Thousands of patriotic Houstonians flooded downtown Houston on Friday night for the city’s signature Independence Day celebration, ‘Freedom Over Texas.’

As Americans prepare to celebrate Independence Day, law enforcement and safety advocates are issuing a serious warning: what goes up must come down—and sometimes, it ends in tragedy.

Share how you're celebrating this Independence Day.

On July 4th, 2025, most government offices and schools in Houston will be closed in observance of Independence Day, along with the Solid Waste Management Department operating on an adjusted schedule.

Fireworks are a cornerstone of America's Fourth of July celebrations, but that can make the spirited holiday dangerous.

As families prepare to mark Independence Day, some in Spring are dealing with heartbreak and disbelief.

People are approaching this Independence Day with mixed feelings.

Fourth of July is tomorrow and if you're stressed out about your furry friends being stressed out over fireworks, we're getting some expert tips from our friend and dog trainer Stephanie Bennett and Alyssa Renteria from Believe in Dog to keep your pet safe and happy tomorrow night.

While many people will be staying around town to enjoy the holiday with friends and family, others may be traveling to other areas of the state.

We’re tracking more widespread showers starting late morning and stretching into the evening.

Houston celebrates the Fourth of July with a variety of special menus and events at local eateries and lounges.

Looking for fun Fourth of July plans? Check out this list of top events—from fireworks and parades to festivals and live music.

We’re tracking more widespread showers starting late morning and stretching into the evening.

Enjoy a safe and spectacular Independence Day

Burn bans and firework restrictions are a regular headline when we’ve had a dry spring and summer. But not in 2025! This year, there are no burn bans in East Texas!

The Army will place large metal plating at key points on Washington's streets.

Tessa Barrera takes you inside the new ChopNBlok on Montrose as they celebrate Nigerian Independence Day.

Ukraine is somberly marking its 33rd year of independence as war with Russia rages on.

Share how you're celebrating this Independence Day.

Millions of Americans are celebrating the Fourth of July despite heat warnings, a projected record number of travelers and so many beachgoers that officials had to close some parks to latecomers.

Suburban Chicago mom Keely Roberts counts the days, not years, since a deadly shooting at an Independence Day parade in 2022 injured her and left one of her twin boys paralyzed from the waist down.

Violence and mass shootings often surge in the summer months.

Diane Zuniga, a resident of Arc at the Grid apartments, received a lease violation for displaying an American flag and lights on her balcony ahead of the Fourth of July. Zuniga, who believes she is being unfairly targeted, has vowed to keep her decorations up despite the citation. She claims she has had other decorations up for months without issue. What do you think about this situation? Read more and share your thoughts!

Enjoy a safe and spectacular Independence Day

Before you hit the road for Independence Day celebrations, make sure you are aware of which streets will be closed during Shell Freedom Over Texas celebrations.

Six tips for pet owners as Houstonians get ready to celebrate the new year with fireworks.

Houston offers a variety of exciting events to celebrate the Fourth of July, including parades, live music, family activities, and fireworks displays.

Need inspiration for your Fourth of July festivities? Add these cocktails to your celebration that your guests will love.

Israel's Independence Day is normally a raucous affair, celebrated with day parties and barbecues in parks, but this year, celebrations — from Monday evening through Tuesday — were muted.

Memorial Day is always a somber occasion in Israel.

After U2 played spectacular shows at the newly minted Las Vegas Sphere, another classic rock band will take the stage to deliver an incredible show in technicolor visuals.

Thousands of people have marched through Warsaw in an event organized by nationalist groups as Poland celebrates its Independence Day holiday.

Mexico’s top diplomat, Alicia Bárcena, says President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wants to travel to Washington D.

Mexico's president is defending the participation of a contingent of Russian soldiers in a military parade over the weekend.

Hispanic Heritage Month begins later this week and kicks off with the celebration of Mexico’s Independence Day.

Ukraine is marking its second Independence Day since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

A Swiss citizen has been arrested in military-ruled Myanmar for creating a film that allegedly insulted Buddhism.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India’s economy will be among the top three in the world within five years.

Authorities say two men have been arrested in a shooting that killed three people and injured eight others as hundreds gathered in a Texas neighborhood on the eve of the Fourth of July.

New York and the nation’s capital once again wowed the country with scintillating shows.

Nine people outside enjoying the Independence Day festivities in the nation’s capital have been shot and wounded in a spate of violence marring the holiday.

This Independence Day, a Marine Corps veteran is crediting his military training for helping him get through a violent home invasion early Monday morning.

The American flag will be flown throughout the country on July 4, but it wasn't always a revered and debated symbol.

The laser show is scheduled to take place over Lake Superior at the town’s Lower Harbor.

Happy Independence Day! Arguably the best day for fireworks is here.

From cookouts to chilling out by the pool, viewers are sharing photos of their July 4 celebrations across the Houston area with KPRC 2.

Through history, the Fourth of July has been a day for some presidents to declare their independence from the public.

The Congressional Budget Office is giving the world a concerning look at the U.S. government’s ledgers.

Looking for a brilliant firework show, live music performance, a bit of exercise or a hearty meal for this Independence Day?

Sri Lanka has marked its 75th independence anniversary as a bankrupt nation, with many citizens angry, anxious and in no mood to celebrate.

Opposition politicians in Poland have criticized police for detaining anti-fascist activists but not reacting to the appearance of a Nazi-era symbol during a nationalist march.

Tens of thousands of people in Warsaw have marched peacefully in a yearly Independence Day march organized by Polish nationalist groups.

At least nine people have died and some 20 were injured in a stampede in Guatemala early Thursday as the country celebrated its independence.

Hispanic Heritage Month begins later this week and kicks off with the celebration of Mexico’s Independence Day.

Some international legal scholars say Russia’s attack on a Ukrainian train station that killed more than 20 people this week is the latest in a series of strikes on the country’s railway system that may be war crimes.

Ukraine’s president says Russian forces have launched a rocket attack on a train station in central Ukraine on the country’s Independence Day, killing 22 people.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has decided to show Britain’s solidarity with Ukraine by saying it with flowers.

A funeral service was held Monday afternoon for the last of seven people killed by a gunman at an Independence Day parade, as family and friends gathered in suburban Chicago to remember Kevin McCarthy.

Police say Robert E. Crimo, the suspected gunman who targeted an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago, fired more than 70 rounds and evaded initial capture by blending into the fleeing crowd, disguising himself in women’s clothing. Crimo was originally identified as a person of interest, but authorities said formal charges are expected to be filed later Tuesday.

Before looking ahead to next year and America’s 247th birthday in 2023, here are some photos of fireworks displays in New York City, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas and Los Angeles on Monday night.

Officials with HPD and event organizers reviewed security protocols at the City of Houston’s Shell Freedom Over Texas celebration at Eleanor Tinsley Park in a news conference.

The Fourth of July holiday weekend is jamming U.S. airports with the biggest crowds since the pandemic began in 2020.

Learn the secrets to Shakira's hip moves with She Wolf Shakira Tribute. Before you head off to celebrate at Liberty Fest 2022 this July 4th weekend, you may want to learn the secrets to Shakira’s hip moves. Diana Torres showed Houston Life Reporter Melanie Camp, along with a group from the Southwest Management District, how it is done in three easy steps.

The fireworks are still a few days away, but travel for the July Fourth weekend is off to a booming start.

According to AAA, 3.1 million Texans are hitting the roads and 340,000 are flying.

Happy Fourth of July weekend! Houston is celebrating the nation's independence throughout the weekend. Here are photos from the celebrations across our area.

There’s a lot happening in the coming days in celebration of America’s birthday!

We’re breaking records when it comes to travel this Fourth of July weekend. Here’s everything you need to know, whether you’re hitting the road or flying high in the sky this Independence Day.

This year, Shell’s “Freedom Over Texas” event is back for an in-person celebration and has partnered with Johnson Space Center for the 60th anniversary of its presence in Houston!

There will be 30 food vendors, 60 booths, 14 artists, three concerts, cultural arts programs, and of course, sunset fireworks, for families to enjoy to ring in another Independence Day.

The skies over a scattering of Western U.S. cities will stay dark for the third consecutive Fourth of July as some big fireworks displays are canceled again, this time for pandemic-related supply chain or staffing problems, or fire concerns amid dry weather.

While Independence Day is a time to celebrate the birth of our nation, but it is also a moment to honor and thank our military Veterans for the sacrifices they’ve made to protect our country.

Israeli officials say at least three people have been killed in a Palestinian stabbing attack near Tel Aviv.

Sri Lanka has celebrated its Independence Day with an appeal by the president to the country’s expatriates to send money home as it struggles with the worst economic crisis in decades mainly due to depleted foreign reserves.

The big highlight of Mexico's Independence Day has been the visit by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

Indonesia’s president has pledged to improve COVID-19 testing and treatment in a speech marking the country’s independence.

America is celebrating its Independence Day with the return of in-person fireworks shows.

The White House party for the July Fourth holiday has the hallmarks of both happiness and commiseration.

After a year lost to the coronavirus, New York City’s most well-known Fourth of July traditions were back.

The Democratic-led House has approved a sizable $715 billion transportation bill.

With Independence Day on the horizon, there will be plenty of celebrations and fireworks. While it might be a party for you, it’s not so much for your pets.

We set our calendars around national holidays — from December 25 for Christmas to July 4 for Independence Day, and, starting this year, June 19 for Juneteenth.

4th of July celebrations are in full swing this year!

The prosecutor of Jordan’s state security court has filed sedition and incitement charges against two confidants of King Abdullah II’s half-brother Hamzah.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has sued the U.S. Department of Interior in an effort to see fireworks shot over Mount Rushmore on Independence Day.

Military helicopters fly over Acropolis Hill during a military parade in Athens, Thursday, March 25, 2021. Greece celebrates the bicentenary of the start of the country's war of independence against the Ottoman Empire. Unable to watch the parade in person, many Athenians came out onto balconies in the center of the city to watch the flyby, snapping pictures with cameras and mobile phones. AdThis crucial blow enabled the Greeks to fight on and eventually gain independence in 1830. “Two centuries ago, a handful of determined fighters within and outside Greece, raised the banner of independence.

FILE - In this Sept. 14, 2016 file photo, Secretary of Defense Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda arrives for a review of the troops that will participate in the Independence Day parade, in Mexico City. Mexican prosecutors on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021, declared completely unfounded the U.S. case against Cienfuegos who was arrested on drug charges in the United States and then returned under pressure from the Mexican government. The report released Sunday by the Mexican Attorney General's Office included a 226-page stretch with every page blacked out, followed shortly thereafter by a 275-page stretch of blacked-out pages. In the few readable passages, he says the descriptions of him in the intercepted messages don't match his physical appearance. Cienfuegos was arrested in Los Angeles in October, but the U.S. government dropped its charges against him in November after Mexican officials threatened to restrict U.S. agents.

Planning to set off some fireworks?

Protesters burn down bengal fire as they attend in the annual Independence Day march organized by far-right groups for participants to be inside cars or motorbikes because of the coronavirus social distancing, ready for the start of the event in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. The march that marks Poland's sovereignty regained after World War I has often led to clashes with opponents. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)WARSAW – Poland’s ruling right-wing party has blamed violence, injuries and damage during recent national holiday event that it backs on hooligans and provocateurs. “Unfortunately, during the march there took place condemnable events that were the result of hooligans joining in," it said in a statement. The Nov. 11 national holiday marks Poland’s regaining of sovereignty after World War I, following over a century of partition and foreign rule.

HOUSTON – Freedom Over Texas, Houston’s annual Fourth of July celebration, will continue this year but without public activities or public access due to the coronavirus pandemic. The firework event will still be held at Buffalo Bayou and Sam Houston parks. Freedom Over Texas 2020 Freedom Over Texas, Houston’s annual Fourth of July celebration, will continue this year but without public activities or public access due to the coronavirus pandemic. Let us never forget what it means to be in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Freedom Over Texas will feature a lineup of live and virtual entertainers.

HOUSTON – Freedom Over Texas, Houston’s annual July 4th celebration, will be very different this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but people can still enjoy the traditional firework show. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the usual festival along Buffalo Bayou will not happen this year, but a concert by the Houston Symphony Orchestra and other artists will be streamed live and aired on television. There will be no live audience at the concert, Turner said. “Watch it on television, in your backyard, on a balcony,” Turner said. Turner encouraged anyone who is around others while watching the fireworks to wear a mask and practice social distancing.

It’s the perfect time to put the red, white and blue out on display.