hello, i'm ros atkins. welcome to bbc news. so, five days until election day here in the us. and today both candidates are focusing on the southwest. donald trump is visiting new mexico as well as arizona and nevada which are crucial swing states. kamala harris is also visiting arizona and nevada. and both candidates want to talk about immigration. bear in mind new mexico and arizona are on the border with mexico. here's some of what we've heard. it's of what we've heard. hard to have an american dream it's hard to have an american dream when radical, crazy killers and just horrible, horrible murderers at... you know you had coming through your border, do you know how many you had, 13,999 who endorsed me by the way, that's from border patrol. very strong. you know what they said

about her? she is the worst person they have ever seen having anything to do with the border. ., ._ , border. phoenix, with five days left in this _ border. phoenix, with five days left in this campaign, _ border. phoenix, with five days left in this campaign, my - left in this campaign, my opponent is also making his closing _ opponent is also making his closing argument to america. and you — closing argument to america. and you have probably seen a bit of— and you have probably seen a bit of it. — and you have probably seen a bit of it. it _ and you have probably seen a bit of it, it is an argument full— bit of it, it is an argument full of— bit of it, it is an argument full of hate and division. he insults_ full of hate and division. he insults latinos, as scapegoats immigrants and it is notjust what — immigrants and it is notjust what he _ immigrants and it is notjust what he says, it does what he will d0~ — what he says, it does what he will d0~ if _ what he says, it does what he will do. if elected, you can be sure _ will do. if elected, you can be sure he — will do. if elected, you can be sure he will bring backs family separation policies. only on a much — separation policies. only on a much greater scale than last time — much greater scale than last time it_ much greater scale than last time it is— much greater scale than last time. it is time then to turn the — time. it is time then to turn the page _ time. it is time then to turn the page on donald trump. now, voters in the us cast their ballot well before election day and a record 60 million people have already done this. to put this in context this is a long way above the equivalent figure at this point in 2020. what that may mean for

the result we can't know yet. what we do know is what the polls are saying. here are the seven states that are crucial to the outcome of the election. and this is the latest polling. you can see the overall trend has shifted slightly in trump's favour. but let's be as clear as we can be on this the polls in all seven are within the margin of error. in other words, they're too tight to be a clear indicator of victory for either candidate in any these states. well let's keep looking at these battleground races. we are expecting kamala harris to speak in nevada at any moment now. here's the bbc�*s emma vardy at a harris rally in arizone earlier. kamala harris has been on stage rallying voters talking about being up for the fight in these crucial last few days ahead of polling day. arizona is one of those tightly contested battleground states which could go either way. particularly here, there is a large proportion of latino and

hispanic voters. as you can try to reach out to latino voters particularly today. talking about helping deal with the cost crisis and she talked about donald trump characterising him as only being out for revenge if he was to return to the oval office. as expected, she talked about abortion. that is that divisive issue in america which has become front and centre of kamala harris�*s campaign. she tells voters if elected as president she will guarantee abortion rights, she says donald trump wants to take them away and she lays the blame at his doorfor a number of away and she lays the blame at his door for a number of states having now banned or severely restricted abortion across america. if you just look at the history of arizona, it was won by donald trump in 2016 when he won the presidency, narrowly won back byjoe biden in 2020 and the trump campaign we know are hoping that they can't take it that state and flip it back from blue to red

again this time around. so no surprise, both camp bed —— candidates are campaigning here with a few days left to the election and later on donald trump will also appear in arizona appearing alongside a controversial commentator, tucker carlson. from one swing state to another. let's go from arizona to michigan. here's ione wells who's in detroit ahead of a trump rally on friday. trump will be holding a rally tomorrow somewhere i was earlier and i spoke to some union leaders and members there, those particular unions, a painters union and to the local teamsters union have decided to endorse comley harris but stressed the membership is a bit mixed when it comes to who to support in the presidential race. macomb county is home to the blue—collar workers, white working class workers particularly those who may be have been impacted quite a lot

by the decline of certain industries in the area and i think those of the voters that donald trump wants to speak to stressing how people felt for years ago economically, i think you will be keen to stress issues like inflation rising in the last two years to try to reach out some of those voters in particular. reach out some of those voters in particular-— in particular. we've been to - arizona, michigan now we return to south—west in nevada. another of the seven swing states. paul boger is a producer and reporterfor nevada public radio. thank you forjoining us. perhaps let's start with you painting a portrait of the electorate in nevada. talking about the _ electorate in nevada. talking about the electorate - electorate in nevada. talking about the electorate here - electorate in nevada. talking about the electorate here i i about the electorate here i think it is entertaining the fact that learning from experience on nevada it's a bit

more... i'm really sorry, the sounds on the line is not good enough for us to make out what you are saying. we will try to get him back, apologies, buti saying. we will try to get him back, apologies, but i was thinking the same and i'm sure you were, that audio is not as good as we would have liked. bbc verify is focused on helping you understand what information you can trust in the selection and we are also showing you why we draw the conclusions we do. first we're going to look at claims of electoral malpractice in pennsylvania. remember the context here is that donald trump continues to falsely claim that the last election was stolen, and he and some of his supporters are already now highlighting what they say is evidence of malpractice in this election. this bbc verify report is from merlyn thomas. videos have been circulating online claiming to show problems of voting in pennsylvania, a key swing state

for both comley harris and donald trump in the us election. here are places people are focused on. in pennsylvania allegheny county right—wing online claimed this group of people who were illegal voters outside a temporary election office, but that's not what election officials told us. they us. they say they were a group of legitimate voters who had come to apply for mail—in ballots. remember, only us citizens can register to vote. bbc verify understand the group of films were us citizens and some of whom were of nepalese and other heritage but we have not verified this ourselves. and bucks county in eastern pennsylvania several bit is claimed to show access to voter sites being restricted. in this video seen by millions, a woman accuses officials of election fraud for turning people away who are queuing for mailing ballots before the office closed. election fraud. in pennsylvania voters can pick up and submit a mail—in ballot or early or can cast their vote in

person on election day. a bucks county spokesperson told bbc verify that mail—in ballot cues can be cut off if there are two and people to process before the office closes. the deadline for registering for mail—in ballots was october the 29th in the state when most of these claims came to a crescendo but a judge has extended the county of bucks to november the 1st after trump took action in the county. and they're also widespread claims about registration fraud which trump has highlighted. in lancaster county in the south, officials say they are investigating around 2500 suspected fraudulent voter registration applications. the county for contacts has over three to 65,000 registered voters. as election day gets closer and more claim service about the integrity of the election, officials are keen to emphasise that the selection can still be trusted. pennsylvania is not the only place where claims are emerging about voting. some are focused on voting machines made by a company called dominion.

let me show you a couple of statements. first here's michigan's secretary of state, saying dominion voter access terminals "have an issue with the straight party voting and a programming issue which has affected the machines". we'll explain exactly what that means in a moment. then here's dominion saying: "there is no issue preventing any voters from voting or making their preferred selections." bbc verify�*s jake horton can take us through the story. so the issues are with a glitch in some voter machines in the state of michigan which is a key swing state in the election next week. the issue arises when people go to only certain voter machines these are at each polling site for people with accessibility issues with the limited number of the machine so it is not all of the machines in michigan, but there is a glitch in some of the machines and it comes about when people select to vote down ballot for a certain party. in the us as well as voting for the us as well as voting for the president you vote for members of congress and local election officials this is not a straight party voting if you

select all candidate to come from all the one party so republicans or democrats or other parties. the glitch arises when people select that option and retrospectively try to split their ballot between democrats and republicans. if that happens they get an error message and have to go back to the start and a re—cast their ballots and redo the process all over again. ballots and redo the process all overagain. so ballots and redo the process all over again. so this is because the some legitimate problems in the state of michigan or on certain voting machines. michigan or on certain voting machines-— michigan or on certain voting machines. . .,, ., machines. have those legitimate -roblems, machines. have those legitimate problems. to _ machines. have those legitimate problems, to use _ machines. have those legitimate problems, to use your _ machines. have those legitimate problems, to use your phrase, . problems, to use your phrase, have led to particular claims more broadly on what is happening in michigan? precisely post their limited number of voting machines in one state but this is led to speculation online especially on x of people claiming this is a nationwide problem that is affecting all of dominion voting machines leading to some peoples boats not being voted or being flipped from one candidate to another candidate so from republicans to democrats or vice versa so relatively limited issue that has been taken and blown out of

context to be applied the us. to be clear, there is not evidence to support those broader concerns?- evidence to support those broader concerns? no. at this oint broader concerns? no. at this point there — broader concerns? no. at this point there is _ broader concerns? no. at this point there is no _ broader concerns? no. at this point there is no evidence - broader concerns? no. at this | point there is no evidence that has been presented in both the michigan secretary of state and dominion voting machines have both that there is no evidence of boats are not being counted or that votes are being flipped from one candidate to the other. the michigan secretary of state did recognise that this it does cause some inconvenience to voters so again it is not that it's again it is not that its problems, but there is no evidence that there has been a claim that certain votes are not being counted or votes are being flipped from one candidate to another. has being flipped from one candidate to another. as people listen to you. — candidate to another. as people listen to you, they _ candidate to another. as people listen to you, they will - candidate to another. as people listen to you, they will hear - listen to you, they will hear the name dominion and they may think i recognise that name from previous stories gone by. dominion was at the centre of similar 2020 claims on that election claiming that they were flipping votes from donald trump to joe were flipping votes from donald trump tojoe biden. these claims came from trump himself and his allies. at the time we look into them and found no evidence back then as there is

no evidence now that votes were being flipped on these dominion voting machines. dominion actually sued fox news and other us networks at the time for broadcasting disclaims and they won that lawsuit and got a package of almost $800 million. like i said, they won the claim and there was no evidence of the time that the voting machines look to any sort of vote flipping —— flipping or voterfraud. vote flipping -- flipping or voter fraud.— vote flipping -- flipping or voter fraud. ., , , voter fraud. one more issue we have been _ voter fraud. one more issue we have been looking _ voter fraud. one more issue we have been looking at _ voter fraud. one more issue we have been looking at at - voter fraud. one more issue we have been looking at at bbc - have been looking at at bbc verify his political advertising. our next bbc verify report today is about political advertising. as you'd imagine, as election day nears, both campaigns are intensifying their efforts to win people's votes and adverts are an important part of that. we've been looking at one subject that's been a particularfocus for the trump campaign. i've been talking with bbc verify�*s lucy gilder. new data shows trump and harris campaign has spent a combined total of $50 million on tv ads this week alone pick for around 65,000 errands, this ad analysis shows tv ads continue to dominate in this election

campaign. it also shows that both candidates are trying to reach voters through traditional means as well as through online digital ads. you have been _ through online digital ads. you have been looking at one particular issue that the trump campaign has been focused on, before asking about that, let me show that those of you watching a little of one advert that the trump campaign has been funding.— that the trump campaign has been funding.- for. been funding. surgery. for prisoners? _ been funding. surgery. for prisoners? for— been funding. surgery. for prisoners? for prisoners. i been funding. surgery. for- prisoners? for prisoners. every transgender— prisoners? for prisoners. every transgender inmate _ prisoners? for prisoners. every transgender inmate in - prisoners? for prisoners. every transgender inmate in the - transgender inmate in the prison— transgender inmate in the prison system _ transgender inmate in the prison system would - transgender inmate in the prison system would have j prison system would have access _ prison system would have access. , , , ., , access. help us understand this articular access. help us understand this particular issue. _ access. help us understand this particular issue. this _ access. help us understand this particular issue. this is - access. help us understand this particular issue. this is one - particular issue. this is one of three — particular issue. this is one of three tv _ particular issue. this is one of three tv ads _ particular issue. this is one of three tv ads put - particular issue. this is one of three tv ads put out - particular issue. this is one of three tv ads put out by l particular issue. this is one i of three tv ads put out by the trump campaign which claimed that kamala harris supports funding transgender surgeries for prisoners and research shows a1% of all trump plasma tv ads are focused on this issue. what is interesting is these ads have aired in all seven of the battleground states and have aired on national tv networks and all sports events.—

national tv networks and all sports events. are they a fair representation _ sports events. are they a fair representation -- _ sports events. are they a fair representation -- repetitionl sports events. are they a fair. representation -- repetition of representation —— repetition of harris's point on the issue? date use a clip from 2019 in a interview with a transgender rights organisation and she talks about a law shall change as ag in california where she helps inmates access transgender surgery but this was a clip from five years ago which is not made clear but something else is picked up on is in 2019, harris filled out a questionnaire when the running to be between 20 democratic presidential candidate and she was asked whether she would use her authority as president to ensure that transgender people including those in the federal prison system would have access to transgender surgery and harris replied she would. you referenced — harris replied she would. you referenced 2019 _ harris replied she would. you referenced 2019 and 2020 there, thatis referenced 2019 and 2020 there, that is several years ago. what is her position on the issue? harris's at camp 18 has told us that that is not an issue she's on on this campaign and is not

among her policies either but it is clear she supported a few years ago and when asked about in recent tv issues she is not said whether she supports it or not she isjust said whether she supports it or not she is just that she will follow the law. federal law does allow transgender prisoners to mount legal challenges to try since the surgeries what's interesting is this law did exist under trump as well, but today only to prisoners in the federal system have received transgender have received tra nsgender surgery have received transgender surgery to date. 0ne have received transgender surgery to date. one in 2022 and one and 2023. both after trump left office. we'll have more bbc verify stories in the next hour and you can more coverage of the us election from bbc news on our website and app. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories around the world. britain's finance minister, rachel reeves, says that she hopes the new labour government's announcement of massive tax increases will be a one—off.

the tax rises of about a0 billion dollars were announced to parliament by ms reeves in her first budget. the nhs, transport and education will all see a boost in spending. an inquiry into the salisbury poisonings has heard that the first doctor to care for the poisoned daughter of a russian spy thought he would never see her move again. ms yulia skripal arrived at the hospital in march 2018 in a deeply unconscious state, alongside herfather sergei skripal, after they were poisoned with the nerve agent novichock. more than 400 alleged victims or witnesses have come forward to lawyers over allegations of sexual misconduct against former harrods owner mohamed al fayed. 0ne lawyer representing the justice for harrods survivors group described it as the worst case of corporate abuse of women the world has ever seen. al fayed died last year aged 94. you're live with bbc news. let's turn to the middle east. us secretary of state antony blinken says negotiators have made �*good progress' towards a truce in lebanon. two of presidentjoe biden's top advisers are now heading

back to the us after spending thursday in tel aviv working with israeli officials on a ceasefire deal with hezbollah. tens of thousands of people on both sides of the israel lebanon border have left their homes to escape cross border fire between hezbollah and israeli forces. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu told us negotiators that any agreement must ensure israel can counter threats to its security from lebanon. efforts to secure a ceasefire agreement between israel and hamas are also continuing. cia director bill burns is in the egyptian capital cairo with mediators, exploring options to end the fighting and bring hostages home. 0ur middle east regional editor sebastian usher sent this update from jerusalem. even as there is a new diplomatic push to get a cease—fire between israel and hezbollah and lebanon, the

fighting between the two sides is continuing unabated. in israel seven people were killed today by hezbollah rockets. that is one of the largest death tolls there has been since hezbollah began to fire into israel after the october the 7th attacks in support of hamas. israel has continued with its air strikes on baalbeak and tire and we heard that six health workers were killed so there is no let up at two us and voice came to israel and they spoke to the prime minister netanyahu and there has been much talk and speculation over a possible 60 days expired that has even been reports showing a draft proposal. this has been dismissed to an extent by israel and mr netanyahu himself has said he's not interested in documents and papers. what's he's interested in is ensuring that the security of israel in the north can be assured. that

is what he is focused on. he said that during the meeting with the two us envoys and said it later when he met members of the military. that is his message at the moment. so there is hope of building that there may be the beginning of an and to this new conflict between hezbollah and israel in lebanon, but i think we still have to wait to see any concrete movement forward on it. meanwhile, the humnitarian situation in gaza continues to deteroiate. at least 39 palestinians were killed in an israeli attack on a hospital in northern gaza on thursday according to health officials. israel's military said forces were targeting hamas fighters that were hiding in the hospital a claim that hamas and local health officials reject. a hospital director said some staff suffered burns and that medical supplies were also destroyed. let's the us, south korea,

and japan have condemned north korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. north korea's military fired the missile which you can see here on thursday. it flew for 86 minutes the longest flight of a such a missile on record before landing in waters off the japan's western coast. here's us secretary of state antony blinken speaking after talks with his south korean counterpart. we condemn it in the strongest terms. ., , we condemn it in the strongest terms. . , ., . terms. the latest launch as many and _ terms. the latest launch as many and other— terms. the latest launch as| many and other provocative actions it has taken. flagrant violations of all, of multiple security council resolutions. all countries should be demanding that the dpr k ceases these to stabilising actions. —— destabilising. at least 158 people are now confirmed dead after the worst flash flooding to hit spain in decades. king felipe held a minute's silence for the victims today nearly all of whom were from the region of valencia. almost a year's worth of rain fell in just eight hours on wednesday causing these terrifying scenes you can see here. water rushing through

the streets, sweeping away bridges and roads. emergency teams are continuing to search for survivors and the �*dozens' who remain missing. officials are warning residents to remain at home with more heavy rains predicted over the next 2a hours. 0ur correspondent bethany bell sent this report from valencia. 0ur correspondent andrew harding has this report from valencia. the flood came and rearranged valencia streets turned into scrap heaps, homes inside out. bridges brushed aside. all this by a flood as fast as a mudslide, packing the punch at a synonymy. for many here, the warnings came much too late. the water came very, very fast and we got so much water coming down and coming out and we were safely home watching the balconies and to seeing the car

moving and we could not do anything, but it was not raining it was only water coming from england, that's it. almost inevitably, the true death toll has only now begun to reveal itself. alongside, happier stories of the vulnerable health and safety. from this height you can see the scale of what hit eastern spain and of what nearby regions are still bracing themselves for. the small town stood in the floods path. miguel�*s pharmacy swamped. no family here left untouched. everyone has someone who loves someone — everyone has someone who loves someone and it's like this. i feel— someone and it's like this. i feel worse than yesterday. i could — feel worse than yesterday. i could not sleep and it's like a nightmare. it's a really big

nightmare. it's a really big nightmare. a nightmare. it's a really big nightmare-— nightmare. it's a really big nightmare. a nightmare for which this _ nightmare. a nightmare for which this prosperous - nightmare. a nightmare for| which this prosperous region seemed woefully unprepared. as the rescue work ramps up here, so do the questions. could the authorities have warned people earlier and more urgently to move to safer ground? and, at a deeper level, how do we prepare better for what the scientists all agree is the more menacing climate headed our way. meanwhile, supplies of food and water in some areas here are scarce, the internet limited. we are not going to even be able to start repairing. i can even contact my work. no one in this area can contact each other because we have no internet. other because we have no internet— other because we have no internet. ., ., , ., internet. tonight, in towns and suburbs like _ internet. tonight, in towns and suburbs like this, _ internet. tonight, in towns and suburbs like this, people - internet. tonight, in towns and suburbs like this, people say i suburbs like this, people say they feel abandoned. the darkness of masking the damage to a major european city in deep shock.

earlier i mentioned that both donald trump and kamala harris are focused on the south west of the united states today. let me show you pictures we have coming in of both. first of all, harris speaking in arizona.— all, harris speaking in arizona. . , _ ., ., arizona. happy halloween. so tomorrow. — arizona. happy halloween. so tomorrow, friday, _ arizona. happy halloween. so tomorrow, friday, novemberl arizona. happy halloween. so . tomorrow, friday, november one is the _ tomorrow, friday, november one is the last — tomorrow, friday, november one is the last day to vote early in person. if you are voting by mail. — in person. if you are voting by mail, please do not wait, sign the envelope and return your ballot — the envelope and return your ballot today. your ballot must be returned to a dropbox or postmarked by election day next tuesday. — postmarked by election day next tuesday, novemberfive. please tuesday, november five. please help get — tuesday, novemberfive. please help get the word out and ask people — help get the word out and ask people to go to i will vote com _ people to go to i will vote com if— people to go to i will vote .com if they are not sure. kamala _ .com if they are not sure. kamala harris is actually in nevada, also in nevada is donald trump.— nevada, also in nevada is donald trump. number one it would be _ donald trump. number one it would be wrong _ donald trump. number one it would be wrong and - donald trump. number one it would be wrong and number i donald trump. number one it i would be wrong and number two it's the end of your political career. so who would say that?

i never said that. she said, she wants to immediately and social security... she's crazy! hillary clinton would know i don't like that. we hillary clinton would know i don't like that.— hillary clinton would know i don't like that. we can't stand hilla . don't like that. we can't stand hillary. there _ don't like that. we can't stand hillary. there is _ don't like that. we can't stand hillary. there is donald - don't like that. we can't stand| hillary. there is donald trump talking about hillary clinton amongst others. we will keep an eye on both of the speeches, but for the moment thank you forjoining me and i will see you in half an hour. bye—bye. hello there. 0ur quiet weather story continues, but that has its own problems at this time of the year, with mist and fog. this is how we closed out 0xfordshire on thursday evening, and that fog has become more dense and may take it's time to clear. that's because we've got light winds under this area of high pressure. slightly different story for the north and west. this weather front has been bringing some rain as it continues to move its way steadily southwards. the winds will fall light, but they are swinging around to more of a northwesterly, so it will turn colder as that rain starts to push its way steadily south. so, rain to start the day in the far north of scotland,

cloudy, murky, misty, foggy start across parts of england and wales. gradually, the fog will lift into low cloud. we'll be chasing sunny breaks from time to time. but the weather front will weaken as it continues to sink its way steadily south. behind it, it turns briefly colder, 7—9 degrees in the far north of scotland. elsewhere, similar temperatures to last few days, between 1a and 16 celsius. that cold air, though, is going to be pushed out of the way into scandinavia as the high pressure drifts its way steadily eastwards, so into the start of the weekend, we could pick up a little more in the way of cloud and drizzle along the east coast. but further west, some drier weather, again, some cloud around from time to time and some brief sunny breaks, but those temperatures still generally around 11 to 15 degrees. as we move out of saturday into sunday, there is a greater chance of the high pressure drifting a little bit further south and east. the subtle change in wind direction will drive in some slightly drier air, and that basically means, hopefully, there will be more in the way of sunshine around,

particularly in central and eastern areas on sunday. so, not a bad day in prospect. again, no significant rain in the forecast, and in the sunshine, yes, it is drier air, those temperatures may struggle in comparison to recent days, but still 11-15 is still not too bad. looking further ahead, that high pressure is set to stay with us, and in actual fact, monday, we continue to see more in the way of sunshine, but by tuesday, a return, potentially, to some early morning mist and fog. take care.

straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. like the fact or loathe it, the united states remains the world's number one economic and military power. the identity of the next president matters far beyond america's shores.

it's reasonable to assume that if vice president harris wins, there'll be plenty of continuity in foreign policy. but what about trump? my guest is fred fleitz, a national security official in trump's first administration. from ukraine to the middle east to china, trump has had plenty to say, but what would he do? fred fleitz in washington, welcome to hardtalk. thank you for having me on. it's a great pleasure to talk to you.