Fireworks, heat and politics: America celebrates its 250th birthday

WASHINGTON (AP) — 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 get underway across the United States on Saturday.

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, set to take a central role in festivities, plans to speak on the National Mall in Washington ahead of what's being billed as a historically enormous fireworks show that will rain down over the nation's capital. The president was in South Dakota at Mount Rushmore on Friday, where he delivered a dark speech about the threat of communism in the U.S. as the chiseled images of four of his most prominent predecessors loomed behind him.

Elsewhere, fireworks are scheduled to be set off Saturday over Navy Pier in Chicago and against the skyline of New York City, which also hosted a ball drop at midnight to usher in the holiday with the same fanfare as New Year's Eve. Bristol, Rhode Island, describes itself as home of the nation's oldest Independence Day celebrations dating to 1785. In Los Angeles, Queen Latifah will host a concert featuring performances by The Smashing Pumpkins and Chris Stapleton. Chaka Khan is billed as a special guest.

Anticipation for the milestone holiday has been building for much of the year, serving as an opportunity for Americans to reflect on their complicated history as onetime colonists of an empire who became a superpower of their own. Celebrations months in the making had to adjust or cancel activities entirely as much of the East Coast sweltered under heat that approached and in many cases surpassed triple digits.

In Washington, the Great American State Fair was closed for several hours Friday afternoon during the worst of the heat. The city's Independence Day parade scheduled for Saturday was canceled.

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3 dead and others rescued after boat capsizes on Wisconsin lake amid storms

LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (AP) — Three people died and seven others were rescued Friday after a boat capsized in Geneva Lake as a strong storm passed through southern Wisconsin, an official said.

Many injuries were reported in Wisconsin’s Walworth County after the storm toppled trees, knocked down power lines and damaged buildings, said Tom Hausner, undersheriff for the Walworth County Sheriff’s department.

Hausner said he did not know any other information about the people who died and those rescued.

Police in the city of Lake Geneva are investigating, Hausner said. Officials there didn’t immediately respond to an email and voice message from The Associated Press seeking more information.

Lake Geneva Mayor Todd Krause declared an emergency and said that one person had minor injuries after being struck by a falling tree. Several areas of the city were experiencing power outages, he said in a statement.

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Iran begins dayslong funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in war

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of mourners began a dayslong funeral Saturday for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, beating their chests in sorrow before the glass case containing his flag-draped coffin in Tehran and calling for revenge against Israel and the United States.

The funeral for Khamenei, who ruled Iran for decades before being killed at age 86 in a Feb. 28 airstrike in the opening moments of the Iran war, could provide a boost for the country's theocracy and its new supreme leader, his son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

That is particularly important as Iran tries to leverage its hold on the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations with the U.S. over a permanent end to the war and as concern still lingers that Israel could attack yet again.

During the ceremony, Iran's top negotiator issued a warning to France and the United Kingdom over their comments about potentially launching joint patrols in the waterway, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas once passed in peacetime.

Mourners wept at the sight of Khamenei's coffin alongside those of his family members also killed in the airstrike, with some chanting: “Our word is one! Revenge! Revenge!” Some carried banners and flags, while billboards across the city bore Khamenei’s image. Crowds of men rhythmically beat their chests in mourning, a common practice at Shiite funerals.

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Trump pardons former Abramoff partner, 9 people convicted of violating vehicle emissions controls

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday pardoned 11 people, including a former business partner of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and nine people identified by the White House as having helped people bypass emissions control systems on vehicles.

The acts of clemency come as Trump has issued a slew of pardons in his second term, particularly for allies, public figures and those seen as politically aligned.

His use of the presidency’s sweeping ability to unilaterally grant pardons and commute sentences is among the ways the Republican’s return to office has featured an expansive use of executive power.

Trump earlier on Friday announced some of the pardons on social media, without identifying any of the recipients by name.

“It is my Great Honor to have just signed Pardons for six people who were persecuted by the Biden Administration, and were in, or being sent to, prison, for ‘fixing their car,’” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media network.

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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are married. What to know about the wedding

NEW YORK (AP) — Your English teacher and your gym teacher are married. And we finally know a few more details surrounding Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding at Madison Square Garden.

Adam Sandler officiated, which both delighted and confused those who had been guessing who would have the high honor. Swift's brother Austin Swift served as her man of honor and Kelce’s brother and podcast co-host Jason Kelce served as the groom's best man.

The event was attended by hundreds of celebrities, athletes and close friends and family, but even after the marriage announcement was made Friday evening, many of the wedding details remained hidden as photos remained elusive — including any hint of what Swift or Kelce wore.

Here is what we know (and still don't know):

Swift had once joked that anyone she had ever talked to would be invited to the wedding and Friday's event appeared to make good on that promise.

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Wildfire southwest of Denver forces thousands to evacuate and destroys more than 160 structures

PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) — A wildfire burning southwest of Denver forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and destroyed more than 160 structures by Friday as erratic winds pushed the blaze across two Colorado counties.

The Aspen Acres fire is one of about 40 uncontained large blazes burning mostly in the West, fueled by months of dry weather and a record lack of snow this past winter in some places.

Fire personnel were scooping water from the Pueblo Reservoir to fight the Aspen Acres fire, which had expanded to about 115 square miles (297 square kilometers) by Friday afternoon with zero containment.

All of Colorado City, an unincorporated community of about 2,200, was ordered evacuated as well as the towns of Beulah, Rye and San Isabel, according to the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office.

About 50 National Guard soldiers were being sent in Friday to help with staffing checkpoints on roads in Custer and Pueblo counties.

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Fallout from Venezuela's earthquakes turns political as opposition leader Machado seeks return

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The fallout from Venezuela's powerful twin quakes has evolved into a major test for acting President Delcy Rodríguez, sending her scrambling to prevent the humanitarian disaster from becoming a political one as her mandate as interim leader expires Friday.

A day after Rodríguez angrily defended the competence of her government's relief effort at her first news conference since the June 24 disaster, her main rival, exiled Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, issued her own appeal.

Machado on Friday argued that the government's quake response exposed its critical weaknesses and that she should return to Venezuela to help "the transition process, especially after the tragedy.”

"My presence stabilizes the situation; it is part of the organizing forces that the country needs at a time when the total absence of the state has become evident," Machado said, referring to widespread criticism of the government’s earthquake response as slow and disorganized. “The country needs figures it can trust.” She spoke to reporters from Panama.

The quakes have killed 2,645 people and injured over 12,500 others, according tallies released Friday by the government. Machado's opposition movement has set up an online database to locate the missing — a list of 36,000 people as of Friday. The party has mobilized volunteers to collect donations in Venezuela and solicited aid from the country's vast diaspora.

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Venezuelans are rushing to identify the bodies of their loved ones as earthquake deaths multiply

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela (AP) — Speaking in a hushed voice, Rosa López recalled how she had to sidestep the rows of bodies lying under a harsh sun as she helped her daughter search for her missing husband. Even her years working as a nurse did not prepare her for the sight of the dozens of dead wrapped in sheets or blankets.

“We saw a lot of bodies that had not yet been identified,” López said.

The rush is on across La Guaira, the state on Venezuela’s northern coast hardest hit by the powerful back-to-back June 24 earthquakes, to identify loved ones before it’s too late. With at least 2,295 people killed, Venezuela is overwhelmed with bodies that officials are struggling to collect, identify and preserve for loved ones to claim. Thousands are still missing.

José Antonio Toledo, López's 25-year-old son-in-law, was found under the building where he was working as a security guard when the quakes struck. Crews took his body to a local hospital, where staff turned them away because there was no space. The body was sent to another facility and eventually transferred to an open parking lot.

A forensic doctor helped the family find him days later, on Saturday. But once they identified his body, they didn’t know what to do with it because they couldn’t afford the $450 that a funeral home was charging.

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Autism remains widely misunderstood in parts of Africa. A mother in Guinea fights for her child

FRIA, Guinea (AP) — Kazaliou Balde’s parents started worrying about him when as a small child he avoided eye contact and had difficulty communicating.

First, the family in the West African nation of Guinea turned to a traditional healer who suggested protective amulets. Then, as the boy dragged himself along the ground instead of walking, they took him to a hospital in the capital, Conakry, where he was diagnosed with autism — something the family had never heard of before.

Neither had their neighbors. Some of them made rude comments about the child.

“Some suggested that I take him to the bush and throw him away,” said his mother, Kadiatou Diallo, a 55-year-old trader.

Misconceptions are common around children with autism in parts of Africa that lack reliable data, awareness and government support. Some mistakenly attribute autism to evil spirits. Experts say the misconceptions have often delayed diagnosis and brought stigma for children and their families.

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Mali's government reports rebel attacks across north of the country, targeting major cities

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — The Malian army said Saturday that several towns across the north of the country, including the major cities of Gao and Sévaré, were targeted by rebel attacks.

The statement came as a rebel group in Mali announced a new offensive to capture a northern town. Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), said in a Facebook post that the town of Anefis was being targeted by the group.

Mali has previously faced insurgencies fought by militants affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, as well as a separatist rebellion in the country’s north.

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