welcome to bbc news. i'm mike embley. our top stories: joe biden says he's on course to win the us presidency but the vote counting continues. i'm not here to declare that we've won, but i'm here to report that when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners. the trump campaign launches legal action to try to stop the counting in michigan, pennsylvania, and georgia — and wants a recount in wisconsin. and we visit one so—called swing state where the record number of postal votes mean they've got a lot on their plates.

hello to you. the us presidential election is still hanging in the balance, but in some key states the count seems to be moving in the direction ofjoe biden. the margins still are very tight, with just a few thousand votes in a handful of swing states will decide who wins, who loses. if we take a look at the current state of the electoral map, you can see michigan is being projected as a biden win, and it looks like he will also win wisconsin — that's the state shaded grey at the top of the map in the great lakes region. taking wisconsin puts him ever closer to winning the electoral college. let's take a look at how the electoral college is adding up. the magic number is 270 electoral votes, which opens the door to the white house. donald trump is currently on 214 and joe biden is on 243. and look at the popular vote. it shows us that turnout is on course to be the highest in more than a century. alsojoe biden has collected more votes than his old boss

barack obama did in 2008, which means he's already received more votes than any us presidential candidate — around 71 million. let's have a look at the state of the race in two of those two key swing states — nevada and arizona. starting with arizona. there, 83% of the votes have been counted — and biden leads by nearly 80,000. that puts mr biden on 51% and trump on 48%. arizona has voted republican all the way back to george w bush in 2000, but looks like it could be going mr biden‘s way. and let's have a look at the state of the count in nevada. there it's a lot closer. each candidate is on 49% — and mr biden leads by fewer than 10,000 votes. there are around 15% of ballots still to be counted, but the biden campaign is optimistic they will retain it. the state went with hillary clinton in 2016. mark lobel wraps up all the latest developments. could the 77—year—old be

on course for victory? he and his supporters are growing more and more confident of it. i'm not here to declare that we've won, but i am here to report, when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners. that's because the much predicted blue wave, though slow in coming, and smaller in size than many predicted, may now be breaking through. buoyed by a projected democrat win in his state of michigan, and with both wisconsin and perhaps pennsylvania and georgia swinging towards biden, it may not be long now. but donald trump's team is claiming voterfraud. despite no evidence to back up his claims, his team has and the democrats know that the only way that they can win this election is to cheat in pennsylvania. and we've seen it from day one. we've seen it from day one. his team has filed a lawsuit in georgia, michigan, and pennsylvania, seeking to pause the states‘ counts there.

they've already demanded a recount in wisconsin — which they're entitled to. at key swing states they continue to count postal vote. now all eyes are on wisconsin, pennsylvania, north carolina, joe biden still needs to get to that 270 mark, whatever his opponent says. we will win this. and as far as i'm concerned we already have won it. and echoing the president's called for counting of votes to now stop, these trump supporters called for a halt at this account in detroit, michigan. show me what democracy looks like! this is what democracy looks like! that has caused counter protests gci’oss has caused counter protests across the country from democrats, with their message being to protect the vote. donald trump is adamant there are serious questions to answer about the handling of this election. it may be that the courts do get involved, but for now the feeling is that the colour

of victory that at first looked trump red may now be turning a biden blue. mark lobel, bbc news. in the battleground state of nevada, joe biden has a razor—thin lead, with 86% of the vote counted. 0ur correspondent, james clayton, is in las vegas. well, it's really, really close, 8000 votes between biden and trump. at the moment biden isjust edging it. and wouldn't he love to win in las vegas? this is very much trump's playground, trump has a massive hotel in las vegas. it's las vegas that's helping biden at the moment, because in terms of nevada it is pretty much all republican — apart from a little bit of blue right at south las vegas, and that is democratic, it's trending democrat right now. it was a very hard seat to call this because of the economy. you might see some of the casinos behind me. a lot of them were shut, there was huge unemployment here, some of the eyes in the country and there

was a big question of whether people would blame donald trump, the commander in chief, or blame the democrats who actually run the state here. there is a democrat governor here. think a lot of people thought that arizona was the one to watch around here and nevada might be a bit easier because hillary clinton took this date in 2016. it does appear that perhaps nevada is going to be closer, 85% of the votes have been tallied. we thought we might get a result today. we're not going to get that. we're going to get more information tomorrow. 9am pacific time, that was 5pm gmt. it could, potentially, decide the election. certainly important for mr biden, isn't it, james, our other correspondence doing the maths, they say even if mr biden doesn't get pennsylvania, if he gets arizona and nevada, arizona with 11 points in the electoral college, nevada with six, that gets him to 270 in the electoral college and gets into the white house. that's absolutely right. there are lots of different pathways you can get to, obviously if he wins pennsylvania that changes things.

but nevada could be crucial. there is absolutely a scenario where biden loses states like georgia and pennsylvania north carolina and suddenly nevada would be the crucial state for biden and it is a very, very close. just one thing to say about the republicans here, they are very litigious, they have already laws all sorts of lawsuits previous to the election. i think if it's close here you can pretty much guarantee you are going to see more lawsuits from the republicans to come here. james clayton in las vegas. ben wright is our north american correspondent, hejoins me now from washington. i think not since 1992 has the us unseated a president after just one term. how likely doesn't look now? president trump does not want to join that list of one term presidents. i think there have only been three since the war. at the moment it must be said that the path to victory for donald trump does look much

narrower than it does forjoe biden. joe biden, i think, narrower than it does forjoe biden. joe biden, ithink, has got more options as the votes stand at the moment to piece together a route to 270. all eyes at the moment, this evening, are on georgia, where president trump has an incredibly narrow lead at the moment over george —— joe biden. the ballots are yet to be released in the vote is declared. fulton county, a big metropolitan area, we suspect it might favourjoe biden over donald trump. we could see movement in georgia. arizona, there seems to be a slight tightening in the race there this evening. i'm not sure we will get anything clear. this isa will get anything clear. this is a movable feast. there is no doubt about that. we are still, of course, waiting for a result in pennsylvania which could still end up being one of the absolute key states in all of this. 20 electoral college votes. right now we don't think there is going to be result from pennsylvania until friday.

if you had to ask the two campaigns how they are feeling, eye would imagine it would be thejoe biden team who would this evening be feeling that the map is working in their favour and the momentum is with them. but votes are still being counted, millions of votes. this race is not decided yet stop as you say, so much as moving in this piece. how much scope is therefore mr trump, you think, and these legal challenges, the demands for recounts? he has fired off a number of legal challenges in several directions, mainly directed at states where he is behind, so he has asked, for instance, a recount in wisconsin, which us networks have called forjoe biden. republican lawyers have complained about some electoral procedures concerning, think it is only about 58 ballots in george sharp stop they are targeting their sort of legal firepower at states where they are behind and are alleging all sorts of dodgy practices, for which there is no evidence.

this seems to be an attempt to try to slow down the process and disrupt it in states where they feel they are at a disadvantage at the moment and salaries of state like justin bennison in michigan, which has been called forjoe biden, have dismissed the attempt to try and go down a legal challenge avenue as completely incorrect and not helpful to the proceeding of this election, which has been, you know, this is unfolding in a way that we all expected it to the when you are considering how many postal ballot‘s there were to count. 100 million americans voted early. states had been clear from the get go that it was going to take longer than normal and that's a process we see unfolding in front of us. then, thank you very much indeed. evenifjoe even ifjoe biden becomes president, can be very difficult to do anything meaningful, as we have seen, if you don't control both houses of congress. the democrats are expected to remain in control

of the house of representatives, but with a reduced majority. in the senate they were unable to unseat republican susan collins, who seems to have fought off a strong challenge from sara gideon. the democrats needed to gain three senate seats to take control there — so far they've made a net gain of one. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: as the contested counts and accusations of fraud continue, we look at what might be learned from the infamous florida vote — and those hanging chads — two decades ago. the israeli prime minister, yitzhak rabin, the architect of the middle east peace process, has been assassinated. a 27—year—old jewish man has been arrested, and an extremist jewish organisation has claimed responsibility for the killing. at polling booths throughout the country, they voted on a historic day for australia. as the results came in, it was clear — the monarchy would survive. of the american hostages,

there was no sign. they are being held somewhere inside the compound and student leaders have threatened that, should the americans attempt to rescue, they will all die. this mission has surpassed all expectations. voyager one is now the most distant man—made object anywhere in the universe, and itjust seems to keep on going. tonight, we prove once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but the enduring power of our ideals. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: joe biden says he's on course to win the us presidency as the vote counting continues. the trump campaign launches legal action to stop vote counting in michigan, pennsylvania and georgia — and wants a total

recount in wisconsin. let's get more on this now. joining me now is randi reed, who stood as a republican congressional candidate for nevada in june this year. very good to talk to you, thank you for your time. the trump campaign does seem to be trying to convince the public there is something illegitimate about still counting votes on election day or after the official election day. there is nothing illegal about that, is there? it depends on how you look at the situation. we have a situation in pennsylvania where i could literally change my vote today as long as it goesin my vote today as long as it goes in by friday and it seems ridiculous at this point to be after—the—fact and you are seeing what happened throughout the evening where you had basically the fear of these states, completely halt the counting so they could take a break. and miraculously we wake

up break. and miraculously we wake up with these massive leads for joe biden, the maths does not add up, does not add up and also for donald trump to be looking at these angles and pushing the narrative that there is something fraudulent going on, i would have to agree with him. the numbers do not make sense, theyjust do not.|j think anyone would understand thatis think anyone would understand that is disappointing if you support mr trump but you must know the supreme court recently allowed pennsylvania to keep counting ballots received up to three days after the election. i'm looking at the list in wisconsin, pennsylvania, it was decreed that votes should not be decreed by election day and the mrtrump be decreed by election day and the mr trump specifically told the mr trump specifically told the public to not use the postal ballots they were counted, they were going to be counted, they were going to be counted second and they were bound to be predominantly for the democrats. none of that is a mystery conspiracy, is that? it depends on if you actually believe the mailing ballots

actually work. we have absentee ballots that have been proven to have a massive mailing ballots scheme, it doesn't seem to be feasible and you have said the us postal service has already been a failing entity, they have had numerous issues over the years and to see them all of a sudden to be able to handle an election? we as americans cannot be full that the postal service can pull that off. and look at the campaign of the democrats, it was all about mailing ballots, we have not heard anything about the coronavirus, we have about the coronavirus, we have a mass hysteria and major influxes, here in nevada specifically, northern nevada had a complete shutdown and yet for the past two days we have not heard anything about that. why is that? i bet we are in the middle of a major election but this is a worldwide pandemic that they were talking

about closing down because it was not safe to vote. none of this adds up, none of it. but we have heard a great deal about it. 230,000 dead americans, hospitalisations in the us hit a three—month high, 100 days and daily cases, the figures are out there if you choose look at them. you have a good point there that needs to be addressed, there are going to be millions of americans who ever wins were profoundly unhappy with the result and also probably partly thanks to the president, think the whole process is illegitimate. what you need to hear it? so you get ajoe biden you need to hear it? so you get a joe biden president, you need to hear it? so you get ajoe biden president, what you need to hear from that administration to make you feel co mforta ble administration to make you feel comfortable over the next four yea rs. comfortable over the next four years. i don't think! need comfortable over the next four years. i don't think i need to hear anything from that administration. i don't trust either administration in all honesty. i don't really trust anything when it deals with politics at this point.

especially over the past few months, what has come to fruition with all of these shady deals between biden and china and kazakhstan et cetera, it explodes what is happening with in schools right now the reason i support trump is because he is the outsider but he is not going to concede until every single vote is counted and counted properly andi counted and counted properly and i said this before, the only movers right now our ask as americans because it's a com plete as americans because it's a complete embarrassment to american democracy. it doesn't matter about what side of the arley lea n matter about what side of the arley lean on, at this point, it's such a sad day and experience for the american electoral public. it's disappointing, to say the least. really interesting to talk to you. thank you for talking to us popular have a great night. the hispanic vote

was very important to this bow, including texas and florida. democrat and majority whip of the virginia general assembly, alfonso lopez, joins me now from arlington. we talk loosely about the hispanic or latinx mode, but there is a broad swathe of people in there, it is not individuals, this is not a block? no, no, that is true. the latino vote is not a monolith stop as a dice bra are of many nationalities and the fa ct of many nationalities and the fact is that cuban—americans have different issues than chicano americans in california and from arizona —— diaspora. and those from el salvador americans in virginia. very different priorities and issues

in each area. president trump did spot and opportunity in florida with cu ban—america ns and those from venezuela, do you think your own party has hit the spot? well, i disagree with your assertion that there are more latinos voted in texas and florida for donald trump. in fact, for latinos voted, they voted overwhelmingly in almost every state for the biting campaign. in fact, there was an issue in one of the counties where the number of conservative latinos came back home, specifically the cuban—american community, and it was not as big a win as it had been for hillary clinton in 2016, but when you look at the highest density precinct in 0rlando, highest density precinct in orlando, tampa, biden won those pressings by up to 70% and the same in texas and gosh! western

latina democrats have really solidified ballots around the states to the point were colorado and new mexico and now nevada are solid places for democratic votes. and now what was there with arizona, arizona latina democrats were the key factor in basically flipping that state for republican to democrat. and looking at what you been saying, you feel there are many myths around miami dade, in florida. miami dade is not the centre of the latina universe of united states. it only accounts for 3.1% of the us latina population. the fact is there are latinos in every corner of the united states and the fact is they are really now the fact is they are really now the margin of victory in several states, in light of the battleground states, michigan, wisconsin, virginia, texas.

they are going to grow continually and the fact is they will eventually be that much biggerfor they will eventually be that much bigger for democrats they will eventually be that much biggerfor democrats going forward. they have played a huge role in virginia and played a significant role in wisconsin and michigan over the last couple of days. as you say, there is such a difference between hispanic people in the united states and do you think the parties are getting that? sorry, you cut out? there is such a difference a aesthetic, between hispanic people loosely put in the united states, other parties getting it, targeting those voters as they need to? well, i think the biden—harris campaign did an amazing job of micro targeting various communities, they spent a significant amount of money on outreach into latinos and the proof is in the putting. we actually won with latinos votes, up 70% in most of the states and i would say that trump wasn't even competitive

in any state, really, at the end of the day, amongst the latina community overall and what without able to do which is what i'm excited about is that when we were doing a latina radio ad and if you do getting you do it with a cuban individual, not a cuban—american, as opposed to an el salvador accent that they would use virginia or mexican accent in california. it's an incredibly innovative way to target and reach out to various communities across united states. so, ithink communities across united states. so, i think the targeting that was done by this campaign has been very effective and the proof is how significantly largely the latinos vote was for the biden—harris ticket. latinos vote was for the biden-harris ticket. thank you for your time. over this entire election has hung the cloud of legitimacy. there are already lawyers and legal wrangling, contested cou nts a nd accusations of fraud.

the president set the narrative early on for this, suggesting mail in ballots would be stolen and that if he lost it would be through foul play. the last time a presidential election outcome was this contested, it went all the way to the supreme court. the bbc‘s gabriel gatehouse asks what we might learn from the infamous florida vote two decades ago. the voting has finished and, still, there is no result. an anxious nation waits. we have been here before, 20 years ago, in what feels like a distant era. excuse me one second. florida goes for al gore. there is a lot of uncertainty and confusion about who won florida. the network has called this thing, but the people actually counting the votes are coming up with a different perspective, and so, we are upbeat about things. florida pulled back into the undecided column. in 2000, florida held the key.

whoever won the sunshine state would take the presidency. bush wins, headline of the hour, headline of the year. al gore was on his way to make his concession speech, having already phoned his rival, when his team told him to wait. cbs news says now that florida has pulled back. this race is simply too close to call, and until the results of the recount is concluded, and the results in florida become official, our campaign continues. it was the election of the hanging puck, inconclusive ballot papers that held the result of the whole election in the balance. 36 days of legal, bureaucratic warfare over which ballots were to be counted, and ultimately, this well of litigation ended up at the doorstep of the supreme court. the supreme court eventually ruled for bush, and the rest, as they say, is history.

today we are still a long way from the drama of 2000. no one is talking about the supreme court, yet. no one has called this election yet. no one, that is, apart from the president himself. so we will be going to the us supreme court, we want all voting to stop, we don't want them to find any ballots at four o'clock in the morning and add them to the list, 0k? the partisan rivalries of 20 years ago were no less bitter than they are today, but what is different is the tone. no matter what the outcome, america will make the transition to a new administration with dignity, with all respect for the freely expressed will of the people, and with pride in the democracy we are privileged to share. some still believe that bush got fewer votes than al gore 20 years ago, but when the supreme court ruled that was it, its legitimacy

was not questioned. this election continues to test america's faith in its institutions, by whatever means an eventual win is secured. thank you for watching. hello there. it's pretty cold out there at the moment across more southern parts of the uk. wednesday started with some frost quite widely in england and wales. what followed was a generally dry and sunny autumn day. but, for scotland and northern ireland, we saw more cloud moving in during the afternoon and the evening. you can see that clearly on the satellite picture from earlier on. that cloud moving very slowly southwards. we actually have weakening weather front bringing some damp and drizzly weather and lowering the cloud onto the hills. but we've got high pressure across the south, this is where we've got the clearer skies and we've got those lower temperatures as well. milder in the north, but colder in the south. maybe some frost around for mid wales, midlands and southwards. notjust some frost, some mist and fog too.

that's going to be dense in places in the morning. gradually through the morning that will tend to lift and break. may take a while in the home counties, mind you. then we get sunshine coming through. but, for north wales, northern england it looks quite cloudy, damp and misty over the hills. further north, we've got more of a breeze from the atlantic. that's significant. it's blowing in a lot of cloud but the cloud breaks to the east of the high ground in a bit of scotland. and a bit of warm, 15 or 16 degrees. elsewhere ten to 12. similar to what we had on wednesday. this time in the morning we've got much more mist and fog around. and into friday morning, again there will be dense patches of fog. again it's more likely for the midlands southwards. this time on friday that fog will tend to lift more readily. the breeze will pick up a little bit more and we should see sunshine developing. further north, some low cloud around, misty over the hills. cloud tending to thin, some sunshine coming through away from the northwest. the temperatures ten to 12 degrees again. a little bit milder perhaps towards the south east, but the winds are picking up in the far southwest.

the wind direction is changing just in time for the weekend. that's going to be quite significant because that's going to draw up some milder air and push it very slowly northwards. instead of the high pressure that's keeping it quiet at the moment, it'll be quite cold. that's moving away towards continental europe. and lowering pressure from iberia means we've got the threat of some rain coming up from the south. maybe the odd shower around on saturday rain across northern and western areas on sunday. temperatures gradually rising. higher temperatures towards the south possibly up to 16 or 17 c.

this is bbc news. the headlines: joe biden says he's on course to win the us presidency as vote counting continues. michigan is projected as a biden win, and it looks like he could also win wisconsin, putting him ever closer to winning the electoral college. european monitors described the election as competitive and well—managed. the trump campaign has launched legal action to stop vote counting in michigan, in pennsylvania and georgia, accusing democrats of scheming to disenfranchise republican voters. mr trump's campaign has also called for there to be a recount of ballots in wisconsin, saying there had been reports of irregularities. the democrats are expected to remain in control of the house of representatives, but with a reduced majority. in the senate, they have been unable to unseat republican susan collins. the democrats needed to gain three senate seats to take control. so far, they've made a net gain ofjust one.