Fireworks, parades, citizenship oaths on holiday agenda
Written on July 4, 2007 – 3:53 pm | by piterekxenony
NEW YORK (AP) — Fireworks crews checked the wiring for their displays and hundreds of people took their citizenship oaths Wednesday on a Fourth of July marked by tight security.
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Lucas Boone, 9, left, and Sean Boone, 6, take part in a Fourth of July parade Wednesday in Little Rock, Arkansas.
New York’s pyrotechnics display, billed as the nation’s biggest with 40,000 fireworks, had a novelty ready to draw oohs and aahs from this year’s crowd: exploding shells aimed down, not up.
The so-called nautical shells are supposed to explode on the surface of the East River, remaining illuminated for a few seconds before fading out, said Robin Hall, executive producer of the Macy’s Fourth of July display.
In the nation’s capital, security was heightened following recent attempted car bombings in Britain.
Hundreds of emergency responders from about 20 law enforcement agencies were on duty, authorities said. Officers were urged to be on alert for vehicles with suspicious characteristics such as protruding wires or an unusual odor.
As with past July 4 festivities since the September 11 terrorist attacks, the mall was fenced off and visitors were required to pass through 19 security checkpoints, which opened at 10 a.m.
Originally posted on CNN
