tonight at six, joe biden is on the verge of becoming president of the united states, as he edges ahead in key battleground states. three days after the election, he now leads in the crucial state of pennsylvania, and most of the other remaining states. as the momentum grows, joe biden calls for calm, but the trump campaign insists it's not over yet. several american television networks cut away from the president, massive victories in florida, iowa, indiana, ohio... ok, here we are again, in the unusual position of not only interrupting the president... several american television networks cut away from the president, accusing him of making false statements. are white in the last few moments, a leading republican senator has said the president was wrong to say that the president was wrong to say that

the election was rigged, corrupt and stolen. we'll have all the latest, as the race for the white house nears the end. also tonight: queuing for a coronavirus test — a ten—day pilot gets under way in liverpool for everyone in the city, whether they have symptoms or not. and 100 years after the cenotaph was unveiled, remembrance sunday will take place but with just a handful of veterans. and on bbc news, a busy weekend to come in the fa cup and in the premier league. we'll have all the latest here at the bbc sport centre. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. joe biden is on the verge

of becoming the next president of the united states. three days after the election, the counting continues in a handful of remaining battleground states. but todayjoe biden finally pushed ahead of donald trump in a number of key states including pennsylvania, and his lead there keeps growing. pennsylvania alone would be enough to hand him the keys to the white house. but donald trump's team is insisting it's not over yet. with all but six states left to declare, joe biden has 253 electoral college votes, and donald trump has 214. 270 is the number needed to win the presidency. counting is still going on in six states, including key ones like pennsylvania, nevada, arizona, and in georgia, where the margins are so tight there is going to be a recount. let's go the latest from our north america editor, jon sopel.

two, yes, joe biden must feel he is within touching distance of the great prize, winning the presidency, but we're still a way off from formal announcement. a recount in georgia, some delay in pennsylvania, so georgia, some delay in pennsylvania, so that may go through the weekend, so no so that may go through the weekend, so no immediate announcement there, but everything is pointing injoe biden‘s direction, and it would be a mathematical miracle now for donald trump to win by himself. the president has come under fire for his own comments about the election. a leading republican senator, mitt romney, has come out and said it is just wrong to say the election was corrupt and stolen, and he accuses the president of recklessly inflaming dangerous passions with his comments. joe biden takes the lead in pennsylvania... donald trump is now trailing... this mightjust be the moment — the whole ball game, the

seemingly overwhelming lead that donald trump had in pennsylvania finally evaporated and has become a biden lead. if the democratic challenger wins here, it is game overfor challenger wins here, it is game over for the present. soon, de-will be gone from vice president to president—electjoe biden, a happy day for our country. and the march of the maths has been played out in small rooms in pennsylvania, arizona and georgia. a few thousand votes here, a few hundred here, all the way chipping away at donald trump's great on the white house. there will bea great on the white house. there will be a recount in georgia, where margins are tight. and outside, protests, some demanding the count to be stopped. the whole world is watching! others that every vote must be counted. from the trump supporters, increasing anxiety. from

biden‘s, growing confidence. and in las vegas, nevada, the trump supporters resorting to prayer, please let our luck change — not the first time the prayer has been offered in sin city. last night, a disconsolate president made a long, unhappy statement, again alleging without evidence that he was being robbed of a victory that was his.“ you count the legal votes, i easily win. if you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us. and we think we will win the election very easily, we think there is going to be a lot of litigation. we have so much evidence, so much proof, and it is going to end up perhaps at the highest court in the land. we'll see. but we think there will be a lot of litigation because we can't have an election stolen like theirs. astonishingly, all the main us networks pulled away before he had finished. ok, here we are again in

the unusual position of not only interrupting the president of the united states but correcting the president of the united states... and this morning, legal counsel for the trump campaign issued this statement. this election is not over, the false prediction ofjoe biden is the winner is based on results and four states that are far from final. he is relying on the stage for his phony claim on the white house, but once the election is final, president trump will be re—elected. but hold up in the white house, the president isn't enjoying that much support for his legal battle from his party. this is the republican senator from pennsylvania. the present's speech last night was very disturbing to me, because he made very serious allegations without any evidence to support it. i am not aware of any significant fraud, any significant wrongdoing. if it has happened, then the evidence needs to come out, we need to go to court. meanwhile, in

wilmington, delaware, the stage is set for a declaration thatjoe biden has won and that he is now the president—elect. he is marching to the drumbeat of america's long established democratic traditions, determined to be unaffected by the noise coming from the white house. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. sojoe biden, on the brink of the presidency, has called for calm and patience, and he certainly knows a lot about that, he has waited more than 30 years for this moment. 0ur north america correspondent nick bryant is at his campaign headquarters in delware now. no—one knows how much longer he will have to wait. sophie, i don't think he'll mind waiting a few more hours, because he knows he is basically 5—0 up at the end of the world cup final, with no way back for donald trump, and soon he will be able to claim the prize. they haven't freaked out here at any stage, it has been really interesting to watch. this election has unfolded as they thought it

would, donald trump took an early lead because his supporters voted in person and i knew there would be this blue shift, blue, the colour of the democrats, that as voters in wisconsin and michigan, they would seejoe biden wisconsin and michigan, they would see joe biden get wisconsin and michigan, they would seejoe biden get those states, and now, of course, pennsylvania, this key battleground state, and a dramatic moment early on whenjoe biden overtook donald trump's lead that was 500,000 votes on election night. so joe that was 500,000 votes on election night. sojoe biden has basically done what he was hired to do, win back those rust belt states that have traditionally been democrat, that donald trump won four years ago. and at the age of 77, he is close to fulfilling his personal american dream. sophie, he is knocking at the door of the white house. nick bryant, thank you. the officials counting the votes have been working day and night since tuesday, and they're still going. the gap between donald trump and joe biden may be growing, but the race in the remaining

battleground states is still incredibly close. reeta chakrabarti is here with the electoral map to show us where the presidency will be decided. sophie, this is the electoral map as it stands, the states and great other ones where we don't yet have a result, but a very close indeed in georgia, where they are going to have a recount, very close in arizona. in four of these states, joe biden has the lead. i want to ta ke joe biden has the lead. i want to take you over to pennsylvania here on the east coast, 20 electoral couege on the east coast, 20 electoral college votes, very, very important. you can see a razor—thin margin between the two candidates, butjust a few moments agojoe biden had a lead of 12,390 votes there, and that has been the trend of the day, with joe biden edging ahead of donald trump, and the democrats are confident of taking pennsylvania. let's have a look and see what happens if they do. i am going to use the blue pen here, let's put in

pennsylvania as blue, and that takes joe biden to 273, he is over the magic line up 270, and joe biden would then be the president of the united states. let's just have a look at what happens if he does, after georgia, manages to flip georgia, arizona, which is a race that we know is very tight, and if he manages to retain nevada, hillary clinton won that in 2016, that takes him up to 306 electoral college votes, and that is an important figure, because that is the very tally by which donald trump won the presidency four years ago. there was real moment of drama this afternoon whenjoe biden finally overtook donald trump in pennsylvania. 0ur north america correspondent michelle fleury is there for us now. the mood there tonight? well, like the rest of the world, they biden and trump supporters behind me are waiting to find out which way this

state will go. will it end up handing joe biden the keys to the white house? earlier this morning, the building behind me helped provide some answer to that, shifting the trajectory of this rice. donald trump had been in the lead, but suddenlyjoe biden was ahead. since then, that lead has grown to about 9700 votes or so, they are still being counted, but they are still being counted, but the margin is razor—thin, and that is why election officials here are not racing to declare this race one way or the other, despite the trend is pointing in favour ofjoe biden. pittsburgh, philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs, it seems, have delivered forjoe biden. meanwhile, donald trump continues to cast doubt over how the election has been conducted in pennsylvania, claiming it is corrupt without providing evidence. before election day, he said bad things happen in philadelphia — but given the current trends of how the count is going, it

seems that bad things are high opening to donald trump and his hopes to stay in the white house. michelle fleury in pennsylvania, thank you. we will have more on the us election later in the programme. the rest of the day's news now, and a new trial to test everyone living and working in liverpool for coronavirus has got under way. the ten—day pilot will allow around half a million people to be tested, whether they have symptoms of the virus or not. figures out today from the office for national statistics show that although the number of people with covid continues to rise, the growth is levelling off. 0ur health correspondent dominic hughes has spent the day in liverpool. is this the way out of liverpool's covid dilemma? mass testing has begun in the city that has seen some of the highest infection rates in the uk. it's a bit of an inconvenience, but at the end of the day, if that means you can spend your christmas with your grandparents, why wouldn't you ? you haven't got any symptoms? no, asymptomatic. it'sjust because i feel like the more people get tested, the sooner we can get out of this, get it over with, and try and get back to

normality, really. already, a significant queue has built up here at one of the testing centres in liverpool. none of these people have any symptoms. many of them haven't even been tested before, but that's the point of this pilot, to try to identify people who are asymptomatic, who don't have any symptoms, and yet still may be infectious. the latest data shows that infections across the uk are still rising, but the rate of increase has slowed. and while this pilot may only last ten days, a shorter trial than was expected, officials believe it will deliver valuable lessons for other towns and cities. it is absolutely essential in rolling out testing for the future across the whole country, and in the absence of a vaccine, until we've got a vaccine, we have to live with covid. covid hasn't gone anywhere. we have to live with covid, so having that mass testing approach, where communities understand where the virus is, who's got it and what they need to do, will be incredibly helpful for helping us all live with covid. 2000 members of the armed forces are supporting the liverpool pilot.

some residents will get a faster procedure, known as a lateral flow test, that can give results in around 20 minutes. a positive result by this method will be double—checked with a regular swab test. and this approach, testing entire cities, has helped other countries to curb infections. but community support is vital. we need buy—in by the population. the population need to have trust in the government and local government that this is going to work, that the sacrifice they are going to make in going for testing, and the time it takes, will be worth it, that there is a value in doing this. the logistical challenge of repeatedly testing nearly 500,000 people is formidable. there were some long queues today, but more test centres are opening tomorrow. the real value of the pilot, though, will only become clear over the next few weeks. dominic hughes, bbc news, liverpool. the latest government figures show there were 23,287 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period.

the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is now 22,392. 1,463 people had been admitted to hospital on average each day over the week to last friday. 355 deaths were reported. that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. that means, on average in the past week, 321 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 118,475. all non—urgent operations have been cancelled at several major hospitals in manchester and birmingham. it means there'll be no surgery for things like hip and knee replacements at three hospitals in manchester. the trusts say they've had to make this decision so they can treat emergency cases, including patients with covid—19. officials in denmark say more than 200 people have contracted

coronavirus from a series of outbreaks linked to mink farms. up to 17 million mink are being culled, after a mutated strain of the virus was found in humans. the foreign office has now removed denmark from the list of countries that can be visited without the need to quarantine on returning to the uk. a coroner says much more needs to be done for people suffering from anorexia nervosa — calling it a complex and terrifying disease. inquests into the deaths of five women have led to calls for a number of changes to the way people with anorexia are cared for. the women were all being treated by cambridgeshire and peterborough nhs foundation trust. nhs england has also announced that it will ‘scale up' an early intervention service, to support young people in the early stages of eating disorders. daniela relph reports. a medical student, a mother, a waitress, an aspiring writer, an

0lympic hopeful — unique stories, one shared experience, lives cut short by anorexia nervosa. emma brown's early childhood, immensely happy and settled, but everything changed by secondary school. filled with tanks and self—doubt, overwhelmed by an eating disorder through to her final days. she was so, so scared, even though she was about to die and was afraid of dying, she still couldn't face the consequence of recovery, which meant she would have to gain weight, effectively, and she just couldn't do it. maria jakes died when she was 24. she had been anorexic since she was 12. the coroner found 24. she had been anorexic since she was 12. the coronerfound missed opportunities from multiple agencies involved in her care. this can't keep happening, and i think

something good needs to come out of what's happened. these lovely young people... the coroner said he understood the pain and horror are witnessed by all five families and highlighted some common themes. he recommended a dramatically improved monitoring of women living with anorexia nervosa. not doing so could be fatal. and he said that all medical staff needed improved training to better deal with a disorder he described as the most challenging combination of physical and mental health. cambridgeshire and mental health. cambridgeshire and peterborough nhs foundation trust, which treated all of the women, said it was sorry for the shortcomings in care and was working to ensure patients could access support at the earliest opportunity and therefore have the best chances of recovery. it is hoped the coroner poss ‘s findings will help save

lives. the bereaved want a lasting legacy, as like emma brown's family, they reflect on what they've lost.|j was blessed, fortunate in that the last word is that emma said to me were, i love you, daddy. and for more details of organisations which offer advice and support with eating disorders, go online to bbc.co.uk/actionline. the actorjohnny depp says he has been asked to resign from the latest fantastic beasts film after losing a libel case over claims that he had beaten his wife. warner brothers thanked depp for his work so far, but said the role of the dark wizard gellert grindelwald would now be re—cast. edinburgh woollen mill and ponden home have been placed into administration, with the immediate loss of 866 jobs. another 2000 roles are at risk.

ewm group owns both chains. they are still trying to strike a rescue deal to save their remaining brands, peacocks and jaeger. the actor geoffrey palmer has died at the age of 93. he found fame in the 1970s as the put upon husband opposite wendy craig's ria in the bbc sitcom butterflies. it's your dinner. i know it's my dinner, but could you identify the various heaps? his career stretched for 60 years. he was also known for the rise and fall of reginald perrin and as time goes by with damejudi dench. geoffrey palmer, who's died, aged 93. the royal british legion says it fears it could lose millions of pounds in donations to its annual poppy appeal, because it cannot carry out street collections due to covid restrictions. coronavirus also means that at the cenotaph this year, the public will be kept away for the first time on remembrance sunday.

there will be just a handful of veterans present and no traditional march past. sarah campbell reports. big ben chimes archive: once again, the king's act of homage is the symbol of the homage of his people. it's the moment the nation pauses in remembrance. in 100 years, the event has barely changed, but this year, it will be different. here we go, come on, that's it. good boy. former army majorjohn and his assistance dog baxter were due to be among the veterans march past the monument. instead, he will now remember fallen comrades from home on the isle of wight. bearing in mind that a lot of the folks who would march, we don't want them to get sick, we want them to be around for a lot longer, andi think the right call was made. on november the 11th 1920, the day the unknown warrior was buried in nearby westminster abbey, the stone cenotaph was unveiled by king george v. this sunday, his granddaughter, the queen, will watch from the

foreign office balcony is wreaths are laid on the monument‘s stone steps. whitehall‘s pavements are usually packed with members of the public. instead, they'll be asked to remember at home, online, or wherever socially distanced remembrance events are taking place. and there's a plea this year from the royal british legion, his ability to raise funds through poppy sales has been severely hampered due to the pandemic. in this extraordinary year, the first year for 99 years that we don't have poppy collectors out on the street, we are asking the british public to join us online, to download a poppy, to donate. and the presence of the all—important veterans will be felt at the cenotaph on sunday. 26 of them will march past, among them this former officer with the women's royal navy. it's a great honour. i feel very humble and very privileged. yes, it will be small in scale, but i think it's more important than ever

that we remember and be united. still the focal point for the nation's remembrance, sunday's service will be scaled back but no less significant. sarah campbell, bbc news, westminster. now, back to the us election. clive myrie has been reporting on the battle for the white house over the past few weeks, travelling through some of the key states that are deciding who wins the presidency. he reports tonight from pennsylvania and looks at what this election has done to america. birdsong it's morning again in america. past presidential elections here heralded a sense of hope, a peaceful dawn. but this is now america. chanting count every vote, count every vote! a land of ambient ugliness. divided, angry, frustrated.

primed for trouble. there are many whose opinion we've canvassed in this disunited states of america in recent weeks. 0rdinary voters. i looked to track my ballot, and it wasn't there. now wondering, can the nation meet this moment to heal? you can'tjust find hundreds of thousands of votes. bridge the chasm between red and blue? we first came across catherine and herfriend pam stumping for trump in phoenix in arizona just before polling day. they endure the heat... we love trump! ..and very public disapproval. i'm sorry for you!

if we lose the election, we're going to lose our way of life. we want to be free. ——we won't to be free. we came across chris smith at a trump rally in tucson last month. and after touching down in philadelphia on election eve, we chatted with debbie smith, a democrat who voted forjoe biden. as the election draws to a close, she says america cannot tackle its most pressing problems without unity. our people need to get back to work, we need to heal this country. so at the end of the day, it's going to come down to we need to recover from the coronavirus. people have lost sight of what's happening. for some republicans, the coronavirus isn't the main election issue. ask chris smith. you think it's fraud? i mean, guys, we don't go to bed at ten, 11, 12 o'clock at night, two in the morning leading

all the key swing states and wake up at seven o'clock in the morning and suddenly they've found hundreds of thousands of votes and they all happen to be forjoe biden. hello, catherine, greetings from philadelphia, it's good to see you again. the last word goes to catherine. do you think the two halves of america can unite now? perhaps in the future we can start to work on it, but right now, no. the wound is too open. sobering words, but if it's winter in america, can spring be far behind? clive myrie, bbc news, in philadelphia. let's get a last word from our north america editorjon sopel. a divided america, still no official result, butjoe biden is expected to

address the nation tonight? yeah, andi address the nation tonight? yeah, and i think he has some difficult choices to make. joe biden has wa nted choices to make. joe biden has wanted to keep momentum going, but he has also said, we have to be patient. it looks like we are not going to have a declaration from georgia because they are re—accounting, and pennsylvania, where they still have many more ballots to come, so it's not likely thatjoe biden will have got across the line before the addresses the nation, but i'm sure he would like to say, i am now the president elect, i will become the 46th president in january, so elect, i will become the 46th president injanuary, so he's got a difficult choice about where does he pitches comments tonight. equally, donald trump has some tough choices as well, because he is not getting a lot of support for the legal action that he is unleashing in these different states, and he also has to work out what it is strategy if he doesn't think this legal case is going to be successful? so you have both men with some tough choices to make, and an america, as we've just heard in clive's report, that is

impatient. john sobel in washington, thank you. time for a look at the weather. here's louise lear. we've seen frost and fog as well as sunshine. the satellite shows the cloud we have had. cloud thick enough drizzle across western scotland, but elsewhere, i hope you got out and enjoyed some of the beautiful autumn colour we get at this time of year. look how bath was earlier. clear skies through the night will allow some form to reform, some of it dense in places, particularly close to the vale of york. temperatures will fall to low single figures widely into the far north, but down to the south—west, more of a breeze, which should keep the fog and frost away, but elsewhere, the fog should stop to lift through the first part of saturday morning. it may well lift a low cloud across central and southern england, and it could bring

a cool field to the day. elsewhere, with sunshine, temperatures will respond, highest value around 16 celsius. nine or ten in scotland and northern ireland. this low comes in from the atlantic. it is way out in the atlantic, and it willjust kick—off some showers for the second half of the weekend to the further west you are. sunday, more cloud around, a southerly breeze driving in milderair, but around, a southerly breeze driving in milder air, but there will be showers from time to time as well. temperatures peaking between ten and 16 celsius. no significant rain in the forecast as we head into next week. if you want to get out and about and enjoy some of the dry weather, there will be a good deal of it across the country generally, but not the clear blue sky and sunshine that we've seen in recent days. a reminder of our top story: joe biden is on the verge of

becoming president of the united states as he edges ahead in key battleground states. that's all from the bbc news at six, so it's goodbye from me, and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are.