Activities around the 250th highlight America’s disunity

WASHINGTON — One month from America’s 250th birthday, events and celebrations to commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence are as fragmented as the nation’s politics and culture in 2026.

President Donald Trump’s plans for a concert affiliated with the Great American State Fair in the weeks leading up to July 4 have been replaced by a campaign-style MAGA rally after most of the artists invited to perform on the National Mall opted out because of the partisan nature of the event.

America250, the bipartisan commission established by Congress to plan for the “semiquincentennial,” remains the central organizer, but its efforts to get all 350 million Americans to participate in various ways have been overshadowed in recent weeks by the White House sponsor of events, Freedom 250.

And while the two main 250 organizations vie for attention, scores of other groups, both local and national, are planning their own activities, some of them presented as attempts to counter the “Trump whitewash” of the United States’ first two-and-a-half centuries.

—CQ-Roll Call

Trump, without proof, claims ‘cheating’ in California vote, says federal probe underway

LOS ANGELES — To the surprise of few, President Donald Trump has once again claimed without evidence that Democrats are somehow cheating to win California’s primary elections — writing on social media late Wednesday that federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are investigating the matter.

“The Dumocrats are at it again! They are trying to STEAL THE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA PRIMARY, AND THE MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES, PRIMARY, AWAY FROM TWO GREAT REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES. Here we go with the very late and massive numbers of MAIL IN BALLOTS,” Trump posted to his social media website.

“There’s BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California. Votes are all tied up. May not be in for weeks. Under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles,” he wrote in a second post. “Why the vote counting DELAY???”

A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles — run by Trump loyalist First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli — declined to comment Thursday morning on Trump’s claims of an investigation.

—Los Angeles Times

Rural Minnesota bakery promotes ‘Nuclear Family Month’ as a counter to Pride month

A west central Minnesota bakery is getting both praise and backlash for special doughnut and coffee sales celebrating June as “Nuclear Family Month.”

Joshua Streblow, who owns Carl’s Bakery in downtown Granite Falls, said he intended to honor nuclear families — a man, woman and children — as a counter to Pride Month, which celebrates LGBTQ people and their civil rights efforts.

A push to celebrate nuclear families has gained traction across the country in recent months as conservative leaders have designated June as a time to support traditional Christian values.

In April, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a resolution designating June as Nuclear Family Month, and just this week, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun issued a formal proclamation on it. Governors from Utah and Arkansas also recently declared June as “Fidelity Month,” with Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders stating the resolution recognizes “fidelity to God, family, community and country.”

—The Minnesota Star Tribune

US-Iran talks progress stalls after Hezbollah rejects truce

There was no sign of progress in ceasefire talks between the U.S. and Iran after the worst burst of violence in weeks and as the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militia rejected on Thursday a U.S.-brokered truce in Lebanon.

President Donald Trump said ceasefire talks are in the “final” stages. Earlier, Iran’s foreign minister said the negotiations had stalled. On Wednesday, Iran fired missiles and drones at Kuwait and Bahrain, killing one person and injuring dozens at Kuwait’s main airport, after the U.S. struck an oil tanker headed to the Islamic Republic.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah militants said they refused to abide by the conditions of a ceasefire announced by the U.S. State Department only hours before. At least four people were killed in Israeli strikes, the Associated Press reported. And Israel’s military said Hezbollah launched several rockets toward its soldiers, with no injuries reported.

Asked by reporters Thursday in the Oval Office about Hezbollah’s rejection of the ceasefire, Trump said “they didn’t reject me” and claimed “they called us” to discuss a cessation of hostilities.

—Bloomberg News