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The White House’s July 4 celebration is about to blow the ceiling off of Washington—and not in a good way.Government workers were spotted by independent journalist Amanda Moore on Monday using forklifts to move pallets full of fireworks around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool ahead of America’s semiquincentennial.The location was not an oddity, as the federal government has traditionally chosen the Reflecting Pool as its primary launch site. What is exceptionally unusual is the amount of firepower behind the 250th celebration.Donald Trump promised earlier this month that he would launch “the LARGEST FIREWORKS SHOW IN HISTORY” on Independence Day 2026. By the numbers, it’s not even close: A typical July 4 show in the nation’s capital uses roughly 17,000 to 20,000 shells for a 17-minute show, according to figures collected by The Washington Post.This year, the Freedom 250 celebration has proposed a record-shattering 40-minute display beginning at 10:30 p.m. that will use more than 860,000 explosives. They’ll be set off along the Reflecting Pool, as well as in West Potomac Park and on eight barges on the Potomac River.Pyrotecnico, the Pennsylvania-based vendor responsible for the show, told the Post that it would “not only” be a “once-in-a-generation patriotic spectacle but a landmark moment in fireworks history.”The previous record was held by Manila in the Philippines, which earned the Guinness World Record title in 2016 for lighting 809,000 fireworks during a New Year’s Eve event.But rules around Washington’s celebration are likely to make the spectacle an unpleasant evening for local spectators. The Department of Homeland Security has classified the ceremony as a National Special Security Event, the same security classification used for presidential inaugurations, since Trump is expected to deliver remarks in person ahead of the display.That will forbid a long list of typical July 4 accoutrements, such as chairs, coolers, balls, frisbees, aerosols, metal or glass containers, lighters, vapes, and even spray sunscreen, reported WTOP News.Beyond that, federal workers will also be fighting Mother Nature, which is expected to shatter weather records by bringing triple-digit temperatures to Washington amid a historic heat wave this weekend.

President Donald Trump launched into a rant about communism as the biggest threat to the United States, after being triggered by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.Speaking to reporters in the White House, Trump was asked whether he was concerned by Mamdani assenting to be made the “poster child” for socialism.“I think it’s a big threat to our nation, actually, because it’s not socialism, it’s really communism,” Trump said.“I think it’s the biggest threat to our nation there is, maybe since our founding. That includes World War I, World War II, September 11th. It includes the, uh, Pearl Harbor attack. I think this is the biggest threat,” Trump said. “People will smile when I say that, but the smart people are gonna say, ‘You know, he’s probably right.’ It’s basically introducing communism into the United States of America.”Reporter: Mamdani said he was open to being the poster child for socialist candidates.Trump: It's really communism. I think it's the biggest threat to our nation since our founding—that includes World War 1, World War 2, September 11th. It includes the Pearl Harbor attack . I… pic.twitter.com/NR3p3CZ9r0— Acyn (@Acyn) June 29, 2026Clearly, Trump needs a bit of a history lesson. “Who’s gonna tell him about World War Two?” historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat wrote on X.Does Trump honestly think communism is the biggest threat to the U.S.? The president is obviously rattled by all of Mamdani’s recent victories in New York City—and his growing popularity with voters.Last week, Trump had a meltdown after a slate of democratic socialist candidates endorsed by Mamdani won their primary elections in New York.The president also fumed after the city’s Rent Guidelines Board passed a rent freeze, enabling Mamdani to make good on one of his key campaign promises, help tenants living in the city’s nearly one million rent-stabilized apartments, and get under the skin of a former NYC slumlord.

Years of social investment in a robust welfare mechanism by successive governments in Keralam has produced relatively better living conditions and higher human development in the Indian state. Zoe. , June 29, 2026

The high court ruled that the president can dismiss members of most independent agencies without cause, but that the US central bank is different.

The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory has concluded that children themselves have become deliberate targets of Israeli military policy. Vijay Prashad , June 29, 2026

“Today’s ruling ends [Trump’s] quest to avoid accountability for his actions,” Carroll’s lawyer said.

Looking at Sir Keir Starmer, you start to understand why the Japanese invented ritual seppuku. Less than two years ago, Starmer led the British Labour Party to a commanding general-election victory, securing 411 seats in Parliament and becoming the first Labour Prime Minister in over a decade. But today, his approval ratings are in the toilet and his government is in disarray, with the Green Party scoring election wins against him on the Left and Nigel Farage’s xenophobic Reform Party rising on the Right. It’s been a humiliating fall from grace, and Starmer finally admitted defeat last week, announcing his resignation. (With his exit, Larry the Cat has outlasted six successive PMs.) But people in the United States should be paying close attention to the rise and fall of Starmerism, too, because if elected Democrats in this country don’t make some changes, they may soon meet the same fate.