Independence Day

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Carlos Rodriguez (right) and his wife, Margaret, of Woodbridge, Va., pose in front of the Washington Monument on Independence Day in Washington. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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People gather on the the grass on the National Mall in Washington to celebrate Independence Day. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

Corydon Swift Turner (under the hammock), 12, and his brother, Afton Swift Turner, 6, of Fairfax, Va., wait for the fireworks as the nation celebrates its 235th birthday on Independence Day in Washington. (Rod Lamkey Jr/The Washington Times)

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Deryk Jeter (left) plays catch with his 10-year-old son, Henry (right), while his 4-year-old daughter, Margaret, grabs onto his leg as they celebrate Independence Day on the National Mall in Washington on Monday, July 4, 2011. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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Belorussian honor guard soldiers perform during a parade marking Independence Day in Minsk, Belarus, on Sunday, July 3, 2011. Minsk was liberated by the Red Army from the Nazi invaders on this date in 1944. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

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Savannah Hogue, 2, of Severna Park, Md., dips a toe in a fountain near the Washington Monument on a hot Fourth of July, Independence Day, afternoon in Washington Sunday, July 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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Soldiers with the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment Old Guard Continental Color Guard line up near the National Archives building, left, in Washington before the start of the Fourth of July, Independence Day, festivities Sunday, July 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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Dressed to represent Uncle Sam, Steve Myott, of Greenville, N.C., right, shakes hands with visitors from atop his stilts near the U.S. Capitol, left background, on National Mall in Washington before the start the Fourth of July, Independence Day, parade Sunday, July 4, 2010.