Independence Day is ‘controversial’ and ‘not okay’ to celebrate, according to those profiled by New York Times

While fireworks and parades are just some of the festivities taking place throughout Independence Day, the New York Times chose to spotlight Americans struggling to find reasons to celebrate.

Ahead of the July 4th holiday on Sunday, the Times published a piece titled, "No Sparklers for These Folks," which featured one woman’s political qualms with patriotism and another’s decision to skip fireworks over their "toxic" chemicals and similar sound to gunshots.

One of the interviewees, Malaya Tapp, posted a TikTok elaborating on her stance, doubling down on her argument that it’s "not okay" to celebrate the "controversial holiday."

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"Use it to celebrate something else," Tapp said in the video. "I will probably go to a barbecue because those tend to be hosted by Black family or friends, and I see that as a time to come together and celebrate the fact that we are also still here despite America trying to get rid of us when they were trying to gain their independence."

"The message from the left, one, they need to lighten up," Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce said on an "Outnumbered" panel, Tuesday, "but it really does rely on perpetual victimhood that then informs how they view every single thing that's happening in their lives."

Bruce ripped the outlet for elevating the "confused woman" and publishing what she labeled as a "push story."

"It is not a controversial holiday. It just isn't. Even if The New York Times says so, that is untrue," Bruce said. "You've got an America, hundreds of millions of people. We love this holiday. We understand it. They chose Gen Zers, people from New York who are complaining about the heat of it. Some of this is post-pandemic, but this is about the media."

Fox News contributor Joe Concha, who also joined Tuesday’s panel, added to the argument that the article is a perfect example of "bias in journalism."

"Whoever the writer was for The New York Times here basically said: 'All right, I have a narrative that I want to go with, but I need people we're going to portray as regular people, that we're going to portray as this is indicative of how America is thinking in general on certain topics, like July 4th,'" Concha explained.

He also pointed out the hypocrisy behind Ms. Tapp’s comments about choosing to attend festivities based on certain demographics.

"Checks off every box, and literally the definition of racism when you say: 'I'm only going to hang out with people of a certain color instead of the content of their character,'" Concha said. "Or maybe they're just really cool to hang out with and they're halfway decent at beer pong."

Heritage Foundation Tech Policy Center Director Kara Frederick echoed Bruce’s argument that the anti-American sentiments stem mostly from younger generations.

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"There's a prevailing nihilism among the younger generation that I think we have to contend with. I'm a millennial, so it's a part of my charge, I think, to educate them and let them know that, yes, there could be some manmade changes on the environment," Frederick said.

"But again," she concluded, "We have the innovation, the ingenuity, the technology to contend with that as well. So I think it's a Gen Z issue. They are swimming in a toxic information environment propagated by these social media platforms."

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Russia attempts to link US to alleged Moscow drone attack, says West provided 'intelligence'

Russian officials are trying to link the U.S. and NATO to an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow on Tuesday, saying Western countries provided "necessary intelligence" for the raid.

Russia claims its air defenses fended off an attack on the nation's capital by five Ukrainian drones on Tuesday. Officials now claim the attack would not have been possible for Ukraine without assistance from Western allies.

"These attacks would not be possible without the help provided to the Kyiv regime by the US and its NATO allies," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement, according to the Agence France-Presse.

The ministry went on to say the West is "training drone operators and providing the necessary intelligence to commit such crimes."

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Russian officials say their air defenses on the outskirts of Moscow shot down four of five drones heading toward the capital, adding that the fifth was jammed by electronic means. Ukrainian authorities, who usually do not comment on attacks inside Russia's proper territory, have not claimed responsibility.

No one was harmed in the attack, according to city officials.

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The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The attack on Moscow comes amid a wider counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces that seeks to push back the Russian invaders. Ukrainian forces have successfully recaptured lands Russia conquered since its invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sought to bring attention to Russia's massive campaign of missile barrages targeting Kyiv and other major cities. He continues to urge Western allies, including the U.S., to increase supplies of air defense systems and to allow Ukraine membership into NATO.

Fox News' Lawrence Richard contributed to this report. 

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