Can Americans come together over the next week to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary? With the country seemingly split into irreconcilable, and increasingly violent, camps, storm clouds darken the summer commemorations. Those worrying that the Semiquincentennial will be a giant bust should look no further than the Bicentennial. Plagued by similar fears, the Bicentennial turned into the biggest party the country had ever seen. Today, Americans should take heart and party like it’s 1976.

America’s two-hundredth anniversary came either at the worst possible moment or just in time. The previous 13 years had been among the most violent and disruptive since the Great Depression, possibly even the Civil War. The upheavals of the Civil Rights Movement had been punctuated by the tragic assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. America’s postwar consensus had spectacularly disintegrated barely two decades after the resounding victory in World War II.

To many, America had fundamentally changed. After the assassinations and riots, and the lies of Vietnam and Watergate, the country had become more cynical and distrusting of government, the elites, and big business. As a Boston Globe columnist wrote, the great issue in the 1976 presidential campaign would be "to restore confidence of the American people in their government and themselves," short of which he feared the country would remain "purposeless, rudderless, powerless."

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In a country at once exhausted and divided, it could well be questioned whether Americans would celebrate or jeer the Bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence. Overwhelmingly, they celebrated.

As the jubilee approached, Bicentennial fever swept the country. A torrent of words on the Declaration and the Revolution poured off the presses, most with praise, many also arguing that America still struggled to live up to the promises of her founding document.

Over 12,566 towns and cities participated in the Bicentennial Communities project, renovating parks and historic buildings or building new community centers. Over seven million Americans visited the Freedom Train, which left Wilmington, Del., on April 1, 1975, and crisscrossed the country before ending its run on Dec. 31, 1976. As many as 10 million tourists toured Independence Hall and saw the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. Queen Elizabeth II made a triumphal state visit, landing first in Philadelphia.

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Against all expectations, the Bicentennial turned into both the greatest patriotic celebration and the greatest sales event in American history. Decades before e-commerce made buying with a click ubiquitous, Bicentennial hats, shirts, flags, medallions, coins, mini–Liberty Bells, commemorative booklets, posters, pillow covers, bed linens and pewter engravings sold by the millions through mail-order or catalogs.

Not surprisingly, Washington, D.C., was the center of the celebrations. Over 1.2 million people viewed the Declaration and Constitution at the National Archives over the course of 1976, while on July 2, the Archives opened its doors for a marathon seventy-six-hour "vigil," during which over 10,000 visitors stood in lines more than three hours long to gaze up at the priceless parchment.

Two days later, a street party took over Constitution Avenue in front of the National Archives, as 8,000 people gathered for a reading of the Declaration, heard patriotic songs and then joined in the cutting of a six-foot-tall, multilayered birthday cake.

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On the morning of July 4, famed composer Leonard Bernstein read the Declaration before a crowd in Manhattan’s Battery Park. At 2 p.m. Eastern Time, bells rang out across the nation for two minutes, from church steeples, town halls and firehouses. Parades large and small snaked through Main Streets across the nation as people celebrated with barbecues, sports activities and bands. That evening over a million people packed the National Mall and lined the Potomac to witness a gigantic pyrotechnics display depicting eras in America’s past.

The Bicentennial celebrations did not magically solve all of America’s problems or create eternal fellowship. There were protests and condemnations of the country. However, the vast majority of Americans showed both pride and some badly needed perspective on their history. As an opinion poll taken by the Gallup Organization in June 1976 revealed, 77% of respondents felt that "we had succeeded over these 200 years in achieving the ideals for which this country was founded."

This year, away from the drama in Washington, social media anger and media sensationalism, it’s likely many Americans will feel the same way about their country’s 250th. There is a "Freedom Plane" currently touring the country, and exhibitions at the National Archives, Library of Congress and Smithsonian Institution, as well as at local museums and presidential libraries are drawing thousands of Americans to view artifacts from the country’s past. A new bevy of books on the founding, the Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence all are being published, and documentaries are being streamed.

Despite the anger manifested online and in the streets, despite rising incivility and political cage-match rhetoric, and even despite assassination attempts by a handful of deranged individuals, the vast majority of the country goes about its daily life peacefully. Debate and even heated argument about the country’s past are part of our tradition, not signs of imminent civil war.

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Our economic problems are serious, our politicians often incompetent, and our schools failing, among other concerns. Yet we need to remember why millions still come to these shores, why opportunity here is still open for the taking, and why very few Americans would trade life here for political systems in China, Russia or even most of Europe.

As America reaches 250, we remain a great nation, even as we strive to fix our ills and create a more perfect Union. If that task remains forever unfinished, it does not delegitimize the country’s existence or our achievements, but calls us to recommit to the principles of the Declaration. Most of us, I am willing to bet, would agree deep down with the words of the Memphis Tri-State Defender, a Black newspaper, written in 1976: "this land is the only land that we have to live in, and most importantly, few Black Americans want to leave it for some other place."

So, don’t worry, be happy, and embrace the "Spirit of ’76."

Celebrations have begun for Team USA after defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 to advance to the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

But it’s also bittersweet considering Folarin Balogun, who scored his third World Cup goal in the victory, won’t be available on Monday night in Seattle against Belgium after being shown a red card in the 64th minute in a massively controversial decision.

When head referee Raphael Claus of Brazil showed the red card to Balogun, the crowd at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium and the millions watching from home were stunned. Not only did the USMNT have to face Bosnia and Herzegovina for the remainder of the game down one man, but he would be missing the next match if they made it through.

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After the match, former USMNT star Alexi Lalas didn’t hold back his thoughts about how the game was officiated on the night.

"An absolute joke of a refereeing night," Lalas said during the FOX Sports broadcast.

Lalas also had an interesting post on X involving Argentina superstar Lionel Messi, which was invoked by many after seeing what happened to Balogun.

In Balogun’s case, it was determined that him stepping on the back of Tarik Muharemovic’s leg, which led to a rolled ankle, was enough to flash the red card after VAR review despite both players jostling for position to receive the ball coming their way.

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There was nothing done with intent on Balogun's end; rather, he was just trying to land with his right leg after being bumped himself, and his foot unfortunately came down on Muharemovic.

But Lalas immediately thought about Messi’s situation that occurred in Argentina’s World Cup opener against Algeria. Messi was trying to get a ball away from an Algerian player when he was seen digging his cleat into the back of the player’s calf.

Lalas posted the clip on X with the simple caption, "'Sup," making it pretty clear what he was referring to. Messi wasn’t reprimanded on the pitch, or after, for what appeared to be a more egregious action than Balogun considering he was looking down at his opponent’s leg from behind before the cleat hits the calf.

Balogun wasn’t even looking at the back right leg of Muharemovic, though it was clear it could’ve been an injury given the rolled ankle that was being stepped on.

Either way, the USMNT will have to think about who will take Balogun’s place against Belgium, as manager Mauricio Pochettino and his staff will deliberate over that key position against their next formidable opponent.

But this red card will be debated for the days leading up to the next match, which will be held at Seattle Stadium on July 6 at 8 p.m.

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WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert folded under pressure late Tuesday night by issuing a reactionary statement after Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas publicly shamed her for a lack of support.

It's a great reminder that behind every incompetent league is bad judgment.

Engelbert capitulated hours after Thomas, a lightning rod for controversy following her latest violent on-court altercation with Caitlin Clark, cast herself as the victim.

Thomas successfully deflected from the fact that she had just been suspended for striking the league's golden goose.

SUSPENDED ALYSSA THOMAS BLASTS WNBA'S SILENCE AFTER CAITLIN CLARK FOUL, OFFERS NO ACCOUNTABILITY

Despite earning the suspension that fueled the backlash, Thomas still turned herself into the victim, blasted Engelbert and the commissioner predictably folded.

"The WNBA vehemently condemns any and all forms of hate," Engelbert said in the statement on Tuesday.

One has to wonder where fists to the throat rank on the commissioner's list of priorities.

The statement amounted to a complete submission to Thomas, who used her Tuesday media availability to blast Engelbert.

"The safety and well-being of everyone in our community is always the league's top priority. We are aware of Alyssa Thomas' comments, and what she and her teammates have experienced is completely unacceptable and not representative of the WNBA community. The league and our security team have been in contact with the Phoenix Mercury organization and remain committed to protecting all players."

Rather than hold Thomas to her action, Engelbert bent a knee to the wrong player.

During a loose-ball scramble, Thomas struck Fever superstar Caitlin Clark in the throat with her fist.

While officials on the floor inexplicably missed it, the league office later upgraded the play to a Flagrant 2 and slapped Thomas with a retroactive one-game suspension for a "non-basketball act."

Fever coach Stephanie White called the initial no-call "absolutely unacceptable," and Clark ultimately exited the game with a back injury.

Instead of answering for endangering a fellow player, Thomas displayed an astonishing lack of accountability, claiming, "A lot of us, myself included, didn't even know the play took place until after the game."

She then complained that her team was being "painted as thugs," cited severe online harassment and attacked the WNBA for failing to properly notify her of the suspension.

"Honestly, I didn't even know I was being suspended until 10 minutes before it was put on social media," Thomas said, taking a direct shot at the commissioner. "As usual, she remains silent."

CAITLIN CLARK CALLS FOR 'GREAT LEADERSHIP,' SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM DOUBLES DOWN ON WNBA COMMISSIONER CONDEMNATION

Engelbert took the bait. The league office showed it was more interested in validating Thomas' grievances than protecting its biggest gate attraction.

Engelbert has consistently mismanaged the overt physical hostility directed at the league's biggest star.

Hard fouls are routinely minimized, and meaningful discipline often arrives only after public outrage forces the league's hand.

By validating the self-perceived victimhood of a player who had just been suspended for a "non-basketball act" against Clark, Engelbert's administration exposed its priorities.

The WNBA continues to coddle veteran players who resent Clark's spotlight instead of enforcing a consistent standard of player safety.

Engelbert made her choice. It wasn't Caitlin Clark.

Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela

July 4th is more than marking America’s independence with patriotic flags, parades and fireworks. It's about celebrating American ingenuity, our firm belief that our country can engineer solutions to achieve the impossible, from launching the modern age of aviation to landing a man on the moon.

Some of the most compelling evidence of American exceptionalism today is happening thousands of feet beneath the surface of the Gulf of America, where our offshore industry has spent more than a decade solving one of the hardest engineering problems in the history of energy.

More than 100 miles offshore from the Gulf Coast sits a geological layer of sandstone and shale rock deep beneath the seabed called the Paleogene that holds tens of billions of barrels of oil. For years, most of it was considered unattainable. The reservoir pressures – up to 20,000 pounds per square inch, equivalent to an elephant standing on a quarter – exceeded anything existing technology could handle. No equipment had ever been built to work under those conditions.

TRUMP’S ENERGY INITIATIVES MAY FINALLY EXTRACT AMERICA FROM MIDEAST CHAOS

The solution was engineered here, in American waters, by the people who know them best.

Transocean developed the first drillships in the world built to work in these high-pressure conditions. Their Deepwater Titan and Deepwater Atlas are currently operating in the Gulf of America. Trendsetter Engineering designed subsea systems and manifolds capable of operating reliably at pressures once considered beyond reach. Other offshore companies have developed similar equipment that has unlocked the Paleogene.

The results speak for themselves. Chevron's Anchor project came online in 2024, representing roughly $5.7 billion in development spending. Beacon Offshore's Shenandoah is also producing oil and natural gas. BP's development plan for its $5 billion Kaskida project has secured federal approval and is moving toward first production. Together, these projects mark the opening of a new chapter of American offshore capability.

TRUMP’S ENERGY INITIATIVES MAY FINALLY EXTRACT AMERICA FROM MIDEAST CHAOS

The people who did this work aren't household names. They're engineers and subsea specialists and vessel crews spread across the Gulf Coast, part of a remarkable expertise that shows up when an impossible problem needs solving.

And our people have proven this equipment is safe and reliable.

Safety and containment systems were purpose-built, independently verified, and rigorously tested under federal oversight before a single well was drilled. Offshore consortiums HWCG and Marine Well Containment Co. (MWCC) both maintain 20,000 psi containment systems that can be deployed rapidly in the event of an incident.

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Federal regulations require operators to demonstrate access to containment resources, submit detailed response plans, and conduct robust recurring training exercises before drilling begins. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement requires third-party certification on every major high-pressure component: blowout preventers, subsea trees, wellheads and completion equipment. Nothing goes offshore without it.

This achievement that’s producing more American energy is worth celebrating today, especially during a time when we take stock of what this country is built on. The Paleogene wasn't unlocked by a single mandate or a government program. It was unlocked by an ecosystem of companies, engineers, regulators, suppliers and workers who collectively decided a problem was worth solving and spent years doing it. That's a distinctly American model, and it works.

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The Gulf of America supplies roughly 15% of U.S. oil production. Offshore projects support shipyards, manufacturers, ports, marine operators and skilled trades across the country. There are jobs and investments in all 50 states.

The Paleogene represents the next chapter of that output, backed by existing infrastructure, an experienced workforce, and decades of hard-won operating knowledge. The economic and national security benefits don't happen without the long-term investment decisions and the long-term confidence that make them possible.

At 250, America is still a country that does seemingly impossible things. The Paleogene in the Gulf of America is proof.

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Archaeologists in Peru recently uncovered an unusual find: freeze-dried potatoes that date back centuries before the United States was even founded.

The potatoes, known as chuño, were found at the Tambo Viejo site in the Acarí Valley in southwestern Peru. The discovery was recently published in the Journal of Field Archaeology.

The potatoes date back roughly 500 years, to the time of the Inca Empire, according to Phys.org.

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Photos of the ancient food show two wrinkled, brownish, freeze-dried potatoes that still appear to retain their shape and color, looking strikingly like modern-day produce.

The preservation of the potatoes is "excellent," said Lidio Valdez, an archaeology professor at the University of Calgary, who led the excavation.

Valdez told Fox News Digital that the two freeze-dried potatoes are remarkably similar.

"The only difference is the samples found are small, and it seems that over time and due to the aridity of the region, their original size was reduced," he said. "There is no way one can tell their old age from samples."

ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNEARTH ANCIENT BREAD THAT SURVIVED UNDERGROUND FOR 5,000 YEARS

The significance of the discovery, Valdez said, is that it shows the Inca transported food over long distances.

"Freeze-dried potatoes can be produced only at high elevations," he said. "Afterward, the chuño were stored in state-controlled warehouses, most of them built also at high elevations."

"Because the Inca state carried out countless projects throughout the realm, the tasks involved thousands of workers, who had to be fed by the state. Thus, state officials likely mobilized volumes of chuño from the warehouses, transporting them in llama caravans."

At Tambo Viejo, the potatoes were then placed in ceramic vessels and stored underground to avoid food waste.

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Potatoes have high water content, Valdez added, which means they don't survive long "in most places," making Incan preservation methods particularly impressive.

"Place a potato somewhere in your kitchen just for a month and see what will happen," he said. "In places with rain and moisture, potatoes will rot quickly. Therefore, freeze-drying was [and] is an effective way to preserve and store them for long periods of time."

While freeze-dried potatoes may seem like a specialty ingredient, Valdez said the Inca considered chuño a staple food.

"Those who built the empire … palaces, roads and everything else we admire, [like] Machu Picchu … lived off the chuño," he said. "It appears that in Inca times, large volumes of potatoes were cultivated and freeze-dried, then stored in state-controlled warehouses."

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The archaeologist said he had hoped to learn more about the Inca recording system, known as khipus, because Tambo Viejo was an administrative center. Instead, he was surprised to uncover evidence of ancient food preservation.

Valdez described Tambo Viejo as "such a great Inca site," noting that it's been excavated on and off since 2018.

"Many wonderful finds have been discovered at the site," he said. "Almost everything found at the site is unprecedented, which makes Tambo Viejo such a unique center."

The find adds to a growing number of archaeological discoveries that have shed light on the foods eaten — and preserved — by ancient civilizations.

Last year, archaeologists in Italy uncovered preserved food remains in ancient Pompeii, including fruit and fava beans.

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In April, Swiss officials announced the discovery of a charred 2,000-year-old Roman bread loaf unearthed during an excavation in Windisch, marking the first archaeological find of its kind in the country.

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From the minute former President Joe Biden exited the debate stage in Atlanta two years ago, Democrats have wished to put that disastrous night behind them, but for a variety of reasons have been unable to do so.

Even now, barely a month can go by without some Democrat reminding us of the challenges Biden and Democrats faced, culminating in Biden’s withdrawal from the race.

Whether its former First Lady Jill Biden, former VP Kamala Harris, the widely-panned DNC "audit" of what went wrong, or other members of the administration, Democrats are reminding Americans that plainly, Biden had no reason running for a second term.

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They also remind voters that the party as a whole is struggling to recover from the defeat in 2024, a challenge made worse by Harris’ name and record consistently being in the spotlight as she considers a second run in 2028.

Moreover, in doing so, Democrats remind everyone of the lengths they went to hiding Biden’s declining capabilities at the very moment they were asking voters to trust them.

The former First Lady says as much. According to her memoir, she knew something was wrong, writing that she wondered if her husband was having a stroke, yet none of that seemingly mattered when she was forcefully defending him in the hours and days after.

And while voters are – understandably – still angry that the Democratic establishment did not admit what was obvious to the public, the political consequences of that night and the weeks after are still playing out. Indeed, as Carlos Lozada headlined a recent article in the New York Times, "The Biden Verdict is in. It Isn’t Pretty."

Describing a book summing up Biden’s presidency, Lozada writes that "The administration was ‘an ominous interregnum’" and that his term "ended somewhere between tragedy and farce."

Whether due to Biden’s age, stubbornness, or additional factors, throughout his presidency, the country lacked direction and an overarching vision.

Further, when the Biden White House did attempt to steer the country, they were often woefully out of step with what the majority of Americans wanted.

From throwing the Southern border wide open, to economic policies that stoked inflation – which ultimately proved to be Biden’s downfall – and a humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan, the administration simply appeared rudderless.

Likewise, Biden’s emphasis on transgender issues generated considerable backlash, leading to perhaps the most devastating political ad in recent memory, President Trump’s "Kamala is for they/them, I’m for you."

Even when the administration did identify a problem many Americans cared about such as climate change, they routinely failed to promote their policies, resulting in virtually no political points.

At the same time, despite promising to be a bridge between older, moderate Democrats and younger, more progressive Democrats, Biden exacerbated that ideological struggle, setting the stage for the ongoing fight today.

Put another way, rather than bringing both wings of the party together in order to set a new agenda, Biden allowed progressives to rapidly ascend, while the pool of moderates shrunk ever smaller.

To be sure, the consequences of that cannot be overstated, as it threatens the political viability of all Democrats, especially for state or national offices.

While popular in deep-blue pockets, progressives struggle when the electorate expands from ultra-liberal cities to entire states, let alone for the presidency.

And yet, progressives have grown so powerful within the Democratic Party that moderates are being primaried out of existence by an insurgent far-left that could keep the party out of the White House for decades to come.

As evidenced by the New York City primaries last Tuesday, that is no longer hyperbolic. Insurgent socialist candidates, backed by socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani won three races against more moderate candidates.

In that same vein, in Michigan, Maine, and even Texas, where far-left candidates Abdul El-Sayed, Graham Platner, and James Talarico, respectively, have surged in the polls, with Platner and Talarico winning primaries and El-Sayed a frontrunner in his.

In some ways, the rise of the socialist left is the result of frustration with the Democratic establishment that Biden embodied.

Having tried to hide his diminished state, then forcing through Harris without a primary, Biden and his enablers undermined confidence in the Democratic Party’s leadership, creating the conditions for an ascendent far-left.

Beyond his impact on the Democratic Party, Biden’s presidency handed Trump and Republicans a gift. Despite Fox News polling showing Trump with just a 39% approval rating, and Americans signaling their desire for change, Republicans can – credibly – still run against Biden.

They can ask Americans, do you want to go back to unprecedented inflation and open borders? If not, give us a chance. In fact, they are making that very point. Speaking to CNBC on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stressed that current inflation is nowhere near the 21.5% cumulative inflation seen under Biden and that the Trump administration is still dealing with those effects.

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Whether or not voters buy it remains to be seen, yet it would not be surprising if a considerable number do.

Taken together, midterms are often referendums on the incumbent, and 2026 figures to be no different. But in the aftermath of the Biden presidency, Harris candidacy, the DNC audit, and continued drips coming from Biden administration insiders, Democrats have a number of hurdles to overcome.

Worse still, aside from the tell-all books, Hunter Biden, Joe’s scandal-plagued son continues to make himself an extremely visible presence on Twitter. As one USA Today article described Hunter’s "X-rated X posts" have gone viral, providing voters with constant reminders of a former First Family that many Democrats simply want to settle out of the spotlight.

Ultimately, viewed through these lenses, Joe Biden’s biggest legacy may not just be handing Donald Trump a second term.

Rather, it may be the ongoing polarization and division within the Democratic Party that may allow Republicans, notwithstanding Trump’s low ratings and his own baggage, to avoid losing one – or both – chambers of Congress.

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The American Culture Quiz is a weekly test of our unique national traits, trends, history and people — including current events and the sights and sounds of the United States.

This week's quiz highlights cruise controversies, wedding whispers — and much more.

Can you get all 8 questions right?

Give it a try and see how you do!

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To try your hand at more quizzes from Fox News Digital, click here. 

Also, to take a recent News Quiz — published every Friday — click here.