faced the same exposures were not included in the coverage.

Efforts are now underway to change that, with advocates working to ensure that these civilians receive the same recognition and benefits as others who suffered similar harm from burn pit exposure.

HAMDEN, Ohio — A small village in southern Ohio is grappling with a disturbing question: How did 16 children endure years of abuse and neglect inside a home — right in the community — without anyone knowing?

Residents of Hamden, workers at nearby stores where the family shopped, and even the law enforcement officers who responded to the scene have been left struggling to make sense of it. The limited details released by investigators have done little to provide a complete picture.

The children were never enrolled in any school, the family had moved throughout southern Ohio over the past two decades, and neighbors reported they had never once laid eyes on a child at the property. According to investigators, the children were kept largely confined to a single small room under deeply disturbing conditions.

Authorities said they had originally gone to the home on Tuesday for an unrelated investigation when they stumbled upon the children — who ranged in age from 1 and a half years old to 18 years old. Some of the children were unable to speak.

Seven of the children were transported to hospitals, with one reported to be in critical condition. Their conditions as of Thursday were not immediately known. The Ohio Department of Children and Youth has been granted temporary custody of all 16 children.

A neighbor named Josh Odell, who has a direct view of the backyard, told WSYX-TV that he had never once seen a child there. “I really hope they all get better. But, I mean, it obviously weighed on my conscience that I wished I could have done something,” he said.

Another neighbor, Joseph Stewart, 60, told the Associated Press that he saw “no kids at all” during the time the family lived three houses down from him — a home he said he could clearly see from the street. “It’s a sad situation,” Stewart said. He has lived on the street for six years and described it as “a quiet neighborhood.”

Four adults — identified as the children’s parents and grandparents — were taken into custody on child endangerment charges. Gary Siders Jr., 36, Gary Siders, 73, Elizabeth Siders, 33, and Christina Siders, 67, all pleaded not guilty. Each had their bond set at $300,000.

Investigators have not publicly disclosed the nature of the original investigation that brought them to the home on Tuesday. However, court records indicate that a warrant had been issued that same day for Siders Jr. related to misdemeanor indecent exposure charges stemming from alleged incidents on four separate days in May. He has also pleaded not guilty to those charges.

By Thursday, the home — located roughly 60 miles southeast of Columbus — had been boarded up, with police tape and piles of trash still visible outside. The day before, a door had been left open, revealing heaps of garbage and children’s toys inside, along with a debris-filled yard and deck strewn with discarded tires and a high chair.

The house sits on a road running alongside a steep railroad embankment in a village of fewer than 1,000 people. While neighboring properties are separated by trees and dense brush, the home itself is clearly visible from the road.

Investigators said the family appeared to have deliberately avoided leaving a medical or government paper trail as they moved around southern Ohio over the years. The only school district in the area confirmed it has no record of any of the children ever being enrolled.

“These folks were pretty good at hiding these kids,” Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said during a news conference Wednesday.

Authorities are also reviewing whether the family had ever been reported to any child services agencies in the past.

According to investigators, the children spent most of their time crammed into a room measuring approximately 12 feet by 12 feet, surrounded by human waste.

“They looked like almost feral animals. It was terrible,” Wilson said.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to step in and stop an $800-a-day fine imposed on a former Fox News journalist who is refusing to name the confidential sources behind her reporting on a Chinese American scientist.

The high court turned away an emergency request from Catherine Herridge, a veteran investigative journalist who has been held in civil contempt of court. The contempt finding is connected to a lawsuit brought by scientist Yanping Chen against the federal government over the leak of private information about her.

Chief Justice John Roberts had previously placed a temporary hold on the fine while the justices weighed the appeal. On Thursday, the court announced it would not grant Herridge’s request to pause the fine. Justice Brett Kavanaugh was the lone justice who indicated he would have allowed the stay.

In 2017, Herridge authored a series of reports for Fox News examining Chen’s alleged connections to the Chinese military. The stories raised questions about whether a professional school Chen established in Virginia was being used to funnel information about American military personnel to the Chinese government.

Fox News Media issued a statement expressing its displeasure with the ruling. “Protecting the confidentiality of journalistic sourcing and the integrity of the newsgathering process is fundamental to a free and functioning democracy. While we are deeply disappointed by the Court’s decision, our commitment to defending these critical First Amendment principles remains unwavering and we will be reviewing our options to further fight this injustice,” the network said.

Attorneys representing Herridge did not respond to requests for comment.

Chen’s legal team contends that the reporting drew on materials leaked from the government’s investigation into statements she made on immigration paperwork related to her involvement with a Chinese astronaut program. Those materials reportedly included portions of an FBI interview summary, personal photos, and details pulled from her immigration and naturalization documents, as well as an internal FBI PowerPoint presentation.

The FBI investigation into Chen lasted six years but resulted in no charges. In 2018, she filed a lawsuit against the FBI and the Justice Department, claiming the leak destroyed both her personal life and professional reputation, triggering a wave of hate mail and even death threats. Her lawsuit accused the government of violating the Privacy Act, which bars the unauthorized public release of private personal information.

A federal judge ordered Herridge to answer questions about her source or sources during a deposition with Chen’s attorneys. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington ruled that Chen’s need to identify the leaker for her lawsuit outweighed Herridge’s right to protect her source.

Herridge sat for a sworn deposition but refused to answer questions about her sources. The judge subsequently held her in contempt, and the daily fine was set to begin after an appeals court panel upheld the ruling.

Press freedom advocates have been watching the case with concern, arguing that compelling journalists to break promises of confidentiality could discourage future sources from sharing information that might expose government misconduct.

Chen’s attorneys say they have tried every other available avenue to identify the leaker, and that knowing who it is remains essential to proving their Privacy Act claim.

Before becoming an independent journalist, Herridge worked for both Fox News and CBS News.

WASHINGTON — A former Olympic athlete is now facing a felony charge tied to what President Donald Trump has described as vandalism at the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.

David Hearn, a 67-year-old former Olympic canoe racer from Bethesda, Maryland, was indicted Thursday on a single count of property destruction in a Washington, D.C. court.

District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro stated that Hearn tore up newly installed sealant on the pool in what she called “a deliberate act” that resulted in $1,000 worth of damage. Pirro alleged that Hearn “forcefully and violently” pulled up the bottom liner “with both hands” and behaved in a belligerent manner toward a pool employee who instructed him to stop.

“This is a case with tremendous evidence,” Pirro said, also noting that prosecutors are currently handling approximately six other related cases.

Hearn had previously given a different account to The Associated Press. He said that on June 19, he reached into the pool to get a closer look at coating that had already begun peeling away on its own. He said he briefly made contact with a piece that was still attached to the side of the pool, then released it shortly after a park worker asked him to stop.

Hearn had previously owned a company that manufactured composite materials used in the construction of watercraft. He told reporters he had stopped at the pool while out on a 64-mile bicycle ride.

He also said he was held by National Guard troops and Park Police for five hours before being released without charges at that time.

Earlier this month, President Trump stated that federal authorities had made “multiple arrests” of individuals he accused of vandalizing the Reflecting Pool. The comments came as Trump faced questions about why the pool’s $14-million-plus renovation project — launched in connection with the nation’s 250th anniversary — appeared to have run into significant problems.

Individuals and corporations will soon be able to donate shares of publicly traded stock to so-called “Trump accounts” — the government-backed newborn investment program created under President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and immigration legislation, federal officials announced Thursday.

The accounts are scheduled to officially launch Saturday, timed to coincide with the United States’ 250th anniversary. Under the program, the federal government will contribute $1,000 for every child born between 2025 and 2028. Some companies and philanthropists have already pledged additional contributions.

According to the Treasury Department, donors will be able to transfer publicly traded shares directly to the U.S. Treasury. The department said the stock “will be contributed to Trump Accounts for eligible children consistent with the donor’s instructions, applicable law, and Treasury guidance.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent praised the new donation option in a written statement. “By accepting contributions of publicly traded stock, Treasury is creating a practical pathway for large-scale private giving to support the next generation,” he said.

Parents and guardians who wish to open an account must fill out a one-page Internal Revenue Service form called “Form 4547” — a number chosen to reflect Trump’s status as both the 45th and 47th president. The accounts are not set up automatically; the adult opening the account is responsible for establishing it and selecting how the funds are invested while the child remains a minor.

On Wednesday, the Treasury Department announced five investment funds available to account holders for placing the government’s initial cash contribution. The funds are tied to the performance of major Wall Street indexes and rank among the most commonly traded exchange-traded funds among everyday investors.

According to his annual financial disclosures, Trump himself holds between $7 million and $35.1 million in those same investment instruments. He purchased as much as $21 million worth of the funds in 2025. The White House did not immediately respond when asked for comment.

More than 6 million families have signed up for the program, the Treasury Department said, but only 1.4 million of those are eligible to receive the federal seed money, according to figures the agency previously released. That means the large majority of participants will benefit from the program’s tax advantages but will primarily be investing their own money.

Compared to other savings vehicles designed for young people, Trump accounts carry less favorable tax treatment but come with fewer restrictions on how the money can eventually be spent. The funds are not taxed until the account holder turns 18, though some state-level taxes may still apply.

A divided federal appeals court has sided with Southern California air quality regulators, upholding a ban on the manufacture, sale, and installation of certain gas-burning appliances across four Los Angeles-area counties.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 ruling Thursday, rejecting arguments from appliance manufacturers and trade organizations who claimed the emissions control measure ran afoul of federal law.

The court’s majority found that nothing in the text or legislative history of the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act indicated that Congress meant to prevent states from taking reasonable steps to regulate appliance emissions.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District adopted the zero-emissions rule in June 2024, targeting large water heaters, small boilers, and process heaters. The regulation was designed to combat the region’s severe smog problem and bring the area into compliance with ozone standards established under the federal Clean Air Act.

Compliance deadlines began going into effect on January 1. Officials expect the rule to cut emissions in the South Coast Air Basin — which covers large portions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties — by nearly 10%.

Among those challenging the rule were the National Association of Home Builders and several California-based groups representing manufacturing, lodging, and restaurant industries. Attorneys representing those parties did not respond to requests for comment.

Circuit Judge Lucy Koh, writing for the majority, stated that striking down the rule would effectively amount to an implied repeal of the Clean Air Act, and that opponents failed to demonstrate Congress clearly intended that outcome.

Judge Koh also noted that challengers could not show the rule was unconstitutional across the board, pointing out that process heaters fall outside the scope of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act and that the U.S. Department of Energy has not issued federal standards covering them.

Circuit Judge Kenneth Lee filed a dissenting opinion, arguing the case was “strikingly similar” to a 2023 ruling in which the same appeals court found that federal law overrode a Berkeley, California ordinance that had banned natural gas infrastructure in new construction.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are making a major charitable statement ahead of their upcoming nuptials, donating $26 million to 20 different organizations this week before their Friday wedding at Madison Square Garden.

According to Swift’s publicist, the donations were distributed among both local and national charities, with many of the selected groups located in places that hold special meaning to the couple. Notably, the official announcement from Swift’s team made no mention of the wedding itself — but a law enforcement official who was briefed on security arrangements confirmed to the Associated Press that the ceremony is set for Friday, with a rehearsal dinner planned for Thursday evening.

Nine of the recipient organizations are based in New York City, including the Food Bank For NYC, City Harvest, and Musical Mentors — a nonprofit that pairs music teachers with students who need support. The specific dollar amount given to each individual charity was not revealed.

Several other organizations reflect places the couple has called home over the years. The Rhode Island Community Food Bank received a gift, tied to Swift’s estate in the Watch Hill area. Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri — the city where Kelce plays tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs — was also among the recipients.

A number of well-known national organizations were included as well, among them Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library book giveaway program, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and Feeding America.

This kind of large-scale giving isn’t new for the couple. Swift, who is a billionaire, previously donated millions to food banks in cities hosting stops on her Eras Tour. Kelce has been recognized by the Chiefs for winning charity challenges and also runs his own nonprofit organization.

Swift and Kelce have been together since 2023, capturing the attention of fans worldwide. Their romance has been widely covered, from images of Swift cheering at Chiefs games to videos of Kelce dancing in the crowd at Eras Tour concerts around the globe. In 2025, the couple announced their engagement, though they have kept details about their wedding plans tightly under wraps.

Despite the secrecy, activity outside Madison Square Garden has fueled widespread speculation, with multiple trucks and work crews seen delivering materials to the venue in what is expected to be a lavish celebration.