Video Shows Freedom 250 Stage Falling Apart Mid-RehearsalA viral video shared on social media shows part of the stage for President Donald Trump’s Freedom 250 celebration coming apart during a rehearsal on Thursday.Independent journalist and attorney Aaron Parnas posted the video on Thursday afternoon, already garnering more than 1.2 million views. The 14-second clip shows a large, rectangular object falling from the ceiling onto the stage floor, narrowly missing the ensemble and making a loud thud. The dancers then stopped dancing, and the musicians stopped playing. The Salute to America Celebration is scheduled to take place on the National Mall on Saturday, July 4, for the country’s 250th anniversary.The White House declined to comment. HuffPost also reached out to Freedom 250 for comment but did not immediately hear back.Latest Live UpdatesSen. Mitch McConnell Remains Hospitalized, Office SaysSen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) remains in the hospital and "continues to improve," a spokesperson for the Kentucky Republican said in a widely shared statement Thursday, nearly three weeks after he was reportedly found unconscious in his Washington, D.C., home."Senator McConnell appreciates the outpouring of support he's receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital," the statement said. "The Senator continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session." McConnell, 84, is expected to retire after seven terms in Congress. The former Senate majority leader has suffered several highly publicized health scares in recent years, raising concerns about the Republican's health.McConnell's office did not immediately respond Friday to HuffPost's request for comment.The Right’s Birthright Citizenship Freak-Out Shows What’s At The Heart Of MAGAYou would think that Republican Party influencers would be elated that President Donald Trump's Hail Mary executive order to rewrite the Constitution's 14th Amendment citizenship clause led four justices on the Supreme Court to side with them, and conclude that the clause does not say what everyone has understood it to say since it was adopted.Instead, they're apoplectic.Tuesday's decision to uphold the 150-plus-year understanding that the 14th Amendment grants citizenship to all but a select few born on U.S. soil was cause for "Dissolution of the Union," The Federalist’s Sean Davis wrote online. Right-wing influencer Matt Walsh called it "Total madness. Suicide." Adding, "Words cannot describe how evil this is." Others referred to it as turning citizenship into a "joke," and a "tremendous betrayal." Trump himself said the decision was "too bad for our Country."Read more here:White House America 250 Celebration Has A Glaring Omission That Can't Be IgnoredJust a year after taking office for his second term, President Donald Trump made a clear promise ahead of the nation's 250th birthday: "We’re going to rededicate America as one nation under God.""I've always said," he continued, "you just can't have a great country if you don’t have religion."Those comments, made at the annual National Prayer Breakfast in February, offered a preview of how the White House would depict the history of faith in America through a series of events and initiatives celebrating the semiquincentennial.Read more here:Jack Smith Says He's 'Very Concerned' About The Next ElectionIn an interview with MS NOW's Nicole Wallace broadcast on Thursday, former special counsel Jack Smith said he's "very concerned for what's going to be happen in the next election."Smith added that state attorneys general have a "tremendous role" to play in terms of protecting the integrity of upcoming elections."They can make sure the rule of law functions in their state. And I would also say that I think a thing that all of us can do is support election workers and election officials. The last time around, we saw that those people stood firm and they were, in many cases, the difference," he told Wallace.Smith led two criminal cases against now-President Donald Trump, including the one focused on his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Both were dismissed after Trump won the 2024 presidential contest.Interpol Names Suspect In Monaco Bombing That Reportedly Targeted Russia-Linked Ukrainian TycoonInterpol on Friday named the suspect in the Monaco bombing that reportedly targeted a Ukrainian tycoon with links to Russia.It identified Anastasiia Berezovska, a 39-year-old woman from Ukraine, as the suspect in a Red Notice posted on its website seeking her arrest.Monaco authorities haven’t identified any of the three people wounded in Monday's explosion at an apartment building entrance but said they are a family and that they appear to have been specifically targeted.Read more at The Associated Press:'Capitol Fourth' Concert Could Be Canceled Due To Ongoing HeatwaveThe U.S. Capitol Police said it will announce whether the "Capitol Fourth" will go ahead as planned on Friday morning as the ongoing heatwave has put the event in jeopardy.Thursday's rehearsal was restricted to emergency personnel due to the high temperatures in Washington, D.C."After a safety consultation with the Office of the Attending Physician – due to the excessive heat – only essential personnel will be permitted to attend tonight's (July 2) rehearsal for A Capitol Fourth Concert. For safety reasons, the public will not be able to attend tonight's rehearsal concert," the U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement Thursday. The force said it will make an announcement on the status of the event by 10 a.m.U.S. Appeals Court Prevents Firing Of 19 Intelligence Officers Assigned To DEI ProgramsA divided federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration could not proceed with firing 19 intelligence officers who had been assigned to positions related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives.A 2-1 panel of the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an injunction that a lower-court judge issued last year requiring the CIA and Office of the Director of National Intelligence to provide them an opportunity to seek reassignment to new positions and appeal their terminations internally.Read more at Reuters:Putin Shrugs Off Fuel Shortages In Russia As He Ramps Up Attacks On UkraineDespite severe fuel shortages across Russia, President Vladimir Putin appears unbothered by Ukraine's increasing attacks on his country's oil refineries.He has shrugged off the setback for one of the world's leading oil-producing nations as "not critical," dismissed ceasefire proposals and insisted the war will continue until his goals are met.Putin has described the attacks on Russian energy as an effort by Ukraine to distract attention from its losses on the battlefield, although analysts say the advance of Russian forces has been stymied in recent months. The Russian leader appears to believe his government can keep the fuel crisis from eroding his authority and support for the war he launched more than four years ago.Read more at The Associated Press:CQ Brown Sounds The Alarm Over Trump's Handling Of U.S. MilitaryFormer Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Ret. Gen. CQ Brown Jr., who was abruptly fired by President Donald Trump last year, said that using America's armed forces for "politically contentious missions" is unwise, warning that "if you ask too much of the military, you risk the entire enterprise."In an essay co-authored with Peter Feaver, a professor at Duke University who was a National Security Council staff member during the George W. Bush administration, and Andrew Kragie, a Duke alum and lawyer, for the Foreign Affairs magazine, Brown appeared to raise concerns about President Donald Trump's decision to deploy the National Guard in U.S. cities, including Washington, D.C.The three authors write while the "temptation for mission creep is understandable" given the power of the U.S. military, America's armed forces should not be used for political purposes."When presidents use the armed forces for more politically contentious missions, such as addressing domestic crime in cities, the work of the military becomes more fraught," they write. "Resorting to a military solution rather than fixing the underlying incapacity or dysfunction in civilian institutions diverts the military from focusing on its primary combat mission. And, as Washington knew, it is not the military’s job to save the republic from political impasses. Indeed, if you ask too much of the military, you risk the entire enterprise."Read more at Foreign Affairs:U.K. Culture Secretary Quits X: 'It Isn't Healthy For Our Democracy'U.K. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced she will stop using X, formerly known as Twitter, saying the social media platform "isn't healthy for our democracy."In a post on her account on Thursday, Nancy announced that her department will also be quitting X."A platform originally designed for free speech and expression now favors abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate," she wrote. "It isn't healthy for our democracy or our communities and I don’t want to support it."Nandy added that she will remain active on other platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.I've decided to leave this platform and my Department will too. A platform originally designed for free speech and expression now favours abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate. It isn't healthy for our democracy or our communities and I don’t want to support it.— Lisa Nandy MP (@lisanandy) July 2, 2026See All Updates