Extreme heat cancels Independence Day Parade in DC for America’s 250th anniversary

(ASSOCIATED PRESS) — The 250th anniversary of American independence is colliding with a country gripped by political polarization and a heat wave bearing down on millions of people across multiple states as celebrations got underway Saturday throughout the United States. The signing of the Declaration of Independence, one of history’s most celebrated articulations of democratic ambitions, is being marked in myriad ways. President Donald Trump plans to speak on the National Mall before what is being billed as a historically enormous fireworks show that will rain down over the nation’s capital. He was in South Dakota at Mount Rushmore on Friday, where he delivered a dark speech about the threat of communism in the U.S. Fireworks are scheduled to be set off over Navy Pier in Chicago and against the skyline of New York City. New York hosted a ball drop at midnight to usher in the holiday with the same fanfare as New Year’s Eve and saw tall ships parade pass the Statue of Liberty, recalling the fanfare around America’s 200th anniversary in 1976.