On Saturday, the United States marked 250 years since the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, establishing the original 13 American colonies as a new, independent nation. In addition to the traditional fireworks and parades, cities and states held special celebrations reflecting on the country’s history for its semiquincentennial. In Washington, D.C., large crowds gathered to celebrate across the capital. While some of President Donald Trump’s “Salute to America” event was canceled or delayed due to extreme weather — including a temporary evacuation of the National Mall — the president delivered an address on the Mall, followed by a massivefireworks display.

Ad-free podcasts are here!

To listen to this podcast ad-free, and to enjoy our subscriber only premium content, go to ReadTangle.com to sign up! Click HERE to get 20% off your first year of ad-free episodes, exclusive interviews, and deep dives with Tangle’s podcast membership.

Vote for Tangle!

We’re nominated for the 2026 People’s Choice Newsletter Awards, and we’d appreciate it if you could take a moment and cast a vote for us. It’s quick and easy (just be sure to confirm your vote in your email after you submit the form) — the link to vote is here.

You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ and today’s “Under the radar” story ⁠here⁠ and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠.

You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here. 

Take the survey: How do you feel about America on its 250th birthday? Let us know.

Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall.

This podcast written by: Isaac Saul and audio engineered and edited by Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75.

Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Senior Editor Will Kaback, Lindsey Knuth, Bailey Saul, and Audrey Moorehead.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.