Thousands gather for daylong festivities celebrating Fourth of July in Boston
Angela Martin, 54, of Florida, was blown away by Boston's parade Friday morning.
'The Minutemen come out with the band and I'm like, 'What is this?'' she said. 'It was so meaningful.'
Dan Burns, Michele DeParasis, and Al Chin of the Billerica Colonial Minute Men enjoyed the confetti during the 249th Independence Day Celebration at Old State House.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Friday's festivities came on the heels of the milestone commemorations in April of the 250th anniversary of the Revolution's 'shots heard round the world'
In Boston Friday, some took the anniversary as an opportunity to protest President Trump — reusing 'No Kings' signs and shirts from last month's rallies.
Advertisement
Tim Cooke, 67, from Brookline, displayed a sign reading, 'No Kings since 1776,' as he walked the Esplanade with his dog, Lucy.
'Done without for 249 years,' Cooke said. 'So let's keep it going.'
But for the most part, people set aside politics to celebrate America. Many celebrated their freedom to speak up, to work, to pursue their happiness.
The first person on the grass at the Hatch Memorial Shell Friday was Nikki Jax, 57, of New York. Jax, a woman of transgender experience, teared up as she thought about freedom.
'All the gifts of the universe were given to me after I transitioned,' Jax said. 'So freedom for me is the freedom to walk my path.'
'I love my country,' said Cathleen Curran of Lowell. 'As long as we're doing things for the country and not letting politics get in our heads, we're the greatest country.'
By mid-afternoon, hours before the Pops show was set to begin, hundreds were spread out in the Hatch Shell, the Charles River Esplanade, across the Charles in Cambridge, and bobbing on boats in the river. Doraehea Chiu, a visitor from Taiwan on a three-month trip to the US, marveled at how everyone was able to celebrate together.
'No matter whether you are rich or poor, no matter if you are a manager at the bank, or you are a worker building a house, they are really equal,' she said. 'They all enjoy it the same way. They all went to the harbor to see the fireworks.'
Members of the Wilmington Minutemen fired their muskets while marching in the 249th Independence Day Celebration parade.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Karen Lopez, 28, of Paraguay, was also eager to see how Americans celebrate, taking in a week of festivities including a parade and laser show in Wilmington, Mass., where she lives.
Advertisement
'I like to explore another country and their Independence Day traditions,' she said.
Those traditions began early in Boston Friday. After thousands wearing patriotic colors recited the Pledge of Allegiance at City Hall Plaza, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu greeted the crowd and thanked military families for their service.
'Two hundred and forty-nine years ago today, from this very spot, we declared our independence,' Wu said to the crowd. 'We declared that Boston would not back down in the face of tyranny, in the face of bullying. Not to kings and not to the greatest army in the world at that time.'
The mayor then joined the parade led by the Boston Fire Department to the Old State House for the annual reading of the Declaration of Independence.
At the end of the reading, red, white, and blue confetti fell from the sky as the Frank Zarba Military Band played, and some in the crowd chanted 'USA, USA.'
Soon after, across town, others watched as the USS Constitution set off from its dock at the Charlestown Navy Yard for its annual cruise of Boston Harbor.
The world's oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat, the 228-year-old ship was undefeated in 33 military
engagements, including during the War of 1812
A hushed silence fell over the crowd in Charlestown as the ship, nicknamed 'Old Ironsides,' slowly left the dock. As it turned into the harbor, a cannon went off, producing grey smoke and a round of applause.
'I feel American now,' one onlooker said.
Hundreds gathered at Castle Island's Fort Independence Park to watch the ship's 21-gun salute.
The celebrations felt personal to Alex G. Lee, a naturalized citizen originally from South Korea. He pointed out a statue commemorating the Korean War down the boardwalk, and said the cannonade reminded him of his service.
Advertisement
'This day is so meaningful, not only for the independence of the United States, he said. 'I'm celebrating everything."
The crowd listened to the reading of the Declaration of Independence during the 249th Independence Day Celebration at the Old State House.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Back in Downtown Crossing, Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes & Drums performed at the Franklin Steps. Among them was Bill Phenix, who has been playing the fife for 53 years and can recall playing it during bicentennial celebrations in 1776.
'If you told me then that I would still be doing this, I probably would have looked at you like you lost your mind,' he said. 'It's a lifelong pursuit.'
The celebrations Friday are a lifelong pursuit for many. Dorchester's Mike Williams, 58, has been coming to the Esplanade for more than half a century, since he was 6. Sharon Davis, of Machias, Maine, remembers watching the Pops on television as a kid; she first got to attend in person a few years ago. For Eli Rodriguez, 34, of Ashland, the Fourth of July is always one of the biggest days of the year for the
Jax, the first person waiting at the Hatch early Friday morning, came to Boston to see the show in 1985. She never forgot it.
'I remember it as being one of the most singular, beautiful experiences with humanity,' she said.
Christopher Huffaker can be reached at
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
2 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Supreme Court ruling means ‘harder work' for Illinois and others fighting Trump administration actions
A Supreme Court decision limiting federal judges from issuing nationwide injunctions is expected to make it more difficult for blue states fighting President Donald Trump's executive orders to get widespread relief and could further stretch the resources of Illinois' attorney general's office as it pushes back against the administration. For Americans opposed to Trump administration actions that include funding cuts and immigration matters, 'it creates a greater reliance on your state to take action for you, your state attorneys general,' Attorney General Kwame Raoul in an interview, 'because it's harder to get broad protection as an individual.' Since the start of the Trump administration, Raoul and other mostly blue state attorneys general have filed dozens of lawsuits against Trump's actions in federal courts, some of which led to nationwide injunctions blocking the president's orders. The high court's ruling has limited those injunctions. Illinois has joined more than 20 lawsuits against the Trump administration on issues ranging from funding issues to birthright citizenship. The court's ruling was a win for Trump, who has said he believes federal judges have overstepped in blocking some of his administration's actions. For those opposing the administration, 'It means that it's going to be harder work,' said Ed Yohnka, spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union Illinois, which has fought many of the Trump administration's actions. Still, given Illinois' aggressive stance against the administration's orders and involvement in so many lawsuits, 'we can hope that the impact will be minimal in our state,' Yohnka said. At this point, no one knows the full implications of last week's decision, said Carolyn Shapiro, former Illinois solicitor general. In the decision, the Supreme Court said lower courts generally can't issue an injunction to prevent the federal government — or any defendant — 'from doing an illegal thing to people who aren't in front of the court,' Shapiro said. In the opinion, written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, members of the court's conservative majority said, 'federal courts do not exercise general oversight of the Executive Branch; they resolve cases and controversies consistent with the authority Congress has given them.' It left exceptions, including class-action lawsuits and cases in which a broad injunction would be necessary to bring relief to the people or states that filed the lawsuit. The court didn't rule on whether Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship — the matter that was before the high court — was constitutional. The court instead gave lower courts 30 days from its ruling to determine how to move forward with the challenges to the executive order. It could be a year before the high court weighs in on the substance of those challenges. In one of the most recent actions, Raoul's office this week filed a lawsuit in federal court in California against the administration for sharing Medicaid health records with immigration authorities, as the federal government says it looks to end unlawful benefits. In the lawsuit, the coalition of states argued that the resulting confusion could lead to people refusing to enroll in benefits for which they'd otherwise be eligible, leaving states and safety net hospitals to pay for needed health care. One of the cases involving Illinois and resulting in an injunction was a suit by 22 state governments against the National Institutes of Health, seeking to stop a new policy that limited reimbursements for medical research grants. A court blocked the policy nationwide in March, but NIH has since appealed. In another case, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction against a Department of Health and Human Services directive to fire thousands HHS workers — though the court also recently asked for additional information on how the Supreme Court ruling on injunctions could affect the order, according to a tracker of actions against the administration from the law and policy journal Just Security. Raoul said he believes it's still easy to argue that there should be a nationwide stoppage on the birthright citizenship order, because people move across state borders, and having a 'state to state landscape' of citizenship would cause issues for the states that filed the lawsuit. But some other areas are more difficult to argue, Shapiro said — for example, arguing whether federal funding would need to be restored to universities nationwide in order to get relief for the states that file a lawsuit. 'It actually puts the red state AGs in a complicated position,' said Shapiro, who is also a law professor and co-director of the Institute on the Supreme Court of the United States at Illinois Tech Chicago-Kent. That's because they too could benefit from relief from nationwide orders that restore funding for education systems or health care systems, she said. As for the class-action option, the ACLU already filed a class-action lawsuit on the birthright citizenship issue, seeking broad relief from the Trump administration's order. But that kind of action can also come with obstacles for people or organizations filing lawsuits, Yohnka of the ACLU Illinois said, including the time and effort it takes to recruit people into the class. The ongoing legal fights come as Raoul's office has maintained essentially a flat overall budget for the fiscal year that began this month, despite a push during session to get additional funding. A line item for the AG's operations increased this year, but it was largely offset by anticipated dips in other funding streams, Raoul said. 'It was aspirational,' Raoul said of the push for additional funding for his office. 'However, we are — we're clearly busy.' He argued that rulings on some of the issues that states like Illinois are fighting shouldn't be applied differently around the nation. 'We have one Constitution that applies the same to all 50 states,' Raoul said, noting that a judge in Washington had said the birthright order was unconstitutional. 'If you think about that from that context, if it's unconstitutional and clearly unconstitutional … then why shouldn't it be stopped everywhere?'
Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Newsweek
Donald Trump Responds To Fatal Texas Flash Floods: 'Shocking'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump said the flooding in Texas and deaths was "terrible" and "shocking" as he pledged federal support. The Context At least 24 people were dead and many missing after torrential rains unleashed flash floods along the Guadalupe River in Texas on Friday. Among the missing are at least 23 girls from an all-girls summer camp located on the banks of the river. File photo: President Donald Trump speaks to journalists aboard Air Force One on July 4, 2025. File photo: President Donald Trump speaks to journalists aboard Air Force One on July 4, 2025. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images What To Know Asked about the floods while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he headed to his New Jersey golf club, Trump said: "It's terrible. The floods? It's shocking. "They don't know the answer yet as to how many people, but it looks like some young people have died." Asked if the government would be sending federal aid, the president said: "Oh yeah, we'll take care of them. We're working with the governor. We're working with the governor. It's a terrible thing." At a news conference on Friday evening, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who is acting governor since Texas Governor Greg Abbott is traveling out of state, said he had received multiple calls from the White House. "I've talked to several people at the White House," Patrick said. "The president sent the message, 'Whatever we need, we will have.'" Patrick said there were 400 to 500 people on the ground helping in the response. He added that 14 helicopters and 12 drones were also being used. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said on Friday night that 237 people had been rescued so far. What People Are Saying Patrick said during a news conference on Friday night: "I'm asking the people of Texas, do some serious praying this afternoon—on your knees kind of praying—that we find these young girls and that they're only unaccounted for because they're somewhere that we don't know yet but that they're alive and safe." Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the U.S. Coast Guard "is punching through storms to evacuate Americans from central Texas. "We will fly throughout the night and as long as possible. This is what the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard do." What Happens Next Rescue operations remain underway. Reunification centers have been set up at Ingram Elementary School in Ingram and at The Arcadia Live theater in Kerrville. The Red Cross is assisting with reunification, and anyone who is missing a loved one is asked to call 800-733-2767.
Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Newsweek
Gen Z and Millennials Spark US Birth Rate Fears
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. New research has sparked fears about the American birth rate and whether there is any hope for it to improve. Americans in their 20s and 30s are planning to have fewer children than a decade ago, according to Pew Research Center analysis published earlier this month. The United States is one of many countries that has long been struggling with a falling number of births—Newsweek broke down how births in the United States have declined for the last 50 years here. Governments, including Donald Trump's administration, have gone to great lengths to try and turn these trends but this new research brings into question whether they are working. "Focusing on intentions rather than outcomes this study highlights the deeply complex and nuanced challenge of boosting birth rate," a research fellow at the University of Oxford's Institute of Population Aging told Newsweek. Americans In Their 20s And 30s Planning To Have Fewer Children Young couples now plan to have fewer than two children, with the total number of children that men and women between the ages of 20 and 39 plan to have dropping from 2.3 in 2012 to 1.8 in 2023, Pew researchers found. This is below 2.1—the replacement level of births per woman required to maintain a stable population without immigration. "These declines in the number of children adults plan to have occurred almost entirely in the last decade," the analysis says. But Jake Hays, a research associate at Pew Research Center, stressed that "intentions don't necessarily predict the future." "But if these intentions do bear out, we would expect that these cohorts will have fewer children than previous cohorts did," he told Newsweek. He added that these findings are in line with other Pew research, which shows that a growing number of adults under the age of 50 who do not have children say they are unlikely to do so in the future. "Among these adults, many said they just didn't want to have kids or wanted to focus on other things like their job or other interests," Hays said. Similarly, last November, polling done by the Independent Center, in association with Newsweek, showed that 30 percent of Gen Zers (people born between 1997 and 2012) and millennials (people born between 1981 and 1996) did not have nor want any children. Comparatively, 62 percent said they had or wanted to have children, while 9 percent said they were unsure. Amy Blackstone, a sociology professor from the University of Maine and the author of Childfree by Choice: The Movement Redefining Family and Creating a New Age of Independence told Newsweek at the time: "Millennials have been telling us for years that they are concerned about the impact of humans on our climate, particularly in Western nations where our carbon footprints are grotesquely high." What Does This Mean For Future Birth Rates? Cosco said that this research highlights how these intentions to have fewer children are part of the root cause of the birth rate crisis. "By flagging lower intentions as an upstream issue, we recognize that both immediate and long‐term factors must be tackled well before births occur," he said. "If there is going to be meaningful change in birth rates, upstream and downstream factors will need to be addressed in a comprehensive and accessible manner." Cosco continued: "Improving fertility is inherently multifaceted—no single policy will suffice—so we must address the personal, socioeconomic, and cultural factors that shape people's family‐size intentions." Indeed, Hays said that in his research, he has found that many people believe free childcare would be "extremely or very effective" in encouraging them to have more children, followed by requiring employers to provide paid family leave, more tax credits for parents and giving parents of minor children a monthly payment. Earlier this month, Trump announced a $1,000 tax-deferred investment account for American babies born during his second term. The White House said the so-called "Trump Accounts" will "afford a generation of children the chance to experience the miracle of compounded growth and set them on a course for prosperity from the very beginning." Meanwhile, the United States could make childbirth free for privately insured families, in an effort to tackle declining birth rates. The bipartisan Supporting Healthy Moms and Babies Act, which would designate maternity care as an essential health benefit under the Affordable Care Act, was introduced in the Senate in May. However, while financial concerns are generally accepted as a major contributor to declining birth rates, they are not the lone cause – cultural shifts are playing a huge role. Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty/Canva American Vice President JD Vance touched on cultural changes when he said in January: "We failed a generation not only by permitting a culture of abortion on demand but also by neglecting to help young parents achieve the ingredients they need to lead a happy and meaningful life. "Our society has failed to recognize the obligation that one generation has to another as a core part of living in a society. So let me say very simply, I want more babies in the United States of America." For example, Norway is considered a global leader in parental leave and child care policies, and the United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) ranks it among the top countries for family-friendly policies. But it, too, is facing a birth rate crisis. The Nordic country offers parents 12 months of shared paid leave for birth and an additional year each afterward. It also made kindergarten (similar to a U.S. day care) a statutory right for all children aged 1 or older in 2008. And yet, Norway's fertility rate has dropped dramatically from 1.98 children per woman in 2009 to 1.44 children per woman in 2024, according to official figures. The rate for 2023 (1.40) was the lowest ever recorded fertility rate in the country. Newsweek spoke to several experts about Norway specifically, who all cited recent culture changes.
