Here are the top 5 myths about July 4, 1776:

1. Independence was declared July 4
2. The Declaration of Independence was signed July 4
3. The Liberty Bell rang July 4
4. Betsy Ross sewed the first US flag
5. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the 4th

America’s independence was actually declared by the Continental Congress on July 2, 1776. The night of the second the Pennsylvania Evening Post published the statement:  “This day the Continental Congress declared the United Colonies Free and Independent States.”

So what happened on the Glorious Fourth? The document justifying the act of Congress-you know it as Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence-was adopted on the fourth, as is indicated on the document itself, which is, one supposes, the cause for all the confusion. As one scholar has observed, what has happened is that the document announcing the event has overshadowed the event itself.

When did Americans first celebrate independence? Congress waited until July 8, when Philadelphia threw a big party, including a parade and the firing of guns. The army under George Washington, then camped near New York City, heard the new July 9 and celebrated then. Georgia got the word August 10. And when did the British in London finally get wind of the declaration? August 30.

John Adams, writing a letter home to his beloved wife Abigail the day after independence was declared (i.e. July 3), predicted that from then on”the Second of July, 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.” A scholar coming across this document in the nineteenth century quietly” corrected” the document, Adams predicting the festival would take place not on the second but the fourth.

Read more from this story HERE.

Iran is planning to close the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers traveling to countries supporting economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The EU embargo against Iran went into effect on July 1. While theories are that this will not affect Iran too badly, lawmakers in the Islamic Republic are drafting a bill, which would effectively close the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers delivering to countries supporting the economic sanctions against Iran.

Iranian MP Ibrahim Agha-Mohammadi told reporters, ­”There is a bill prepared in the National Security and Foreign Policy committee of Parliament that stresses the blocking of oil tanker traffic carrying oil to countries that have sanctioned Iran.”

“This bill has been developed as an answer to the European Union’s oil sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he added.

According to Agha-Mohammadi by July 1, 100 of Tehran’s 290 members of parliament had signed the bill.

Read more HERE.

EDINBURG, Texas — A cell phone call from a Spanish-speaking man who said he and others were locked in a house brought police to a dirt road on the outskirts of town. There they found three small homes used as “stash houses” to hide 117 illegal immigrants, including 10 children, who had just been smuggled across the Mexican border into the United States.

One of the homes had barred windows and a padlocked door. “Approximately 50 undocumented people were inside the residence,” said Edinburg Police Chief Rolando Castañeda. “There was no running water, very minimal food; it was pretty tough for them.”

Texas is responsible for regulating the care of thousands of unaccompanied children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The Department of Health and Human Services is concerned about the future of these children.

Of the 10 boys locked with the adults inside the house, officials said, nine were unaccompanied, meaning they were traveling without their parents or adult guardians.

“They were being treated like animals,” said Castañeda. “There was a lot of desperation, there was a lot of fear in their eyes.”

All the children were taken to a local hospital, apparently suffering from dehydration.

Read more HERE.