Fourth of July Festivities

July 4:  Students from Cameron, North Carolina, practice their routine near the U.S. Capitol on National Mall in Washington before the start the Fourth of July, Independence Day, festivities. (AP) (AP)

July 4:  Dressed to represent Uncle Sam, Steve Myott, of Greenville, North Carolina, right, shakes hands with visitors from atop his stilts near the U.S. Capitol on National Mall in Washington before the start the Fourth of July, Independence Day, parade. (AP)

July 4:  A balloon of Uncle Sam is hoisted up on the National Mall in Washington before the start of the Fourth of July, Independence Day, festivities. (AP)

July 4:  Soldiers with the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment Old Guard Continental Color Guard line up near the National Archives building, left, in Washington before the start of the Fourth of July, Independence Day, festivities Sunday. (AP)

July 4:  Lauren Dore, 18, of Great Falls, Va., left, and Andrew Hassan, 18, of Herndon, Va., share a joke by the Washington Monument on the Fourth of July in Washington. (AP)

July 4:  Don Smith takes pictures of the U.S. National Archives building before the start of the Fourth of July, Independence Day, festivities in Washington. (AP)

July 4:  Large balloons are prepared on the National Mall before the start of the Fourth of July, Independence Day, festivities in Washington. (AP)

July 4:  Sailors stand atop the mast on the USS Constitution during its annual July 4th turnaround in Boston Harbor in Boston. (AP)

July 4:  The USS Constitution moves past the Boston skyline on its annual July 4th turnaround in Boston Harbor. (AP)

July 4:  Bob Johnson poses for family photos at his home in Racine, Wis.  This is the third year that Johnson has displayed his late brother Dan's historic flag collection for Independence Day. (AP)

July 4: Fireworks explode in the night sky over the Anadarko tower in The Woodlands, Texas as residents gather to celebrate Independence Day. (AP)