Pomp, dazzle, hot dogs mark nation’s birthday
NEW YORK — Americans celebrated their country’s 241st birthday with big-time fireworks, small-town parades and the quirky spectacle of competitive hot dog eating.
For all the pomp and celebration, July Fourth marked a day of shared traditions in a nation that has grappled with divides this past year.
Thousands of fireworks turned the night sky over New York City into a festival of color during the annual Macy’s fireworks show. Crowds lined up along the East River to watch.
The 60,000 shells launched from five barges went off at an average of 2,400 shells per minute and exploded into images of happy faces and flowers in colors including purple, orange and yellow. The crowd cheered and applauded wildly, with lots of oohs and cries of “Look at that!”
Joey “Jaws” Chestnut of San Jose gulped, chomped and powered his way to a 10th title Tuesday, continuing his record-setting reign as the chowing champion at the annual Nathan’s Famous July Fourth hot dog eating contest.
Shoving water-soaked buns and wriggling franks into his mouth on a hot, sunny day on the Coney Island boardwalk, he downed 72 dogs and buns in 10 minutes to beat his own record and hoist the Mustard Belt for a 10th time. Chestnut bested up-and-comer Carmen Cincotti, of Mays Landing, N.J., who ate 60 franks and buns on his 24th birthday.
Miki Sudo notched a fourth straight win in the women’s competition. The Las Vegas woman ate 41 hot dogs and buns to beat Michelle Lesco of Tucson, Ariz., who downed 32 franks and buns.
For President Donald Trump’s first Independence Day in office, he and first lady Melania Trump hosted a picnic for military families at the White House.
Rain threatened the event on the South Lawn but cleared up as Trump stepped out to address the crowd from a balcony. The Republican president pledged his “unwavering support” and told the crowd that he will “always have your back.”
The capital city’s fireworks festivities included performances by the Beach Boys, the Four Tops, country musicians Kellie Pickler and Trace Adkins, and two characters who fought for independence in a galaxy far, far away — “Star Wars” droids R2-D2 and C-3PO. This year marks the movie’s 40th anniversary.
In Philadelphia, where the Founding Fathers approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, there was a daylong national birthday party.
Organizers of Chicago’s Independence Day celebration drew such large crowds that the city’s Navy Pier opened at 10 a.m., nearly 12 hours before fireworks began. Hundreds of thousands of people turned out for Boston’s fireworks show and Boston Pops concert.
More than 15,000 new citizens were sworn in during more than 65 Independence Day-themed naturalization ceremonies across the country. They occurred in locales ranging from courthouses to parks to aircraft-carriers-turnedmuseums.
A bit of American sports culture was displayed in London’s Hyde Park, where several former major leaguers competed in a home run derby.