Jul 04 Searing heat and storms mar holiday with 3 children dead in Wisconsin and utility outages widespread By Associated Press The tragedy in Wisconsin’s Walworth County in a part of Southern Wisconsin that has long served as a favorite vacation getaway for residents of the Chicago area came with a storm that downed trees, ruptured power lines and made transportation… Continue reading
Jul 04 Fireworks, heat and drought put this Fourth of July at high risk for wildfires By Lauren Lowman, The Conversation Fireworks, from bottle rockets to Roman candles, start a lot of fires in the U.S. every year – 32,000 of them in 2023 alone. And each year there is a clear spike in human-caused fires on July 4. Continue reading
Jul 04 WATCH: Trump hails U.S. exceptionalism, warns of communist 'threat' in speech at Mount Rushmore By Steven Sloan, Steve Peoples, Michelle L. Price, Associated Press While the language was similar to several other speeches Trump has given in recent days, it was notable for being delivered in a national park that commemorates some of America's most prominent presidents. Continue reading
Jul 03 Watch 5:38 The growing dangers of record heat waves like the one engulfing July 4th celebrations By Amna Nawaz, Jackson Hudgins Americans across the East Coast are preparing for one of the hottest Independence Days in recorded history. Triple-digit temperatures have disrupted travel, strained the energy grid and forced some communities to change or cancel planned celebrations. Meanwhile, health authorities in… Continue watching
Jul 03 Watch 11:40 One year since deadly flood at Camp Mystic, parents push for better safety standards By Amna Nawaz, Azhar Merchant This weekend marks one year since catastrophic floods at Camp Mystic killed 28 people, most of them young girls. In their final report, state investigators said the camp failed to respond adequately to storm warnings. Today, many parents are still… Continue watching
Jul 03 Watch 3:51 Why George Washington believed in the strength of differing viewpoints By Judy Woodruff, Sarah Clune Hartman, Frank Carlson This week, PBS News launched “In Pursuit of Happiness,” a six-episode podcast series hosted by Judy Woodruff, exploring the people, culture and ideas that have shaped America. In this clip from the first episode, presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky takes a… Continue watching
Jul 03 Ohio town shocked by 16 kids found living in squalor 'right under our noses' By Julie Carr Smyth, Rebecca Boone, Associated Press Just days after authorities removed 16 siblings from a squalid home and arrested their parents and grandparents, the question looms over their southern Ohio village: How could this have happened, for years, unnoticed, right here?… Continue reading
Jul 03 Rare copy of Declaration of Independence found by UK National Archives in papers of captured U.S. privateer ship By Danica Kirka, Associated Press The document is one of only 11 known copies of the Exeter printing, made just days after the original was signed in 1776. Continue reading
Jul 03 WATCH: A Capitol Fourth – 250th Weekend Celebration By Molly Finnegan A Capitol Fourth will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States Friday with a live broadcast from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol and fireworks from Mount Vernon. Continue reading
Jul 03 WATCH: 5 little-known stories from U.S. military history By Cecilia Lallmann, Shyla Duff Monumental figures throughout history have helped shape the nation by leading or serving in its armed forces. Here are five you might not know. Continue reading