July 4th celebrations mark America's 250th birthday. Follow live updates.

Many cities and towns across Massachusetts are celebrating America 250 with fireworks displays.

The largest celebration in the state will be the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on the Charles River Esplanade the night of July Fourth. Chance The Rapper, Lainey Wilson, and Trombone Shorty will join the Pops for this year's concert.

Many other communities in Massachusetts held their own fireworks in the nights leading up to the holiday, and more are planned for the Fourth and the coming days and weeks.

See the complete list here.

The celebration of America's 250th birthday in New York City's Times Square is taking a page out of the New Year's Eve playbook, with ball drops — eight of them — to mark the arrival of Independence Day in every American time zone.

The first, at 10 a.m. on Friday, marked midnight in the U.S. territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The ball drop at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time was then followed by time zones across the nation, with the finale at 7 a.m. marking midnight in American Samoa.  

The Times Square ball during a ball drop to mark America's 250th anniversary in New York, US, on Friday, July 3, 2026. John Lamparski / Bloomberg via Getty Images / John Lamparski 2026

"This is more than a countdown. It's a moment that brings the entire country together, one time zone at a time," said Rosie Rios, chair of America250, the group organizing the event, which aims to support Giving 4th, a day of charitable giving.

The Times Square ball during a ball drop to mark America's 250th anniversary in New York, US, on Friday, July 3, 2026. John Lamparski / Bloomberg via Getty Images / John Lamparski 2026

There's heightened security around Washington, D.C., for the America 250 celebrations, which include a fireworks display that is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people.

The main events on the Fourth of July are deemed a "national special security event," which is the highest possible designation. It's a rare status that is usually reserved for inaugurations and Super Bowls that puts the Secret Service in charge.

"I will tell you that you've had hundreds, if not thousands, of law enforcement professionals planning this event for several months," said Tara McLeese, the special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service's Washington field office.

President Trump said he will speak during the festivities on Saturday around 9 p.m. before the fireworks show at 10:30 p.m. Officials say there are no specific, credible threats this weekend.

National Guard members walk past of a replica of President Trump's planned Triumphal Arch and the grounds of the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.  Kent Nishimura /AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Marshals Service has sworn in hundreds of officers from 44 local law enforcement agencies nationwide to protect the capital.

"When I say that we are ready, I am staking my reputation on it," said Marshals Service Director Gadyaces S. Serralta. "Our nation is ready to celebrate the birth of freedom in this country."

Read more here.

An extreme heat warning is in effect for Washington, D.C., as much of the eastern half of the country continues to bake under a heat dome. A forecast high of 102 would top the city's highest recorded temperature for the date, 100 degrees, set in 1919. 

Organizers announced they were canceling D.C.'s America's Independence Day Parade, which had been set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday, due to the heat.

"This decision was made after extensive and careful consideration of the safety of our participants, spectators, and staff as the top priority," they said in a statement, noting that the heat index was expected to climb to between 110 and 115 degrees.

The Great American State Fair, taking place on the National Mall, shut down in the early afternoon Friday but reopened for the evening. It is scheduled to open at noon Saturday, with free water distribution, cooling tents and air-conditioned cooling buses available for visitors, organizers said.

Some fireworks displays in surrounding suburbs were canceled or postponed because of the heat.

CBS is celebrating this July Fourth with "The Great American Block Party 250," a primetime special hosted by "CBS Evening News" anchor Tony Dokoupil and "Entertainment Tonight" co-host Nischelle Turner.

Hosted live from the Washington Monument in D.C., the show features a star-studded roster performances by artists including the Zac Brown Band, Jon Batiste, Goo Goo Dolls, The War and Treaty, Queen Latifah, The Roots, Jill Scott and more. 

Share in celebratory moments from cities nationwide before the show wraps up with a fireworks display that organizers billed as the largest in history over the nation's capital.

Tune in at 8 p.m. ET on CBS stations and stream it on Paramount+ and CBS News 24/7. 

July Fourth celebrations in Washington, D.C., will include hours of military flyovers and an enormous fireworks show commemorating the nation's 250th birthday. 

D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Interim Chief Jeff Carroll said earlier this week that the festivities would feature "the largest display of fireworks our city has ever seen." The display is set to start around 10:30 or 11 p.m. ET, according to Freedom 250, the show's organizer, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. It's also expected to run longer than it has in previous years.

President Trump plans to speak in the 9 p.m. hour, ahead of the fireworks.

By Maria Sullivan, Gabriella Biello

Much of the central and northeastern U.S. is under heat advisories through Saturday night, including some areas with extreme heat warnings.

Zoom in on any location on the map below, or search for your city or town by name, to see the forecast high temperatures, how hot it will feel, and the overnight lows.

Air traffic will be shut down in Washington, D.C., in the afternoon and evening as Fourth of July festivities ramp up across the nation's capital. 

The Federal Aviation Administration said it would implement "traffic management initiatives" at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport before, during and after certain celebratory events, including flyovers and fireworks displays. 

Flight operations at the airport will be temporarily paused from noon until 11:59 p.m. ET. 

The FAA said the changes have been planned for months "to help ensure the safe and efficient movement of air traffic during celebrations of America's 250th birthday."

The combination of heat and high humidity across the eastern half of the U.S. could be dangerous for crowds spending extended time outdoors because the human body can't cool off as effectively when sweat stays on the skin.

Warning signs to look for to prevent heat-related health emergencies include fatigue, light-headedness, muscle cramps and upset stomach. If anyone exposed to the sun is experiencing such symptoms, doctors say they could be suffering from heat exhaustion.

"For heat stroke, the differential factor is that altered mental status, that confusion," Dr. Catrina Cropano, the medical director of the emergency department at New York City's Mount Sinai West, told CBS News' Tom Hanson. "If you are experiencing any symptoms of heat stroke, you really need to make sure you come into the emergency department as quickly as possible."

There are a few steps you can take to help reduce your risk, Dr. Danielle Warren, an emergency medicine specialist at Carroll Hospital Center in Maryland, told CBS News Baltimore.

"Decrease your exposure to the heat. Make sure you are drinking fluids. And then you want to make sure that you are eating a little bit every few hours," Warren suggested. "If you are drinking alcohol that's going to make you more sensitive."

Two hundred fifty years on, Americans generally see their nation as a success story — even if it's one that they feel still has work to do. 

A big majority say the nation has succeeded in achieving its founding ideals, at least a fair amount, if not a great deal, a CBS News poll found.

We, the people, think of ourselves — America's people — as the best thing about the country. Most of us like having a nation of many different ideas and cultures, and we share common views on what constitutes "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."  

And for a country that produced the light bulb and the internet, today it is still the ideas laid out in the founding that many offer up as America's best invention of all.

Yet, Americans also see a nation facing challenges today. 

Almost half the country marks this milestone feeling that America's best days are in its past, and the American Dream is seen under pressure, often unattainable. And just as economic opportunities are entwined with our political history, they're seen today just as defining as democracy itself. But those who think opportunity is only for a few feel democracy, too, is under threat. 

Read more here.