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Monday, July 4, 2016

Happy Fourth of July 2016: Best locations to watch fireworks

Happy 4th of July

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. --Fireworks will light up the sky on Monday in celebration of the Fourth of July.

Here"s a guide to the best local spots on Staten Island to catch a fireworks show.

STATEN ISLAND YANKEES

After the Staten Island Yankees vs. Hudson Valley Renegades game at 7 p.m., there will be a post-game fireworks display.

The Staten Island Yankees play at Richmond County Bank Ballpark, located at 75 Richmond Terrace in St. George. Tickets are $5 to $35 atTicketMaster.

MACY"S FOURTH OF JULY FIREWORKS SHOW

In celebration of the its 40th anniversary, Macy"s Fourth of July Fireworks Show will be the biggest fireworks display to date since the millennium show in 2000.

The fireworks will launch from barges on the East River startingat9:25p.m. on Monday.

Best local spots to watch:

Alice Austen House and Buono Beach, Rosebank

The serene museum grounds givesthis spot gives a clear view of the Manhattan skyline.

The elevated grass areas allow viewers a chance to lay down blankets and enjoy the show with friends and family

The Postcards 9/11 Memorial, St. George

The memorial is located at the St. George Esplanade and is the closest location to Manhattan.

Although the area surrounding the memorial is small and blocked off by construction, the Manhattan skyline comes in clear view, complete with benches to sit and relax while watching the fireworks display.

The Gateway National Recreational Area, Fort Wadsworth

With plenty of parking and spots to set up camp, Fort Wadsworth provides a great view of the Macy"s fireworksshow.

Near the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, St. George

Just before the Richmond County Bank Ballpark, and beyond the ferry"s terminal is a location where viewers can watch fireworks.

Near Lyons Pool, Stapleton

Outside the Lyons Pool sits an elevated overpass that is sure to impress display-goers looking to catch a view of the Brooklyn Bridge and the fireworks show.

Arthur Von Briesen Park, Fort Wadsworth

The Arthur Von Briesen Park, located adjacent to Fort Wadsworth on Bay Street, leadsviewers up a short hill to reach a view perfect to watch fireworks.

CONEY ISLAND"S FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR

Coney Island will host its thirdannual July 4th Fireworks Spectacular that will launch off the beach near Steeplechase Pier. The show is scheduled to start at approximately 9:30 p.m.

Best local spots to watch

The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Board Walk, South Beach

The boardwalk sits parallel to the launch site in Coney Island and is long enough to provide enough space for display-goers to catch the show.

Free parking is available at various lots along Father Capodanno Boulevard.

The Gateway National Recreational Area, Fort Wadsworth

Fort Wadsworth provides views for not just the Macy"s fireworks display, but also for Coney Island"s display.

Source: http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/07/fourth_of_july_2016_best_spots.html

NBA Free Agency Day 3 Rumors: Pau Gasol Update, Tyler Johnson, Rajon Rondo, Latest Signings And More

Tyler Johnson Highlights [HD] Almost Famous Part I

NBA free agency is here, and there havealready been several moves in the first two days. With the cap rising, players are landing lucrative deals, especially compared to previous seasons. Many big names have already signed, although Kevin Durant has yet to make his decision.The rumor mill is buzzing with potentialcontracts, and we"re here to get you caught up on what"s happened thus far.Here are all the latest NBA rumorsand news you need to know.

If you"re looking for a full list of all the contract signings, scroll to the bottom of this post.

Pau Gasol About To Get PaidGasol is one of the more well-known free agents left and according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, he"s about to get a hefty contract.

The market for Pau Gasol appears to be around $18-22 million/year. Raptors, Bulls, Blazers, Wolves, Spurs among the teams in discussions with him, per sources. Not clear yet if he"ll wait until Durant decides.

If Gasol doesn"t wait until Durant decides, that could hurt the Spurs. San Antonio likely wouldn"t have enough cap space to add both Gasol and Durant. The Raptors were a bit of a late entry into the race. The Trail Blazers might have offered Gasol a two-year, $40 million deal.

Kings Out On Rondo?It seems the Kings won"t be brining back Rajon Rondo to be their point guard next season.

Collison is facing domestic violence charges, so the Kings need to get a quality backup in the event he winds up in jail or suspended by the NBA. It"s unclear who they are targeting. The three most likely landing spots before the draft seemed like the Knicks, Nets and Kings. But all three have landed a new point guard or moved on. Where Rondo plays next year is a major question mark and he might not be starting.

Nets Offer Tyler Johnson Offer SheetThe Brooklyn Nets have offered Heat guard Tyler Johnson a four-year, $50 million contract. The structure of the contract is a classic poison pill.

Johnson can sign that offer sheet as soon as July 7th. The Heat will then have three days to match. The structure of that deal will give the Heat pause, even though they"d said they plan to match.

Warriors Hire Mike BrownIt"s not a free agency move, but the Warriors have hired their replacement for Luke Walton. It"s Mike Brown, and more on his hiring can be found here.

Latest contract agreementsThough no deal can be officially signed until July 7th, several deals have already been agreed upon. Below, we have every deal signed so far, with the source linked as well.

Arron Afflalo - 2 years, $25 million with Kings (Source)Cole Aldrich - 3 years, $22 million with Timberwolves (Source)Ryan Anderson - 4 years, $80 million with Rockets (Source)Darrell Arthur - 3 years, $23 million with Nuggets (Source)D.J. Augustin - 4 years, $29 million withMagic(Source)Jerryd Bayless - 3 years, $27 million with 76ers (Source)Nicolas Batum - 5 years, $120 million withHornets(Source)Kent Bazemore - 4 years, $70 million with Hawks (Source)Bradley Beal - 5 years, $128 million with Wizards (Source)Bismack Biyombo - 4 years, $72 millionwith Magic (Source)Trevor Booker - 2 years, $18 million with Nets (Source)Jordan Clarkson - 4 years, $50 million withLakers(Source)Mike Conley - 5 years, $153 million with Grizzlies (Source)Matthew Dellavedova - 4 years, $38million with Bucks (Source) (Cavs can match, aren"t expected to)Luol Deng - 4 years, $72 million with Lakers (Source)DeMar DeRozan - 5 years, $139 million withRaptors(Source)Andre Drummond - 5 years, $130 million withPistons(Source)Jared Dudley - 3 years, $30 million with Suns (Source)James Ennis - 2 years, $6 million with Grizzlies (Source)Evan Fournier - 5 years, $85 million with Magic (Source)Jeff Green - 1 year, $15 million with Magic (Source)Eric Gordon - 4 years, $53 million with Rockets (Source)Justin Hamilton - 2 years, $6 million with Nets (Source)Solomon Hill - 4 years, $48 million with Pelicans (Source)Al Horford - 4 years, $113 million with Celtics (Source)Dwight Howard - 3 years, $70.5 million with Hawks (Source)Al Jefferson - 3 years, $30 million with Pacers (Source)Joe Johnson - 2 years, $22 million with Jazz (Source)Tyler Johnson - 4 years, $50 million with Nets (Source) (Heat can match, unclear if they will)Wesley Johnson - 3 years, $18 million with Clippers (Source)Courtney Lee - 4years, $50 million with Knicks (Source)Jon Leuer - 4 years, $42 million with Pistons (Source)Jeremy Lin - 3 years, $36 million with Nets (Source)Ian Mahinmi - 4 years, $64 million with Wizards (Source)E"Twaun Moore - 4 years, $34 million with Pelicans (Source)Timofey Mozgov - 4 years, $64 million withLakers(Source)Andrew Nicholson - 4 years, $26 million with Wizards (Source)Joakim Noah - 4 years, $72 million with Knicks (Source)Chandler Parsons - 4 years, $94million with Grizzlies (Source)Austin Rivers - 3 years, $35.7 million with Clippers (Source)Ish Smith - 3 years, $18 million withPistons(Source)Mizra Teletovic - 3 years, $30 million with Bucks (Source)Anthony Tolliver - 2 years, $16 million with Kings (Source)Evan Turner - 4 years, $70million with Trail Blazers (Source)Hassan Whiteside - 4 years, $98 million withHeat(Source)Marvin Williams - 4 years, $54.5 million with Hornets (Source)

Back to the NBA Newsfeed

Source: http://www.chatsports.com/nba/a/nba-free-agency-day-3-rumors-pau-gasol-tyler-johnson-rajon-rondo-latest-signings-more-29829

FOURTH OF JULY QUOTES

Happy 4th of July 2016: Greetings, Quotes and Messages to Share on Whatsapp & Facebook

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave. Elmer Davis

Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have. Harry Emerson Fosdick

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it. Thomas Paine

You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. Erma Bombeck

Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die. Dwight D. Eisenhower

In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved. Franklin D. Roosevelt

A statistician made a few calculations and discovered that since the birth of our nation more lives had been lost in celebrating independence than in winning it. Curtis Billings

He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself. Thomas Paine

The American Revolution was a beginning, not a consummation. Woodrow Wilson

Let freedom never perish in your hands. Joseph Addison

This, then, is the state of the union: free and restless, growing and full of hope. So it was in the beginning. So it shall always be, while G*d is willing, and we are strong enough to keep the faith. Lyndon B. Johnson

For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail? Ralph Waldo Emerson

That which distinguishes this day from all others is that then both orators and artillerymen shoot blank cartridges. John Burroughs, Journal

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Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNH2S1yKmlbgFF_lzB092dCXVZkWnw&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&ei=r516V9g2wpbcAaCXu-gB&url=https://limaohio.com/opinion/editorials/190295/fourth-of-july-quotes

Ballhawk Zack Hample gets into Fort Bragg Game, stirs up social media firestorm

Zack Hample ballhawking at PNC Park

One of the most controversial people in pro baseball created a social media firestorm Sunday when he revealed he had gotten into the Fort Bragg Game.

Zack Hample is a "professional" ballhawk who travels the country in search of Major League baseballs.

Near the end of the game between the Atlanta Braves and the Miami Marlins, Hample tweeted that he caught 11 baseballs.

His tactics in Major League ballparks have repeatedly come under fire. Most on social media took issue not with his efforts, but with his attendance at the special for-the-troops game.

Officials distributed 12,500 tickets, with most going to troops, their families, veterans and Fort Bragg civilian employees. But Fort Bragg has 54,000 troops, and tens of thousands more dependents.

Unused tickets were to be turned back in so troops who were not originally assigned tickets could attend.

Hample, who lives in New York, somehow cajoled a ticket.

On Twitter, he said he received it through a friend whose entire unit was slated to go to the game. That "friend" was going to bring his girlfriend, but instead took Hample.

Days before the game, Hample was using social media, offering $1,000 for tickets to the game.

In response to the outrage over his first caught ball, Hample "decided to donate $100 per baseball that I snag today to AMVETS.org. I"m also giving all my b***s away today except one."

That did little to assuage the social media masses.

2016 The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.)

Visit The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.) at www.fayobserver.com

Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/ct-zack-hample-fort-bragg-game-20160704-story.html

An extra period in the Declaration of Independence could change our understanding of the role of government

Reading of the Declaration of Independence

National Archives and Records Administration

The Declaration Of Independence made the United States an autonomous country 240 years ago this Fourth of July.

But the document"s official transcript, produced by the National Archives, might contain an error an extra period right in the middle of one of the most significant sentences, The New York Times reports.

A quick Google search for the text will show that many websites and organizations follow the National Archives" lead. Here"s the full sentence, with an added period highlighted in red:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ...."

That period doesn"t appear on the faded original parchment, Danielle Allen, a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study, contends. And it changes the meaning of the sentence, which effectively alters Americans" interpretation of government"s role in protecting their individual rights.

"The logic of the sentence moves from the value of individual rights to the importance of government as a tool for protecting those rights," Allen told the Times. "You lose that connection when the period gets added."

Americans tend to interpret the message in its current form: that government is subordinate to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Without the period, the importance of government could serve as part of a larger argument, instead of a separate thought.

Unfortunately, the original document has faded to near illegibility. But Allen points out that many early transcripts, some from 1776, exclude the period. Take Thomas Jefferson"s so-called original rough draft, held in the Library of Congress no period, according to the Times.

But that argument has its dissenters, especially those who feel the punctuation matters little to the meaning. Allen disagrees.

"We are having a national conversation about the value of our government, and it goes get connected to our founding documents," Allen told the Times. "We should get right what"s in them."

This isn"t the first time a historical text"s punctuation made the national stage. Debate over a comma in the Second Amendmenttraveled all the way to the Supreme Court in 2008. Then, lawyers argued its interpretation changed the meaning of our right to bear arms.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/period-in-declaration-of-independence-2016-6

10 resolutions to make this Eid 2016

Full Hand Easy Mehendi | Henna Design EID 2016 | ShrutiArjunAnand

Ramadan inspires us to be better people and better human beings in various ways. Charity, kindness and self-restraint are focused on during Ramadan and it is only logical to take it forward through your Eid resolutions. After all, it is not about one month, but who we become after it that counts. Here are ten ideas to inspire your post-Ramadan resolutions.

1. Sponsor a child

Sponsoring a child involves being financially responsible for his or her educational expenses, sometimes extending to include living expenses too. The payment involved in such programs are in yearly, half yearly or monthly instalments of small amounts. Almost all sponsorship programs give you periodic school progress reports and other details about the child. Some programs also allow you to be in contact with your sponsored child.

Ramadan teaches you to be kind and charitable, not just for a month, but for as long as you live.Share on facebook

International organisations which offer this program include World Vision, Save the Children and Compassion. Monthly payments start from US $30 (Dh110) per month which covers medical check-ups, food, basic education, health and hygiene training and mentoring, none of which would otherwise be accessible to these children.

2. Self-Restraint

Ramadan, as a month of fasting and restraint, teaches us the importance of self-restraint. Take a resolution to practice this control in all aspects of life. Put needs over wants in terms of food and money. This restraint will help you realise the importance of how blessed we are in comparison to others who dont have enough for their basic needs, and also help you have better control over yourself and your life.

Read a readers experience of how Ramadan taught him about self-restraint

3. Charity

Charity begind in the home as they say and should be year-round, not just for one month. It is not also only about giving when you have extra. It is about understanding our responsibility to other human lives in the world. Giving, in however small way, is a great way to help a less fortunate person. Ramadan teaches you to be kind and charitable, not just for a month, but for as long as you live.

4. All or nothing

The message of Ramadan is to try to be the best version of you whether it"s at work or at home. Take this forward this Eid by striving to be your best always. When fasting ends, keep your efforts up to maximum productivity and 100 per cent commitment to your work and family.

5. Fast one day in a month

Rekindle the spirit of Ramadan once a month by selecting one day to fast. It will refresh your mind and body. You can have water, but abstain from food. End your fast in as healthily a way as possible. Meditate; spend time in positive introspection and take the day slow. This will help refresh your mind and help you destress while detoxing your body.

6. Tolerance

The spiritual element of Ramadan automatically instils a positive feeling, which permeates all our activities. Even people who dont fast seem to take the extra effort to be positive, polite and tolerant. Carry this forward this Eid and strive to be understanding and tolerant of people or events around you. Be ready to listen and learn as much as you can. Be open-minded to ideas, even if they make no sense to you at first. Tolerance only comes through understanding and acceptance of things that are new or different.

7. Eat less meat

As responsible human beings, we should avoid taking lives just because we like eating meat. We have so many options available to us, yet we seem unable to control our appetite for meat. Regardless of your culture or normal eating patterns, eating less meat is easy to bring about and healthier for you. For a start, restrict yourselves to just one or two non-vegetarian meals in a week.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron urge people to eat less meat.

8. Stop smoking

Take a resolution to be responsible for your own health and quit smoking. Make small changes such as avoiding or restricting daily smoking opportunities with colleagues and avoid buying cigarettes. Challenge yourself, because the need to smoke should not control you.

9. Volunteer once a month

Volunteer for a cause close to your heart once a month. In the UAE many organisations require volunteers on a periodic basic for various activities. Some of these are Dubai Cares, Community Development Authority and K9 Friends. Find a cause you feel passionate about and do adequate research on the organisation before registering as a volunteer.

10. Family first

Eid and Ramadan are extra special because we spend more time than usual with our elderly parents and our extended family. Resolve to spend uninterrupted and regular time with extended family and friends every month. This brings about a feeling of belonging and support, and also teaches the younger generation about how important relationships are. Your stress and troubles will become bearable when you have supportive and loving people around you.

Source: http://gulfnews.com/guides/life/community/10-resolutions-to-make-this-eid-2016-1.1853304

Fourth of July fireworks displays

Overwatch: 4th of July FREEDOM STREAM! (PC Overwatch Gameplay Livestream)
Briefs| Features

>> Ala Moana Beach Park: 8:30 p.m., with live mu- sic accompaniment at FM 92.3 KSSK>> Schofield Barracks: 8:30 p.m., Weyand Field. Open to Department of Defense ID cardholders and guests. Bags, outside food and f***y packs/purses larger than 5 by 7 inches are prohibited.himwr.com/4thofjuly>> Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam: 9 p.m., Ward Field. Open to Department of Defense ID cardholders and sponsored guests. greatlifehawaii.com>> Kailua: 8 p.m., Kailua Beach. Free parking at Kainalu, Kailua and Lanikai elementary schools and Kailua Intermediate School. Trolley service from the Macys parking lot and Kailua Elementary School to Kailua Beach Center. kailuafireworks.net>> Turtle Bay: 8 p.m., Turtle Bay Resorts West Lawn. Free;* $10 parking at the resorts Stables Lawn beginning at 2 p.m. turtlebayresort.com>> Note: For complete details on entertainment, food and other activities, see TGIF at staradvertiser.com.

Source: http://www.staradvertiser.com/features/fourth-july-fireworks-displays/