Fireworks light up US Fouth of July celebrations

New York: The country's largest fireworks display exploded in a spectrum of colour over New York, temporarily stealing the spotlight from the city's world-famous skyline and helping to create a brilliant end to a day of Fourth of July celebrations nationwide.

On the 232nd anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, spectators thronged the riverfront in a light rain, some holding red, white and blue umbrellas, while Boy Scouts in Hartford, Connecticut, rang a replica of the Liberty Bell.

Near Kissimmee, Florida, a wounded bald eagle, the national bird, was flying free after spending more than two months rehabilitating from a fight with another eagle. It was freed on Thursday in Lake Tohopekaliga, the heart of Florida's eagle country.

In Boston, the 211-year-old USS Constitution, the Navy's oldest commissioned warship, was the backdrop as two dozen people were sworn in as US citizens.

Vice-President Dick Cheney greeted the new Americans and later, in a second ceremony, administered the re-enlistment oath to a group of servicemen.

The Hartford ceremony was among several similar events being held across the country.