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It’s July 3, so my guess is you’re counting down the hours until the holiday weekend. So today, we’ll have a handful of stories that would be worth any time you have to spare between meals and fireworks.

But first, speaking of fireworks, here’s a look from The Times at how the big Macy’s show in New York gets planned, tested and perfected starting a year in advance — in the California desert. (Naturally.)

Frank Shyong, a metro columnist for The Los Angeles Times, wrote about how the ad hoc — and illegal — displays Angelenos see every year actually show residents of a culturally expansive city coming together.

And here are a few roundups of fireworks and other festivities, if you’re looking for more officially sanctioned pyrotechnics, in the Bay Area, the Central Valley, the L.A. area and San Diego.