MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – The Vermont GOP will officially back former president Donald Trump despite him being a convicted felon.

The party has several criteria on who they can support, and those rules exclude people convicted of felonies.

Trump– the party’s standard-bearer– was convicted of 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records to cover up payments to an adult film star.

So the Vermont GOP’s executive committee recently voted to waive its rule and will now support Trump.

“We just felt that the process hasn’t played out completely and because he’s our presidential nominee, people on the executive committee felt it was important to address,” Vermont Republican Party Chair Paul Dame said.

Democratic Party leaders call the decision to waive the rule morally bankrupt and call the former president a threat to democracy.

At next month’s national convention, nine of Vermont’s 17 delegates will go for Ambassador Nikki Haley and eight for former president Trump.

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The Fourth of July means plenty of hot dogs will be on the grill, but perhaps none more than on Coney Island.

Coney Island has been the home of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest just about every year since 1972 at the original Nathan’s.

Its popularity has skyrocketed in recent years, notably because of the dominance of two of the best eaters ever.

Takeru Kobayashi broke the world record for most hot dogs eaten in 12 minutes, nearly doubling the previous record of 25.5.

It was Kobayashi’s first of six straight titles, but Joey Chestnut dethroned him in 2007.

Chestnut broke the record by eating 66 dogs and buns, which kick-started a dominant run. He’d wind up winning each contest until getting upset in 2015 by Matt Stonie. 

But Chestnut reclaimed the crown the following year and has won every year since.

This year, however, there will be a new champion because Chestnut will not be on Coney Island.

Last month, Chestnut signed a brand partnership deal with Impossible Foods, a rival of Nathan’s. Major League Eating ruled that as long as Chestnut was partnered with a Nathan’s rival, he would not be permitted in the competition.

Joey Chestnut is shown after winning the 2021 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman/File)

PETA SET TO ‘BOMBARD’ HOT DOG EATING CONTEST SPECTATORS, ENCOURAGE THEM TO GO VEGAN

Despite Chestnut saying he was hoping something would work out, nothing ever did, thus the reason he won’t be in New York.

He will, however, compete in another hot dog eating contest in El Paso, Texas, which will be livestreamed at 5 p.m. ET, nearly five hours after the Nathan’s contest ends.

With Chestnut out of the race, sportsbooks say it’s a four-man race between Geoffrey Esper, James Webb, Nick Wehry and Patrick Bertoletti. Esper is the favorite at -110, while Webb is +140, Wehry is +300 and Bertoletti is +600.

Joey Chestnut holds his championship belt during a game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Ball State Cardinals at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia, on Sept. 9, 2023. (Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images)

The goal is simple: eat as many hot dogs (and buns) as you can in 10 minutes (it went from 12 to 10 in 2008). Win, and receive $10,000.

Condiments, water and other beverages are allowed to make the eating easier, although typically, no one opts for condiments.

The contest will be broadcast on ESPN and begins at noon ET.

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Needham native Suni Williams should have been home from the International Space Station by now, but despite still being in orbit, the NASA astronaut made an early call to the Esplanade for the Fourth.

“Hi, everybody! I’m so happy to be here,” Williams said in a call with Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart. “The Fourth of July in Boston is the best place to be. It’s where it all started.”

The call came in around 12:45 p.m., less than an hour after gates opened for the 50th Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular.

Thousands of people from near and far – decked out in America’s colors – trickled in throughout the day, packing the oval in front of the Hatch Shell and banks of the Charles River hours before the patriotic concert and display.

Williams called Lockhart alongside her five crewmates – all Americans – on the ISS. And even above the atmosphere, the Fourth of July provided a special meaning for the astronauts.

“We are having a lot of fun, being able to sleep in a little because it’s a holiday. We’re all Americans so …,” Williams said before the crew sang America the Beautiful.

Williams and crewmate Butch Wilmore on Tuesday climbed into Starliner at the ISS and worked with flight controllers and engineers during a power-up of the spacecraft, according to Boeing.

This week marks the fourth that Wiliams and Wilmore have been in orbit. The pair took off on a test drive of Boeing’s new capsule on June 5, and at the time, they expected to head home from the ISS in a week or so.

But equipment problems and helium leaks popped up on their way there, calling off three potential landing dates and putting their return flight on hold.

“I want to make it very clear that Butch and Suni are not stranded in space,” NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said last week.

Williams and Wilmore can stay docked at the ISS through the end of July, while Boeing continues to test the Starliner.

Despite what could be an uneasy situation, Williams and her crewmates were in good spirits Thursday, with the Needham native looking forward to finding out whether she could see the fireworks from space.

“This is my first Fourth of July up in space so I am excited to stay up a little bit later, take a nap … and try to see them.”

A crewmate added: “Everything looks like fireworks when you’re up here.”

Lockhart, speaking with reporters, called conducting the Boston Pops on the Fourth a “great responsibility and a great honor.” This is his 29th year leading the show.

While Lockhart said he’s looked to “keep traditions alive” such as Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, the concert sees slight alterations each year.

“Somehow we try to make it reflective of America,” he said, “which is difficult this year because America is in a very strange place. … But we are trying to keep it light and hopeful and seek commonalities which is what this day is all about.”

Lou Spelios showed up at 3 a.m., nine hours before gates opened at noon – a tradition for the Back Bay resident. After reading about and watching the annual celebration on television since his childhood, he learned showing up before the crack of dawn is required to get a close seat.

“I love this concert,” Spelios told the Herald. “I love what it stands for – choice and our ability to function independently. That’s what we celebrate, just being able to control our own destiny.”

After wet and wild weather interrupted the festivities for several hours before the skies cleared last year, Thursday featured similar muggy conditions with oppressive humidity.

Camilla Erices, a native of Chile, and her boyfriend Adam Provost, of Springfield, came out for their first Fourth at the Esplanade.

“It’s been awesome,” Erices, of Haverhill, said of living in America and celebrating the nation’s 248th birthday in Boston. “I’ve been having a great experience. I’ve been living here for the past three years, but honestly, I have nothing bad to say.”

Provost said he has been trying to visit “all of the nation’s original hotspots” for the holiday including Washington, D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia. Being in Boston, he said he felt like he was “reliving history.”

“I just feel proud,” Provost said of being an American. “I feel safe, I go home and feel safe each night, and I know a lot of people don’t get that, and I am glad I do.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report