July 4, 2012
With her bike decorated, 2-year-old Frances Hittle is ready for University Park's annual Fourth of July parade to begin.
Mark Gail / The Washington Post
July 4, 2012
Free decorations for University Park residents' bikes, wagons and strollers are given out in preparation for the town's annual Fourth of July parade.
Mark Gail / The Washington Post
July 4, 2012
Sitting in a wagon, Max Nelkin, 4, played with a pinwheel while waiting for the start of University Park's annual Fourth of July parade. His sister, Penny, 2, would soon join him for the ride.
Mark Gail / The Washington Post
July 4, 2012
Gabi Hogg, 7, and her mother, Jenny Hogg, share a moment before mounting a bike for the Fourth of July parade on Highway 77 in Panama City.
Andrew P Johnson / The News Herald via AP
July 4, 2012
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney crosses the street as he takes part in the Fourth of July parade in Wolfeboro, N.H.
Jessica Rinaldi / Reuters
July 4, 2012
Marine Cpl. Matt Bowman of Lafayette, Ind., stands in his wheelchair to look into one of the two reflecting pools at the 9/11 Memorial in New York. Bowman was visiting the memorial with other wounded veterans as part of a trip organized by the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which is helping to build accessible homes for wounded veterans.
Seth Wenig / AP
July 4, 2012
The Racing Presidents entertained the Nationals Park Fourth of July crowd during Washington's 9-4 win over the visiting San Francisco Giants. Thomas Jefferson won the fourth inning race, naturally.
Greg Fiume / Getty Images
July 4, 2012
Chefs prepare Fourth of July desserts, fashioned as the American flag, for a buffet at the U.S. Embassy in Paris.
Jacques Demarthon / AFP/Getty Images
July 4, 2012
Contestants compete in the first annual Apple Pie Dive before the 2012 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island in Brooklyn.
Eric Thayer / Reuters
July 4, 2012
Six-time reigning champion Joey Chestnut, second competitor from left, competes in the 2012 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island, in Brooklyn. Chestnut won his sixth straight title by downing 68 hot-dogs in 10 minutes — tying his world record. Chestnut won last year after eating 62 hot dogs.
John Minchillo / AP
July 4, 2012
Competitive eater Joey Chestnut, the six-time Nathan's hot-dog eating champion, takes part in this year's contest at Coney Island, in Brooklyn, tying his world record of 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
Andrew Burton / Getty Images
July 4, 2012
Maggie Hughs, 10, and Mary Chapman Morrow, 10, listen for the winners of the bike-decorating contest during the Fourth of July parade and block party in Memphis' Central Gardens neighborhood.
Mike Brown / AP
July 4, 2012
Every year since 1912, people have gathered in Rebild National Park in northern Jutland, Denmark, on July 4 to celebrate American independence. Denmark claims the festival is the largest Fourth of July celebration outside of the United States.
Henning Bagger / AFP/Getty Images
July 4, 2012
Roya Nock, 5, sweeps up what is left of the debris from last week's storm before helping her family set up for a Fourth of July celebration in Washington.
Daniel C. Britt / The Washington Post
July 4, 2012
Homemade signs criticizing Pepco hang on a light pole on Tenbrook Drive in Silver Spring. Tens of thousands of Pepco customers entered their fifth day without electricity after last Friday's storm caused power outages throughout the region.
Genevieve Bowles / The Washington Post
July 4, 2012
Friends, family and tourists watch a ceremony honoring new United States citizens, presented by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, at George Washington's Mount Vernon estate.
Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post
July 4, 2012
Marwan Sadiq, from Baghdad, shows his Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq Interim Travel Document before a ceremony to honor new U.S. citizens at Mount Vernon.
Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post
July 4, 2012
New U.S. citizens recite the Pledge of Allegiance during a ceremony by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association to honor new citizens at Mount Vernon.
Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post
July 4, 2012
Marwan Sadiq, from Baghdad, is congratulated by his friend and former boss Brian Bennett, previously the Baghdad bureau chief for Time magazine, after a ceremony by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association to honor new citizens at Mount Vernon.
Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post
July 4, 2012
The Fourth of July celebration in Kabul started with an American flag cake, which U.S. soldiers cut and shared.
Mohammad Ismail / Reuters
July 4, 2012
A boy gets his picture taken as he poses in a cutout of Uncle Sam during a Fourth of July celebration at the American Center in New Delhi.
Manish Swarup / AP
July 3, 2012
An American flag waves next to carnival rides as fireworks burst in the air during Tuesday's Fourth of July fireworks show at State Fair Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J.
Julio Cortez / AP
