With parades, barbecues and fireworks, Americans across the country are preparing to celebrate Independence Day.
The Fourth of July, as the holiday is often known, falls on Tuesday, allowing many to celebrate with a long weekend.
The American Automobile Association has projected that 51 million people will travel 80km or more by road, up more than 4 per cent from last year and setting a record for the holiday.
Air travel is also expected to break records, with 4.17 million Americans expected to fly, an increase of more than 11 per cent from last year and the highest percentage in nearly 20 years. The numbers surpass pre-pandemic levels for the first time in four years.
The record numbers come as the US experiences severe weather and technological malfunctions at Washington, DC airports that have caused dozens of flight delays and cancellations.
The US has been weathering storms as well as dangerous heat and humidity in parts of the South and Midwest that have killed at least 14 people.
More than 18,000 flights were delayed and 3,220 others were cancelled between Friday and Sunday, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking service.
US President Joe Biden plans to host a celebration at the White House that will include a barbecue for members of the military, veterans and their families.
Also in the nation's capital, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the yearly Independence Day Parade and concert on the National Mall. The celebration will be capped by the famous fireworks display.
Police officials promised to deploy “very, very robust” measures in and around Washington, DC, including a large number of security forces. “We'll have a lot of officers out there,” Ashan Benedict, interim police chief for the Metropolitan Police Department said on Friday.
Data shows that the day sees more mass shootings in the US than any other day of the year.
On Sunday, two people were killed and 28 others were wounded in Baltimore after a gunman opened fire at a party.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
STAGE
1 . Filippo Ganna (Ineos) - 0:13:56
2. Stefan Bissegger (Education-Nippo) - 0:00:14
3. Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:21
4. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:24
5. Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) - 0:00:30
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 4:00:05
2. Joao Almeida (QuickStep) - 0:00:05
3. Mattia Cattaneo (QuickStep) - 0:00:18
4. Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma) - 0:00:33
5. Adam Yates (Ineos) - 0:00:39
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
Rebel%20Moon%20%E2%80%93%20Part%20Two%3A%20The%20Scargiver%20review%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Zack%20Snyder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sofia%20Boutella%2C%20Charlie%20Hunnam%2C%20Ed%20Skrein%2C%20Sir%20Anthony%20Hopkins%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Tell Me Who I Am
Director: Ed Perkins
Stars: Alex and Marcus Lewis
Four stars
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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