Topline: L.A. and Orange counties have something for everyone this Independence Day, whether it’s live music, food trucks or a dazzling display of fireworks. Get out and enjoy the activities for America’s 250th anniversary.
Read on… to learn more about how to spend your 4th of July this year.
Every year, SoCal counties go out with a bang for their 4th of July festivities.
This year, though, some July 4 events are canceled in Boyle Heights due to air quality concerns in the wake of the massive warehouse fire. And if you’re thinking about engaging in illegal fireworks, just don’t. Too dangerous. And drones may be watching.
Here’s a list of places in Los Angeles and Orange counties where you can watch fireworks for this upcoming holiday:
Kahani Malholtra first compiled this list in 2025, and we have updated it again this year. If we missed a spot, please let us know and we might add it to this list. Reach out at smarvin@scpr.org.
Topline:
Transportation Safety Administration officers check IDs and scan baggage and passengers at 440 federalized airports across the country, but why do 20 airports have private security?
The backstory: The federal-private divide dates to the creation of the TSA in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In the process, the government gave airports a choice of staffing checkpoints with federal security officers or opting out, using private firms under the Screening Partnership Program (SPP). Nearly 25 years later, the TSA screens passengers and bags in most U.S. airports. The largest holdouts are Kansas City and San Francisco International Airport.
Administration want more privatization: The Trump administration wants to boost private involvement, saying that privatizing airports would save tens of millions of dollars, prompting pushback from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union, which warns that the plan would undermine federal officers. The administration rolled out a new version of the SPP called TSA Gold+ last month, saying it will announce the first airports joining the program later this year.
If you've traveled by plane, you can probably picture this scene: Passengers line up to present their IDs to an airport officer, put their carry-on luggage on a conveyor belt and walk through a scanner.
But one detail at Kansas City International Airport is a bit unique. The uniformed officers who scan IDs and screen carry-on bags wear badges and U.S. flag patches, but they're not Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers — they're private contractors. It's a distinction many passengers don't seem to notice.
"It's news to me," said Natasha Greenway, holding the handle of her son's stroller before catching a flight to Philadelphia.
"I didn't even notice," says Kim Eckels, who was traveling to Portland, Ore., with her family. With a laugh, she added, "I taught my kids not to question anything going through security. Just keep your mouth shut and go."
That attitude is shared by many travelers, who can be forgiven for not realizing that the officers politely but firmly guiding them through the screening process work not for the government but for VMD Corp., based in McLean, Virginia. As more airports consider going private rather than using federal officers, companies like VMD are eager to show they can keep passengers safe — and satisfy the TSA's oversight and standards.
"We do have TSA" at the airport, noted Gabe Murphy, VMD's program manager at Kansas City International.
Private employees are responsible for everything from checking IDs to screening passengers and baggage. But Murphy said the TSA also has a security team there whose job is to "basically audit us and make sure that we're following all the processes and procedures that are outlined by TSA."
Using the acronym for standard operating procedure, he added: "Their SOP is our SOP."
The federal-private divide dates to the creation of the TSA in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In the process, the government gave airports a choice of staffing checkpoints with federal security officers or opting out, using private firms under the Screening Partnership Program (SPP).
Nearly 25 years later, the TSA screens passengers and bags in most U.S. airports. The largest holdouts are Kansas City and San Francisco International Airport. Other SPP airports are scattered around the United States, from Sarasota, Fla., and Atlantic City, N.J., to Tupelo, Miss., and Yellowstone, Montana.
But more airports, such as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, are considering going private. Changes like that would bring a major shift, said Tina Won Sherman, director of the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) Homeland Security and Justice team. She said that the SPP hit a plateau years ago.
"It's really remained a small number: 20 privatized airports, where there are currently 440 federalized airports across the country," Sherman said.
The Trump administration wants to boost private involvement. It rolled out a new version of the SPP called TSA Gold+ last month, saying it will announce the first airports joining the program later this year. The administration has said privatizing airports would save tens of millions of dollars, prompting pushback from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union, which warns that the plan would undermine federal officers.
The federal law that created the Transportation Security Administration requires that private contracting companies pay their employees at least as well as commensurate federal workers. TSA officers have long struggled with some of the lowest wages in the federal workforce, but that situation improved markedly in 2023, thanks to an omnibus budget bill. Officers also benefited from the TSA's collective bargaining agreement with the AFGE union in 2024, but the Trump administration has sought to revoke that contract.
Sherman notes that details of how Gold+ would work are still emerging. But, she added, if dozens of small- and medium-sized airports join, it would raise questions about how the TSA handles oversight of everything from technology standards to screeners' efficiency, at a much larger scale. They are questions she'll be watching closely for answers.
"It's critical, absolutely critical, for TSA to make sure that security is upheld at the highest standard that it can be," Sherman said.
On a recent Tuesday, an informal survey of passengers in the Kansas City airport found that like many Americans, most weren't aware the SPP program existed until the recent partial government shutdown triggered long lines at federally run airports, while private facilities ran more smoothly.
Just inside a security checkpoint, Eric Sauter sat down for a haircut in a shop next to a shoeshine stand. He lives in San Diego but travels about 150 days a year for business, including frequent visits to Kansas City. As a barber buzzed around his head, Sauter said he didn't realize this airport uses private security until he visited in early spring.
"Everyone was really worried about the travel in and out," Sauter said. "I experienced no issues. And I did learn through reading in the news after the trip that they have the private TSA agents here."
One of the few obvious differences between TSA and VMD officers is that the private company's workers wear shirts that are gray, not the TSA's deep blue — the color the comedian Julio Torres famously associates with airports, as well as law and order. But most people NPR spoke to said they didn't notice the difference.
Inside the large atrium at the Kansas City airport, Carissa Brownlee said that she got through the line quickly and that she was more focused on making her flight than noticing the officers' uniforms.
"I think as long as the agents are friendly and kind and not in a bad mood, everything goes smoother," Brownlee said.
The Kansas City airport's security installation is similar to what's found in dozens of U.S. airports, although some equipment was upgraded recently to avoid snags as the city braced for World Cup travelers.
There's a new scanning system, for instance, that lets people keep their arms at their waists as they pause between two white panels, rather than the more complicated spinning scanner used in many airports.
"They're much quicker and much more efficient, which will be nice here in a few weeks when we really start to see heavier throughputs," VMD's Murphy said.
After moving through the main checkpoint, passengers pass a desk staffed by local police officers.
"It's a city requirement," Murphy said. "If there is an unruly passenger or upset passenger or if there's a loaded firearm or a prohibited item that we identify," an officer can handle the situation immediately rather than coming from another terminal.
Once inside the terminal, travelers might encounter police and TSA K-9 units, which often stop to let passing families and children visit with the dogs. In the bowels of the airport, multiple levels of VMD employees analyze checked bags and suitcases for potential red-flag items at computer terminals. If necessary, they do so by hand.
During NPR's visit, about 10 new VMD employees had just begun their training.
"It's probably altogether about two months of training — more, depending on their skill level," for new employees, according to Kim Fisher, the airport's head security-training instructor.
"This caught my eye because I've always had interest in security," said new hire Jada Price, 19. When asked whether she plans to be working at the airport for decades to come, she doesn't hesitate: "I 100% plan to be, yes."
Four of the new hires said they moved to Kansas City for the opportunity. Part of the reason, they said, was the promise of job stability.
That point was repeatedly brought up at a recent congressional hearing on modernizing the TSA. Industry veterans said airport security officers must be paid to do a critical job, whether Congress can agree on a budget or not.
Sherman, of the Government Accountability Office, said fair and stable wages are key to sustaining morale and letting officers focus on important work.
"You're relying on these individuals to make sure that whether you're in Washington, D.C., or you're in Kansas City or anywhere else across the country, that you're receiving the same level of security," she said. "And that the individual that's providing it is doing that to the best of their ability."
As security officers and airports prepare for potential changes from the privatization push, a different change is looming for VMD. The company's $803 million proposal to handle security at San Francisco International Airport was recently accepted, a decision that was affirmed by the Government Accountability Office.
As part of the transition, Fisher, who also heads training programs at more than a dozen VMD-operated airports, was heading to San Francisco to work with existing employees there.
"It's going to be business as usual for us," she said, "just on a bigger scale."
Copyright 2026 NPR
Topline:
Both of Jackie and Shadow’s eaglets have left the nest — but one of the famous Big Bear birds fell more than flew.
Why it matters: Luna, the younger eaglet, took its first flight away from their Jeffrey pine tree a little before 9:30 a.m. Monday as thousands of fans watched on the nest’s popular YouTube livestream.
Why now: Luna left about a day after Sandy, the elder eaglet, toppled down the tree and out of view of the cameras.
The backstory: Jackie and Shadow, Big Bear Valley’s resident bald eagle couple, have now successfully fledged six chicks together: Simba in 2019, Spirit in 2022, Sunny and Gizmo last year and Sandy and Luna this season.
Go deeper: A $10M fundraiser could save the land around Big Bear's bald eagle nest. It's halfway over
Both of Jackie and Shadow’s eaglets have left the nest — but one of the famous Big Bear birds fell more than flew.
Luna, the younger eaglet, took its first flight away from their Jeffrey pine tree a little before 9:30 a.m. Monday as thousands of fans watched on the nest’s popular YouTube livestream. The livestream is run by the environmental nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley, which is also working to preserve acres of land in the area.
Luna left about a day after Sandy, the elder eaglet, toppled down the tree and out of view of the cameras.
Sandy did end up taking its first flight — which is called fledging — albeit in an unexpected way. Friends of Big Bear Valley said Sandy “fludged” before the eaglet was seen soaring to another area shortly after Sunday’s fall.
“Though it is up to Sandy and Luna, in the past, the eaglets have come back to the nest to eat, sleep or just hang out together,” the organization wrote on Facebook to its more than 1 million followers. “Stay tuned, this family affair isn’t over…”
Jackie and Shadow, Big Bear Valley’s resident bald eagle couple, have now successfully fledged six chicks together: Simba in 2019, Spirit in 2022, Sunny and Gizmo last year and Sandy and Luna this season.
The Big Bear bald eaglets have historically fledged when they’re around 13 weeks old, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley. Sandy, which the nonprofit believes to be a female, and Luna, believed to be a male, are a little more than 12 weeks old.
The eaglets were preparing for the big leap in recent weeks by venturing further onto branches and stretching their wings in the wind to build up strength.
The duo were on an outer part of the tree Sunday morning when Luna tried to jump over its sibling, but the eaglet’s talons got tangled and Sandy fell to the branches below.
Sandy was spotted on Friends of Big Bear Valley’s security camera shortly after, flying away from the nest tree and to another area out of view.
"Thankfully, I think all of those limbs broke her fall from it and she was able to recover,” Jenny Voisard, the nonprofit’s media manager, told LAist.
Luna had a more graceful strategy, flying to a nearby tree where Shadow was waiting. Friends of Big Bear Valley said fans "will likely see some family gatherings” once Sandy and Luna make their way around the habitat.
Last season’s eaglets, Sunny and Gizmo, fledged in early June and were last seen near the nest about three weeks later.
Jackie and Shadow are expected to continue caring for Sandy and Luna while they’re in Big Bear Valley. That includes finding food as the eaglets get better at flying, and eventually, hunting on their own.
“They need to learn that and perfect those skills, and Jackie and Shadow will be with them,” Voisard said. “They'll bring them food to where they are, and then they'll show them how to get food on their own. It's a process. It takes a little while.”
Eaglets generally leave the area they were raised by fall of the year they hatched, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley. Young eagles travel far and wide, with banded birds being tracked up to 2,000 miles away.
Once the birds reach maturity at around 5 years old, they look for their own mate and build a nest in a new territory.
Topline:
Small business owners in East L.A. and Boyle Heights suffer losses in wake of the warehouse fire and ICE raids.
Ponciano Produce: Last week, Felipe Hernandez saw fewer customers than usual. The produce vendor had already lost some foot traffic in East L.A. due to the ongoing ICE raids and COVID before that, but after the Lineage warehouse fire blanketed the area in smoke, Hernandez felt like everyone disappeared all at once.
Why it matters: According to a report from the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute nearly 13,600 jobs are located within the smoke advisory zone, 66% are held by Hispanic or Latino individuals. The report notes that many small businesses in retail, accommodation, and food service closed or experienced a steep decline in clients.
Read on... for more on how small businesses have been impacted.
This story first appeared on The LA Local.
Last week, Felipe Hernandez saw fewer customers than usual. The produce vendor had already lost some foot traffic in East L.A. due to the ongoing ICE raids and COVID before that, but after the Lineage warehouse fire blanketed the area in smoke, Hernandez felt like everyone disappeared all at once.
“I think this was worse [than COVID]. They all really went away just like that — but this time it was on a whole new level,” said Hernandez, who works afternoons at Ponciano Produce, his nephew’s produce truck.
Claudia Hernandez, owner of Mariscos El Manglar in East L.A., closed early on the first day of the fire because she couldn’t handle the amount of smoke blowing at her food truck, parked one mile away.
“With the raids, sales dropped by 60%,” said Hernandez. “And this week, because of the smoke, they’ve gone down by about 80%.”
The compounding effect of the ICE raids and now a week full of smoke due to the Lineage fire, has left small businesses in both Boyle Heights and East L.A. struggling more than ever.
Many businesses were forced to close entirely due to the intensity of the smoke and others that did open served even fewer customers as people were forced to stay indoors or leave the area.
According to a report from the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute nearly 13,600 jobs are located within the smoke advisory zone, 66% are held by Hispanic or Latino individuals.
The report notes that many small businesses in retail, accommodation, and food service closed or experienced a steep decline in clients.
Hair stylist Cristina Medrano fought back tears when thinking of the impacts ICE have had on her customers at Kassandra’s Salon and the greater Boyle Heights community.
“Our people are scared. All of us are, right? We go through a certain amount of stress regarding our people, it really is very difficult,” said Medrano. “Even though it doesn’t affect us directly, our people do go out but they go out afraid.”
After the fire Medrano was forced to cancel appointments due to customers’ concerns about the smoke. She says she never expected the fire to go on for as long as it did.
“It’s been more than we expected, a whole week like this. And there’s still more to come, just think of everything that’s in the air, what we’re breathing in. But we have to work. I mean, you can’t just sit around doing nothing, we have to keep going,” Medrano said.
On Wednesday, Inclusive Action, the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce and the Hustle & Heart Collective launched the Boyle Heights Fire Relief Fund for Small Businesses, targeting brick and mortar shops and street vendors in the four zip codes around the Lineage fire.
“Some businesses are still trying to come out of the hole that they were put in because of the ICE raids today,” said Rudy Espinoza, CEO of Inclusive Action. “So then you layer this new fire for the especially the small businesses on the east side and it’s just like another obstacle for them to get ahead and to take care of their families and to make payroll for their workers.”
Applications are not open yet but they are accepting donations via GoFundMe.
Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office is also working with the Emergency Management Department and the Boyle Heights Business Source Center to connect impacted businesses and street vendors to city resources,
After struggling with a loss of about 65% of their sales after the ICE raids, Tacos Los Arabes in Boyle Heights lost about 35% in sales during the week of the fire, according to Jonathan Villegas, one of the sons of the family-owned Tacos Los Arabes.
“It was an unfortunate thing to happen but it’s in the past. We’re trying to move on and we don’t think it’s going to affect the future for now because it seems under control, but the raids are still in the back of people’s minds. They’re a little bit more ready to go out, but you still hear stories about people being raided” Villegas said.
Villegas said he appreciated when customers would wear N95 masks to support his business during the week despite the obstacles facing the community.
Topline:
Israel's Cabinet unanimously approved a proposal on Sunday to designate violence against Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I as a genocide.
Why now: The step, which still needs approval in Parliament, reflects deteriorating ties between Israel and Turkey. Turkey has fiercely lobbied to prevent countries from officially recognizing the mass deaths of Armenians around 1915 as a genocide, even as Armenians have pushed for it. For years, Israel never officially broached the subject for fear of angering Turkey, but that relationship has soured over the past two decades, especially as the most recent wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran have dragged on.
Why it matters: Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.
Israel's Cabinet unanimously approved a proposal on Sunday to designate violence against Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I as a genocide.
The step, which still needs approval in Parliament, reflects deteriorating ties between Israel and Turkey. Turkey has fiercely lobbied to prevent countries from officially recognizing the mass deaths of Armenians around 1915 as a genocide, even as Armenians have pushed for it.
Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.
For years, Israel never officially broached the subject for fear of angering Turkey, but that relationship has soured over the past two decades, especially as the most recent wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran have dragged on.
"Despite the extensive and unambiguous historical documentation, the Armenian Genocide remains to this day the subject of an institutionalized campaign of denial and minimization, including a manipulative rewriting of history, mainly by the Turkish government," said Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who brought the decision to the government.
He noted that Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have previously described the violence against Armenians as a genocide. But it has never been formally recognized in a vote by Israel's Knesset.
"It is never too late to do the right thing," Saar said Sunday, calling it a "moral and historical duty."
He noted that 32 countries, including the United States, Syria and Lebanon, have also classified the violence as a genocide. It was not immediately known when Sunday's decision, approved unanimously by Israel's Cabinet, would go to the parliament for approval.
Turkey called Israel's move a "politically motivated" step meant to distract from the country's own actions against Palestinians.
"The Israeli government, which systematically persecutes the Palestinian people in full view of the world and is being tried at the International Court of Justice for genocide against the people of Gaza, aims to cover up its own crimes," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"This malicious attempt, which disregards legal and historical facts, reveals the predicament of Netanyahu and his accomplices, who have arrest warrants against them in connection with the investigation into crimes committed against Palestinians at the International Criminal Court," the statement added.
Israel and Turkey were once close allies, but relations soured during the rise of Turkey's Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leading Israel to reconsider its position.
Israel has faced repeated accusations, including from the United Nations and Turkey, that its offensive in Gaza amounts to genocide. Israel, founded in the wake of the Holocaust, denies the accusations.
Israel launched the war in response to Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Gaza's Health Ministry, part of the Hamas government, says over 73,000 people have been killed, roughly half of them women and children. Israel says it does not target civilians and accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields.
Last week, a team of independent experts commissioned by the United Nations accused Israel of deliberately shooting children in Gaza and repeated accusations that Israel has carried out a genocide. Israel called the report a "libelous sham."
Copyright 2026 NPR
