Independence Day parades, another Joey Chestnut win and fireworks marked Friday's Fourth of July celebrations across the U.S. The big picture: Millions of Americans traveled for the holiday, facing sweltering heat,

It's been 249 years since the Declaration of Independence was passed by the Continental Congress in 1776, which the holiday commemorates.

LL Cool J is standing in solidarity with striking Philadelphia municipal workers, refusing to “cross a picket line” to perform at the city’s Wawa Welcome America Fourth of July Concert. The 57-year-old rapper was scheduled to headline the annual holiday event on Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Friday evening,