Nashville Plans Biggest Fireworks in Nation for Fourth of July

  Nashville’s celebration for Tuesday, called Let Freedom Sing!, will feature fireworks billed as the country’s biggest display. The event will take place downtown and will include concerts. The fireworks can be viewed for free around Riverfront Park and at Ascend Amphitheater, Fox 17 reports. The Nashville Symphony will accompany the fireworks at Ascend Amphitheater. Various musical acts will perform on stage at Fifth and Broadway starting around 4 p.m. The lineup includes the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, R&B artist Jonny P and folk rock duo The Sisterhood, among others. Country artist Chris Young will be the final performer starting at 8:10 p.m. Video screens will be set up on Broadway between Third and Fourth Avenue and at the Walk of Fame Park, with audio wafting through various downtown areas. People at Ascend Amphitheater will be able to watch the Broadway stage concerts on screens, while those on Broadway and at Walk of Fame Park can watch the symphony performance on screens. Nashville’s fireworks show will be the country’s largest for the third year in a row and will involve more than 35,000 pounds of explosives and 150 miles of wire. Nashville has gone all out to have a more extravagant display…

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Nearly 20 Percent Of Rhode Island Voters Don’t Live In Rhode Island

Some 150,000 individuals on Rhode Island’s voter rolls are not Rhode Island residents, the state’s top elections administrator has found. The Providence Journal reports that Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea conducted an audit of the state’s voter registry and identified some 150,000 non-Rhode Islanders registered to vote in the state. Gorbea says this group…

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North Carolina Pastor Mark Harris Considers Another Run For Congress

A North Carolina pastor is resigning from his job to consider a second run for a congressional seat, saying pastors need to get more involved in politics. Mark Harris resigned June 11 from First Baptist Church in Charlotte, where he has been pastor for 12 years and where 700-800 people on average attend Sunday morning worship, reports Baptist Press. Harris is a past president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. Harris told Baptist Press he senses a calling to politics and that there is “a distinct need” for pastors “not just to take a position on the sideline” of American public life, “but to get engaged.” He also said his church needs a senior pastor who won’t be distracted by a campaign. Harris may stay on at the church through December and hasn’t yet made any formal announcement about joining the 2018 Republican primary race for the state’s 9th U.S. congressional district. He ran last year for the seat but lost in the primary to incumbent Robert Pittenger. The race was close, with Harris losing by only 133 votes. He finished third in in the 2014 primary for one of North Carolina’s U.S. Senate seats. “There continues to be…

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Davidson County Republican Party To Host Social Event July 20

The Davidson County Republican Party will host a social event July 20 at Clyde’s on Church in downtown Nashville. The announcement on Facebook of the “Eat, Drink and Be Republican!” event describes it as “our first of many social meetups.” The invitation says the social hour will be a chance to “meet other like-minded Republicans who are passionate about the party and share your thoughts and visions.” Melissa Smithson, the new chair party chair, has only been in her role for a month but already has become involved in the community and given the chapter a boost. She was active in the campaign to stop the now withdrawn “sanctuary city” bills being considered by Metro Council and was present at a large gathering of concerned citizens at John A’s restaurant who were organizing to defeat the proposed legislation. Smithson has also taken steps to promote the conservative group Latinos For Tennessee, which has been working to have a greater impact. The event at Clyde’s on Church on Thursday, July 20 will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The restaurant is located at 1700 Church Street.

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Number Of Islamist Extremists In Sweden Grows Tenfold In Seven Years

Tennessee Star

The number of Islamist extremists in Sweden has grown from 200 in 2010 to around 2,000 seven years later, the country’s security police (Säpo) said Monday. Out of 3,000 violent extremists currently in the country, two-thirds are believed to have Islamist motives. Säpo chief Anders Thornberg describes the rise in extremism as “an historic challenge” that’s…

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JC Bowman Commentary: Let Freedom Ring

American Spirit

  It is July 4th, Independence Day in America. Which makes us contemplate: What is liberty? What is freedom? Liberty is the right to choose. Freedom is the result of the right choice. As we celebrate liberty, we should also reflect on the repressive regimes around the globe, and be grateful for the freedom we enjoy in our country. We should thank God for our nation’s founders and their bravery in writing and signing the Declaration of Independence. Today, despite what people may think, the American flag is still a universally recognized symbol and beacon of hope that stands for liberty and freedom. Just as patriots long ago, we are bound together by a common destiny. Citizenship in this nation connects together all Americans. That is why citizenship matters. We are a nation bound not by race or religion, but by the shared values of liberty and freedom. Nelson Mandela who was imprisoned, understood what loss of freedom meant. He wrote: “To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” Too many want freedom for themselves, and yet seek to withhold it from others.…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Tuesday, July 4

Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing July 4, Tuesday: Independence Day: Freedom in The LORD! Freedom in our great nation, protected by Jesus, our Constitution and our American Soldiers. 2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Galatians 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

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