How people are celebrating, protesting and traveling for July Fourth
LOS ANGELES AP Newest polls will tell you there s been a drop in national pride among Americans particularly Democrats in the Trump era with a few questioning whether to celebrate July Fourth at all this year But Scott Allen a registered Democrat in southern California isn t one of them He planned to commemorate the nation s th birthday with a politically mixed group of neighbors who will grill out and light off fireworks He ll be thinking of his U S Marine father and about how proud he is that we have the freedom to do all the things we do We can have protests We can have free speech commented Allen who lives in Lakewood just south of Los Angeles This Independence Day may feel different for plenty of Americans Around the country there are protests planned against Trump s polices and in places like southern California where immigration raids have rattled communities specific July Fourth celebrations were cancelled Fireworks retailers are also dealing with tariffs But at the same time holiday expedition is expected to break records Here s what to know about July Fourth this year California celebrations cancelled Several communities in the Los Angeles area have cancelled Independence Day festivities due to safety concerns over Trump administration s immigration crackdown The raids have triggered of protests across the city and led Trump to deploy National Guard troops and Marines The Los Angeles neighborhood of El Sereno cancelled its parade after of participants dropped out Organizer Genny Guerrero revealed the majority Latino society is very patriotic But plenty of people are avoiding events out of fear of immigration agents The fact that they re taking anyone that is brown regardless of citizenship that puts everyone in jeopardy Guerrero mentioned A downtown block party which drew people last year was postponed Suburbs in southeastern Los Angeles such as Bell Gardens have cancelled celebrations altogether Events planned in protest Meanwhile Independence Day events are scheduled in protest of Trump s policies including slashes to Medicaid noted Tamika Middleton managing director of Women s March The group had organized the Women s March on Washington in the day after Trump s first inauguration This year s events will range from low-key pot lucks to rallies in large cities For instance a gathering will be held at a naturalization ceremony in Portsmouth New Hampshire to show endorsement for new citizens But there will be larger protests in bigger cities including one outside Houston s City Hall We re inviting folks to envision what a truly free America looks like Middleton revealed Tariffs and fireworks The vast majority of fireworks in the U S are made in China disclosed Julie Heckman executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association As the transaction war with China escalated tariffs on Chinese-made fireworks reached in April Heckman announced Trump issued a -day pause in May leaving current tariffs on Chinese fireworks at The tariffs will have little impact on city fireworks shows because the shells were purchased months ago Heckman stated She s hearing from retailers who sell the backyard fireworks that they re not passing on the tariffs to consumers But it ll be a different story next year Heckman revealed because tariffs or anything higher are not sustainable for business The industry is casting a wary eye toward Every small town in America is going to want a special firework display to honor America s th Heckman declared Record-breaking holiday expedition Auto club AAA expected more than million people to trip at least miles kilometers from home AAA s forecast includes two weekends to better reflect the holiday advance Nearly million people will voyage by car a bump over making it the highest volume on record AAA noted Drivers have seen selected price increases at the pump but summer gas prices are still the lowest they ve been since Meanwhile nearly six million people will fly more than last year AAA announced The Federal Aviation Administration announced this will be the busiest July Fourth week in years Finley released from Norfolk Virginia Source
