As the nation prepares for its 250th Independence Day celebration, a decades-long California Fourth of July fireworks tradition that has raised millions for local children’s programs is going dark this year after the California Coastal Commission rejected a final effort to keep it alive, citing environmental concerns to protect the bay.

The Justice Department is turning to former Trump attorney Joeseph diGenova to spearhead a probe into ex-CIA Director John Brennan and others over the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, as the department reshuffles leadership of the sprawling inquiry.Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has tapped diGenova to serve as counsel overseeing the matter, according to a New York Times report, putting a former Trump attorney in a key role in the high-profile probe.

President Donald Trump is giving peace – and war – a chance after alleged ceasefire violations, he told Fox News on Sunday morning.”If the deal isn’t done, the deal that we made, then I’m going to take out their bridges and their power plants,” Trump said as he fired off another warning to repeat his threat to end “civilization” in Iran.  “If they don’t sign this thing, the whole country is going to get blown up.

Vice President JD Vance said Saturday he was “grateful” after Pope Leo XIV sought to ease tensions with President Donald Trump and indicated he had no interest in engaging in a public dispute.The pontiff said earlier Saturday that coverage of remarks he made during a recent trip to Africa had created “a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects.

Former President Barack Obama and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani met for the first time Saturday to read and sing with children at a Bronx childcare center, and to discuss the mayor’s vision for the city.Video showed the two leaders laughing, reading children’s books and performing their rendition of “Wheels on the Bus” at the Learning Through Play Pre-K Center in the South Bronx.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Saturday that the Trump administration is sanctioning a senior Nicaraguan official over alleged human rights violations.Rubio said the U.S. is designating Vice Minister of the Interior Luis Roberto Cañas Novoa for his role in “gross violations of human rights” under the government of President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo, the latest effort to hold the regime accountable.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz slammed President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance at a conference for progressives in Spain on Saturday, accusing Trump of being a “feeble-minded, trigger-happy president” who has “no exit plan” for the ongoing conflict with Iran.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said she is not a millionaire and blamed a major accounting error after a congressional financial disclosure listing her assets as high as $30 million drew scrutiny from Republicans and a congressional watchdog.An amended filing reviewed by The Wall Street Journal shows Omar and her husband’s assets were between $18,004 and $95,000, a sharp drop from an earlier disclosure that estimated their holdings between $6 million and $30 million.

The U.S. Navy released photos Saturday of “fresh meals” being served onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Tripoli as it pushed back against claims of food shortages on Middle East warships. Images have emerged purportedly showing meager meals being served to sailors during Operation Epic Fury against Iran, but the claims are being rejected at the highest levels of the Pentagon, with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth blasting them as “fake news.