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CNN Live Event/Special
America Celebrates 250 Years; Philly Honors Ben Franklin; Exploring Revolutionary Boston; Funk Legend George Clinton; Swift and Kelce's Garden Wedding. Aired 1-2p ET
Aired July 04, 2026 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:01:30]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN's hot, hot, hot, special July 4th coverage. I'm Brianna Keilar, here with the lovely Laura Coates here on the National Mall.
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, thank you for saying lovely.
KEILAR: You are.
COATES: Because I think in about an hour, I'm going to be a puddle of goo, but it'll be cute goo.
KEILAR: Yes. Very cute goo.
COATES: I don't know.
KEILAR: I don't believe you on that, by the way. You're going to be great through this whole power hour.
COATES: This bun, though. It actually makes me hungry, though. I really want to be eating barbecue food. What is your barbecue food that you eat on Fourth of July?
KEILAR: Oh, I like brisket and I like --
COATES: Really?
KEILAR: -- pulled pork. Like, what do you -- what do I grill out, you mean?
COATES: No, but I love -- wait, what type of pulled pork? The vinegar base or the barbecue sauce base?
KEILAR: I got to go barbecue sauce base.
COATES: I go vinegar!
KEILAR: But can I be honest? I love a glizzy. I love a hot dog.
COATES: Why is it called a glizzy? I have never heard that until you and Boris said that last year. KEILAR: It's a very --
COATES: And I'm like, what is that?
KEILAR: Boris explained it to me. There were a lot of facts. I can't cogently repeat them here.
COATES: It ended in a hot dog.
KEILAR: There's a reason. But I'm all about the hot dog in many different machinations, you know?
COATES: Wait, ketchup, mustard, relish?
KEILAR: I want something pickled on there and I don't want it to be a pickle. I'm thinking a green bean.
COATES: Chicago style.
KEILAR: Yes, you know, anything. I just --
COATES: Celery salt.
KEILAR: I like to try -- exactly. I want to try some different flavors on there.
COATES: Can I go to ordering right now? Can we go to ordering?
KEILAR: I would love that.
COATES: There's an American State Fair happening like blocks away from us. Can we get a --
KEILAR: Is there a glizzy?
COATES: I'm not calling a glizzy. I like a hot dog.
KEILAR: Come on.
COATES: A turkey drumstick, Minnesota style. Thank you so much. You know what? Here we are.
KEILAR: Here we are. And we are following all of these patriotic festivities across the country. We have got flyovers. You can see this one from earlier today over New York. They've been coming back and forth here for days over Washington as they practice.
And they're unbelievable. Each one, you know, it doesn't get old. I'm going to be honest. We also have fireworks. We have America's founding fathers. We have people dressed. We have people dressed like America's founding fathers.
COATES: Yes, a seance is happening, everyone.
KEILAR: That's right. COATES: We've got the five hours. No, we cannot forget we've sent our very own John Berman on a very American scavenger hunt. How fun is that going to be?
KEILAR: That is going to be amazing because he's one of the smartest people that I know.
COATES: I know.
KEILAR: So -- but what if he gets stumped? Who's going to help him out?
COATES: Well, then we become the smartest people that he knows.
KEILAR: Oh, yes.
COATES: To tell us in our ear, though, so we have the actual answer. And on this day 250 years ago, George Washington had not yet become president and said he was preparing his continental army for the expected British invasion of Manhattan and Staten Island. And today at Washington's historic Mount Vernon home, they are celebrating Independence Day, where the first commander lived.
And CNN's Donie O'Sullivan is there. Donie, I love what's happening there. Tell us what's taking place.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: There's a lot going on. The main man himself here is speaking. As you can see, George Washington on his porch here at Mount Vernon. You want to listen in for a second? Let's do that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- it's a good fortune to command many of these men. And there is an element of them here today. The 1st and 3rd Virginia, the 1st Maryland, and the 8th Pennsylvania are here to demonstrate, to kick off our Fourth of July festivities.
Captain McCann, you may proceed, sir.
O'SULLIVAN: OK. Oh, here we go. I think basically he was kicking off. I think George Washington there is about to kick off the daytime fireworks, which we were talking a bit about earlier. But as you can see, massive crowd out here today. And, oh, yes, there's some cannons going off.
[13:05:02]
Let's walk over this way. It's a really great atmosphere here. The day kicked off here with people becoming U.S. citizens as part of a naturalization ceremony. And here's the right on time, what I'm told are daytime fireworks. You guys want to come down here a little?
(MUSIC)
O'SULLIVAN: So, as you can see, guys, a bit noisy here between the fireworks and the music, so I'll hand it back to you guys. But a lot going on. You saw George Washington speak there. There's going to be reenactments here all day. We'll be hanging out with some of those reenactors.
And who knows, maybe I'll don some form of costume at some point as well if we can find a hat that will be big enough to fit my head.
KEILAR: I have faith in that. Thank you for showing us those beautiful fireworks.
COATES: I know.
KEILAR: Earlier you said that they might be like a gender reveal. And I think that you are right on there.
O'SULLIVAN: You know, they're more impressive than I thought they'd be. You know, it's a first for everything.
KEILAR: Oh, I see.
COATES: Rest assured, America. This evening, there are going to be a whole lot of fireworks that we're accustomed to as well. I mean, pyrotechnics, beware, everyone. They're going to be here in Washington, D.C., near the mall.
This is pretty cool to think about that. I love the Yankee Doodle song in the background everyone's doing. I wonder if anyone knows all the lyrics to it, though, besides that first, what, three words, Yankee Doodle dandy.
KEILAR: I know a few more than that, but I'm not going to put myself on the spot too much. But I am enjoying this. But if you think that this is, you know, amazing, well, then just wait --
COATES: Just you wait.
KEILAR: -- for what we have later this evening. It's going to be amazing. Donie, thank you for that.
And he teased us there. He said, it sounds like he's going to don a costume at some point.
COATES: He better. I mean, why not? You already saw we had somebody in an Eagle costume running around taking his temperature.
KEILAR: That's right. I think his is going to be more period.
COATES: A period piece.
KEILAR: A period costume. So we'll see.
COATES: Mt. Vernon is amazing. Have you been there?
KEILAR: So beautiful. That view of the Potomac --
COATES: Yes.
KEILAR: -- that's the thing. I mean, I love the little puffs of smoke. They're gorgeous. They're fun. But that -- COATES: They're called daytime fireworks. Puffs of smoke.
KEILAR: Puffs of smoke. But the gender reveal. They're having an America. OK, but it's -- it is just gorgeous there.
COATES: It is.
KEILAR: And you kind of got that sense as you're looking out. That was George Washington's view. And, by the way, he looks fantastic for 294 years old.
COATES: He really does. Not a day --
KEILAR: Yes.
COATES: -- I mean, he must have seen Hamilton a couple times then.
KEILAR: Probably.
COATES: I don't know.
KEILAR: I think so. So in Philadelphia, not to be outdone, Danny Freeman is with Benjamin Franklin. Danny, take that away for us.
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Listen, I know that George Washington is getting a lot of attention. That's totally fine. But, of course, one of Philadelphia's greatest heroes is Ben Franklin. And yesterday, right here on Independence Mall, 250 years after Ben Franklin signed the Declaration of Independence, a large number of Philadelphians decided to have a competition. A look-alike competition of who was the best Ben Franklin.
And I can tell you, Brianna and Laura, we have with us the winner of that competition. Here she is. By unanimous crowd support, you are Philadelphia's chosen Ben Franklin. How does it feel?
KIYA BURGESS, "BENJAMIN FRANKLIN": Vi (ph), Ben. I feel amazing. I feel so seen. This is such a, like, surreal experience. I didn't think it was going to be as big as it was. Honestly, I thought it was just a little, like, nerd meet up. And we all got to just show our, like, you know, flex our brains. And it became the biggest thing ever.
FREEMAN: OK. And just to be clear, Brianna and Laura, this is Kiya Burgess. She's a native of Philadelphia. We've been walking around here on the mall. People keep coming up to her to stop her saying, oh, my God, you won the Ben Franklin contest. It is enormous here in Philadelphia.
Tell me, when did you hear about this competition? And did you think you would actually win?
BURGESS: So, my friends that I cosplay with, we got really close. And we saw this opportunity just, like, walking around. And I was like, oh, well, I have a Hamilton costume. Because this is what this originally was. This is a Hamilton costume that I made for Halloween. And, you know, I made this wig. So, now it's Ben Franklin. FREEMAN: And just to be clear, again, Brianna and Laura, you made all of this, right?
BURGESS: Yes.
FREEMAN: Let's be clear. You did not purchase this. This is handmade?
BURGESS: Yes. I saw how much it costed on Amazon. And I'm like, I can make that. So, I went to the fabric store. And I spent, like, three all-nighters making this entire thing. Like, the only thing I didn't make was this shirt that I thrifted, so.
[13:10:07]
FREEMAN: I mean, still, it's outstanding. I mean, the buttons are period appropriate. Like, again, you were very deserving of that win. Last thing, what's your favorite thing about Ben Franklin?
BURGESS: My favorite thing about Ben Franklin is that, originally, he did own slaves. But, over time, he, like, changed his ways, changed his ideology, freed his slaves, and then became, like, you know, became one of the biggest activists for ending slavery. So, I think that's awesome.
FREEMAN: OK, congratulations on your win. Thank you so much for sharing it.
Brianna and Laura, you can't beat this. This is Ben Franklin here. I'll toss it back to you.
KEILAR: You can't.
COATES: No.
KEILAR: I love she said her friends that she cosplays with.
COATES: Yes. You better use your Michael's coupons.
KEILAR: Yes.
KEILAR: That's right.
FREEMAN: Yes.
COATES: Making your stuff. Good for you. I love a good creator.
KEILAR: So beautiful.
COATES: Are you kidding me? I'm sorry -- look, she knows because I will use my Michael's coupons. I used to use Joann Fabric's ones when I used to sew, but then they didn't have a lot of Joann Fabric's any longer. So, I see you. You are seen.
KEILAR: Yes, very much. Ben Franklin.
FREEMAN: You are seen. KEILAR: I love it. She's like a celebrity.
FREEMAN: (INAUDIBLE) Michael's coupons used, potentially, as well. That's what they're saying.
KEILAR: My friends that I cosplay with are Laura Coates and Danny Freeman.
COATES: You know what?
KEILAR: Yes. I love LARPing with you guys.
COATES: I don't even know what LARPing is.
KEILAR: The live action role play, LARPing.
COATES: I just -- it's a new verb. I was today years old when I heard the term LARPing.
KEILAR: Yes. You got to use that.
COATES: What's your cosplay?
KEILAR: What ---
COATES: OK, tell me the costume you would wear --
KEILAR: I am currently --
COATES: if you wanted to do a period piece.
KEILAR: I am currently a news woman covering July 4th in my live action role play.
COATES: All right. Well, then, I'll just be Ida B. Wells. There we go. More power to you.
And still ahead, everyone, where in the world is John Berman? He is scouring Boston for clues in a very special Fourth of July scavenger. He got Duncan. He's got Duncan.
KEILAR: He's got the Duncan. He's caffeinating. He's hydrating. We love it.
And as we catch up with John, we're also going to be bringing the funk. George Clinton is going to join us live ahead of his performance at the Essence Festival in New Orleans.
COATES: Oh, I love it.
KEILAR: So stay tuned for that.
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[13:16:57] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome back, everyone. I'm John Berman in Boston, Massachusetts. I'm on this adventure through revolutionary history and really the cradle of liberty here in Boston. I'm calling it Red, White, and Clue. It's a scavenger hunt.
And I'm surprised I'm standing where I am. This is the corner of Washington Street and Boylston. Why am I surprised? Because when I was a kid, this was a really bad neighborhood. Down Washington Street here, down lower Washington, we used to call it the Combat Zone, and this was the Red Light District.
This is where there were strip clubs and peep shows. And you wouldn't want to be here, at least. When I was an 8-year-old kid, this wasn't the kind of place I would want to be. It was dangerous, but it's also part of revolutionary history because if it was dangerous and violent in the late 70s and early 80s, it was also kind of a violent place in the late 1760s.
And the reason why, let's look up there. Right here, this is where the Liberty Tree was, the Liberty Tree. Now, if you don't know what the Liberty Tree was, I've got a great person here to explain it. Wongsrichanalai, who is the chief historian of the Massachusetts Historical Society, is here.
What was the Liberty Tree?
KANISORN WONGSRICHANALAI, MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY: The Liberty Tree was a 120-year-old tree in 1765. It was at the base of Boston Neck, so it was an area where people would have known going in and out of Boston, and it was a rallying point for groups like the Sons of Liberty to protest the taxes from Parliament. So it starts with the protest against the Stamp Act right here and became a wonderful rallying point and a symbol of the Revolution.
BERMAN: Pretty violent place, too. Violent stuff happened here at this tree.
WONGSRICHANALAI: Absolutely. So this is not just a place for celebration and protest, but it's also a place where they brought people, they hung people in effigy, they tarred and feathered someone here. So it's a reminder that the Revolution was also a very violent one, and that's also part of our DNA.
BERMAN: And we talk about 1776. This is the 250th anniversary of that, but it started 10 years before. I mean, it was the British doing the tax stuff that kind of ticked us off.
WONGSRICHANALAI: Absolutely. And taxes without representation, that's also something that is part of the vernacular of this time period, and it's what these individuals were protesting against, that they had no hand or no voice in the taxes they were being asked to pay.
BERMAN: All right. So here we are at the Liberty Tree. This was one clue on our Red, White and Clue tour. Let's figure out what our second site's going to be. Can I have clue number two?
WONGSRICHANALAI: Yes, you may. Good luck.
BERMAN: Clue number two. Clue number two, Berman's Red, White and Clue. Let's open it up. Here we go. A New England patriot whom people still toast. You might even say he's revered for his beer. In front of this icon stands a statue of him, a spot where Ted and Mitt fans once cheered.
Now, if we're talking about beer, I believe we're talking about Sam Adams?
WONGSRICHANALAI: You are correct on that.
BERMAN: And the site in front of this icon stands a statue of him. Is this Faneuil Hall?
WONGSRICHANALAI: That is correct.
[13:20:00]
BERMAN: We are going to Faneuil Hall, one of the coolest places around. We're going to visit the actual statue of Sam Adams. I am sure we're going to have a beer there. And if that wasn't planned, that's planned now.
So next time you see me, we'll be with Sam Adams at Faneuil Hall. In the meantime, brace yourselves because when we come back, America's 250th is about to get funky. George Clinton is with us. Stay tuned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are Pack 142 from Bixby, Oklahoma, and we want to say --
ALL: Thank you to our service members.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're from Pack 93 in Timnath, Colorado, and we want to thank our military service members for keeping us safe.
ALL: We are Troop 60431 from New Haven, Connecticut. Happy Birthday, America!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[13:25:35]
COATES: I love it. You know the Grand Master of Parliament, Funkadelic, is getting ready for a wild fourth.
KEILAR: If you've got to have that funk, and I know that we do.
COATES: Got to have that funk.
KEILAR: Big time. We have got George Clinton for you. We have the funk for you. He's joining us backstage ahead of his performance at the Essence Festival down in New Orleans.
George, thank you so much for being with us. This is just a very special. Having you is special. Having you on this day is special. Tell us about how you're celebrating The Fourth at Essence Fest. That's so unique.
GEORGE CLINTON, SINGER, SONGWRITER AND FUNK LEGEND: We're going to celebrate The Fourth this year with the Mothership landing for the 50th anniversary of the Mothership right here in New Orleans like we did the first time 50 years ago. So we're going to be celebrating that.
COATES: I mean, we are one nation under a groove right now, right? Today is the day for celebrating American history. You are part of that history. So what does reaching this 250th anniversary mean to you?
CLINTON: Well, it's beautiful that we celebrate the idea of what it's supposed to be. We still got some work to do. And in doing that, we're going to make sure we dance our way out of our constriction. We still got time --
COATES: Well, I like that.
CLINTON: -- so we're going to do this.
KEILAR: Yes.
COATES: Dance out of our constriction. I like that.
KEILAR: How do we dance out of our constriction, George? Tell us.
CLINTON: Get the funk. Let the funk be with you. Come flow (ph) on the Mothership.
COATES: We might because it's hot up here. Is it hot down in New Orleans right now?
CLINTON: Oh, it's cool, though. It's cool that it's hot here. Because like I said, the Mothership got air conditioning.
KEILAR: He's already danced out of his constriction, and we need to.
COATES: I'm getting on the Mothership.
KEILAR: I think -- we need to.
COATES: We got air conditioning and beignets. OK.
KEILAR: Yes, let's do it.
COATES: Let's do it.
KEILAR: So we have a question for you because --
CLINTON: Oh, yes. We'll beam you on down here. KEILAR: Oh, yes. That sounds great.
COATES: All right. Nice to see you, Brianna. It was so nice to be here.
KEILAR: See you later.
COATES: I'm going to go get the funk.
KEILAR: No. We have --
COATES: Yes.
KEILAR: -- hours more of the funk.
COATES: He needs me.
KEILAR: he -- I mean, but he's going to have to wait just a minute now, Laura.
COATES: All right, fine. I'll come soon. Get the flashlight.
KEILAR: George, yes. She'll be down in a minute. But in the meantime, you know, there's this time capsule that they're doing as part of the 250th, which is always kind of a -- it's always a fun thing. I wonder if you were to leave a time capsule for Americans to open 250 years from now, what would you put in it?
CLINTON: Probably a flashlight and a bop gun.
COATES: I'm so glad he said flashlight. Get the bag. I love that song.
CLINTON: Oh, no, flashlight got to be in there. But we need a bop gun to help Sir Nose dance. And it's all, ain't nothing but a party. So we ain't trying to hurt nobody. Just a little light on it. Shine some light. Give him some litness.
COATES: All right. Well, bring an atomic dog with you too. We had a few more questions. These are all rapid fire for you. All right. Ready? Here we go.
If you had to pick one, doo-wop or disco?
CLINTON: Doo-wop.
COATES: OK.
CLINTON: Doo-wop.
KEILAR: Doo-wop. All right, doo-wop. Mr. Wiggles or Dr. Funkenstein?
CLINTON: Oh, the doctors. Dr. Funkenstein. You know, Mr. Wiggles is a clone.
COATES: All right, Mothership connection or maggot brain? I think I know what you're going to say. CLINTON: Oh, I'm not going to mess with that. I'm going to leave that to the folks to pick that choice.
COATES: OK.
KEILAR: You know what? That's a good one to leave it to the folks.
COATES: Leave it to the folks, OK.
KEILAR: We will leave it to the folks.
COATES: OK.
KEILAR: Beach day or bird watching?
CLINTON: Bird watching. I'm into bird. I paint bird houses.
COATES: Do you really?
CLINTON: I really do.
COATES: I did not have that on my bingo card. You paint bird houses. All right, I like it.
CLINTON: No, in fact, we did it --
COATES: OK.
CLINTON: We -- check it out.
COATES: What are you going to show me? The bird paint? What? What are you telling me? Go ahead.
CLINTON: I'm saying we painted bird houses and Anderson Cooper did a special on it on CNN. On the bird houses.
COATES: Oh, we saw that. That was incredible. That's right. OK, how about this one? There you go. How about the last one for you? You are a godfather of funk. Who's the godchild of funk?
[13:30:19]
COATES: Oh, we saw that. That was incredible. That's right. OK, how about this one? There you go. How about the last one for you? You are a godfather of funk. Who's the godchild of funk? CLINTON: Starchild. Starchild.
COATES: OK. Obviously. That was a good one. Thank you.
KEILAR: That was amazing. Thank you so much, George. It's amazing to have you. I am definitely going to dance out of my constriction.
COATES: When is the mothership coming to get me, George?
CLINTON: It's coming tomorrow. I'm coming tomorrow. We're coming tomorrow at 7:00, OK, at the Superdome in New Orleans. So, be there. COATES: OK. I'll be there. I will be there. Sorry, Brianna.
KEILAR: No, that's OK. George, amazing to have you. Thank you so much for being a part of our 4th of July celebration.
CLINTON: Thanks for having me.
KEILAR: It is just wonderful to have you. That was the best.
COATES: I love it. I love it.
KEILAR: Leave it to the folks.
COATES: A question too Messe for George Clinton to answer. I like it.
KEILAR: Leave it to the folks.
COATES: OK.
KEILAR: What a question you asked, Laura.
COATES: I mean --
KEILAR: Leave it to the folks.
COATES: -- the heat got to my brain. My filter's almost gone. So, there you go.
KEILAR: And it's all stars and stripes and patriot spirit. And it's a lot -- it's very -- it's also hot. So, I'm doing a little spray here on this biggest Independence Day celebration on not just our coast, but on the West Coast.
COATES: Well, you know who's there? My friend, Elex Michaelson at the Huntington Beach Parade Oceanside. Elex, next to a float. Is it as fun as it looks? What do you have on?
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: I mean, I saw that. That was pretty cool. The Taekwondo kids from Victory Taekwondo who just did this.
Welcome to the largest parade west of the Mississippi for July 4th. We see all these folks there. Who's excited? Who's happy to be here? A half a million people marching in this parade, which features we got the Taekwondo group here, but we've got all sorts of folks, military folks, celebrities that are here. It's a lot of fun as this area all comes together. It's the 122nd year that Huntington Beach has come together for this parade. So many creative, interesting floats to show you throughout the day. And it's a lot of fun.
Who's having a good time? Happy 4th, everybody.
And so, it is just a sea of people. And I'm sorry to report this to you, Laura and Brianna, but it's like 70 degrees here. It's perfect.
KEILAR: And it's a dry heat. You know what they say. MICHAELSON: And you got to watch this. This is the cool thing that the kids are about to do for you guys. Here we go. Showing off the red, white and blue stuff. Here they come to give a demonstration and you can feel the energy here. All right. Here we come.
COATES: This is so cool to see. I love when kids are part of the parade.
MICHAELSON: Just showing their stuff off. And here comes the big finale of this as everybody. And check out the balloons. Here we go. There you go. Happy 4th, everybody from Huntington Beach. CNN's live coverage all around the country continues right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:35:00]
KEILAR: As Americans are celebrating this 4th of July, let's give a very big thank you to a very special group of people, the military families who make sacrifices every day for the peace and freedom that we all cherish. And joining us now is one incredible military family.
We are so honored to be joined by the Wiley's. Army Staff Sergeant Marcus Wiley, who was just back from a deployment. He was deployed for nearly a year. He and his wife, Sabina. Hi, Sabina. They live outside of Chicago with their gorgeous two-year-old daughter, Layla. Marcus is also a reservist, combat medic, and paramedic. Happy 4th to you guys.
And, Marcus, welcome back. I know you guys are, you know, reintegrating as we call it in the military. Tell us how you're celebrating your 4th and kind of getting back to normal here.
STAFF SGT MARCUS WILEY: Just spending time together, the three of us. We're going to barbecue later, maybe go check out a fireworks show, or maybe I guess the new drone shows that's going on throughout.
SABINA WILEY, WIFE OF MARCUS WILEY: Yes.
KEILAR: And Sabina, I know this must be very --
S. WILEY: Thank you. Definitely (INAUDIBLE) a lot of popsicles.
KEILAR: A lot of -- oh, you have to have the popsicles in this weather, but it must be really special to have Marcus back after he's been away for so long. I mean, as I said, Layla is only two. That's a lot of time that you all have spent apart. Can you tell us what that's been like?
[13:40:00]
SABINA: It was very challenging and it definitely tested every nerve, every -- it tested my patience. It tested my resolve. It helped me grow as a person and made me realize what's important. And it made me see my life from a different perspective, trying to prioritize and try to see where I want to be in the next two to three years. KEILAR: So, it really put some things into perspective for you. And, Marcus, what about you? What -- you know, what -- how has this kind of put things into perspective? And don't worry -- you get, yes, Layla can do her thing. She can do whatever she needs to do there. But how has that kind of put things into perspective for you, for you guys being apart? It's really different when you have little kids and you're missing those milestones.
M. WILEY: Oh, absolutely. It makes me appreciate my support system much more. And it's like just kind of just being appreciative of them. I understand that, you know, besides my obligations to the military, family, friends, and everyone else that's involved, a nation that helps out plays a huge part in an entire soldier's life. So --
KEILAR: And I see you guys wearing your Blue Star Families t-shirts. For those who are uninitiated, that's the biggest non-profit serving active duty and reserve and veteran families in America. Sabina, I know that because full disclosure, I'm on the board of Blue Star Families. But before I was on the board, I came to know Blue Star Families when I was in a similar situation to you, which was during a deployment with small children. And it was really kind of eye-opening. What has that meant to you to be able to have that community?
S. WILEY: It's been everything because I got connected right before Marcus had deployed. And initially, I was really skeptical about it. I was really scared to ask for help. I thought I could really brave everything alone. And it's been the biggest blessing of my life. I've made lifelong friends. I've created a community within the Chicagoland area.
I've gotten to know the executive director, Courtney, super well. She is a -- she is the biggest cheerleader in my corner for my family. She got us involved in a lot of different activities, which are all free to military and military affiliated families, which has been such again, a blessing, trying to find ways to entertain my younger one in a time where it felt like I needed the most support because I felt so isolated. So, it's been, it's been wonderful.
KEILAR: Well, it's amazing to hear that. And, Marcus, it's so great to see you back and enjoying time with your family and sweet little Layla. We're going to let you guys go so that you can get underway and join your July 4th, but we just appreciate so much your service and your sacrifice and also the service and sacrifice of military families like yours and Sabina, like what you're doing and Layla too. One day she'll understand a little bit more about what she's been through and she's sacrificed too, but Staff Sergeant Marcus Wiley and Sabina Wiley, thank you so much.
S. WILEY: Thank you. Thank you so much for your time.
KEILAR: Thank you for being with us. And coming up, we have lots of sugar. We have plenty of laughs. He's one of the greatest of all time. Charles Barkley is going to join us live. We're asking who or what is making the cut at his backyard barbecue, as we are live here from the National Mall in Washington.
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COATES: Look, we have a Coast Guard flyover that happened just moments ago right here in Washington, D.C. We're going to see so many of these today. They're so exciting to watch, and there's never a dull moment here on the mall. We've got the helicopters going right now. We've seen even some of the planes that have flown by. Underneath, they've got the red, white, and blue stripes. It is so cool to see here on the National Mall, where we are, of course, celebrating the Freedom 250 and, of course, America's 250th birthday.
And there's plenty to celebrate today, including newlyweds Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Come on. You know you've been following this wedding. The two tied the knot last night inside New York City's Madison Square Garden, Nixon 5. The message was projected outside of the garden last night, and we cannot wait to get all of the details.
My bestie, CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister, is outside of MSG right now. Tell me, what are we learning? Tell me everything you know about these nuptials, girl.
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: OK. So, it was just, of course, last night, Laura, that as you mentioned, right behind me, these screens, these large signs went up that said just married, announcing that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce had officially tied the knot.
Now, right behind me, we have been watching all morning. They have been unloading what was a grand party for 1,000 people. We saw a tree being carried out. Yes, a tree, and that is because we hear that inside was created to look like an enchanted garden of sorts.
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Now, I will get back to some of those details inside, but first, I want to tell you how star-studded this thing was. Everyone was there, from Jennifer Lopez to Reese Witherspoon to Jimmy Fallon, Bradley Cooper, Gigi Hadid. I mean, it seems like every single person they have ever met in Hollywood or sports was there. It was so star- studded.
Now, I have to tell you, some high-profile guests posted online about all of the details. They clearly slipped the tongue and weren't supposed to do that. How do I know? Because they deleted their tweet, but you know me, Laura. I got my hands on it and I took screenshots.
So, I have some details for you. They said that Travis wore a white tux. They said that there were photos of the couple, of each of them, throughout childhood, throughout the years, and I am pulling up these screenshots here. I might get in a little bit of trouble, but, you know, I just want to give you all the tea, Laura. They say that Taylor was in a jaw-dropping, stunning white wedding dress with a long-veiled train. They described the vows as, quote, "long, entertaining, personal, charming, emotional, irreverent, and endearing explorations by each as to how they met, why they want to be with each other for eternity, the promises they made in joining their much-beloved two whole families." It goes on and on.
Again, that person deleted it. I think they may get in a little bit of trouble, but it sounds like it was an incredible wedding event celebrating the love between these two.
And I have to tell you, the streets are open again. Yesterday, they were all closed, and some New Yorkers who were walking around told me yesterday they were not happy about that. They were missing their trains because, remember, Penn Station is under MSG, so this did create a bit of a cluster in the middle of Manhattan, but it's Taylor's world and we are all living in it. Only she could shut down the streets with the NYPD in Manhattan, but congratulations to the happy couple.
COATES: Hope there won't be any bad blood. See, I had to. I had to. You know I had them on the tip of my tongue, Wagmeister. I have all the songs in my mind, but she was fearless about it.
WAGMEISTER: It's so hot out there. It's a cruel summer because it's so hot out here, Laura.
COATES: I love you. See, I'm telling you. And by the way, everyone out there, I know we're talking about Travis and Taylor, but Wagmeister's baby boy, cutest thing of the year. So, I'm just saying sorry, Taylor, Tay-Tay, Travis. Love you, Wagmeister.
WAGMEISTER: Harry loves his Auntie Laura.
COATES: Oh, was Harry Styles there at the actual wedding? Do we know?
WAGMEISTER: So, Harry Styles was not there because he was performing in London last night, but he was invited. Of course, he is engaged to Zoe Kravitz, who is one of Taylor's besties. So, he was invited, but he was a little busy because the show must go on. So, he was in London on stage last night.
Oh, and -- wait, speaking of stages, we hear that Stevie Nicks performed last night at the wedding. So, there's another detail for you.
COATES: Really? There's a lot more? OK, Wags. We'll stick by you. Great getting those screenshots, as always. Elizabeth Wagmeister, everyone.
And hey, it wouldn't be a July 4th party without music. Performing now, Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan from the principal stage at Bottle Rock, Napa Valley.
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