A dangerous heat wave stretching from Texas to the East Coast is disrupting Fourth of July celebrations across the United States, with some communities canceling or scaling back events ahead of the country's 250th birthday.
Philadelphia has already shortened its annual Fourth of July parade route because of the heat. In Washington, D.C., Capitol Police said they would decide Friday morning whether to allow the public to attend the Capitol Fourth concert and fireworks, according to NPR. Forecasts call for temperatures near 102 degrees in the capital, with a heat index as high as 113.
CBS News meteorologist Rob Marciano reported that the heat wave is intense and widespread, sweeping across the East Coast as final preparations for holiday events continue.
President Trump has made the 250th anniversary a major focus and mentioned at a recent public event that he plans to deliver what he called a "really long" speech on the night of July 4. Temperatures that evening are expected to remain nearly as high as during the day.
The heat is not the only issue surrounding the Washington celebrations. Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee released a 55-page report Thursday accusing Freedom 250 of helping Trump transform the milestone anniversary into what they called a "hotbed of corruption and self-enrichment" through tactics the report says potentially constitute criminal fraud. Congress is currently on its July 4th recess.
Separately, rescue workers in Kyiv were recovering bodies overnight from an apartment building struck by a Russian missile Thursday. Officials said 30 people were killed in missile and drone strikes on Ukraine's capital, which Russia launched in response to Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russian oil refineries. NPR's Joanna Kakissis, reporting from Kyiv, said residents are deeply shaken. A massive crater now sits beside a kindergarten where one missile struck. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack exposed Ukraine's shortage of missile interceptors and renewed his call for Europe to strengthen its own defenses.
