Fourth of July fireworks to return to Mount Rushmore despite wildfire risk

After a five-year hiatus, Fourth of July fireworks will return to Mount Rushmore this summer despite wildfire concerns.

The National Park ServiceannouncedMonday that the Independence Day celebration is returning to the historic presidential landmark in South Dakota to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the country's founding. Officials said the event will be held on July 3rd and tickets will be made available through a public lottery early next month.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT |Dozens of fires sweep across Great Plains amid dangerous conditions

"In partnership with the State of South Dakota, we are excited to reinstate a spectacular fireworks show as the highlight of Mount Rushmore's Independence Day commemoration," said Dr. Jenifer Chatfield, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. "We invite the public to enjoy the show and reflect on our nation's remarkable journey and the great patriotic leaders who established, preserved and expanded our country's destiny."

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Fourth of July firework displays had been held at Mt. Rushmore most years starting in the late 1990s. In 2010, however, the event was suspended due to various concerns, including wildfire risk and environmental concerns.

Then in 2020, during President Donald Trump's first term in office, then-South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem successfully lobbied to bring the Independence Day celebration event back to Mt. Rushmore following a decade-long hiatus. A year later, the event was again canceled when the Biden administration denied permits for fireworks, citing the same wildfire and environmental concerns.

RELATED STORY |Record snow drought in Western US raises concern for a spring of water shortages and wildfires

Meanwhile, Monday's announcement from the National Park Service made no mention of any planned fire prevention measures for this year's event even as drought grips much of the region.According to the National Drought Mitigation Center,Pennington County, South Dakota — which includes Mt. Rushmore — is currently facing "severe drought" conditions. Many western states are also experiencing some of their lowest snowpack in decades, which is depleting future water supplies and setting the stage for what could be a busy wildfire season.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 09, 2026

Fourth of July fireworks to return to Mount Rushmore despite wildfire risk

After a five-year hiatus, Fourth of July fireworks will return to Mount Rushmore this summer despite wildfire concerns. ...

Read More

Prewar US intel assessment found intervention in Iran wasn't likely to change leadership

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. intelligence assessment completed shortly before the United States and Israel launcheda war in Iranhad determined that American military intervention wasnot likely to lead to regime changein the Islamic Republic, according to two people familiar with the finding.

APTOPIX Iran US Israel

The National Intelligence Council's assessment in February concluded that neither limited airstrikes nor a larger, prolonged military campaign would be likely to result in a new government taking over in Iran, even if the current leadership was killed, according to the two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the classified report.

The determination undercuts the administration's assertion that it can complete its objectives in Iran relatively quickly, perhaps in a matter of weeks. The administration has asserted that it was not seeking regime change in Iran, even as the strikes have taken out many figures in the Iranian leadership and President Donald Trump considers whomhe would like to see lead the country.

The intelligence assessment concluded that no one powerful or unified opposition coalition was poised to take over in Iran if the leadership was killed, according to the people familiar with the report. It determined that Iran's establishment would attempt to preserve continuity of power if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, the people said.

In line with the assessment's findings, Iran's leading clerics on Sunday chose a new supreme leader,Mojtaba Khamenei,to succeed his father, who was killed in the war's opening salvo. The son is believed to hold views that are even more hardline than his father, and his selection is a strong sign of resistance from Iran's leadership and an indication the government won't step aside quickly.

The details of the assessment were reported earlier by The Washington Post and The New York Times.

Trump and other top administration leaders have givendifferent justifications for the strikesthat began on Feb. 28, saying they were necessary to set back Iran's nuclear weapons program or to preempt an Iranian ballistic missile attack. While Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the waris not aimed at regime change, Trump has said it'ssomething he wants to see.

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A spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on the assessment on Monday and referred questions to the White House. Director Tulsi Gabbardfired the council's acting chairpersonlast year after therelease of a declassified NIC memothat contradicted statements the Trump administration has used to justifydeporting Venezuelan immigrants.

Trump, dating back to his first term, has been deeply skeptical of the U.S. intelligence community and has frequently dismissed its findings as politically motivated or part of a "deep state" effort to undermine his presidency.

Richard Goldberg, director for countering Iranian weapons of mass destruction at the National Security Council during Trump's first term, noted that there's also a measure of skepticism toward the intelligence community because of some of its big misses in recent years.

U.S. intelligence agencies widely failed to predict the rapid collapse of the Afghan government to the Taliban that transpired in 2021, with most assessments suggesting a much slower takeover. And in the lead-up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the ODNI, the Defense Department and the CIA wrongly estimated that Kyiv would quickly fall to a bigger and better equipped Russian military.

Goldberg, who is now a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank, said an intelligence assessment is "almost like an op-ed from the intelligence community."

Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Doral, Florida, and David Klepper in Washington contributed to this report.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 09, 2026

Prewar US intel assessment found intervention in Iran wasn't likely to change leadership

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. intelligence assessment completed shortly before the United States and Israel launcheda war in I...

Read More

Ex-Prince Andrew’s Former Assistant Agrees to Speak to Police amid Claim She Signed Palace Check for Nude Massage Arranged by Ghislaine Maxwell

Charlotte Manley, ex-Prince Andrew's former assistant, says she is willing to speak with police about her time working for him

NEED TO KNOW

• Manley reportedly signed a check for a massage arranged by Ghislaine Maxwell and accompanied Andrew on trade envoy trips

• Andrew was arrested in February on misconduct allegations tied to Jeffrey Epstein, as scrutiny of his past actions continues to grow

Charlotte Manley, a past assistant for the formerPrince Andrew, has agreed to speak with police in the wake of Andrew's arrest.

The 68-year-old former Royal Navy officer served as a private secretary and treasurer to Andrew from 2001 to 2003, and was also Andrew's assistant private secretary and treasurer since 1996.

Manley toldThe Timesin the U.K., that she'd be willing to speak with police about her time serving King Charles' brother, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

When theTimesvisited her home to ask about the alleged payment and the accusations against her former employer, Manley declined the opportunity to comment on the accusations against her former employer, saying, "I would rather talk to the police than the press, not that I would have much to tell them."

Manley regularly accompanied Andrew on his international visits while he was serving as the U.K.'s special representative for trade and investment.

Andrew was arrested on Feb. 19 and detained for 11 hours on suspicion of misconduct in public office, linked to allegations that he improperly shared information as a U.K. trade envoy with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

According toThe Times, Manley signed a £75 ($100) check from the Buckingham Palace bank account on Andrew's behalf in 2000 for a massage arranged by Epstein's girlfriendGhislaine Maxwell.

PEOPLE has reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.

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Maxwell's former masseuseMonique Giannelloni previously sharedthat Manley arranged for her to visit Andrew at the Palace.

"I got to the room and Andrew was stood there in a robe," Giannelloni previously told theDaily Mail. "After saying 'hello', he disappeared to the bathroom and came back in the nude. I averted my eyes, and I was quite embarrassed."

Giannelloni added that despite the initial awkwardness, Andrew was "very nice and very gentlemanly" for the rest of the massage.

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

Andrew's conduct has been called into question for more than a decade thanks to sexual-assault allegations made by lateprominent Epstein accuser, Virginia Giuffre. Andrew has repeatedly denied claims that Giuffre was forced into sexual encounters with him at the age of 17 in the early 2000s. In 2022, the two reached a civil settlement without admission of liability.Giuffre died by suicidein 2025.

As Andrew's fall from grace continues, an MP has now called for an offshore firm linked to the royal to be investigated. The MP is seeking answers on whether the firm helped to fund Andrew's escapades while he served as trade envoy.

According toThe Times, documents revealed that Andrew jointly owned a company called Inverness Asset Management, which was registered in the British Virgin Islands in 2007 and later wrapped in 2019.

Read the original article onPeople

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 09, 2026

Ex-Prince Andrew’s Former Assistant Agrees to Speak to Police amid Claim She Signed Palace Check for Nude Massage Arranged by Ghislaine Maxwell

Charlotte Manley, ex-Prince Andrew's former assistant, says she is willing to speak with police about her time workin...

Read More

Gas and travel prices could continue to spiral as tanker traffic stalls near Iran

The price of oil surging over the weekend sent global markets into a frenzy.

The price of a barrel of crude oil topped $100 on Monday for the first time since 2022.

American drivers are already feeling the pain at the pump.

The average price for a gallon of regular gas on Monday was $3.48, up nearly 50 cents from a week ago.

And prices could continue to increase with oil tankers held up in the Strait of Hormuz.

"Gas prices will likely continue advancing. Oil prices will likely keep climbing until that oil can move again," said GasBuddy's Patrick de Haan.

RELATED NEWS |Crude oil prices spike near $120 a barrel as the Iran war impedes production and shipping

That will impact air travel, too, because airlines are dependent on jet fuel from crude oil.

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"Airline prices will be immediate, both in terms of demand destruction, because the prices are going to go up so much that there's a lot of people who may be traveling who decide not to travel," said Babak Hefezi, Adjunct Professor of International Business at American University.

But economists and analysts say a hold up on movement in the Strait of Hormuz, including cargo ships, has the potential to ripple across all parts of global economies.

"The waterway is key for a whole host of products and also oil used in other industries. So we can expect people to pay more for their petrol, more for their food, more for almost any good you can think of, really," said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Marketing Analyst for IG.

MORE ON IRAN |Iran launches regional strikes as Israel hits fuel depots in widening war

Over the weekend, President Trump appeared to downplay the growing problem.

"But there's a lot of oil, we've got a lot of oil. Our country has a tremendous amount that we have. There's a lot of oil out there that will get used very quickly," he said.

The U.S. only gets a fraction of its oil from the Middle East. But that doesn't mean Americans won't feel the aftershocks of this conflict.

"The damages that have been already done to the ports are not something that we can just stop the war and everything will back to normal. This is something that's going to take 12 to 18 months to fix," Hefezi said.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 09, 2026

Gas and travel prices could continue to spiral as tanker traffic stalls near Iran

The price of oil surging over the weekend sent global markets into a frenzy. The price of a barrel o...

Read More

Fourth of July fireworks to return to Mount Rushmore despite wildfire risk

After a five-year hiatus, Fourth of July fireworks will return to Mount Rushmore this summer despite wildfire concerns.

The National Park ServiceannouncedMonday that the Independence Day celebration is returning to the historic presidential landmark in South Dakota to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the country's founding. Officials said the event will be held on July 3rd and tickets will be made available through a public lottery early next month.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT |Dozens of fires sweep across Great Plains amid dangerous conditions

"In partnership with the State of South Dakota, we are excited to reinstate a spectacular fireworks show as the highlight of Mount Rushmore's Independence Day commemoration," said Dr. Jenifer Chatfield, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. "We invite the public to enjoy the show and reflect on our nation's remarkable journey and the great patriotic leaders who established, preserved and expanded our country's destiny."

Advertisement

Fourth of July firework displays had been held at Mt. Rushmore most years starting in the late 1990s. In 2010, however, the event was suspended due to various concerns, including wildfire risk and environmental concerns.

Then in 2020, during President Donald Trump's first term in office, then-South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem successfully lobbied to bring the Independence Day celebration event back to Mt. Rushmore following a decade-long hiatus. A year later, the event was again canceled when the Biden administration denied permits for fireworks, citing the same wildfire and environmental concerns.

RELATED STORY |Record snow drought in Western US raises concern for a spring of water shortages and wildfires

Meanwhile, Monday's announcement from the National Park Service made no mention of any planned fire prevention measures for this year's event even as drought grips much of the region.According to the National Drought Mitigation Center,Pennington County, South Dakota — which includes Mt. Rushmore — is currently facing "severe drought" conditions. Many western states are also experiencing some of their lowest snowpack in decades, which is depleting future water supplies and setting the stage for what could be a busy wildfire season.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 09, 2026

Fourth of July fireworks to return to Mount Rushmore despite wildfire risk

After a five-year hiatus, Fourth of July fireworks will return to Mount Rushmore this summer despite wildfire concerns. ...

Read More