Watch live: Storms threaten to spoil Trump’s partyBy Latest Posts9.14amAnd now, weather chaos: National Mall event postponed due to stormBy Michael KoziolWashington: Police are telling us that the entire National Mall is being evacuated immediately. There is about to be a weather emergency.People are streaming out of the National Mall now. Screens inside the event say “EVENT POSTPONED”.US Air Force Thunderbirds fly across a now-cloudy sky over the National Mall in Washington.AP Photo/Alex Brandon“Due to severe weather, this event is postponed until weather passes, ” one reads. “Please proceed to the nearest exit”Police are directing people to either go home or seek shelter in nearby hotels or museums.8.59am‘It’s packed’: Crowd chaos as people queue to get into National MallBy Michael KoziolWashington: It’s chaos where I am, just outside the National Mall. It seems most of the directions people were given were wrong – or have at been superseded by late changes.Streams of people looking to enter the grounds at 14th Street – which is where the emailed instructions told them to go – are being turned away because they don’t have a special guest lanyard.People waiting to enter the National Mall.AP Photo/Rahmat GulA volunteer from Freedom250 was telling people to go to 12th Street to cross through the exclusion zone and join the queue. But when they got there, they found it was blocked by law enforcement.The Secret Service is telling people they have to go all the way down to 3rd Street, 10 long blocks away. This being the US, there are no signs to tell people where to go, and no officials seem to know the right information.8.48amTrump holds July 4 phone call with Putin, speaking for more than an hourBy US President Donald Trump spoke to Russian leader Vladimir Putin by telephone for nearly 90 minutes, offering to help find a solution to the Ukraine war, said Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov.Ushakov said Trump made the offer in the context of his participation next week at the NATO summit in Turkey. He quoted the US president as saying that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would continue their efforts at brokering a settlement and were prepared to make another visit to Moscow.US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.APThe Kremlin aide said Putin gave Trump an assessment of the battlefield situation in Ukraine, where Russian commanders said on Friday that Moscow’s troops had captured the strategically important city of Kostiantynivka.On Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected that claim, saying it still controlled the eastern city.Reuters8.26amWatch: Masked white nationalists cram subway, stage march in WashingtonBy 8.16amLong queues, tight security and stifling heat at Washington’s National MallBy Michael KoziolWashington: I am outside the National Mall, near the corner of 15th and E streets, where an enormous crowd is trying to funnel into a narrow line to get into the mall.The queue stretches way down Pennsylvania Avenue and out of my sight. It is moving, but people keep joining it and squeezing in, so it’s a long wait.People wait in line to enter the National Mall in Washington on Saturday.BloombergThis is a special access line for people with tickets to the up-front area near the Washington Monument.While the National Mall is ordinarily accessible from all sides and angles, the tight security at this event means people have to funnel through Secret Service checkpoints.7.56amTest your US trivia chops with our interactive America 250 quizBy 7.24am‘Pretty bad television’: US networks to focus on festivities over Trump’s speechBy Paul DyerAmerica’s big broadcast networks are set to focus on Americana and fireworks during prime-time hours – and largely steer clear of US President Donald Trump’s July 4 address from the National Mall, The New York Times reports.Fox News is the lone major channel planning substantial live coverage of the speech. It will also broadcast from the main stage on the National Mall.US President Donald Trump after speaking at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial on Friday.AP Photo/Alex BrandonCBS will broadcast The Great American Block Party 250, while ABC will pursue a similar strategy, airing Nashville’s Star-Spangled Bash – an Independence Day celebration with the radio and TV personality Ryan Seacrest. Both plan to cover Trump’s speech in streaming packages on their websites, though neither plans post-speech analysis.NBC will air the two-hour Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Show.7.05amWorld Cup fans celebrate America’s 250th birthdayBy Luis Andres HenaoPhiladelphia: Fireworks crackled and jets roared ahead of the France-Paraguay World Cup game in Philadelphia as fans celebrated the double joy of soccer’s biggest tournament on home soil and the 250th anniversary of American independence in the nation’s birthplace.You can follow our live coverage of the Paraguay taking on France here.The view ahead of the round of 16 soccer match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia.AP Photo/Matt RourkeA pregame show celebrating the city’s history included Tony Award winner Idina Menzel singing The Star-Spangled Banner on a star-shaped stage. The Philadelphia-formed hip-hop band The Roots also performed, backed by dancers, including a “Lady Liberty” draped in a monumental gown, and fireworks in red, white and blue.Fans clad in the wavy, flag-inspired stripes of the US national team chanted “USA!” next to France and Paraguay supporters – all of them in the red, white and blue colours of the flags of all three countries.6.54amTall ships and long dogs in New YorkBy Steven SloanIn New York, tall ships, with their masts, rigging and white sails outlined against a blue sky, made a procession around the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson River.The 43 ships were followed by a display of aerial might with a stealth bomber and the Navy’s Blue Angels. Patrouille de France, the French Air Force’s acrobatic teams, flew over New York Harbor with their red, white and blue trails, evoking images of the American flag.The Statue of Liberty is seen as sailors of a tall ship sail past in the New York harbour.AP Photo/Pamela Smith Photo: AP Photo/Pamela SmithOn New York’s Coney Island, competitors chowed down on hot dogs at the annual Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July contest.1 of 2