From the gold rush to civil rights, the moon landing to 9/11, the US has always understood, mythologised and sold itself through the power of the still image

The United States was founded in 1776, but did not begin to see itself until the autumn of 1839, when daguerreotypes, the first form of photograph, reached American cities. You could argue the US began again on the morning it could look at its own face.

At first photography seemed to answer the democratic promise of 1776. A portrait was no longer reserved for the rich; almost anyone could now leave a trace of their existence. The gold rush became one of the first great American dramas to find the camera: ordinary diggers squinting into the lens, looking beyond it for gold. A more emblematic American scene can scarcely be imagined: what would be called the American Dream, a lottery everyone plays and very few win. The myth was not that they all found gold – it was that the search itself made them American.

The gap between America and Britain has grown economically as Trump asserts ‘the UK is dying’. Culturally, however, it’s a different story

On 1 June 1785 John Adams travelled to London to become the first US ambassador to Britain, in which capacity he was to meet George III. By his own admission, Adams trembled at the encounter. After all, it had been less than a decade since he helped Thomas Jefferson write the Declaration of Independence denouncing the king as an absolute “tyrant” who had “plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people”.

A trepidatious Adams trudged through the London drizzle to St James’s Palace, where he presented his credentials to King George. He bowed three times, then declared he would be “the happiest of men if I can be instrumental in recommending my country more and more to your Majesty’s royal benevolence”.

The couple were married in a star-studded ceremony at Madison Square Garden

• Full report: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce marry at New York City’s Madison Square Garden

Popular national pastimes of drinking and football will make post-Mexico Monday a day of sore heads and sleepy children

England are through to the round of 16 in the World Cup and, as is customary in the run-up to a major international footballing fixture, the country may be losing its mind.

Because piled on top of the 60 years of hurt for the men’s team, England fans have another obstacle to overcome with the forthcoming fixture: a gruelling kick-off time of 1am BST.

Lily, 26, a PhD student, meets Brodie, 24, a chef

What were you hoping for?
Love, passion … marriage. Failing that, some good craic and a free dinner.

Investigative journalist had enemies in high places and accused, Yorgen Fenech, is establishment figure from powerful family

On the steps of the courts of justice in Valletta, there is a bronze statue of Malta’s late president. A bundle of papers in one hand, Guido de Marco stands on a plinth, looking out at passersby in the busy street below.

Every morning since Wednesday this week, his daughter has walked up the steps of the same courthouse, in dark glasses and smart clothes, a bundle of papers in her hand. A sought-after criminal lawyer, Giannella de Marco is representing the man accused of ordering the 2017 murder of the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, in a case that continues to dominate public debate nearly nine years after the event.

In a speech at Mount Rushmore on Friday evening, the US president claimed a resurgent ‘communist menace’ posed a severe threat the country

Donald Trump has kicked off America’s 250th birthday weekend with an extraordinary partisan attack on what he called the “communist menace” in America, framing its supporters as “the enemy of July 4th, 1776”.

The US president spoke for half an hour on Friday night at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, the latest stop on his tour celebrating the milestone anniversary of the US declaration of independence from Britain.

• Fifa held discussions about game kicking off earlier

• Risk of thunderstorms in Mexico had caused concern

England have avoided the prospect of their World Cup match against Mexico on Sunday being brought forward by six hours after a chaotic day that saw Fifa engaged in discussions with multiple stakeholders over a new kick-off time.

The eagerly anticipated last 16 clash in Mexico City will still be played at 6pm local time (1am Monday BST), but only after a period of intense confusion in which both camps were left scrambling for clarity. Fifa were wrong footed when news leaked in Mexico during the afternoon that negotiations to make the switch, which would ostensibly have been down to the prospect of thunderstorms and flooding on Sunday evening, were taking place but ultimately decided to keep the status quo.

The couple invited an array of celebrity guests to the wedding, including Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper, while Adam Sandler officiated their nuptials

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are officially wed. The couple hosted their wedding celebration on Friday in New York City, nearly three years after first meeting.

The ceremony was officiated by Adam Sandler, a Swift spokesperson said in a Friday statement confirming the nuptials.

Politicians across Celtic nations braced for constitutional turmoil if Reform continues to rise

The rise of Nigel Farage has prompted political leaders across Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to game the unthinkable: the break-up of the United Kingdom.

Unionists who wish to save the union and nationalists who wish to end it are bracing for constitutional turmoil if Reform UK emerges triumphant – with Farage as prime minister or official leader of the opposition – after the next election.