IN IRAQ, U.S. TROOPS ALSO TOOK TIME TO CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAY.

In Iraq, U.S. troops also took time to celebrate the holiday.
BOSTON (AP) -- Tracy Silva normally spends Sunday nights singing karaoke with friends, but this year the mother of two was on the bill for a bigger show -- Boston's annual Fourth of July Pops concert and fireworks display.
"It's just a dream," Silva said a few hours before her nighttime performance in front of a crowd of thousands, which she earned by beating out 700 competitors in the Pops' first talent competition.
Throughout the nation, Sunday was a day for parades, picnics, fireworks and summer stunts such as an annual hot dog-eating contest.
In New York, relatives of some of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks gathered to watch a 20-ton slab of New York state granite placed as the cornerstone of the skyscraper that will replace the destroyed World Trade Center towers.
"It's a new beginning," said John Foy, whose mother-in-law was killed. "We all need to move on and rise above this."
Engraved to honor "the enduring spirit of freedom," the stone's placement marked the start of construction on the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower.
Significance of date
Gov. George E. Pataki said he chose July 4 to begin rebuilding to show that the terrorists who attacked New York on Sept. 11, 2001, didn't destroy America's faith in freedom.
"How badly our enemies underestimated the resiliency of this city and the resolve of these United States," Pataki said. "In less than three years, we have more than just plans on paper -- we place here today the cornerstone, the foundation of a new tower."
The cornerstone put in place is garnet-flecked granite from the Adirondack Mountains. Garnet is the New York state gemstone.
It is inscribed: "To honor and remember those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and as a tribute to the enduring spirit of freedom. -- July Fourth, 2004."
The stone and its inscription will eventually disappear from view, as crews work over the next year to remove ruins of a parking garage and shore up the 70-foot-deep foundation before building the Freedom Tower above street level. Parts of the parking garage will go to a storage hangar at John F. Kennedy International Airport for historic preservation.
Completion of the Freedom Tower is scheduled for 2009, and trade center lease-holder Larry Silverstein has plans to build four more towers between 2009 and 2015.
Top dog
At New York City's Coney Island, meanwhile, for the fourth straight year, a rail-thin competitor outperformed much beefier opponents to take the title in the Nathan's Famous hot dog-eating contest.
Takeru Kobayashi of Nagano, Japan -- just 5-foot-7 and 132 pounds -- wolfed down 531/2 wieners in 12 minutes, shattering his own world record. His nearest challenger gulped down only 38.
Once again, then, the contest's coveted Mustard Yellow Belt returns to Japan. Since 1996, the Japanese have dominated the competition and only one American -- New Jersey's Steve Keiner in 1999 -- has captured the belt at the signature July 4 extravaganza.
"I could have done a lot, a lot more," Kobayashi said through an interpreter.
Meanwhile, 105-pound Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, 36, of Alexandria, Va., could relish two new records: She ate more hot dogs -- 32 -- than any other woman and any other American in the contest's history.
Eric "Badlands" Booker, a 6-foot-4, 400-pound subway conductor from Long Island who came in fifth with 27 dogs, said he and the other competitive eaters were determined to unseat the Japanese.
"We aren't going to stop until we bring the belt back," he told ESPN.
Philadelphia award
At Philadelphia's Independence Hall, Afghan leader Hamid Karzai was awarded the Philadelphia Liberty Medal, given each July 4 by the nonprofit, nonpolitical Philadelphia Foundation to recognize leadership in the pursuit of freedom. The medal's $100,000 prize will go to support Afghan orphans, he said.
Sometimes the holiday festivities produced the unexpected.
In Utah, two young bull moose, each more than 6-feet tall and weighing hundreds of pounds, crashed the Fourth of July parade in the mountains east of Salt Lake City, coming within a few feet of spectators.
"I told my family, that's something you don't see at the downtown parades," Jeff Worthington said after Saturday's celebration at Brighton.
Celebrating in Iraq
In Iraq, July Fourth celebrations began at dawn. To beat the brutal summer heat, soldiers wanting to participate in a 10-kilometer fun run at Camp Victory, on the outskirts of Baghdad, gathered at 5:30 a.m., when the temperature dropped to 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
The run was the first in a series of events giving soldiers -- not on guard duty or combat patrol -- a chance to enjoy the most American of holidays.
Soldiers attending Capt. Jim Combs' church service heard a sermon about independence. The Protestant pastor focused on the Book of Exodus where Moses and his followers had fled slavery in Egypt, but were suffering in the wilderness. He said that according to Bible verses, there was a lot of "grumbling" among the Hebrews while they were in the desert.
"Do you ever grumble?" the Rev. Mr. Combs asked the congregation. His message was to pray for the leaders and have faith.
At midmorning, the 1st Cavalry Division kicked off a 3-on-3 basketball tournament. Dressed in gray army T-shirts and black shorts, 12 teams took turns on the concrete, outdoor court.
Back in Boston, outside city hall, hundreds gathered for the opening of the city's annual celebration.
"The Fourth of July has special meaning in Boston," Mayor Tom Menino said before a fife and drum corps dressed in Revolutionary War uniforms marched past. "Our country and everything we stand for started right here in these streets."
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