National Lifestyle

The latest on Fourth of July celebrations across the U.S.: 8:45 p.m. WASHINGTON — The White House party for the July Fourth holiday has the hallmarks of both happiness and commiseration.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Calling a vaccination “the most patriotic thing you can do,” President Joe Biden on Sunday mixed the nation’s birthday party with a celebration of freedom from the worst of the pandemic.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Metropolitan Opera reached an agreement on a labor contract with its locked out stagehands, the second of three major deals needed to resume performances in September following the pandemic.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — For the second time in three days, the Los Angeles Angels took an early lead with a homer by Shohei Ohtani, only to give away the advantage when their pitchers faltered against Baltimore.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Fireworks are returning to New Orleans on Independence Day thanks to actor Will Smith.

The Fourth of July holiday was marked with somber tones in South Florida, where a collapsed building has left at least 24 dead and more than 120 missing under rubble.

NEW YORK (AP) — Chowdown champ Joey “Jaws” Chestnut broke his own record to gulp to a 14th win in the men’s Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on Sunday, while Michelle Lesco took the women’s title.

Although the box office has yet to fully recover from the pandemic, at least one studio has good reason to celebrate this Fourth of July weekend.

MOSCOW (AP) — Ukraine’s defense minister is under pressure from members of the government over the decision to have female military cadets wear pumps with heels in an important parade.

The Palais des Festivals, the central hub of the Cannes Film Festival , a massive bulwark of filmmaker-named halls and pristine movie screens, is about as close as you can get to a cinema temple. To enter, you must ascend red-carpeted steps.