Statue of Liberty reopens as nation marks 4th of July

Joey Chestnut downed 69 franks and devoured his own record in the men’s Fourth of July hot dog eating contest while Sonya Thomas defended her title in the women’s competition. The San Jose, Calif., man known as Jaws ate one more wiener than his previous record to capture the mustard-yellow champion’s belt. He said afterward that he was motivated by the prestige, not the $10,000 prize money. “I’d do this for nothing,” he said. Thomas, a 100-pound dynamo known as the “Black Widow” of competitive eating, wolfed down nearly 37 wieners to narrowly eke out her own victory. Chestnut, 29, is a seven-time winner who set the old record — 68 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes — in 2009 and tied it last year.

OKLAHOMA

Float runs over, kills child

The holiday turned tragic when a boy riding in a Fourth of July parade in central Oklahoma died Thursday after a float ran him over. The boy was riding on a martial arts group’s float at Edmond’s LibertyFest before he got down or fell from the vehicle at the end of the parade, Police Officer James Hamm said.The float — a truck and trailer full of hay bales — struck the child and knocked him to the ground, in Edmond, just north of Oklahoma City. “The driver, obviously unknowing what was going on, drove forward and ran over the child,” Hamm said. In a separate accident in Bangor, Maine, Thursday, the driver of a tractor in the parade was killed after the vehicle was struck from behind by an old fire truck after the parade was rerouted because of a nearby police standoff with an armed man.

NEW ORLEANS

More than 7,800 become new citizens

Holding miniature American flags and dressed in various shades of red, white and blue, more than 50 of the country’s newest citizens took the Oath of Allegiance in New Orleans on Independence Day. More than 7,800 candidates becoming citizens at roughly 100 special ceremonies across the country and overseas through today. The citizenship candidates in New Orleans hailed from about two dozen countries, including Australia, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Hungary, Iran, Iraq and Kosovo. The naturalization ceremony in New Orleans was held at the National World War II Museum.

AFGHANISTAN

Sen. McCain marks

holiday with troops

Senior Republican Sen. John McCain visited American troops in Afghanistan to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday. McCain presided over a reenlistment ceremony for about a half dozen U.S. soldiers in Kabul on Thursday. McCain, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was accompanied on the visit by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who both made an unannounced visit to Kabul, the Afghan capital, for a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on rebooting stalled negotiations for a long-term plan for a U.S. military presence in the country.

— The Associated Press

The Statue of Liberty reopened on the Fourth of July, eight months after Superstorm Sandy shuttered the national symbol of freedom, as Americans around the country celebrated with fireworks and parades and President Obama urged citizens to live up to the words of the Declaration of Independence.

Hundreds lined up Thursday to be among the first to board boats destined for Lady Liberty, including New Yorker Heather Leykam and her family.

“This, to us, Liberty Island, is really about a rebirth,” said Leykam, whose mother’s home was destroyed during the storm. “It is a sense of renewal for the city and the country. We wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

Nationwide, Boston prepared to host its first large gathering since the marathon bombing that killed three and injured hundreds, and Philadelphia, Washington and New Orleans geared up for large holiday concerts. A Civil War reenactment held in Gettysburg, Pa., drew as many as 40,000 people.

Liberty Island was decorated with star-spangled bunting, but portions remain blocked off with large construction equipment, and the main ferry dock was boarded up. Repairs to brick walkways and docks were ongoing. But much of work has been completed since Sandy swamped the 12-acre island in New York Harbor, and visitors were impressed.

“It’s stunning, it’s beautiful,” said Elizabeth Bertero, 46, of California’s Sonoma County. “They did a great job rebuilding. You don’t really notice that anything happened.”

The statue itself was unharmed, but the land took a beating. Railings broke, docks and paving stones were torn up and buildings were flooded. The storm destroyed electrical systems, sewage pumps and boilers. Hundreds of National Park Service workers from as far away as California and Alaska spent weeks cleaning mud and debris.

“It is one of the most enduring icons of America, and we pulled it off — it’s open today,” National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis said. “Welcome.”

The statue was open for a single day last year — Oct. 28, the day before Sandy struck. It had been closed the previous year for security upgrades. Neighboring Ellis Island remains closed and there has been no reopening date set.

In his weekly radio address from Washington, Obama urged Americans to work to secure liberty and opportunity for their own children and future generations. The first family was to host U.S. servicemen and women at the White House for a cookout.

In New Orleans, the Essence Festival celebrating black culture and music, kicked off along the riverfront.

The celebratory mood turned somber in Oklahoma and Maine with fatal accidents during parades. In Edmond, Okla., a boy died after being run over by a float near the end of Edmond’s LibertyFest parade. In Bangor, Maine, the driver of a tractor in the parade was killed after the vehicle was struck by an old fire truck.

In Boston, large crowds were still expected despite security restrictions after the April 15 bombings, and revelers snagged early spots for the evening Boston Pops concert and fireworks show.

Christopher Dixon, 48, of Nashua, N.H., brought his daughters and grandson to the show for the first time, saying as military members practiced shooting cannon fire that he had no worries about security.

“It’s safer today than in your own backyard, I think,” he said.

Quincy resident Laurie Tetrucci has been coming to the show since she was a child, but she said this year felt this year felt different.

“I think we’re just a little more aware,” she said. “I think we’re a little more appreciative and grateful. I think it means more.”