4th Of July

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Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney works the crowd as he marches in the Fourth of July parade in Amherst, N.H., on July 4, 2011. (Associated Press)

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PYROTECHNICS: Fourth of July fireworks light up the sky over the National Mall on Monday night, to the delight of tens of thousands of rapt spectators. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

The Palisades Pop Stars, including Lily Shafroth (center), 18, of Washington, dance their way down MacArthur Boulevard Northwest in Washington on Monday, July 4, 2011, as part of the Palisades July Fourth parade. The girls decided it would be fun to march, so they donned costumes and called themselves the Pop Stars. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown has a tender moment with his daughter, 9-year-old Lauren, next to his black Jeep before the two march in the 45th annual Palisades July Fourth parade in Washington on Monday, July 4, 2011. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Martha Washington, aka Lalie Tongour, of Washington cools off her dog, Huxley, while marching with the St. Patrick's Episcopal Church contingent in the 45th annual Palisades July Fourth parade. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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"Ward 4!" yells D.C. Council member Muriel Bowser during the annual Palisades July Fourth parade in Washington. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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D.C. Council member Vincent Orange hands out orange beads to spectators along MacArthur Boulevard Northwest in the Palisades neighborhood of Washington during the Palisades July Fourth parade. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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"D-Rock" conducts the Different Drummers band as they march in the 45th annual Palisades July Fourth parade. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Two-year-old Annie DelGuercio of Washington is patriotic in red, white and blue while watching the Palisades July Fourth parade. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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D.C. Council member Jack Evans prepares to throw candy to spectators during the 45th annual Palisades July Fourth parade in Washington. The parade has become a local tradition, and council members usually attend, often handing out candy, stickers and other freebies. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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D.C. Council member Mary Cheh (center) hands out copies of the U.S. Constitution to spectators along MacArthur Boulevard Northwest during the annual Palisades July Fourth parade. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Jack Campanella, 9, of Chevy Chase, Md., rides atop a float during the 45th annual Palisades July Fourth parade in Washington. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Spectators wave flags as the USS Constitution fires its cannons off Castle Island in Boston on its annual Fourth of July turn around Boston Harbor on Monday, July 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

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Members of the Old Guard Presidential Salute Battery move a cannon into position on the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Sunday, July 3, 2011, in preparation for Monday's Fourth of July celebration. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

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This cannon will be fired by members of the Old Guard Presidential Salute Battery on the Fourth of July during celebrations at the U.S. Capitol and on the National Mall. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

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Members of the Old Guard Presidential Salute Battery move a cannon into position near the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Sunday, July 3, 2011, in preparation for Monday's Fourth of July celebration on the National Mall. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY DREW ANGERER/THE WASHINGTON TIMES Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Salute Guns Platoon move a cannon into position for Monday's Fourth of July celebration on the Mall near the U.S. Capitol, seen in the background (top). The platoon fires the cannon during the performance of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture." The team positions one of the cannons to be used (above).

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Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotter, Michigan Republican, riffs on his star-spangled Fender Telecaster guitar, much to the delight of supporters, shortly after announcing his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination at WAAM radio's Fourth of July weekend Freedom Fest in Whitmore Lake, Mich., on Saturday. (Associated Press)

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People gather on the streets in downtown Bellevue, Iowa, after a horse got loose, trampling people at a Fourth of July parade on Sunday, July 4, 2010, killing one woman and injuring 23. (AP Photo/The Telegraph Herald, Mike Burley)

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The skyline of Midtown Manhattan, seen from across the East River in the Queens borough of New York, is backlit by shells exploding over the Hudson River during the Macy's Fourth of July fireworks show Sunday, July 4, 2010 in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)