Happy 4th of July 2016
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How NASA's Juno mission could help tell us where we came from
Rachel Feltman, The Washington Post
First posted: Saturday, July 02, 2016 01:01 PM EDT | Updated: Saturday, July 02, 2016 04:12 PM EDT
This Independence Day, millions of Americans will look to the sky to watch dazzling fireworks. But across the U.S., scientists will be looking up for an entirely different reason: On July 4, NASA's Juno spacecraft will enter an orbit of Jupiter, giving us an unprecedented window into the history of our solar system's oldest planet.
Jupiter is a strange world, but Juno will make it a little more familiar. In doing so, it could give scientists valuable insight into our own origin story - and clues in the ongoing hunt for alien life.
Jupiter is a planet unlike any other. If every other planet in our solar system teamed up to form one massive monolith of a world, Jupiter would still be two and half times heavier. That incredible mass only becomes more impressive when you consider the fact that Jupiter is a gas giant: With the exception of a rocky core that may or may not exist at its very center, the planet is made entirely of gaseous and liquid elements. When a quarter of your mass comes from helium molecules, it takes a lot of space to carry any real weight. More than 1,300 Earths could fit inside it.
At that size, Jupiter comes close to being more of a sickly star than a powerful planet. In fact, scientists have found many alien stars that bear a striking resemblance to the fifth planet from the sun. Some even have raging storms like Jupiter's Great Red Spot, which has been churning in the planet's atmosphere for hundreds of years.
"Jupiter is a planet on steroids," principal investigator Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute said during a June 16 press briefing. "Everything about it is extreme."
Add to these superlatives the fact that Jupiter was likely the first planet to form in our solar system - perhaps even pushing some other early comers out into space with its incredible gravity, paving the way for the planets we know today - and it's no wonder that scientists want to know more about the planet.
Enter Juno. Launched in 2011, the basketball-court-sized spacecraft will be the eighth vessel to visit Jupiter but the first to probe below the gas giant's thick cloud cover, giving scientists a peek at what lies beneath. It will also make the very first passes over the planet's north and south poles. And it will do all this while surviving radiation levels and a magnetic field like no probe has seen before. Barring the sun itself, Jupiter's radiation levels are the harshest in our solar system. Over the course of its year-long primary mission, Juno will be exposed to the equivalent of over 100 million dental X-rays.
The planet is surrounded with electrons, protons and ions that zip around almost at the speed of light. Scientists believe that this hostile environment is created by a layer of liquid metallic hydrogen that sits below Jupiter's cloud cover. It's under so much pressure that it conducts electricity, when combined with Jupiter's super-quick rotation, this creates a massive magnetic field.
"From Earth, if we could see it with our eyes, it would appear five times bigger than the full moon," Andrew J. Steffl of the Southwest Research Institute, who isn't directly involved in the mission, told The Post.
This field creates stunning aurorae like our Northern Lights when confronted with excited particles spewed by Jovian moon Io's volcanic activity.
"Along with the studies of Jupiter's magnetic field, Juno will make unprecedented observations of Jupiter's aurora, which are brighter and more dynamic than Earth's aurora. For me, this is the most exciting part of the mission. . . to finally see, in exquisite detail, the fine structure that makes up Jupiter's aurora and to watch how they evolve with time," Steffl said.
But that magnetic field is also capable of quite literally frying any intrepid space robot that gets too close. And Juno will definitely get very close: During its 32 planned orbits of the planet, the spacecraft will get closer than any orbiter ever has - within 2,700 miles of Jupiter's cloud cover.
"It's like a spray of radiation bullets," Heidi Becker of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who serves as Juno's radiation monitoring investigation lead, said of Jupiter's radioactive particles. Juno is encased in a "suit of armor" to protect it, she explained, including a vault that keeps its flight computer and most valuable instrument components locked up in 400 pounds of titanium.
A lot of effort went into making Juno sturdy enough to withstand Jupiter's company. But researchers are confident that it will pay off: The gas giant has a lot to tell us about the early days of our cosmic neighborhood.
"One of the primary goals of Juno is to learn the recipe of solar systems," Bolton said. "Jupiter holds a very unique position in figuring out that recipe because it was the first to form."
Jupiter looks remarkably like the sun, relatively speaking. Scientists often say that the Jovian system is like a miniature solar system of its own - its largest moons may even be habitable. But unlike the sun, it contains traces of so-called heavy elements - the ones that are only formed as stars age. These heavy elements are the stuff of life as we know it, the backbones basic lifeforms and the planets that can support them.
"Jupiter is enriched with these heavy elements compared with the sun," Bolton said. "We don't know exactly how that happened, but we know it's really important."
The birth of our sun used up most of the building blocks available in the gas and dust cloud that once filled our region of space. Jupiter took most of the leftovers, and we got the leftovers of the leftovers. Something happened between the time when the sun formed and the time when Jupiter formed that allowed it to be enriched with these valuable molecules. Figuring out what exactly Jupiter is made out of - scientists aren't even entirely sure that it has a rocky core at its center at all - and how it was built could help solve the mystery.
"It is becoming increasingly clear that the formation of Jupiter was the defining event of our solar system," Yale University astrophysicist Gregory Laughlin, who isn't part of the Juno mission team, told The Post. "The discovery of thousands of alien solar systems over the past two decades has shown us that Jupiter, with its large mass and its relatively distant circular orbit, is somewhat unusual. We may, in fact, owe the existence of Earth's habitability to Jupiter's sculpting influence on the Earth's formation, and it is imperative to peel some of the mystery from our mute, strange, and gargantuan planetary neighbor."
Laughlin refers to the theory that Jupiter - in all its hulking glory - once bullied several planets out of the solar system, making room for the rocky worlds that sit close to the sun in modern times. That's just one of many Jovian mysteries that planetary scientists hope Juno can help solve.
Juno is expected to enter Jupiter's orbit just before midnight Eastern time on July 4. Scientists should be able to confirm its success soon after.
An image taken by the Voyager 1 probe showing Jupiter's Great Red Spot. Photo courtesy of NASA
How NASA's Juno mission could help tell us where we came from | World | News | T
Rachel Feltman, The Washington Post
First posted: Saturday, July 02, 2016 01:01 PM EDT | Updated: Saturday, July 02, 2016 04:12 PM EDT
This Independence Day, millions of Americans will look to the sky to watch dazzling fireworks. But across the U.S., scientists will be looking up for an entirely different reason: On July 4, NASA's Juno spacecraft will enter an orbit of Jupiter, giving us an unprecedented window into the history of our solar system's oldest planet.
Jupiter is a strange world, but Juno will make it a little more familiar. In doing so, it could give scientists valuable insight into our own origin story - and clues in the ongoing hunt for alien life.
Jupiter is a planet unlike any other. If every other planet in our solar system teamed up to form one massive monolith of a world, Jupiter would still be two and half times heavier. That incredible mass only becomes more impressive when you consider the fact that Jupiter is a gas giant: With the exception of a rocky core that may or may not exist at its very center, the planet is made entirely of gaseous and liquid elements. When a quarter of your mass comes from helium molecules, it takes a lot of space to carry any real weight. More than 1,300 Earths could fit inside it.
At that size, Jupiter comes close to being more of a sickly star than a powerful planet. In fact, scientists have found many alien stars that bear a striking resemblance to the fifth planet from the sun. Some even have raging storms like Jupiter's Great Red Spot, which has been churning in the planet's atmosphere for hundreds of years.
"Jupiter is a planet on steroids," principal investigator Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute said during a June 16 press briefing. "Everything about it is extreme."
Add to these superlatives the fact that Jupiter was likely the first planet to form in our solar system - perhaps even pushing some other early comers out into space with its incredible gravity, paving the way for the planets we know today - and it's no wonder that scientists want to know more about the planet.
Enter Juno. Launched in 2011, the basketball-court-sized spacecraft will be the eighth vessel to visit Jupiter but the first to probe below the gas giant's thick cloud cover, giving scientists a peek at what lies beneath. It will also make the very first passes over the planet's north and south poles. And it will do all this while surviving radiation levels and a magnetic field like no probe has seen before. Barring the sun itself, Jupiter's radiation levels are the harshest in our solar system. Over the course of its year-long primary mission, Juno will be exposed to the equivalent of over 100 million dental X-rays.
The planet is surrounded with electrons, protons and ions that zip around almost at the speed of light. Scientists believe that this hostile environment is created by a layer of liquid metallic hydrogen that sits below Jupiter's cloud cover. It's under so much pressure that it conducts electricity, when combined with Jupiter's super-quick rotation, this creates a massive magnetic field.
"From Earth, if we could see it with our eyes, it would appear five times bigger than the full moon," Andrew J. Steffl of the Southwest Research Institute, who isn't directly involved in the mission, told The Post.
This field creates stunning aurorae like our Northern Lights when confronted with excited particles spewed by Jovian moon Io's volcanic activity.
"Along with the studies of Jupiter's magnetic field, Juno will make unprecedented observations of Jupiter's aurora, which are brighter and more dynamic than Earth's aurora. For me, this is the most exciting part of the mission. . . to finally see, in exquisite detail, the fine structure that makes up Jupiter's aurora and to watch how they evolve with time," Steffl said.
But that magnetic field is also capable of quite literally frying any intrepid space robot that gets too close. And Juno will definitely get very close: During its 32 planned orbits of the planet, the spacecraft will get closer than any orbiter ever has - within 2,700 miles of Jupiter's cloud cover.
"It's like a spray of radiation bullets," Heidi Becker of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who serves as Juno's radiation monitoring investigation lead, said of Jupiter's radioactive particles. Juno is encased in a "suit of armor" to protect it, she explained, including a vault that keeps its flight computer and most valuable instrument components locked up in 400 pounds of titanium.
A lot of effort went into making Juno sturdy enough to withstand Jupiter's company. But researchers are confident that it will pay off: The gas giant has a lot to tell us about the early days of our cosmic neighborhood.
"One of the primary goals of Juno is to learn the recipe of solar systems," Bolton said. "Jupiter holds a very unique position in figuring out that recipe because it was the first to form."
Jupiter looks remarkably like the sun, relatively speaking. Scientists often say that the Jovian system is like a miniature solar system of its own - its largest moons may even be habitable. But unlike the sun, it contains traces of so-called heavy elements - the ones that are only formed as stars age. These heavy elements are the stuff of life as we know it, the backbones basic lifeforms and the planets that can support them.
"Jupiter is enriched with these heavy elements compared with the sun," Bolton said. "We don't know exactly how that happened, but we know it's really important."
The birth of our sun used up most of the building blocks available in the gas and dust cloud that once filled our region of space. Jupiter took most of the leftovers, and we got the leftovers of the leftovers. Something happened between the time when the sun formed and the time when Jupiter formed that allowed it to be enriched with these valuable molecules. Figuring out what exactly Jupiter is made out of - scientists aren't even entirely sure that it has a rocky core at its center at all - and how it was built could help solve the mystery.
"It is becoming increasingly clear that the formation of Jupiter was the defining event of our solar system," Yale University astrophysicist Gregory Laughlin, who isn't part of the Juno mission team, told The Post. "The discovery of thousands of alien solar systems over the past two decades has shown us that Jupiter, with its large mass and its relatively distant circular orbit, is somewhat unusual. We may, in fact, owe the existence of Earth's habitability to Jupiter's sculpting influence on the Earth's formation, and it is imperative to peel some of the mystery from our mute, strange, and gargantuan planetary neighbor."
Laughlin refers to the theory that Jupiter - in all its hulking glory - once bullied several planets out of the solar system, making room for the rocky worlds that sit close to the sun in modern times. That's just one of many Jovian mysteries that planetary scientists hope Juno can help solve.
Juno is expected to enter Jupiter's orbit just before midnight Eastern time on July 4. Scientists should be able to confirm its success soon after.
An image taken by the Voyager 1 probe showing Jupiter's Great Red Spot. Photo courtesy of NASA
How NASA's Juno mission could help tell us where we came from | World | News | T
what a lovely buncha fukkin' coconuts we have in this place.
It was a handful of of MP's ya boob.
The death of 'Dominion Day'
It was a handful of of MP's ya boob.
The death of 'Dominion Day'
...and he jerks off to Reddies. -1 :lol:
Ya win some, and ya lose some. Bummer eh? I'm sure it was much better living in the stone age.
I remember that song!
You know Slasher and Cancer
Romancer and Spritzin'
Vomit and Stupid
And Agnew and Nixon
Tests conducted on explosive that hurt man in Central Park
The Associated Press
First posted: Monday, July 04, 2016 10:40 PM EDT | Updated: Monday, July 04, 2016 10:50 PM EDT
NEW YORK -- Investigators are conducting a forensic examination to identify the explosive compound that blew up in Central Park, seriously injuring the foot of a man who stepped on it, but authorities don't believe the device was designed to intentionally hurt people, police said Monday.
The homemade explosive had been inside a plastic bag when it went off Sunday, said Lt. Mark Torre, commanding officer of the New York Police Department's bomb squad. Investigators believe it was created by "an explosive hobbyist or experimenter" who had some knowledge of chemistry, he said.
The 19-year-old man, identified by his grandfather as Connor Golden, a University of Miami student from Fairfax, Virginia, according to WJLA-TV, was walking in the park with two friends when he stepped on a rock covering the explosive. He was to undergo surgery to his left foot and was in stable condition at a hospital, fire officials said.
The 11 a.m. blast on the east side of Central Park could be heard for blocks, leaving some with the belief that it was part of a July Fourth celebration.
Investigators don't believe the man who stepped on the firework or his friends were responsible for creating the explosive, and officials asked that anyone with information about it contact the police.
"I believe we have somebody who made this material and maybe wanted to test it," Torre said. "The location that it was found and where it was placed is sort of an ideal location conducive to conducting that kind of experiment."
There was no evidence that the explosion was related to terrorism, and there were no specific, credible threats on New York over the July Fourth weekend, authorities said.
"We've seen a lot of experimentation with homemade fireworks," said Torre, adding that the Central Park explosive may have been designed to go off at an earlier time, even a day before, but for whatever reason did not.
Tourist John Murphy, visiting the city from Connecticut, stayed with the injured man until emergency responders arrived and placed a tourniquet on his leg.
"His left leg was severely damaged, all bone and muscle," Murphy said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio sent out a tweet reminding people to stay safe around fireworks.
"Fireworks are fun -- but let's leave them to the professionals," the mayor tweeted.
Tests conducted on explosive that hurt man in Central Park | World | News | Toro
Party in the USA: America celebrates nation's independence
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Monday, July 04, 2016 09:14 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, July 05, 2016 01:24 AM EDT
From fireworks soaring above the Washington Monument to hot dogs being downed in New York City's frank-eating contest, Americans aren't shy about celebrating their nation's birthday. Many places are rolling out long-established Independence Day traditions on Monday (even if some of those traditions aren't as long-established as they sound). Rain was forecast in many cities, but revelers were trying not to let it dampen their fun. Some Fourth of July highlights from around the country:
DESPITE THE RAIN, MACY'S FIREWORK SHOW DAZZLES IN NEW YORK
More than a million spectators in New York City braved a light sprinkle of rain as they watched Macy's annual July Fourth fireworks display.
The nearly 30-minute-long show Monday featured dazzling blues, reds and whites among other colours from the more than 56,000 pyrotechnic shells launched from barges in the East River.
The rain didn't stop Columbia University law student Danielle Arthur, an American flag painted on her left cheek, who said she was proud to live in the USA while watching the show from Manhattan.
"It's a nice day to celebrate the country and show off your pride," she said.
The Macy's show was aired live on NBC, and organizers said it was the biggest firework display since the millennium show of 2000.
OBAMA: AMERICA A 'MIRACLE'
President Barack Obama called America a "miracle" that needs to be defended and nurtured on Monday during his final July Fourth celebration at the White House.
The Democrat made the brief comments to hundreds of people who gathered after rain forced officials to cancel an annual barbecue on the South lawn for military service members, veterans and their families.
It was the second straight year that weather scuttled the picnic.
Obama also led the audience in singing "Happy Birthday" to his older daughter, Malia Obama, who turned 18, reminding those gathered it's a father's job to embarrass his daughter.
INCREASED SECURITY FOR NEW YORK CITY'S FIREWORKS SHOW
Police dispatched 5,000 officers to oversee the Macy's Fourth of July fireworks display in the nation's largest city. That's the largest detail the New York Police Department has ever assigned on July Fourth.
Authorities said there were no known, credible threats against New York but vowed to remain vigilant.
COOL, RAINY WEATHER DAMPENS JULY FOURTH IN THE NATION'S CAPITAL
The rain was mostly gone, but lingering cloud cover led to a dreary Fourth of July on the National Mall.
After a day of showers and grey skies, the fireworks began as scheduled at 9:09 p.m., but most of the bursts of colour were impossible to see. The clouds hanging over the Mall were so low that the top of the 555-foot Washington Monument was invisible.
Although thousands of people still flocked to the Mall, crowds were noticeably thinner than in previous years. The show was also hampered by a turf restoration project that closed off five city blocks' worth of prime viewing space on the Mall.
The "Capitol Fourth" concert on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, however, was as festive as usual, with standout performances by Gavin DeGraw, Amber Riley and Smokey Robinson, among others.
IN THE NATION'S BIRTHPLACE, A PARADE AND A PARKWAY PARTY
In Philadelphia, where the Founding Fathers approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, the national birthday party ran all day.
It kicked off at 10 a.m. with a reading of the document and an event honouring everyday heroes, with celebrity guest Leslie Odom Jr., a Philadelphia native who plays Aaron Burr in the Broadway musical "Hamilton." Then came the holiday parade, including Miss America 2016 Betty Cantrell.
Next up was a five-hour party with free entertainment on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The celebration was to continue with a five-hour concert with performers including Odom and singer-songwriter Leon Bridges. Fireworks close out the day.
NEW YORK: HOT DOGS ON THE MENU
American as apple pie? Fuhgeddaboudit. The frankfurter rules the Fourth in New York City, where the annual Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest marks its centennial this year -- well, not really.
Nathan's dates to 1916, but showmen behind the hot dog competition have acknowledged they made up a long-told story about the contest beginning that year, too. It actually started in the 1970s.
Joey "Jaws" Chestnut beat his record Monday when he polished off 70 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. He also regained his title after losing the Mustard Yellow International Belt to Matt "The Megatoad" Stonie in 2015.
"Last year was rough," Chestnut told the crowd. "This year was the best ever."
BOSTON'S BLOWOUT
Hundreds of thousands of people were expected to line the banks of Boston's Charles River to watch the fireworks there, with millions more across the country watching live on CBS.
The celebration featured pop stars Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato, country group Little Big Town and, as always, the Boston Pops Orchestra, which drives home the climactic fireworks finale to Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture."
JULY FOURTH, CALIFORNIA-STYLE
There's a something-for-everyone approach to fireworks in Los Angeles, where displays were planned at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Hollywood Bowl, Grand Park near City Hall and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, among other places around the massive metro area. San Francisco holds a large fireworks display over the San Francisco Bay.
IN OKLAHOMA, A PARTY TO COMMEMORATE THE NATION'S BIRTHDAY
About 80,000 people were expected to gather Monday night in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to celebrate the nation's birthday and the reopening of the River West Festival Park along the Arkansas River. Revelers at 2016 Folds of Honor FreedomFest will enjoy food trucks, inflatable rides, games and live music as fireworks choreographed to patriotic music fire off in the background.
NATION'S OLDEST ONGOING JULY FOURTH PARTY
A seaside town in Rhode Island hosted what's known as the nation's oldest continuous Fourth of July celebration, with 19 marching bands and 17 floats making their way through the streets of Bristol.
About 100,000 people turn out for the parade in a typical year, city officials say.
An Independence Day celebration has taken place in Bristol since 1785, and the event has become entwined with the town's identity, WPRI-TV reported. A red, white and blue centre stripe runs down the town's main street, and real estate listings for houses often note if they are on or near the parade route.
Party in the USA: America celebrates nation's independence | World | News | Toro
The Associated Press
First posted: Monday, July 04, 2016 10:40 PM EDT | Updated: Monday, July 04, 2016 10:50 PM EDT
NEW YORK -- Investigators are conducting a forensic examination to identify the explosive compound that blew up in Central Park, seriously injuring the foot of a man who stepped on it, but authorities don't believe the device was designed to intentionally hurt people, police said Monday.
The homemade explosive had been inside a plastic bag when it went off Sunday, said Lt. Mark Torre, commanding officer of the New York Police Department's bomb squad. Investigators believe it was created by "an explosive hobbyist or experimenter" who had some knowledge of chemistry, he said.
The 19-year-old man, identified by his grandfather as Connor Golden, a University of Miami student from Fairfax, Virginia, according to WJLA-TV, was walking in the park with two friends when he stepped on a rock covering the explosive. He was to undergo surgery to his left foot and was in stable condition at a hospital, fire officials said.
The 11 a.m. blast on the east side of Central Park could be heard for blocks, leaving some with the belief that it was part of a July Fourth celebration.
Investigators don't believe the man who stepped on the firework or his friends were responsible for creating the explosive, and officials asked that anyone with information about it contact the police.
"I believe we have somebody who made this material and maybe wanted to test it," Torre said. "The location that it was found and where it was placed is sort of an ideal location conducive to conducting that kind of experiment."
There was no evidence that the explosion was related to terrorism, and there were no specific, credible threats on New York over the July Fourth weekend, authorities said.
"We've seen a lot of experimentation with homemade fireworks," said Torre, adding that the Central Park explosive may have been designed to go off at an earlier time, even a day before, but for whatever reason did not.
Tourist John Murphy, visiting the city from Connecticut, stayed with the injured man until emergency responders arrived and placed a tourniquet on his leg.
"His left leg was severely damaged, all bone and muscle," Murphy said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio sent out a tweet reminding people to stay safe around fireworks.
"Fireworks are fun -- but let's leave them to the professionals," the mayor tweeted.
Tests conducted on explosive that hurt man in Central Park | World | News | Toro
Party in the USA: America celebrates nation's independence
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Monday, July 04, 2016 09:14 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, July 05, 2016 01:24 AM EDT
From fireworks soaring above the Washington Monument to hot dogs being downed in New York City's frank-eating contest, Americans aren't shy about celebrating their nation's birthday. Many places are rolling out long-established Independence Day traditions on Monday (even if some of those traditions aren't as long-established as they sound). Rain was forecast in many cities, but revelers were trying not to let it dampen their fun. Some Fourth of July highlights from around the country:
DESPITE THE RAIN, MACY'S FIREWORK SHOW DAZZLES IN NEW YORK
More than a million spectators in New York City braved a light sprinkle of rain as they watched Macy's annual July Fourth fireworks display.
The nearly 30-minute-long show Monday featured dazzling blues, reds and whites among other colours from the more than 56,000 pyrotechnic shells launched from barges in the East River.
The rain didn't stop Columbia University law student Danielle Arthur, an American flag painted on her left cheek, who said she was proud to live in the USA while watching the show from Manhattan.
"It's a nice day to celebrate the country and show off your pride," she said.
The Macy's show was aired live on NBC, and organizers said it was the biggest firework display since the millennium show of 2000.
OBAMA: AMERICA A 'MIRACLE'
President Barack Obama called America a "miracle" that needs to be defended and nurtured on Monday during his final July Fourth celebration at the White House.
The Democrat made the brief comments to hundreds of people who gathered after rain forced officials to cancel an annual barbecue on the South lawn for military service members, veterans and their families.
It was the second straight year that weather scuttled the picnic.
Obama also led the audience in singing "Happy Birthday" to his older daughter, Malia Obama, who turned 18, reminding those gathered it's a father's job to embarrass his daughter.
INCREASED SECURITY FOR NEW YORK CITY'S FIREWORKS SHOW
Police dispatched 5,000 officers to oversee the Macy's Fourth of July fireworks display in the nation's largest city. That's the largest detail the New York Police Department has ever assigned on July Fourth.
Authorities said there were no known, credible threats against New York but vowed to remain vigilant.
COOL, RAINY WEATHER DAMPENS JULY FOURTH IN THE NATION'S CAPITAL
The rain was mostly gone, but lingering cloud cover led to a dreary Fourth of July on the National Mall.
After a day of showers and grey skies, the fireworks began as scheduled at 9:09 p.m., but most of the bursts of colour were impossible to see. The clouds hanging over the Mall were so low that the top of the 555-foot Washington Monument was invisible.
Although thousands of people still flocked to the Mall, crowds were noticeably thinner than in previous years. The show was also hampered by a turf restoration project that closed off five city blocks' worth of prime viewing space on the Mall.
The "Capitol Fourth" concert on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, however, was as festive as usual, with standout performances by Gavin DeGraw, Amber Riley and Smokey Robinson, among others.
IN THE NATION'S BIRTHPLACE, A PARADE AND A PARKWAY PARTY
In Philadelphia, where the Founding Fathers approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, the national birthday party ran all day.
It kicked off at 10 a.m. with a reading of the document and an event honouring everyday heroes, with celebrity guest Leslie Odom Jr., a Philadelphia native who plays Aaron Burr in the Broadway musical "Hamilton." Then came the holiday parade, including Miss America 2016 Betty Cantrell.
Next up was a five-hour party with free entertainment on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The celebration was to continue with a five-hour concert with performers including Odom and singer-songwriter Leon Bridges. Fireworks close out the day.
NEW YORK: HOT DOGS ON THE MENU
American as apple pie? Fuhgeddaboudit. The frankfurter rules the Fourth in New York City, where the annual Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest marks its centennial this year -- well, not really.
Nathan's dates to 1916, but showmen behind the hot dog competition have acknowledged they made up a long-told story about the contest beginning that year, too. It actually started in the 1970s.
Joey "Jaws" Chestnut beat his record Monday when he polished off 70 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. He also regained his title after losing the Mustard Yellow International Belt to Matt "The Megatoad" Stonie in 2015.
"Last year was rough," Chestnut told the crowd. "This year was the best ever."
BOSTON'S BLOWOUT
Hundreds of thousands of people were expected to line the banks of Boston's Charles River to watch the fireworks there, with millions more across the country watching live on CBS.
The celebration featured pop stars Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato, country group Little Big Town and, as always, the Boston Pops Orchestra, which drives home the climactic fireworks finale to Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture."
JULY FOURTH, CALIFORNIA-STYLE
There's a something-for-everyone approach to fireworks in Los Angeles, where displays were planned at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Hollywood Bowl, Grand Park near City Hall and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, among other places around the massive metro area. San Francisco holds a large fireworks display over the San Francisco Bay.
IN OKLAHOMA, A PARTY TO COMMEMORATE THE NATION'S BIRTHDAY
About 80,000 people were expected to gather Monday night in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to celebrate the nation's birthday and the reopening of the River West Festival Park along the Arkansas River. Revelers at 2016 Folds of Honor FreedomFest will enjoy food trucks, inflatable rides, games and live music as fireworks choreographed to patriotic music fire off in the background.
NATION'S OLDEST ONGOING JULY FOURTH PARTY
A seaside town in Rhode Island hosted what's known as the nation's oldest continuous Fourth of July celebration, with 19 marching bands and 17 floats making their way through the streets of Bristol.
About 100,000 people turn out for the parade in a typical year, city officials say.
An Independence Day celebration has taken place in Bristol since 1785, and the event has become entwined with the town's identity, WPRI-TV reported. A red, white and blue centre stripe runs down the town's main street, and real estate listings for houses often note if they are on or near the parade route.
Party in the USA: America celebrates nation's independence | World | News | Toro
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