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The Kerala state government has ordered a judicial inquiry into a fireworks display (Watch the video clip) that went wrong at a South India temple killing at least 110 people and injuring more than 350 early Sunday. ... Competitive fireworks are illegal and stricter laws will be framed against such displays, he said. Over 50 bodies have been identified so far. Another 40 bodies are yet to be identified, he said, adding that DNA tests will be conducted to identify them. Most of the dead are either women or children. About 20,000 people had gathered on the temple premises to...

"...Some of the last fireworks of the night came when Cruz attacked Trump's supposedly "very, very liberal" policies."Flexibility is a good thing, but you shouldn't be flexible on core principles," Cruz said. "I like Donald. He is an amazing entertainer. But his policies for most of his life..have been very, very liberal."Cruz continued:For most of his life, he has described himself as very pro-choice and as a supporter of partial-birth abortion. Right now today as a candidate, he supports federal taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. I disagree with him on that."You are the single biggest liar," Trump shot back. "You...

In Search of the First Rocket Manby Paul Gilster on January 27, 2016 If you're interested enough in space to be reading this site, you've probably run into the name of Wan Hu. He's the subject of a tale that may well be spurious, but it's certainly lively. It seems that some time around the year 1500 AD, Wan Hu took his fascination with rocketry to the logical limit by building a chair equipped with 47 gunpowder rockets. Lit by 47 attendants, the combined rockets took Wan Hu somewhere, but just where is unknown, as he is said to have...

DELAND, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ORLANDO) - Heather Charlebois showed us the wound and bruise on her right thigh. What she thought was a firework hitting her leg on the 4th of July turned out to be a 38-caliber bullet. She said, "Suddenly it felt like something blew up in my lap". You can see in this surveillance video, Charlebois was sitting with her boyfriend watching a band at Cafe Da Vinci in DeLand with some friends at around 10:30 Saturday night. She said, "We heard a loud pop and I felt pain in my leg, so we all assumed...

This time of year, there are always warnings about the risks and hazards involved with shooting off fireworks. Many listen to those warnings. Some do not. Jason Pierre-Paul did not, and it cost him, dearly. Pierre-Paul, the Giants’ 26-year-old star defensive end, suffered a serious but apparently not career-threatening hand injury Saturday night setting off Fourth of July fireworks at his South Florida home. While the full extent of the damage is not yet known, it is believed Pierre-Paul’s suffered significant burns on his palm and several fingers, and one finger may have sustained nerve damage, according to a source...

Devon Staples, 22, was killed in a bizarre incident that took place in a backyard as Staples and his friends were firing off fireworks. Investigators said Staples had placed the fireworks mortar tube on top of his head and set it off. The explosion caused a fatal head injury and he died instantly. Police said Staples had been drinking with friends at one of their homes on South Street

TRI-CITIES, WA. -- People are concerned about fireworks this Fourth of July. And not just locally, all over the Northwest. Governor Jay Inslee along with the Department of Natural Resources issued a burn ban for Washington but they wanted to do even more. No matter where you are in the Northwest, fireworks will be especially dangerous this year. Both Washington Governor Jay inslee and Oregon Governor Kate Brown have issued warnings. But regardless, fireworks stands have been open and selling in certain areas all week. So now they're urging extreme caution when using fireworks in cities and counties that legally...

"Guns and fireworks are symbols of the birth of our Nation and our freedom. The beautiful spectacle in the skies and the loud booms created by fireworks are a proxy for the gunfire that forged us as a unified nation. Thus, guns and fireworks are symbols of independence and the power to secure it. Tyrants hate that. More and more around the country, there are restrictions on gun sales as well as fireworks. This is a symptom of the same illness; over-reaching autocrats pushing their will on the people. When the Second amendment is encroached, the banning of fireworks is...

A Chinese artist has found a unique way to express his love to his grandmother: a gigantic staircase in the air. These stunning photographs show the 1,650ft ladder, which was made with fireworks, stretch right up into the sky in Quanzhou, south-eastern China, on Monday. This is the work of Cai Guoqiang, an artist who is originally from the city and now based in New York, reported the People's Daily Online.

BARSTOW, Calif. (AP) — A box van packed with fireworks exploded and burned to the ground on a Southern California freeway Thursday, clogging the main road between Los Angeles and Las Vegas at the beginning of the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The Chevrolet van caught fire shortly before 1:30 p.m. Thursday on southbound Interstate 15 near the Nevada border, briefly closing southbound lanes for nearly an hour and backing up traffic several miles into Nevada, said California Highway Patrol Officer Ryan Camara. No one was injured.

A crash that has shut down traffic in both directions on I-94 in eastern Kalamazoo County involves a truck hauling fireworks, police say. Lt. Dale Hinz with Michigan State Police said he was informed that the crash is fatal although he hasn't been to the scene to confirm that information. Multiple semi trucks and vehicles are involved and Hinz said motorists should avoid the area

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (KRON) — One of the biggest debates every Fourth of July is what’s the best place to sit to view the fireworrks. Photographer Jos Stiglingh may have found the definitive answer. Stinglingh strapped a Go Pro camera to a quad-copter drone and then flew it inside the fireworks explosions at a display in West Palm Beach Florida back in May. Neither the camera nor the drone was damaged. Enjoy along with the music. (click link for vid)

On Independence Day, celebrations across the United States depend on China. The sparklers, bottle rockets and Roman candles you're using this Fourth of July almost certainly came from there. So did the professional-grade pyrotechnics that was launched above the Washington Monument on Friday night. It’s a quirky exception to “Buy American” sentiments that are otherwise going strong and picking up steam in Washington and corporate America, especially around patriotic events. After all, Congress passed a law this year requiring flags flown by the U.S. military to be made in America. Ralph Lauren, meanwhile, scrambled ahead of this year’s Winter Olympics...

Jerri Andersen wasn’t impressed by the Fourth of July fireworks display at her local Hy-Vee in Urbandale, Iowa. “Of course, it’s not their fault,” she said. And it isn’t. The supermarket was displaying the only types of fireworks people can buy or possess in Iowa without a special permit: sparklers and snakes. All other consumer fireworks were banned in Iowa 76 years ago, following devastating fires in Spencer and Remen. The ban wouldn’t have prevented either fire. Both are believed to have been started by reckless use of sparklers. Andersen, from Colorado where most fireworks are legal, eventually decided on...

A staggering 479,651 shells were fired into the New Year’s Eve sky in just six minutesIt’s official, not only did Dubai succeed in breaking the world record for the world’s ‘Largest Fireworks Display’, it managed to smash it by firing a staggering 479,651 shells into the New Year’s Eve sky in just six minutes - almost 80,000 shells per minute and 1,332 fireworks per second. Within the first 60 seconds, Dubai fired enough shells to break the previous Guinness World Record, an hour-long show of 77,282 fireworks achieved in November 2011. As part of the rigorous verification process, Guinness World...

Millions of people have flocked to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to take part in one of the biggest New Year's parties in the world:

An ill-advised attempt to break into a safe with a welding torch wound up costing two men their lives. According to investigators in New Hampshire, the thieves were using a welding torch to crack open the safe when they accidentally set off fireworks stored inside. Police say the two were trying to open up the four-foot-high, concrete-lined safe with an oxyacetylene torch at a landscaping shop when the explosion occurred. WCVB reports the resulting explosion was so powerful that it blew the huge safe through the building, landing it outside. Investigators don't believe the men knew there were fireworks inside...

HOPKINTON — A safe full of fireworks and an acetylene torch caused an explosion that took the lives of two men who police said were attempting an early morning burglary at a landscaping company. Lucas Burke, 21, of Allenstown and Ethan Keeler, 20, of Epsom died in a blast at New Yard Landscaping at 67 Farrington Corner Road. According to the state fire marshal’s office, “the two males were attempting to gain entry into a closed metal container which contained consumer fireworks using an oxy-acetylene cutting torch when the blast occurred. The investigation has revealed that the two victims did...

A 54-year-old Travelers Rest man died Thursday night after he was injured in a fireworks-related accident. Robin Rhodes Smith was setting of fireworks at his home on Hilltop Road in Travelers Rest around 9:20 p.m. when the incident occurred, according to Mike Ellis, chief deputy for the Greenville County Coroner's Office. Witnesses told Ellis that Smith lit a flaming ball charge and inserted it into a mortar-type launching tube, but it did not ignite. Smith used a pocket knife to install another fuse and, once lit, held the base of the tube up against his chest. Ellis said the round...

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Military veterans are upset after the annual Camp Lejeune fireworks show for military members and their families was cut. What makes it even worse: A Pittsburgh area company offered to do the show for free, but the government said, thanks, but no thanks. The military says the show meant for more than 47-thousand Marines and Sailors was cancelled due to federal cutbacks.