(End of the American Dream)—I just had to write about this. Earlier today, as I was going through the news I noticed that Steve Quayle and other prominent voices had featured some really odd things that had happened on Sunday. Personally, I don’t think that it was a coincidence that so many unusual events took place on the exact day that we celebrated the 250th birthday of America. Perhaps you disagree with me, and that is okay. I don’t know anyone that agree with me 100 percent of the time. But I think that most of you will agree that this was certainly not a normal Independence Day.
Since the news cycle was really slow going into the holiday, I didn’t expect that much would happen.
But I was wrong.
The following are 10 very strange things that occurred on the 4th of July this year…
#1 In the middle of the Independence Day celebrations in New York, the skies above the city suddenly turned blood red…
A dramatic red glow illuminated the New York City sky during the 250th anniversary celebrations, leaving spectators amazed and sparking widespread discussion online. While many described the scene as eerie or symbolic, there is no verified evidence linking the unusual sky color to any supernatural event or “bad omen.”
At first I had a difficult time believing that this was true.
So I asked Google, and I was assured that this actually happened. Apparently the blood red color was caused by the fireworks display…
The dramatic red, or “blood-red,” sky was a result of the intense 50th annual Macy’s fireworks display, which involved approximately 85,000 shells launching over the city.
Some social media users captured video footage of this phenomenon, and it was certainly very creepy…
Seeing the blood red sky instantly reminded me of the fact that abortion was legalized in New York on April 11th, 1970.
Since that time, more than 67 million American babies have been aborted.
And starting on July 5th, Planned Parenthood “will regain access to hundreds of millions in Medicaid funding”…
Planned Parenthood’s beleaguered network of clinics will regain access to hundreds of millions in Medicaid funding this weekend — the fallout of Republicans’ failure to pass an extension of the one-year defunding provision they approved last year.
Starting July 5, clinics around the country can once again bill the federal program for reimbursement after providing non-abortion services, like birth control and screenings for sexually-transmitted infections, to low-income patients. Though other funding threats loom, it’s a lifeline for the struggling organization, which has closed nearly 30 health centers nationwide that collectively served more than 40,000 patients since the defunding provision in the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act took effect in July 2025.
#2 The fireworks in New York City also caused the Brooklyn Bridge to catch on fire…
Brooklyn Bridge erupted in flames during the Macy’s July 4 fireworks extravaganza on Saturday.
Video posted online showed a flume of smoke billowing into the sky from a ball of fire on the span over the East River as fireworks burst around it.
A spokesperson for the New York Police Department told The New York Times it received a call about a fire on the bridge at 9.32pm, just about half an hour after the fireworks show started.
This was not a small fire.
In fact, the fire got so large that at one point some onlookers were concerned that the entire bridge could potentially burn down…
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the most famous bridges in the entire country, and so I think that it was quite noteworthy that it “erupted in flames” on America’s 250th birthday.
#3 On top of everything else, one photographer actually captured a rainbow, a bolt of lightning and the Statue of Liberty in a single photo…
I have never seen anything quite like that.
But we didn’t just see unusual weather in the Big Apple.
#4 A “mega heat dome” baked the eastern half of the nation on the 4th, and a series of massive thunderstorms ripped through the Midwest…
Deadly storms and a heat wave marred America’s 250th birthday for swathes of the United States, leaving hundreds of thousands of utility customers without power.
Millions of Americans across the Northeast experienced record-setting temperatures — thunderstorms in the Midwest downed trees, ruptured power lines and made transportation treacherous and complicated across multiple states.
As a result of the bad weather, Independence Day celebrations had to be either canceled or moved up in a number of cities…
Weather prompted cancellations of celebrations in Hartford, Connecticut, as well as Harrisburg and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. In Boston, spectators at the city’s fireworks and concert event were told to briefly seek shelter, before events later resumed. An evacuation was ordered in Philadelphia, in addition to Washington. D.C., and, like the capital, New York and Pittsburgh moved forward with their fireworks shows but shifted the originally scheduled times to accomodate the weather.
#5 In Washington D.C., extremely stormy weather greatly disrupted the Freedom 250 Fourth of July celebration, and the president’s address was delayed for approximately 2 hours…
Weather also forced temporary evacuations of thousands of people Saturday evening at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., which hosted the Freedom 250 Fourth of July celebrations. Signs at the Great American State Fair posted an alert shortly after 7 p.m. ET, encouraging participants to leave the area and prompting crowds to gather in museums, subway stations and federal buildings near the Mall. Some waited in chairs and sat on the floor of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, seeking to cool off in the air conditioning.
The president had been initially scheduled to deliver remarks at 9:45 p.m. Eastern Time, Freedom 250 organizers said, but the speech was ultimately delayed by about two hours.
Once again, this was no normal storm.
One reporter actually described the lightning in D.C. as “apocalyptic”…
Not even apocalyptic lightning bolts, which caused a four-hour delay, could stop Trump from putting his personal stamp on history.
Once the lightning finally subsided, the celebration was able to continue.
Personally, I think that it is interesting to note that a total of 85,000 fireworks were fired off in New York City and a total of 850,000 fireworks were fired off in Washington…
The massive celebration was capped off by a huge fireworks show, with 850,000 fireworks launched. That marked the largest in US history, according to Reuters.
Trump commented on the display about half an hour past midnight on Truth Social, writing, ‘Best fireworks show, EVER!’
While the event was postponed, Trump posted shortly after 9pm: ‘Storms bring luck to whatever the occasion. They also make events a little bit more exciting! We will wait it out, I don’t care if it’s 2:00 O’Clock in the morning, or in one hour from now.
‘It’s Saturday night, LETS HAVE SOME FUN, even if we are out late tonight. They say 11:00 O’Clock for the speech. Who cares???’ he added.
#6 In Southern California, an absolutely shocking accident following a game between “Angel City” and “the Orlando Pride” resulted in fireworks being fired directly “into the stands at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles”…
A Fourth of July weekend celebration turned into a fiery nightmare when fireworks went screaming into the stands at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles — sending panicked fans scrambling for cover.
Just minutes after Angel City defeated the Orlando Pride 2-0, the club’s Independence Day weekend pyrotechnics display reportedly went haywire.
Instead of launching into the sky, multiple mortars allegedly fired sideways across the field and toward packed seating sections.
“The end is actually the worst. I saw several flames go into the crowd. It was terrifying!” one shaken Reddit user wrote.
#7 In Chicago, a Delta flight was actually hit by fireworks on Sunday evening…
A Delta Air Lines aircraft was struck by a firework while landing at Chicago Midway International Airport on July 4, according to the airline and air traffic control audio shared online.
A spokesperson for Delta told Newsweek the aircraft landed safely and there was no emergency landing. The airline said the plane was taken out of normal operations for inspection after arriving at the gate. Initial reports did not indicate any injuries among passengers or crew.
#8 In the town of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma we witnessed a historic fireworks accident. A huge fire that consumed a fireworks stand caused “a chain reaction of explosions that lit up the night sky for miles”…
A fire engulfed a fireworks stand in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, on June 20, 2026, causing a massive, unplanned display. The blaze triggered a chain reaction of explosions that lit up the night sky for miles.
As many of you already know, a “broken arrow” is military code for a nuclear accident.
#9 Needless to say, there was quite a bit of violence in our major cities on the 4th. In just one incident in New York City, there were at least 8 different shooting victims…
At least eight people, including four children, were shot late Saturday night in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, leaving one person in critical condition, the New York Police Department said, according to ABC News.
Officers responded to reports of multiple people shot at approximately 10:37 p.m. on the 2900 block of West 31st Street, near the Seapark Apartments, the NYPD said. The shooting occurred roughly an hour after a fireworks display in the area marking the country’s 250th anniversary.
The victims ranged in age from 6 to 37. “All victims were transported by EMS to local area hospitals where seven people were listed in stable condition,” the NYPD said. A 21-year-old woman remains in critical condition after being shot in the chest, CBS News reported.
#10 The violence on the west coast was even worse. In Southern California, police on horseback were deployed to deal with a vast crowd of rioters and looters…
Fourth of July descended into mayhem across parts of Southern California as unruly crowds overwhelmed packed-out fireworks displays, looted stores, ignited fires and saw cops charge on horseback.
The worst unrest erupted in Newport Beach, where Independence Day revelers poured into Orange County, choking traffic and triggering a police response as disorder spread near the pier.
Authorities ultimately shut down businesses from the Newport Pier to Pacific Coast Highway as officers moved in to restore order.
These days, it seems like some people are eager to use any major celebration as an excuse to cause mayhem.
At one point during the chaos in Newport Beach, people in the crowd started lighting fireworks and throwing them at the cops…
A Fourth of July celebration in Newport Beach turned chaotic Saturday night, leaving several police officers injured and resulting in at least 100 arrests, authorities said.
Police were first called to the area around 7 p.m. after a large crowd began lighting fireworks and fighting, according to authorities. Officials also reported a significant mess at a nearby Pavilions grocery store.
The situation escalated after officers arrived at the scene. Authorities said people continued fighting and threw fireworks at police officers.
Of course this is just a preview of things to come.
Civil unrest is going to be a major theme during the months that are ahead of us.
It is my opinion that we have reached a major societal turning point.
We have had it so good for so long, but now crisis after crisis is erupting all around us.
So I hope that you enjoyed the 4th of July celebrations this year, because I am convinced that things will look far different by this time next year.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
Two Storms, One Harvest
Every food crisis in living memory has been a one-shock event. The 2008 price spike was a commodity bubble. The 2020 shortages were a logistics failure. The 2022 grain scare was a war on one exporter’s ports. Each time, the system bent, adjusted, and recovered, and each time the experts assured us afterward that global markets are simply too big and too diversified to fail.
What nobody in Washington seems eager to discuss is that 2026 is shaping up to be something the modern food system has never actually faced. Two independent shocks, one climatic and one geopolitical, are converging on the same harvest cycle at the same time. Not sequentially. Simultaneously.
Start with the weather. The Pacific Ocean is currently building toward what forecasters now openly call a record event. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center puts the odds of at least a strong El Niño near 88 percent, with roughly two in three odds it reaches “very strong” status, the tier reserved for perhaps three or four events in the entire satellite era. Every major global model now projects a median peak in Super El Niño territory, and most of them project it exceeding the 2015-16 event, which until now held the modern record. Sea surface anomalies were already brushing the super threshold in mid-July, months before these events normally peak. The atmosphere has already shifted into El Niño mode, and the event is forecast to crest in late fall and early winter.
This is not about “climate change.” It’s about the standard cycles of weather, and the cycle we’re currently in is one that has likely devastated societies in the past. We’re better prepared as a society today, but not all Americans are equally prepared.
Serious households have started doing the quiet math on their own. Grocery bills tell part of the story, and the forecast maps tell the rest, which is why long-term food storage has moved from fringe hobby to mainstream line item in the family budget, with established suppliers like Heaven’s Harvest seeing demand from people who five years ago would have rolled their eyes at the idea. That instinct is not paranoia. It is pattern recognition, and the pattern is worth walking through carefully.
Editor’s Note: Heaven’s Harvest IS a sponsor, but the warnings of this article are real and would be written even if we didn’t have a survival food sponsor. With that said, those who take advantage of what they offer can use promo code “Patriot” for 15% off.
The Fertilizer Clock Is Already Running
While the Pacific warms, the second shock has been unfolding in the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict with Iran turned the world’s most important energy chokepoint into a contested waterway, and the consequences reach far beyond the gas pump. Roughly a third of global fertilizer trade moves through Hormuz, and the disruption sent urea prices up 86 percent year over year by March, with a 53 percent jump in a single month.
The World Bank projects energy prices rising about 24 percent in 2026 and fertilizer about 31 percent. By its own accounting, fertilizer prices ran 35 percent higher in the first five months of this year than the same period last year.
Here is the mechanism the nightly news will not explain. Fertilizer is not a grocery item. It is a time-delayed input. The nitrogen a farmer in Iowa or Punjab could not afford to apply this spring does not show up as a problem this spring. It shows up as a thinner harvest six to twelve months later.
The World Bank’s own food security brief concedes that the effects of reduced applications earlier this season “are likely to become visible only later in harvest outcomes.” Translate that from institutional language into plain English and it means this. The damage is already done, it is already in the ground, and we are simply waiting for it to arrive on the shelf.
Now check the calendar. Six to twelve months from the spring planting season lands us squarely in late 2026 and early 2027. Which is precisely when the strongest El Niño in the instrumental record is forecast to peak, bringing its signature droughts to Southeast Asia, Australia, southern Africa, northern Brazil, and South Asia, the very regions that grow the world’s rice, sugar, and oilseeds.
The World Bank warns openly that a strong El Niño “could disrupt multiple crop belts simultaneously” on top of the conflict-driven input costs. Their baseline projection assumes the Middle East disruptions ease by autumn. What in the last two years of Middle East history suggests that assumption is safe?
The System Has No Slack Left
The comfortable answer is that global markets always adjust. But adjustment requires slack, and the slack is gone. Global cereal production is expected to decline from last year’s records even before El Niño does its work. The UN World Food Programme, hardly a den of right-wing preppers, is calling this the most significant disruption to its supply chains since Covid and the invasion of Ukraine, and its supply chain director put the stakes bluntly.
Today’s supply chain challenges are tomorrow’s hunger crisis.
There is also a political dimension that markets cannot price. When food gets scarce, governments do not behave like economists. They behave like politicians. Export bans, hoarding mandates, and panic buying at the national level turned the modest rice shortfall of 2008 into a global crisis, and analysts are already warning that import-dependent nations are the first dominoes.
The 2015-16 Super El Niño, a far weaker event than what is now forecast, threw tens of millions into food stress across Africa and Asia. This one is projected to be stronger, and it arrives with fertilizer already rationed by price and shipping lanes already contested by missiles.
What Joseph Knew
Scripture does not treat preparation for lean years as faithlessness. It treats it as wisdom delivered in advance to those willing to act on it.
Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt.
Joseph did not respond to that warning with a hashtag or a committee. He stored grain during the years of abundance, and when the famine came, Egypt stood while its neighbors begged. The lesson is not that famine is certain. It is that the time to prepare is precisely when preparation still looks optional.
Nobody who filled a pantry in a year of plenty has ever regretted it, and nobody standing in an empty aisle has ever been glad he waited for certainty.
None of this calls for panic, and panic is the enemy of sound judgment anyway. It calls for the same unglamorous prudence our grandparents considered ordinary. Keep some cash margin, know your local growers, and put real food in deep storage while it is cheap and available, because the entire arc of this story is that cheap and available is a closing window.
Families looking for a straightforward place to start can visit Heaven’s Harvest and use promo code Patriot for 15 percent off long-term storable food. The forecasts may yet soften, the strait may yet reopen, and we should pray they do. But hope is a fine thing to hold and a foolish thing to eat.
