On July Fourth, Americans celebrate life, liberty and the pursuit of hot dogs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Americans celebrated their nation's 242nd anniversary of independence on Wednesday, with concerts, parades and a voracious display of hot dog-eating prowess in New York, as many cities and towns held fireworks displays after sundown.

Statue of Liberty climber to be arraigned in federal court: paper

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York woman was expected to be arraigned in federal court on Thursday, a day after authorities say she scaled the stone pedestal of the Statue of Liberty to protest U.S. immigration policy, media reported.

Thousands of barrels of booze land in a heap in northern Kentucky

(Reuters) - Thousands of barrels of bourbon and other spirits ended up in a mountainous heap in northern Kentucky on Thursday after a building collapsed at a century-old distillery, local media reported.

U.S. swelters on Fourth of July but relief in sight

MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Tens of millions of Americans from the Midwest to the East Coast faced brutally hot temperatures and stifling humidity on the Fourth of July holiday on Wednesday, but forecasters said cooler, drier air is on the way by the weekend.

Firefighters make progress on Northern California wildfire

LOS ANGELES/DENVER (Reuters) - Firefighters in Northern California have made progress on a stubborn blaze west of Sacramento, allowing some residents to return to their homes after they were evacuated.

Two tropical depressions likely in Atlantic by end of week: NHC

(Reuters) - Two low pressure systems in the Atlantic ocean could form into tropical depressions by the end of the week, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Wednesday.

U.S. border patrol questioned fishermen on Canadian waters

TORONTO (Reuters) - Crew members of two Canadian fishing vessels were approached by the United States border patrol in Canadian waters in the Gulf of Maine in late June, according to the Canadian government, which is investigating the matter.

No. 2 House Democrat Hoyer hospitalized with pneumonia

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House of Representatives, has been hospitalized with pneumonia and is expected to make a quick recovery, his office said on Wednesday.

Top Supreme Court candidates' views on abortion under scrutiny

NEW YORK (Reuters) - From the moment Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court last week, speculation has centered on whether his replacement would vote to overturn a woman's right to abortion.

Police say Arizona woman, 92, killed 72-year-old son

PHOENIX (Reuters) - A 92-year-old woman accused of fatally shooting her 72-year-old son over his plans to put her in an assisted living facility has been arrested on suspicion of murder, police said on Tuesday.

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