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CNN Live Event/Special
The Fourth In America. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired July 04, 2025 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:00]
ANNOUNCER: It's America's birthday. Right now, night is falling and skies are about to light up for a nationwide Star-Spangled party.
Tonight, it's the largest fireworks show on television, with incredible displays from coast to coast.
And musical performances from Noah Kahan, Lainey Wilson, Sting, Dierks Bentley, Nelly, The Fray, Counting Crows, Jojo, Timbaland, B.o.B, Kaskade, Vanilla Ice, Rob Base, Sublime, Jeremih, 4 Non Blondes, Cake, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The War and Treaty, and The United States Air Force Band.
Now, a CNN special event, "The Fourth in America".
(MUSIC)
DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Welcome to the nation's capital and CNN's live Fourth of July special. Right now, crowds are gathering on the National Mall and across Washington, D.C. for one of the most exciting Independence Day parties in the country.
All of this leading up to next year, when we reach 250 years of the American story.
Kicking off our celebration tonight, the stirring sounds of the United Air Force Band. Let's listen.
(MUSIC)
BASH: Absolutely fantastic. It's so great to be right next to them. And very soon, we will see the Lincoln Memorial and other iconic monuments light up, as one of the largest fireworks shows of the night gets underway.
Happy Fourth of July, everybody. I'm Dana Bash, along once again with my friend Boris Sanchez.
It's great to be with you again.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Good to be with you.
BASH: And this is going to be a terrific night, not just because of all of the fireworks that were going to be able to see and show everybody back at home from all across the country. But the musical performances, boy, everybody is in for a treat.
SANCHEZ: And what a way to start. Dana, with the Air Force Band, the hairs on the back of my neck are standing right now. It is electric out here. We're going to have a spectacular view of the fireworks here in Washington with the U.S. Capitol and the Air Force Band right behind us.
But we're also going to take you to the Big Apple, New York City, for the biggest show of the night. That iconic skyline is going to get lit up. That majestic view will be aglow with fireworks once darkness falls.
Millions of people are going to be watching along the East River and in the shadow of Lady Liberty herself. We're told to expect 11 new effects, 30 different colors of fireworks bursting, 1,000 feet over New York City tonight.
Plus, another epic backdrop just a few hours down the road. The fantastic icon Niagara Falls will be awash in red, white and blue. And, dana, it's not just the northeast. We've actually got amazing displays all across the country.
BASH: That's right. Take a look at the scene that's really great. Fort Lauderdale, Florida crowds are celebrating America's birthday on the beach. That sounds like a nice place to be.
Tonight, they'll get to enjoy a performance by, among others, Vanilla Ice. Now heading west to Nashville, of course, there will be fireworks in Music City, but they've also got a performance by a star that people in Nashville and all across the country know very well, Dierks Bentley. He's also going to be joining us live shortly for an interview, Boris.
SANCHEZ: We are excited to hear from him. We also have another beautiful sight. You don't want to miss in Seward, Alaska. We are literally taking you all across the country tonight. Fireworks in Seward are going to light up the city's beautiful mountain view.
And the fun does not stop there. We're also going to bring you firework shows and spectacular performances all across the map. So, Dana, let's get this party started.
BASH: And who else to start a party on this Fourth of July, than our friend Coy Wire, who is there. You see him on the National Mall.
Coy, we were talking beforehand. This is a first for you. You haven't been able to be on the Mall and see the fireworks ever, right?
COY WIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I can't wait to see the fireworks. But how am I in D.C.? And I have not seen Boris and Dana. You're so close but so far away.
We have people from very far away, all across this country, around the world, coming here to the National Mall to witness arguably the greatest fireworks spectacle in the country. We have flags flying. People have been sprawled out for hours and
hours since this morning, bringing their picnics, bringing their snacks and bringing their patriotism.
[19:05:01]
Where are you all from?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are from Indiana.
WIRE: And your name is?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kate.
WIRE: Ms. Kate, what does it feel like to be here at the National Mall ahead of the big occasion?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is awesome. This is so cool. Weve been here for a couple hours just waiting for the fireworks to start.
WIRE: And how excited are you, big man?
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: I am very excited.
WIRE: We're all very excited. It's all going to go down right here. The monument. It's going to take place just in front behind those and everyone are going to be lighting up the sky here and sharing this incredible holiday together.
Back to you.
SANCHEZ: I love that Star-Spangled family, their outfits right on point, as is my bald-headed brother Coy Wire, as always.
Let's take you now to the beach in Florida with CNN's Randi Kaye. She has one of the best assignments tonight. Randi usually gets fantastic assignments.
What's going on in Fort Lauderdale?
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A great big party is going on in Fort Lauderdale. It is July 4th, and we are celebrating America's birthday right here on the beach, as you said in Fort Lauderdale.
Take a look here. You can see the party is getting started right behind me. And what a party it's going to be. We have sun, we have surf, we have sand, we have music, we have fireworks.
It is a "I love the '90s" tour. So were going to see Tone Loc, Young MC, Rob Base and none other than Vanilla Ice. If anybody is going to cool down this summer heat, it is Vanilla Ice.
So, we're talking to some people here in the crowd.
This is Katie. You're having a great time. Who do you want to see tonight? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, we're so excited to see Vanilla Ice. Of
course, our local guy.
KAYE: Local Florida guy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.
KAYE: Every year. How fun.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every year, we live right up the street. So we come every year.
KAYE: Awesome. Well, you have fun.
We're going to be talking to Vanilla Ice a little bit later and get a preview of what he's got in store for this crowd. Back to you guys.
BASH: Randi, I know Boris, who is a Florida -- you're so jealous, right?
SANCHEZ: Of course, Vanilla Ice, a legend, a legend.
BASH: Okay. Well, speaking of legends, we're ready to hear some music, right? Our first performance, here is B.o.B performing in Kansas City, presented by social house entertainment.
(PERFORMANCE BY B.O.B)
SANCHEZ: A selfie with a few of his closest friends right there. A lot of energy from B.O.B doing handstands, getting the crowd involved.
BASH: I love all those songs. And you know what? This fall kicks off the adventures of Bobby Ray tour celebrating its 15th anniversary since his debut album.
You know what? We are just getting warmed up on this Fourth in America. We're keeping our eyes on the skies here in the nation's capital as we get closer to the first fireworks shows of the night.
SANCHEZ: And we can't talk enough about the musical performances were going to watch from Noah Kahan, Sublime, Sting -- Sting at Red Rocks, Jojo, and of course, ding ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, the one and only Vanilla Ice.
[19:15:11]
Stay with us. Don't go anywhere. We're back in just moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We need to bring you an update on the breaking news out of Texas. At least 13 people are dead after widespread rains caused devastating flash flooding. And now the search is on for more than 20 girls missing from a summer camp.
CNN's Ed Lavandera is live near the scene. Ed, what's the latest you're hearing?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brynn. Well, we are in the little town of Ingram, Texas, just west of Kerrville. And this has been the epicenter of the search and rescue efforts.
As we drove in just a short while ago, we've seen helicopters, rescue boats, everything that's being done to find the people that are still missing.
[19:20:00]
What you see behind me is a scenario where the children that were at Camp Mystic, and also the boys camp, camp la junta, are being brought in as they've been rescued. And here is a truck full of people that are being brought into this area. And this is essentially working as a reunification center. And so many of the children who are being brought out of Camp Mystic and the young girls are reunited with their families and parents here.
And that's what you see there in the background. We spoke with one parent who is still waiting to reunify with his daughters, his 10 and eight year old, that they are here at the scene, just hadn't had a chance to reunify with them. He says he's heard that some children were swept away, taken downstream. Many of them left in trees. They were able to grab onto trees and as the water receded, they were able to stay in those trees.
And that's what we're seeing in some of these rescues, is children essentially left in trees, swept away from this camp, and they're just holding on for dear life. And that is the kind of scenes that these rescue crews are dealing with right now, Brianna -- Brynn.
GINGRAS: Those are incredible rescue stories. Thank you. We're praying for more rescues to come. Ed, thank you.
You can follow live updates on the story all night on CNN.com.
CNN's coverage of "The Fourth in America" continues right now.
(MUSIC)
BASH: Welcome back.
Here now is the iconic southern California trio Sublime with the late frontman Bradley Nowell's son Jacob leading the band with his uncles and original band members.
(PERFORMANCE BY SUBLIME)
[19:28:02]
SANCHEZ: Was that sublime?
BASH: He sounded good.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, it sounded.
BASH: It sounded good. I mean, listen, it must be hard for him to sing his dad's songs, but he sounds -- he sounds really good. And the songs we heard, by the way, are "What I Got" and "Santeria", and they were singing from bottle. Excuse me. BottleRock Napa Valley at the Jam Cellar Stage. And you can catch their show in Las Vegas, August 14th to 17th.
SANCHEZ: A Vegas takeover, they're calling it. Excited for them. Excited for that.
It's happening from coast to coast tonight. "The Fourth in America" takes you from California, all the way to New York City.
The Big Apple, where we find CNN's Harry Enten there, who has an unbelievable view.
Harry, this is going to be the biggest fireworks show in the nation.
You look like a firework, like a like a cowboy firework yourself. Sir.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: I feel the energy. Boris, I feel it. The crowd behind me feels it.
Yes. We are here at the Downtown Skyport here in New York City. As you said, the largest fireworks display in the United States of America. We're talking 80,000 fireworks shells. I am so like nobody's freaking business. We are now in the east side of Manhattan, the west side last year, and I can absolutely feel the energy.
Now, let me tell you. Of course, in a couple of hours, those fireworks will be taking place. But earlier today, we had the Nathan's famous hot dog eating contest, baby, and I have the women's champion here with me, Miki Sudo.
Miki, how the heck did you do it earlier today?
MIKI SUDO, UNDEFEATED IN WOMEN'S NATHAN'S HOT DOG EATING CONTEST: Oh my gosh. Somehow I managed my 11th belt, so I remain undefeated and I'm so happy to be here.
ENTEN: How many hot dogs did you eat?
SUDO: It wasn't a personal best, but that's okay. The weather is beautiful. I ended up eating 33 hot dogs in ten minutes. Not. It's quite a far cry from my 51. My record of 51 in 10 minutes. But it was a beautiful day. Just wasn't a day for personal best.
ENTEN: It's okay. You know what? You could still eat more hot dogs than I can.
[19:30:00]
SUDO: I saved room for dessert.
ENTEN: Okay, so I'm going to try in a few seconds to eat one. But how do you do? How do you eat hot dogs? That many hot dogs so quickly?
SUDO: So, it's competitive eating, not competitive -- competitive gracefulness. I personally separate the meats from the buns. I dunk the bun while I'm biting and swallowing the hot dog itself.
ENTEN: Okay.
SUDO: Okay.
ENTEN: So now that we have learned how to do it, I'm going to try my best. I got George Shea, who, of course, runs Major League Eating was there earlier today.
All right. You're going to count me in?
GEORGE SHEA, MAJOR LEAGUE EATING: I'm going to count you in.
ENTEN: Count me in. Give me a five, four, three, two, one count. And then I'm going to go and try and eat.
SHEA: Okay. And not to put pressure on you, but your performance the other day impressed a lot of people. We're looking at you as a possible recruit.
ENTEN: Okay.
SHEA: Okay? Ready? Five, four, three, two, one, go!
(CROSSTALK)
SUDO: I'm in the splash zone. I'm in the splash zone. Oh, wow.
SHEA: I don't know. Oh, and he's going for two. Fifty more hot dogs. And you've beaten Miki.
SUDO: Here we go.
SANCHEZ: Come on, Harry.
(CROSSTALK)
SUDO: Guys might have some competition.
BASH: That was it.
Harry, try it -- try it without the chin strap. I think the chin strap is really messing up your chewing.
SUDO: Oh, there we go.
SANCHEZ: Ninety-nine -- I don't know, I don't know, Harry. We've got some here. Would you -- would you like to?
BASH: I'm not doing that, though.
SANCHEZ: Harry, cheers to you, man. We have a glizzy tower here. What would the Fourth be without a hot dog.
BASH: By the way, I'm eating a hot dog on television. You know, hell has, you know what?
SANCHEZ: Yeah. Listen, I do it a couple times a week on "CNN NEWS CENTRAL". It's part of the gig.
BASH: Is it really?
SANCHEZ: Yeah, yeah, it's part of our show.
BASH: I don't think that's true.
Harry, I hope he's okay.
SANCHEZ: Yeah. Hey, you're looking at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, right now, where we are anticipating a really exciting evening. They're celebrating 249 years of freedom with a beach party. We've got all sorts of artists, Vanilla Ice, et cetera.
It's going to get heated down there with Randi Kaye.
BASH: And in just moments, we are going to bust a move.
Sorry, I'm doing two.
First, they know how to save a life. Here's a message from one of the amazing bands in tonight's show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THE FRAY: Hello! We are The Fray. We are here at Milwaukee Summerfest. We want to say a happy Fourth of July, 249.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:36:53]
BASH: A country full of fireworks shows are coming your way tonight. In New York City, 11 new effects will light up the night sky. And here in D.C., fireworks will be launched from more than a dozen sites around the National Mall. Further south, a huge party is already underway in Fort Lauderdale.
CNN's Randi Kaye has a special guest.
KAYE: Hey, Dana and Boris. We are here with Vanilla Ice, who is going to be taking the stage pretty soon here. Are you excited to be here in Florida? You spent a lot of your time, a lot of your time growing up and adulthood, even in south Florida.
VANILLA ICE, SINGER: That's right.
KAYE: What is it like for you here on July 4th in Fort Lauderdale to be performing?
VANILLA ICE: Oh, it's great weather, good time and a great celebration of our independence, you know, and letting that flag be known why it's here, you know, and celebrate that and how we how many years it took us to get here. And I say always, you know, smiles are contagious. So I'm hoping that everybody understands that smiles are contagious out there on this day. Shake a hand. Make a friend.
KAYE: Absolutely. And your tour is the I Love the '90s Tour.
VANILLA ICE: Yeah.
KAYE: Tell me about that.
VANILLA ICE: So basically, it's exactly that. I Love the '90s. And it's everything from like when we had Blockbuster Video to Beavis and Butthead to, of course, the Ninja Turtles. I mean, it was such a great time, kind of before computers ruined the world, you know? It's -- I mean, I just remember ripping out my back seat and my 5.0 Mustang and putting in subwoofers. You know, we're the first generation to invent that.
So, it's just kind of a, you know, reliving one of the greatest days, the last of the great decades that I call.
KAYE: Those were good times.
VANILLA ICE: Yeah.
KAYE: For sure, for sure.
And I know -- look, you're obviously known for rap and some great music, but you also have some dance moves. Are we going to see any of these dance moves on stage tonight?
VANILLA ICE: Oh, definitely. Listen, I'm the oldest teenager in town tonight and I'm going to get down. I throw a leg out, I get down, I don't know what happens, but I get young on you, you know? And I turn into a teenager out there, start dancing and rapping and enjoying. I'm in the '90s.
KAYE: Take us back to the '90s and, of course, ice, ice baby. Everybody I talked to on the beach, in the bars, that's all they want to hear.
Can we get a little preview? Maybe for the folks at home?
VANILLA ICE: Oh my gosh, stop, collaborate and listen. Ice is back with a brand new invention. Happy Fourth of July.
KAYE: Oh. I love it. I love it. Thank you, thank you.
VANILLA ICE: You're very welcome.
KAYE: So great. So great.
Looking forward to the show tonight, Vanilla Ice.
Back to you, Dana and Boris.
SANCHEZ: Our thanks to Randi Kaye and Mr. Ice himself.
Now its Young MC who's busting a move as part of the I Love the '90s tour at Fort Lauderdale's Fourth of July spectacular concert.
(PERFORMANCE BY YOUNG MC)
[19:43:53]
BASH: Lady Liberty is watching over New York harbor, where crowds are getting ready for tonight's biggest fireworks show in the country.
SANCHEZ: Plus, music from Noah Kahan, Nelly and Counting Crows and this special message from one of tonight's superstars.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAINEY WILSON, SINGER: Hey, y'all, it's Lainey Wilson, wishing you a happy Fourth of July.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:48:25]
SANCHEZ: Nashville is getting ready to let freedom sing. And joining us from there right now, CNN's John Berman.
John, you're there with one of country music's biggest stars.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Nashville is so ready. I'm backstage with Dierks Bentley outside his tour bus right here.
DIERKS BENTLEY, SINGER: Yeah, Goldie.
BERMAN: Multi-platinum recording star going on the stage, which is just 200 feet away from us in a little bit, singing some of your best is one of my favorites, I hold on.
BENTLEY: Yeah, I hold on tonight.
BERMAN: Going on stage.
BENTLEY: Oh, this is unbelievable playing here. You know, I'm usually out in Colorado for this time of year. Usually don't work this weekend, but I've always wanted to come back to Nashville to do this. I heard it's one of the biggest, you know, firework displays anywhere. Maybe bigger than New York. We're going to find out tonight.
And just be on lower Broadway, surrounded by all these hard-core country fans, people, as far as you can see, maybe 300,000 people here today. So, I'm excited to be back. It's my first time being in Nashville for the Fourth of July in a long time, certainly since what I would call the new Nashville era.
BERMAN: Three hundred fifty thousand people last year. You're going to beat it. So, listen, I got to ask you this. The Grand Ole Opry, you were one of the youngest members inducted.
BENTLEY: I was, yeah.
BERMAN: But before that, you were actually banned from it?
BENTLEY: Well, I want to say banned. I used to go there so often that before I had a membership, there, like, hey, Dirk, you need to kind of you need to be a member if you're going to come to this often.
So now I have the ultimate backstage pass to get to go whenever I want, as a member of the Grand Ole Opry, it's one of the greatest things about Nashville is that living museum. It represents everything that's great about the past of country music, but also the present and the future. You know, they just so many great new inductees recently.
Luke Combs is in.
BERMAN: And you're part of the past, present and future. It's so wonderful. "The Broken Branches" album headed out on tour.
BENTLEY: You might get inducted. You got the boots, you got the zin. I mean, you're looking country right now. You're looking pretty good.
[19:50:00]
BERMAN: All good. Dirks, great. Great to see you. Break a leg out there in a few minutes.
BENTLEY: Can't wait. Thank you, guys.
BERMAN: Dana, Boris, back to you.
BASH: I want to go in that tour bus. That's the next shot I want.
All right. Now a special musical performance, 4 Non Blonds reunited for the first time in nearly 30 years at BottleRock to perform their hit "What's Up?".
(PERFOMANCE BY 4 NON BLONDES)
[19:55:37]
BASH: That was 4 Non Blonds at the Jam Cellar Stage in Napa, California.
Keep an ear out for their new music on the way in 2026.
SANCHEZ: And keep an eye out for what we've got coming up. Fireworks over Niagara falls as it lights up in red, white and blue. We've also got some all-star performances from Sting and The Fray.
BASH: As we sneak in a quick break. You got to listen to the United States air force band behind us. They're jamming out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
