IN CELEBRATION OF THE USA'S 250TH BIRTHDAY

The USA celebrates our 250th birthday on the Fourth of July.  Much of this begins tomorrow, so I will attempt to summarize what should be the highlights.

But first, think you're having a bad day?  Consider the following from Google AI:

Over 8 million Americans have recently lost their health care over the past year . This includes an estimated 3 to 4.2 million people who lost or dropped Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans and another 3.8 to 4 million people who  today were dropped from Medicaid and CHIP. [1]

Further, according to Google AI:

The weather for the 250th anniversary celebrations in Washington D.C. and New York City will be dangerously hot and humid, with prolonged extreme heat alerts in effect across both regions. The stifling temperatures are driven by a massive heat dome that is engulfing much of the East Coast . [1, 2, 3]

Conditions in both cities are expected to feature:

• Scorching Temperatures: Highs are expected to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with heat indices reaching between 110 and 115 degrees during the afternoon . [1]
• Little Nighttime Relief: Overnight temperatures will hover near 80 degrees, making prolonged exposure highly hazardous. [1, 2]
• Thunderstorms: While extreme heat dominates, scattered pop-up thunderstorms may develop, creating unpredictable conditions for outdoor events. [1, 2]

By now you know that there are two competitive organizations angling for attention.

• A decade ago, the U.S. Congress created bipartisan America 250 to plan for this July 4th celebration.  Their foci were in major cities throughout the country.
• At end of last year, President Donald Trump one-upped America 250 by forming his own Freedom 250 team to produce a more spectacular celebration in DC.
• Funding for America 250 was partly siphoned to Freedom 250.

What is President Trump doing over the next few days.

• Replaced his Air Force One with a refurbished Boeing 747 from Qatar as Air Force One Interim, which will someday go to the Trump presidential library.  Boeing will be delivering a new Air Force One in 2028.

• 
  So anyway, this new plane took him to North Dakota, where he gave a speech, then dedicated the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota.
• This new attraction will be opened on July 4.
• Why now and not soon after he left the presidency?
• Presidential libraries only began when the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library opened in Fremont, Ohio in 1916.
• In 2019, the North Dakota Legislative Assembly authorized a $50 million endowment for this purpose, but only if an additional $100 million could be raised.
• Teddy Roosevelt spent some time in North Dakota just after the tragic deaths of his wife and mother on Valentine's day in 1884.  

Roosevelt was at work in the New York state legislature attempting to get a government reform bill passed when he was summoned home by his family. He returned home to find his mother, Mittie, had succumbed to typhoid fever. On the same day, his wife of four years, Alice Lee, died of Bright’s disease, a severe kidney ailment. Only two days before her death, Alice Lee had given birth to the couple’s daughter, Alice.

• He said this memory of his re-birth influenced him to become president.
• 
  Tomorrow, Trump will travel to South Dakota for the first fireworks display in six years at Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
• On 28January2025, Representative Anna Luna (R-Fla) introduced legislation to add Trump to Mount Rushmore.
• The bill is stalled.
• Anyway, experts have indicated that the available rock is not stable enough for another president.
• 
  He then returns to DC to give his July 4th speech.  What time, exactly, will this occur, and end?
• The Salute to America 250 Celebration begins as 7PM EDT.
• Trump will begin speaking at 9:45PM EDT.
• Fireworks from 10:30 EDT.
• Then, what has been announced as the biggest fireworks show on record.
• Apparently, #1 occurred in the Philippines in 2016.  Watch this 30-minute video.
• Pyrotecnico said they will have 860,000 fireworks in a 40-minute show.
• That massive New York City July 4th show usually has 85,000 fireworks shells for half an hour, but supposedly will be significantly larger this year.
• TV?

FOX: Serves as the primary broadcast partner for the historic Freedom 250 events and is airing the primetime special America 250: Celebrating Freedom hosted by network anchors .

CNN: Will carry extensive live coverage with The Fourth in America.

NBC: Airing the Sail4th 250 maritime celebration and the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular .

PBS: Broadcasting the 45th anniversary special of A Capitol Fourth live from the U.S. Capitol .

ABC: Presenting Disney Celebrates America: Nashville's Star-Spangled Bash .

CBS: Airing The Great American Block Party 250 live from the Washington Monument .

C-SPAN: Providing continuous, uninterrupted civic and ceremonial coverage of events on the National Mall.[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

New York City also has grand plans for the weekend.

• The Parade of Sails for the Sail4th250 event will feature Tall Ships and an International Review from than 20 countries sailing up the Hudson River from Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to the George Washington Bridge
• There will be a smaller flotilla on July 3 at 1PM EDT on ABV
• Starting at 9:27AM on July 4, up to 60 tall ships will pass along this 15-mile waterfront, 6 hours from 7AM to 1PM ET on NBC and Telemundo.
• These ships will largely remain in the harbor area through July 8 for public tours.

• 
  The ball used for New Year's Eve at Times Square will drop to mark midnight.
• Not once, but 8 times for each of American time zones, that extend from UTC-4 (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands), called Atlantic Standard Time, all the way West to Samoa Standard Time (UTC-11), which is used by American Samoa.

• 
  I don't quite understand this, but...

Because Guam is geographically further west (closer to Asia) but sits just before the International Date Line, its calendar is further ahead. Samoa is technically closer to the Americas, but it falls after the International Date Line. [2]

• First drop at 10AM on July 3, marking midnight in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
• Then hourly, with the traditional 11:59PM ET countdown in New York City, culminating the Giving 4th Broadcast Benefit Show, which begins at 9PM ET, hosted by Jim Gaffigan and featuring performances by Mary Blige, Brad Paisley and NE-YO.
• The final ball drop is scheduled for 7AM ET on July 4, marking midnight in American Samoa.
• Watch America250.org or use America's Block Party Mobile App.  Also:

ABC, Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN: These networks are airing a 24-hour "Disney Celebrates America" event kicking off on Friday, July 3 at 10 p.m. EDT, anchored by David Muir . It will include coast-to-coast performances, a Nashville bash, and firework specials . [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

CNN: Will air "Independence Eve Live with Anderson & Andy" on July 3 starting at 8 p.m. EDT (including a Times Square ball drop) and "The Fourth in America" on July 4 starting at 12 p.m. EDT. [1, 2, 3]

NBC and NBC News NOW: NBC will feature "A Wild 250th" special , morning coverage of the Sail4th 250 events in New York Harbor , and primetime broadcasts of events in Washington, D.C. [1, 2]

CBS News 24/7: Will host "The Great American Block Party 250" on July 4 at 8:00 p.m. EDT . [1]

Official Digital Stream: The official America250 broadcast will stream on America250.org, their mobile app, and Twitch. [1]

CNN will broadcast expansive, multi-day coverage titled "The Fourth in America: Celebrating 250," featuring two main blocks of programming: [1, 2, 3]

• Independence Eve (July 3): Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen will reunite to host a special from Times Square from 8:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. ET, featuring musical performances and a midnight ball drop. [1, 2, 3]
• Independence Day (July 4): Live coast-to-coast coverage begins at 12:00 p.m. ET, featuring national correspondents, military tributes, and the network’s exclusive broadcast of the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Finally, PBS will televise "A Capitol Fourth: 250th Weekend Celebration" on Friday, July 3rd (check local listings). The star-studded event will feature musical performances by Chicago, Trace Adkins (debuting a new song) , Patti LaBelle, Kool & The Gang, Alan Jackson, and Carly Pearce . [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The historic 250th-anniversary special will also feature: [1]

• The Lineup: Hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro, the concert features music across genres with the National Symphony Orchestra. [1, 2, 3]
• Special Guests: Appearances by stars like Gary Sinise. [1, 2]
• Historic Fireworks: For the 250th birthday, the fireworks display is moving from the National Mall to George Washington's Mount Vernon in Virginia, promising the biggest display in its history. [1, 2]
• Additional Broadcasting: On the actual night of the Fourth, PBS will broadcast America Made in Virginia: 250 Years Together from Colonial Williamsburg

The FIFA World Cup continues:

• England's captain, Harry Kane scored twice in the final minutes to just edge the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2-1.  Will next play Mexico in Mexico City at 8PM ET on July 5.
• Belgium was down 2-0 against Senegal in the 86th minute, and miraculously pulled off a 3-2 victory.  Will now play the USA in Seattle at 8PM ET on Monday, July 6.
• Games today.

Spain vs. Austria: Final, Spain 3-0 Austria (Played at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, CA).

Portugal vs. Croatia: 7:00 PM Eastern (1:00 PM HST) at Toronto Stadium.

Switzerland vs. Algeria: 11:00 PM Eastern (5:00 PM HST) at BC Place in Vancouver. [1, 2, 3, 5]

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COLORED MOONS

But first, I begin with the the U.S./Israel vs Iran War.

• Israel has attacked Lebanon recently. Despite ongoing ceasefire talks and fragile truces mediated by the United States, Israeli drone and air strikes have continued to target multiple areas across southern Lebanon, including Nabatieh, Tyre, and the Bint Jbeil district.
• Israel continues to occupy between 220 and 234 square miles of Lebanon.
• 

  Israel and Lebanon just signed a ceasefire agreement.
• The Strait of Hormuz is not totally closed.
• A trickle of marine traffic continues.
• Many ships take the extreme southern route away from Iran.
• Insurance costs are very high.
• A container ship was struck by an Iranian drone yesterday,
• Technical talks in Switzerland about that MOU are occurring daily, but there has been no announcement when any high level discussion will next be held.
• The U.S. House this month passed a resolution directing the President to end hostilities, while the U.S. Senate also passed the same measure on a 50-48 vote.  But a concurrent resolution is only a symbolic rebuke, and need not be followed by President Trump.

• 
  What do Americans think of the U.S.-Iran deal?
  • 23% of respondents, including 50% of Republicans, believe the U.S. is now in a stronger position with regard to Iran than before the war.    
  • Half from the poll said the conflict was not worth it.  63% think it is unlikely that the MOU will lead to lasting peace.  
  • Only 18% think the deal will deliver lasting peace.
  • Trump's 47% approval rating of January 2025 has slipped to 34%, a second term low.
• 
  In a CBS/YouGov poll a week ago, 57% of Americans believed the war led to more problems than it solved.  
• Further, 69% said they do not think the U.S. has permanently stopped Iran's nuclear program.  
• 74% do not believe the U.S. has made Iran's people safe and free.  
• 78% believe that the U.S. should end the war now.
• Trump's approval has fallen from 53% in February to 38% now.

The latest death toll from those two Venezuela earthquakes passed 900 and up to at least 920.  3,000 were injured.  The country's a mess with the government in turmoil, and the U.S. is trying to get in to help.  Want to personally help?  Here is a CNN site.

The next Strawberry Moon (the first full moon of summer) will peak on Monday, June 29, 2026, at 7:57 PM Eastern Time (or 2:57 PM in your local time in Honolulu). [1, 2]  Of course, the Moon won't be colored red.  The nickname is for the first summer full moon, for this is about when wild strawberries ripen.

Same for Blue Moon, which is the second full moon in a single calendar month.  Under normal circumstances, the moon is not blue.  Mind you there are occasions when volcanic ash or smoke from large forest fires can scatter red light, allowing blue light to pass through, creating a blue-tinted moon.

And, by the way, do you really know the color of our Moon?  And Sun?

• The sun emits all colors of the visible spectrum towards Earth.  
• However, as sunlight passed through our atmosphere, shorter blue and violet wavelengths are scattered away, leaving the longer wavelengths that make the sun look YELLOW.  
• At sunrise and sunset, sunlight has to pass through more of the atmosphere, scattering yellow light, leaving only orange and red.
• 
  Our Moon only reflects sunlight towards Earth.  Thus, what reaches your eyes is a pale, muted gray or white, and maybe even brownish-gray.  Why?
• The lunar surface is made of dust and rocks containing titanium, iron and magnesium.
• When sunlight hits them, they create a faint combination of blue from titanium and redish to orange tint from iron.
• However, while scientific instruments can see them, our eyes can't distinguish these colors, and when the moonlight comes to Earth, we see this color as a neutral gray on the Moon.
• When moonlight reaches Earth, the atmosphere scatters light, and while mostly colored white up above, begins to also turn yellow, orange or red when sitting low on the horizon.

Mind you, the Moon can be all kinds of hues.  I asked Google AI about this:

The Moon's true surface color is an off-white, brownish-gray. However, depending on atmospheric conditions and minerals, it can appear in dozens of hues—ranging from deep reds and oranges to blues and purples.[1, 2, 3, 4]

The varying colors seen from Earth are primarily caused by how light scatters through Earth’s atmosphere. Here is what causes the different lunar colors: [1, 2]

• Gray/White: The Moon's natural, unaltered color, reflecting sunlight. [1, 2]
• Yellow/Orange/Red: Commonly seen when the Moon is low on the horizon. Earth's atmosphere scatters short-wavelength colors (like blue), allowing longer-wavelength colors (reds and yellows) to pass through. [1, 2]
• Blood Red (Lunar Eclipse): Occurs during a total lunar eclipse when sunlight passes through the edges of Earth's atmosphere, casting a red hue on the Moon. [1, 2]
• Blue: A rare phenomenon caused by larger dust or ash particles in the Earth's atmosphere (e.g., from volcanic eruptions or major forest fires). [1, 2]

Here are full moons of 48 different colors.

• Taken by Marcella Giulia Pace.

What color is the Moon? It depends on the night. Outside of the Earth's atmosphere, the dark Moon, which shines by reflected sunlight, appears a magnificently brown-tinged gray. Viewed from inside the Earth's atmosphere, though, the moon can appear quite different. The featured image highlights a collection of apparent colors of the full moon documented by one astrophotographer over 10 years from different locations across Italy. A red or yellow colored moon usually indicates a moon seen near the horizon. There, some of the blue light has been scattered away by a long path through the Earth's atmosphere, sometimes laden with fine dust. A blue-colored moon is more rare and can indicate a moon seen through an atmosphere carrying larger dust particles. What created the purple moon is unclear -- it may be a combination of several effects. The last image captures the total lunar eclipse of 2018 July -- where the moon, in Earth's shadow, appeared a faint red -- due to light refracted through air around the Earth. The next full moon will occur at the end of this month (moon-th) and is known in some cultures as the Beaver Moon.

• 
  Who is she?
• Is a primary school teacher from Sicily.
• Here is another photo she took in 2022 of a Moon greenflash.  Fascinating!

The recent Artemis 2 flyby of the Moon resulted in some amazing photos.  

Single photos just showed mostly gray.  However:

"You can do it with a single photo, but it's really, really low resolution from a noise standpoint," McCarthy said. "What's different about those different photos is the noise, because noise, by definition, is random. So, when I'm stacking those photos together, I'm able to average out that noise, and then that noise vanishes … That's why you hear astrophotographers talk about the signal-to-noise ratio, because when you stack, the signal stays the same, but the noise diminishes."

And wow, what about the above?  Read the article to better understand what happened.

Purple Moon from Samsung.  Purple is possible when a reddish hue Moon near the horizon mixes with the blue tint of the night sky, combined with the presence of wildfire smoke or volcanic ash.

Brilliant Red Moon has been photographed during the 2023 Canadian wildfires, caused by Rayleigh scattering.

A Blood Moon is created during total lunar eclipse.

I can go on and on, but I end is an entertaining video on colors of the Moon.  Final moon shot.

FIFA World Cup matches today.

Group I

• France 4, Norway 1:  Erling Haakand of Norway rested today.
• Senegal 5, Iraq 0 [1]

Group H

• Spain 1, Uruguay 0
• Cape Verde 0. Saudi Arabia 0

Group G 

• New Zealand vs. Belgium (11:00 p.m. ET kickoff)
• Egypt vs. Iran (11:00 p.m. ET kickoff) [1]

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