Merchandise tied to America’s 250th birthday is sold in a stall at Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., on June 30, 2026. (Photo by Sam Gauntt/States Newsroom)
America’s 250th birthday is on sale. Where’s all that merch money going?
WASHINGTON — What’s more American than apple pie? Capitalism. And an array of merchandise and influence is on sale for the 250th birthday of the United States.
An America250 $275 Liberty Lux American Prosperity decorative throw pillow, anyone? How about a $25 Freedom 250 youth tee?
America250, a commission created by Congress a decade ago, and Freedom 250, President Donald Trump’s entity formed last year, each operate on their own respective tracks as a nonprofit and as a limited liability company. Both are employing staff, soliciting corporate donors and...
Fencing along the Freedom 250 construction site on the National Mall near Madison Drive and 7th Street NW on June 22, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
What Black poets and Latino WWII vets can teach us about American patriotism at 250
I’ve been celebrating our country’s 250th birthday for several weeks now, though not in the way you might think.
No fireworks. No flag waving. No parades.
Instead, I’ve been marking the occasion by watching, if you will, fragments of America’s often complicated story play out on stage.
When I’m not writing columns, I spend a lot of my time producing live theater. And for the past several weeks, I’ve had the privilege of mounting two shows that have served as reminders of what this country, at its very best, can...
Teachers rally at the Arizona Capitol on June 5, 2024, to advocate for restrictions on the state's school voucher system, known as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. The Protect Education Act, which would place restrictions on the ESA program, gathered more than enough signatures to make it onto the November ballot. (Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy/Arizona Mirror)
Voucher oversight initiative turns in 420k signatures, more than enough to make the ballot
A ballot initiative that would increase oversight of Arizona’s school voucher program turned in over 420,000 signatures to the secretary of state Thursday morning. That’s well over the 256,000 signature threshold needed to qualify for the November ballot and to provide a cushion for the thousands of signatures that will likely be disqualified.
“These hundreds of thousands of signatures represent...
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