Foreign minister sends message to mark US Independence Day with national banner of African nation instead of the Stars and Stripes

Locales in Florida and elsewhere cancel celebrations and ask citizens to instead honor victims of condo collapse and first responders waiting to resume search and rescue mission

Columbus statue thrown in Baltimore harbor, Seattle man plows car into protest, Georgians march against massive Confederate carving, and Trump stokes discord with combative speech

Officials ask people to avoid large celebrations with virus on rise across country, but president tries to entice large crowds with planned fireworks and airshow

Trump shelves talk of unity or any mention of COVID-19 death toll, devoting much of address to railing against anti-racism demonstrators and vowing to protect statues

Addressing crowd of thousands for July 4 as virus cases spiral, US president says left wants to 'defame our heroes, indoctrinate our children'; Native Americans protest nearby

US president has been openly exuberant about the July 4 event for 7,500 people, which will be held without social distancing

300,000 face masks will be given away in DC to those who want them, but wearing them will not be mandatory

Critics accuse US leader of hijacking traditionally non-partisan Independence Day for his re-election campaign by holding multi-million dollar 'show of a lifetime'

Troops, tanks and artillery guns were fixtures of Independence Day celebrations until 1973, when the high costs and logistic nightmares of the events stopped the practice