Divided America searches for something to celebrate on its 250th birthday

Layer in a record-setting gathering of tall ships and a Times Square ball that will drop eight separate times, and the city's calendar for July 3 and 4 looks less like a holiday and more like a festival that happens to have fireworks as its centerpiece.

This weekend, the networks will break out their commercialized fireworks spectacles to pander to the patriotic mainstream of Americans – even if the Democrats have demonstrated they're dropping out of having any pride in America or its ideals.

Weeks of events in Washington, DC, will culminate this evening in an extravagant fireworks show and an address from President Donald Trump.

An excessive heat dome is threatening Fourth of July festivities in the nation’s capital and beyond — forcing cancellations, delays and other changes to holiday schedules as millions of Americans head outdoors to celebrate the U.S.’s 250th birthday.