Over 70% of some 140 people who responded to The Times’ question: “Do you prefer fireworks or a drone show for the Fourth of July?” said they preferred drones.

The city will deploy drones this Fourth of July to crack down on illegal fireworks and protect communities from fire hazards.

San Jose’s drone pilot program to crack down on illegal fireworks will be launched this Friday for the July Fourth holiday.

Russia launched a record number of drones at Ukraine overnight into Friday, striking multiple buildings and residential areas, hours after US President Donald Trump said he had made “no progress” towards a ceasefire deal in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

In one of the most extensive overnight aerial confrontations of the war, Russian air defence units reportedly shot down 42 Ukrainian drones across several regions, including two near the country’s second-largest city, St. Petersburg, officials said on Saturday, 5 July 2025.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that interceptor drones had proved effective in downing many Russian drones deployed in an overnight Russian attack on Kyiv and issued a new call for their rapid development and production.