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California regulators kill charity fireworks for America’s 250th, sparking outrage

California regulators kill charity fireworks for America’s 250th, sparking outrage

As the nation prepares for its 250th Independence Day celebration, a decades-long California Fourth of July fireworks tradition that has raised millions for local children’s programs is going dark this year after the California Coastal Commission rejected a final effort to keep it alive, citing environmental concerns to protect the bay. “We’ve raised over the past 14 years $2 million for kids programs here in Long Beach,” event organizer John Morris told Fox News Digital, adding the July 3 event is fully funded by the local community. “This community pays for everything — everything. City fees, and the city doesn’t give us a break. We pay $20,000 to the city for police and fire, which I’m fine with, because there’s 100,000 people enjoying the fireworks,” said Morris, a Long Beach resident and business owner. Morris, who owns the Boathouse on the Bay restaurant, had planned a scaled-up fireworks display this year to mark America’s 250th Independence Day. CALIFORNIA BEACH TOWN BANS THE USE OF BALLOONS In January, Coastal Commission staff rejected the proposal, and last week commissioners unanimously upheld that decision despite an appeal backed by local, state and federal officials. Regulators warned Morris last year that 2025 would likely be the final year for fireworks at the event, as they continue pushing organizers to switch to drone shows they say are more environmentally friendly. The decision stands in contrast to other approvals by the commission, including a permit granted to SeaWorld allowing up to 40 nights of fireworks. “They get 40 nights in Mission Bay. All I’m asking for is 20 minutes — it doesn’t make any sense,” Morris said. Morris, 78, also pushed back on the environmental concerns cited by the commission, pointing to years of testing around the event. CLIMATE EXECUTIVE WARNS CALIFORNIA ‘FUNCTIONALLY BANKRUPT,’ $1T SHORTFALL COULD SHAKE NATION “We’ve had 10 years of environmental studies,” Morris said. “We test the water before and after the fireworks and send a robotic camera into the bay to check for debris — there’s never been any. It’s been spotless. “We’ve also had eight years of bird reports to make sure we’re not harming wildlife. We’ve never had an issue. We’ve never been written up one time. So what is it really about?” Joshua Smith, a spokesman for the California Coastal Commission, told Fox News Digital that permits are determined on a case-by-case basis, citing environmental concerns to “protect the bay.” Smith said Morris was approved for a permit to hold a drone show in lieu of fireworks. Morris told Fox News Digital such a show would cost about $200,000 — roughly four times more than traditional fireworks. Smith confirmed that SeaWorld received a permit allowing 40 nights of fireworks. When pressed on the discrepancy, he reiterated that decisions are made individually and declined to provide further details. Morris said the loss of the fireworks show will be felt across the community, from local businesses to families who have made the event an annual tradition.

Displaced Lebanese woman returns to find home destroyed after ceasefire

Displaced Lebanese woman returns to find home destroyed after ceasefire

NewsFeed A displaced woman returned to southern Lebanon after a ceasefire to find her house reduced to rubble by Israeli attacks. Zahra Eid had fled Tayr Debba with her daughters at the start of the war. Published On 19 Apr 202619 Apr 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)

DRC government, M23 rebels commit to protect civilians, aid deliveries

DRC government, M23 rebels commit to protect civilians, aid deliveries

After talks in Switzerland, the two sides also made progress on a protocol for ceasefire oversight. Published On 19 Apr 202619 Apr 2026 The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and rival M23 rebels have agreed to ease aid deliveries and release prisoners, as mediators push to resolve a years-long conflict that has persisted despite multiple peace deals. The two sides announced the measures in a joint statement shared by the US Department of State on Saturday, following five days of talks in Switzerland. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “The parties agreed to refrain from any action that would undermine the principled delivery of humanitarian assistance within the territories impacted by the conflict,” said the statement. Both sides also pledged not to target civilians and to facilitate medical care for the wounded and sick as they noted progress on a protocol for humanitarian access and judicial protections. They agreed to release prisoners within 10 days as part of efforts “to continue building confidence”. In addition, the parties signed a memorandum of understanding for a ceasefire monitoring mechanism that will “begin conducting surveillance, monitoring, verification, and reporting on the implementation of the permanent ceasefire between the parties”. Since 2021, the M23, backed by Rwanda, has seized territory in eastern DRC, a region ravaged by more than 30 years of conflict. While the two sides signed a United States-brokered peace agreement in December, fighting has continued, most recently reaching the highland areas of South Kivu, according to media reports. In a statement last week, Human Rights Watch accused the parties of blocking aid deliveries and stopping civilians from fleeing the South Kivu highlands. Advertisement “Civilians in South Kivu’s highlands are facing a dire humanitarian crisis and live in fear of abuses by all parties,” said Clementine de Montjoye, senior Great Lakes researcher at Human Rights Watch. The latest round of talks, held in the Swiss Riviera town of Montreux, included representatives from Qatar, the US, Switzerland, the African Union (AU) Commission, and Togo serving as the AU mediator. Adblock test (Why?)

What to know about US-Iran standoff over the Strait of Hormuz

What to know about US-Iran standoff over the Strait of Hormuz

The Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about a fifth of the world’s oil, has again become the chaotic centre of the United States-Israel war on Iran, as a standoff between Washington and Tehran is complicating efforts to end the war. Iran on Saturday reversed its decision on reopening the strait, and its military opened fire at a ship trying to pass through the waterway after US President Donald Trump said Washington will continue its blockade on Iranian ports. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Trump has refused to end the blockade until a deal is finalised. On Saturday, he said that there have been “very good” discussions, but Washington won’t be “blackmailed”. After a short-lived rise in transit attempts on Saturday, ships in the Persian Gulf once again stayed put, after reports of vessels coming under fire mid-passage and being forced to withdraw. Their pullback restored the strait to its pre-ceasefire status, raising the risk of a worsening global energy crunch and increasing the likelihood of renewed fighting. Here is what you need to know: What has Iran said? Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday said the strait would be open for commercial vessels during the truce, which ends on April 22, in “line with the ceasefire in Lebanon”. However, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced a clear reversal in Iran’s position, saying the Strait of Hormuz would not return to its “previous state”, amid the blockade of Iranian ports. The IRGC’s joint military command said the US has “continued acts of piracy and maritime theft under the guise of a so-called blockade”. (Al Jazeera) “For this reason, control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state, and this strategic waterway is now under strict management and control by the armed forces,” said the statement, cited by Iranian broadcaster IRIB. Advertisement “Until the United States restores full freedom of navigation for vessels travelling from Iran to their destinations and back, the status of the Strait of Hormuz will remain tightly controlled and in its previous condition,” it added. Iran’s Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the US, said it was “impossible for others to pass” the strategic strait without Iran’s consent. He called Washington’s blockade “ignorant” and “foolish”, saying Tehran would not allow others to transit the strait if its own ships were blocked. On Saturday, he said that major differences remain, despite some progress towards a deal. What has the US said? In a Truth Social post on Sunday, the US president ‌accused Iran of violating the ceasefire agreement, but added that US negotiators will be heading to Islamabad, Pakistan on Monday to strike a deal. “We’re offering a very fair and reasonable deal, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single power plant, and every single bridge, in Iran,” he said in the post. Iran on Sunday said that it was tightening its control over the waterway once again in response to the US blockade of Iranian ports, which began on April 14. Tehran says the blockade violates the terms of the ceasefire. Trump on Saturday said that the US was having “very good conversations” with Iran, but he noted that Tehran wanted to close the important oil corridor again and that it could not blackmail the US with such a move. What is happening in the strait right now? Lloyd’s List, a maritime firm, said traffic in the Straight of Hormuz had come to a halt after Iranian forces fired on several ships on Saturday. The United ⁠⁠Kingdom ⁠⁠Maritime Trade Operations agency said it received a report ⁠⁠of a tanker being fired upon by what it ‌‌said were two gunboats linked to the IRGC. Meanwhile, India summoned the Iranian ambassador in New Delhi and expressed deep concern that two Indian-flagged ships had come under fire in the strait, the government said. Abas Aslani, a senior fellow at the Centre for Middle East Strategic Studies in Tehran, said the two sides are “engaging in war rhetoric ahead of any possible escalation and military conflict”. “It seems that they are pressuring each other to win concessions – and we are not there yet,” Aslani told Al Jazeera. “There are speculations that maybe the US is possibly planning to engage in limited strikes against Iran, but Iran has been saying that it will retaliate strongly,” he said. “This might end again in a wider conflict.” What are other sticking points between the US and Iran? Advertisement Nuclear enrichment The biggest contention is over hardening positions on Iran’s nuclear programme, chief among them being Tehran’s nuclear enrichment capability. On Friday, Trump said Washington would obtain Iran’s enriched uranium, calling it “nuclear dust” and referring to the 440kg (970lbs) believed to be buried at sites hit by US strikes last year. He repeated on Truth Social that “the USA will get all Nuclear ‘Dust’”. Speaking to Reuters news agency, Trump said the US would work with Iran “at a nice leisurely pace” and “start excavating with big machinery” to recover the material. In a rebuke to Trump, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Washington had no justification for depriving Iran of its nuclear rights. “Trump says Iran cannot make use of its nuclear rights, but doesn’t say for what crime. Who is he to deprive a nation of its rights?” Pezeshkian asked, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency. Israel and the US have repeatedly accused Iran of enriching uranium to develop nuclear weapons. But Iran says its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes and that it has honoured its commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Tulsi Gabbard, the director of US National Intelligence, testified to Congress in March 2025 that the US “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei has not authorised the nuclear weapons programme he suspended in 2003.” Khamenei was killed