live from london, this is bbc news. it's election day in america — with millions due to vote, donald trump and kamala harris make theirfinal pitch to voters. just one more day in the most consequential election of our lifetime, and the momentum is on our side. cheering. with your vote tomorrow we can fix every single problem our country faces and lead america — indeed, the world — to new heights of glory. in one tiny town in new hampshire, results are already in. kamala harris and donald trump have tied in dixville notch, which traditionally kicks off voting at midnight. in other news, more heavy rain hits spain, now barcelona follows valencia and suffers major flooding. a bbc investigation finds that senior doctors in england

are charging the nhs premium rates for overtime — with some making more than £200,000 a year from additional work. and boeing's strike finally ends — a majority of workers vote in favour of a 38% wage increase, spread over four years. hello and welcome, i'm martine croxall. after months of campaigning the wait is finally over. its election day and america will decide the country's 47th president. in what has been one of the closest run races in living memory, the final polling shows it's a toss—up between donald trump and kamala harris. in the last hours of the campaign both candidates have held their final rallies. a lot of focus will be on the seven key states, swing states, that will decide the election. so there'll be extra attention on voters in georgia, arizona, nevada, wisconsin, michigan, north carolina, and pennsylvania, where the result could have particular influence

on the overall outcome. in a long—held tradition, the small new hampshire town of dixville notch opened its voting booths at midnight local time. six voters turned up — and in a reminder of how tight this race is, their votes were evenly split between harris and trump. remember, there's also been a provision for early voting — in person or by mail — and millions of americans have already voted. we begin our coverage with this report from tom bateman. philadelphia! welcome the next president of these united states...kamala harris. a campaign crescendo for kamala harris. it was a star—studded rally in philadelphia, where the vice president took to the stage, and an adoring crowd of democrat fans watched her final pitch for the white house. i am looking to make progress, and i pledge to listen to those who will be impacted

by the decisions i make. i pledge to listen to experts. i pledge to listen to people who disagree with me. because, you see, i don't believe that people who disagree with me are the enemy. i'll give them a seat at the table. that's what real leaders do! that's what strong leaders do. well, with those words and this crowd, they bring to an end what has been one of the most unpredictable and contentious election campaigns in this nation's history. and now it's over to the voters. statewide, we have knocked 700,000 doors. cheering. democrat volunteers have come to pennsylvania from across america, aiming to persuade undecided voters and flooding the doorsteps today to get

their base out. taking voters to the polls, canvassing. you know, making sure people stay in line to vote after they hit the polls too close or when there's a long wait. so anything and everything. and pennsylvania has been the final push for team trump too. in the countryside, rally—goers queue at dawn hoping to build campaign momentum with a message for american workers. their paycheques are getting robbed by inflation and taxes, and this person is the only one who actually says the truth and says that, you know, what's going on is not right. just a few tens of thousands of votes could swing this state and therefore the national result either way. of all the swing states, this one is the biggest prize. and that is why both candidates have been coming back here right until the end, but they haven't been budging the needle — the opinion polls still put pennsylvania as a dead heat.

# to the hills of tennessee.# and for donald trump, a return to form last night, ending his tour in grand rapids, michigan, where he finaled his last two campaigns — it is another critical swing state. with your vote tomorrow, we can fix every single problem our country faces and lead america, indeed the world, to new heights of glory. think of that statement, how beautiful that is — new heights of glory, that's what's going to happen. in a vote this close, counting in the swing states could take days or longer. they will hold the key to this election while america and the whole world watches and waits. tom bateman, bbc news, philadelphia. voters on the east coast of the us will be the first to vote in person. polling stations are set to open in the next hour in vermont, followed one hour

later by new york, newjersey, connecticut, maine and virginia. 0ur correspondent azadeh moshiri has the latest from washington. we are just hours away from the moment america votes, and even the best pollsters will tell you they do not know how this one will turn out. and that's why both candidates are still trying to convince undecided voters with their closing arguments. kamala harris focusing on her message of unity, and donald trump on immigration, border security and still attacking the biden administration and kamala harris for what he calls incompetence. now, there's a lot of excitement, there's also a lot of apprehension here in washington, dc. you'll see some shops are boarded up, you'll see certainly the buildings around the white house boarded up as a precaution. and in some states, like washington state, 0regon and nevada, the national guard is on standby. and that's because no one knows how voters will truly react,

and we may not have an answer, results, for days. remember, this is a town in particular here in washington that still remembers the 6th of january 2021 when donald trump's supporters stormed the capitol building, refusing to accept the outcome of the 2020 election when he lost. either way, in a few hours, america will have its say. much more on the us election coming up, but looking ahead here's how you'll be able to watch live coverage of the results of the us presidential election across the bbc. join us in the bbc�*s us election studio as we find out who will be america's next president. now, whether the winner is vice president kamala harris or former president donald trump, it will be an historic night. right across the country, we'll have all of our top correspondents and editors bringing you the unfolding drama as soon

as the polls close. we'll have all the results as they come in, and christian fraser will look in depth at what they mean in the race for the white house. here is the map wiped clean. in the race to 270, these in grey are the seven battleground states we think will decide who wins the white house. so, for expert analysis and for what the story means to america and the rest of the world, join me, caitriona perry... ..and me, sumi somaskanda, in washington, dc, for the bbc�*s us election results programme. it's a contest that is just too close to call. the us election is a huge the us election is a huge exercise — around 240 million exercise — around 240 million people are eligible to vote. people are eligible to vote. and a third of them — and a third of them — 81 million — have already voted 81 million — have already voted early, either in person early, either in person or by post. or by post. but becoming president isn't a simple matter but becoming president isn't a simple matter of who gets the most votes. of who gets the most votes. think of this not as one think of this not as one national election, national election, but as 50 state elections. but as 50 state elections. jon kay explains how it works. jon kay explains how it works.

the president is not chosen directly by voters, but by something called the electoral college. each of the 50 states gets a certain number of votes in that electoral college, depending on the size of its population. the size of the circles here represents the number of votes that each states gets. for example, the most populated state is california. it gets 5a votes. it's largely democrat, so if more people vote democrat in california, all 5a votes go to the harris camp.

allan lichtman is distinguished professor of history at american university. he's predicted the winner of nine out of the last ten us presidential elections. so who does he predict to become the 47th us president? i made my prediction on september 5th, deliberately before the so—called pivotal trump—harris debate that the pundits were touting, because i wanted to drive home my message that it's governance, not campaigning, that counts. that's what my prediction system that's been right for a0 years is based on. it gauges the strength and performance of the white house party, and based on this system for the last two months — and i haven't changed — i have been predicting a pathbreaking new female president and the first president of mixed african and asian descent,

kind of foreshadowing where america is going. we're rapidly becoming a majority minority country. old white guys like me are on the way out. i predict winners and losers, unlike the pollsters who give you these ridiculous probabilities. ijust saw nate silver says it's 50—50, so he can't be right and he can't be wrong. and my system has not only been right for over a0 years, but retrospectively in development, i developed it in 1981, going all the way back to 1860 when women didn't vote. black people black people were mostly enslaved. were mostly enslaved. we had no automobiles, we had no automobiles, no planes, no radio, no planes, no radio, no television. no television. we're an agricultural society. we're an agricultural society. so the keys are so the keys are incredibly robust. incredibly robust. historically, they're based historically, they're based and across the uk, on a pattern of 160 years. on a pattern of 160 years. alan lichtman of american alan lichtman of american

university. university. around the world around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

workers at boeing have voted to accept a deal to end a seven—week walk—out. more than half backed the agreement which will see them receive a 38% pay rise during the next four years, as well as a substantial bonus and improved retirement funding. it means 33,000 employees, mainly in washington state and oregon, will now return to work following a strike that analysts believe has cost the company and its suppliers more than eight billion dollars. mike dunlop, an independent aviation analyst and author of the art of the turnaround said boeing still has a long way to go to resolve its problems. a lot of work to be done at the union in the rank and file, and there is a full four years to get that situation improved. i would like to see an agreement on the next contract sometime in the next three years rather than waiting right to the last moment and then having another

stoppage, because i don't think boeing can genuinely afford any more stoppages. they've had a number in the years that i've been in seattle and each one has been very, very disruptive. aviation analyst mike dunlop. extremely heavy rain is causing more flooding in spain — now parts of barcelona are underwater — less than a week after the devastation in valencia which has killed at least 200 people. water has entered parts of the main airport serving barcelona and some motorways are flooded. the area shown here is on red alert for torrential rain. further south down the coast, rescue workers in valencia are continuing to comb through underground car parks, searching for missing people. 0ur europe correspondent nick beake has this report. the official search for bodies goes on, all along the flood—ravaged ravines, but many of the families of spain's missing have given

up on the authorities and are doing the work themselves. this new instagram page, part tribute, part plea for help to find their loved ones. among them, brothers izan, on the left, and ruben, just three years old. we went to the boys' town and found the family home — what's left of it. the brothers�* bedroom door one of the few things still standing. every one of the communities devastated by these floods has its own particular dreadful story. what happened here is the sheer power of the water picked up trucks. one of them came crashing down towards the family home. it knocked down a wall. the lights went out. the water came in, sweeping away the two boys and their dad. jonathon, their next—door neighbour, told us what happened next. translation: the water destroyed everything -

in its path. the dad told me that he'd managed to take his boys in his arms, but then realised they had gone. he said the power of the water was incredible. "oh, my god," they shouted, when the water flooded valencia's largest shopping centre last week. it had been full of families. many of them escaped, but fears have grown that some may have been trapped in the underground car park. dozens of empty cars have been retrieved, but others have not yet been reached. when we asked one police officer if he knew whether anyone had died here, he wouldn't tell us. many spaniards are furious at a lack of information. today, in the second city, barcelona, a new deluge filled the streets, cancelling trains and planes, bringing more misery. last week's devastating floodwaters have long receded, but they've exposed anger

and a sense of abandonment, and that feeling is not going away. nick beake, bbc news, valencia. 0ur correspondent bethany bell is in valencia. just wrap up the situation in barcelona, what is the latest? we understand things are returning to a more normal situation in barcelona, the flooding they experienced was nothing like the scale of tragedy of the flash floods that hit valencia last week. here in valencia the clean—up continues and is likely to go on for weeks if not months and people are beginning to count the cost to businesses, shops, homes. i was talking to some volunteers who said they are bringing basic supplies to people here because some of

them are sleeping in the merge ruined —— the mud bruun ton mud clocked homes. ruined -- the mud bruun ton mud clocked homes.— clocked homes. let's turn our attention _ clocked homes. let's turn our attention to — clocked homes. let's turn our attention to valencia, - clocked homes. let's turn our attention to valencia, there i clocked homes. let's turn ourj attention to valencia, there is so much to clear up and still people missing? it so much to clear up and still people missing?— so much to clear up and still people missing? it is a very, very difficult _ people missing? it is a very, very difficult situation. - very difficult situation. thousands of volunteers walking thousands of volunteers walking to affected areas because they to affected areas because they are hard to reach by car. the are hard to reach by car. the local authorities say power has local authorities say power has now been restored to most now been restored to most people in the area as well as people in the area as well as gas supplies, they are working gas supplies, they are working on mobile phone connections on mobile phone connections including those. there has been including those. there has been an awful lot of damage to rail an awful lot of damage to rail infrastructure, in certain infrastructure, in certain places you could see the places you could see the railway line where cables had railway line where cables had come down. people here know come down. people here know this is a very, very long road this is a very, very long road and of course there are the and of course there are the

missing, and the search walking missing, and the search continues for them. bethany bell in valencia, thank you for now. a bbc investigation has found senior doctors are charging the nhs premium rates for overtime, as the service faces pressure to cut waiting lists. some consultants made more than £200,000 extra each year for the additional work. that's almost double the average pay for a full—time consultant in england. the british medical association says staffing shortages are to blame. with me is our health correspondent nick triggle. exactly what did this investigation find? exactly what did this investi . ation find? ,, . ., investigation find? significant sums being — investigation find? significant sums being paid _ investigation find? significant sums being paid for— investigation find? significant | sums being paid for overtime. we made for of information requests and used nhs england date are finding some consultants, as you say, were earning over £200,000 a year in overtime —— we made freedom of information requests. that is due to the premium rate they can charge, over £200 an hour

which is four times their basic pgy- which is four times their basic pay. we found it at least half of hospital trusts there were consultants being paid over £100,000, the average overtime pay was £27,000. this is important because the government is looking to tackle the hospital waiting list backlog by getting more work donein backlog by getting more work done in evenings and weekends, which will require more overtime because consultants are crucial in treating those patients on waiting lists. the british medical— patients on waiting lists. the british medical association is basically saying, we need more doctors? . , basically saying, we need more doctors? ., , ., doctors? that is the bottom line, doctors? that is the bottom line. there _ doctors? that is the bottom line, there is _ doctors? that is the bottom line, there is a _ doctors? that is the bottom line, there is a shortage - doctors? that is the bottom line, there is a shortage of. line, there is a shortage of doctors and the british medical association has been very keen to make that point, as well as working on the waiting lists consultants have been brought in for sickness, vacancies and also thejunior doctor in for sickness, vacancies and also the junior doctor strikes over the last year and they have had a particular impact because the bma asked its members to ask for particularly high rates of overtime to cover

thejunior high rates of overtime to cover the junior doctors high rates of overtime to cover thejunior doctors who high rates of overtime to cover the junior doctors who were walking out and hospitals have told us that has raised expectations among consultants about what they should be getting in overtime, that is a big factor in why these high rates are being paid.- big factor in why these high rates are being paid. what is the government _ rates are being paid. what is the government saying - rates are being paid. what is the government saying they| rates are being paid. what is i the government saying they will do about it? this is a contractual matter and nobody is doing anything wrong even though these are large sums? absolutely. talking to people in the nhs they say the consultant contract is pretty unique, allowing an opt out for weekend work and consultants only have two of at their first four hours a week at normal rates and beyond that it can be negotiated locally what they can get and if there are shortages they can hold out for quite a lot of money. 0ther quite a lot of money. other staff do not have this advantage. it is not in the interest of consultants or the bma to renegotiate his contract which is over 20 years old. there does not look to be much movement there. there is

recruiting extra doctors, there are things with technology, ai reading scans and helping to make diagnoses, other doctors below the creative consultants and senior nurses doing some of the work of consultants to ease the work of consultants to ease the pressure. iiii the work of consultants to ease the pressure-— the pressure. if all this money is auoin the pressure. if all this money is going on — the pressure. if all this money is going on over _ the pressure. if all this money is going on over time - the pressure. if all this money is going on over time it - the pressure. if all this moneyj is going on over time it cannot be spent elsewhere? the overall total spent _ be spent elsewhere? the overall total spent on — be spent elsewhere? the overall total spent on consultants - be spent elsewhere? the overall total spent on consultants over l total spent on consultants over time £1 billion, which is clearly significant. last week the government said it was putting an extra £25 billion into the project, this morning health secretary wes streeting said it is important every penny is spent wisely so that is why there is

ban were put forward by the last government. this would raise the legal age for tobacco sales by one year every year, meaning that anyone aged 15 or under now could never be sold cigarettes. there were also proposals to crack down on underage vaping, including restrictions on packaging and flavours. now labour are taking forward the plans with added new elements. these include an extension of the current smoking ban to some outdoor spaces, including children's playgrounds and areas near schools and hospitals, and a vaping ban in some of these spaces. there will also be a licensing scheme for retailers with on—the—spot fines of £200. the plans will be put out to consultation. some nhs trusts already ban smoking in their grounds. the proposed legal ban will apply to smoking outside hospital sites. sort of agree with that, you know. but, like, you know you've got people that are quite ill. they're never going

to stop smoking. i'm probably going to, you know, probably one of them as well. but, um, if it does, you know, like, i think go a bit further down the road, have a cigarette and go back to your hospital bed. the proposed licensing scheme will apply to shops selling tobacco, nicotine and vaping products. i think anything we can do to clearly stop the appeal of vaping to children is a good thing, but it's got to be proportionate. there's over 5 million vapers, over 3 million of those were previous smokers. and therefore we have to ensure that we're putting this into the right proportionate context _ and therefore anywhere that does expose children to these products is a good to these products is a good thing to stop. thing to stop. but it can't be at the cost of but it can't be at the cost of enabling adult smokers to make enabling adult smokers to make the switch to a materially the switch to a materially safer product, which is vaping. safer product, which is vaping. scotland already has scotland already has a registration system for retailers and, along a registration system for retailers and, along with wales, a ban on smoking with wales, a ban on smoking outside hospitals. outside hospitals. officials say the plans officials say the plans will have a positive will have a positive and lasting impact, and lasting impact, but there will be no but there will be no

shortage of debate before shortage of debate before they're finalised and put they're finalised and put in front of parliament. in front of parliament. hugh pym, bbc news. lets you the rather serene picture of capitol hill in washington, dc —— let'sjust show you the rather serene picture. a very early hours of election day. the east coast will be voting very soon. donald trump and kamala harris are vying to become the next president, kamala harris advocating for abortion rights and pledging to lower food and housing costs for working families in the last hours of campaigning. meanwhile donald

election day, 240 before election day, 240 million eligible to vote in total. when will we know the winner? it could take days or it could be soon after the polls close. hello again. 0ur weather is well and truly stuck in a rut at the moment. it's a fairly cloudy day ahead. you can see in st andrews we've had a lot of cloud already, and it's the same in st helier in the channel islands. a lot of cloud and, really, across the board, that is the story. high pressure has been in charge for a while and will continue to be so over the next few days. so a lot of cloud into the afternoon, some breaks across the north of scotland, northern ireland and wales, some patchy drizzle across the northern and western isles and the far north—east of scotland. but apart from that, light breezes with temperatures 11 to 16 degrees under the cloud. but, like yesterday, some of us could see occasional glimmers of brightness. now, if you're going to any bonfire events tonight, we're likely to see a few showers and breezy conditions

in the north—west, but for the rest of the country, largely dry, cloudy, mild with some hill fog, especially in parts of the south—east. temperatures seven to 12 degrees, but a chilly two degrees in aberdeen. so high pressure remains in charge of our weather on wednesday. you can see this ridge here, it's effectively keeping this weather front at bay, but you can also see how the wind is coming from a southerly direction, a mild direction for us as represented by the yellows and the ambers. so a lot of cloud once again on wednesday. as the weather front skirts past the outer hebrides, it will introduce some rain and then it moves away. breezy across the north—west. and for all of us again, a lot of cloud. some brighter breaks for northern scotland, north—east england and also wales with highs up to 17 degrees. on thursday, a lot of cloud to start the day, some mist and fog lifting into low cloud. some breaks in north—east england, north—east scotland and wales.

again, breezy across the far north—west with temperatures 12 to 15, so slipping just a touch. then as we head from friday into the weekend we've got different areas of weather fronts coming our way. some of them could well make inroads to the west, some of them may not. the jury is still out on that. but as we head from friday and into saturday and even sunday, we hang on to a lot of cloud. the chance of some rain coming in through the west, but temperatures still above the seasonal average.

this is bbc news, the headlines... it's election day in america. with millions due to vote, donald trump and kamala harris make their final pitch to voters. more heavy rain hits spain — now barcelona follows valencia and suffers major flooding. boeing's strike finally ends — a majority of workers vote in favour of a 38% wage increase, spread over four years. after months of campaigning the wait is finally over. it's election day and america will decide the country's 47th president. in what has been one of the closest run races in living memory, the final polling shows its a toss—up between donald trump and kamala harris.

in the last hours of the campaign both candidates have held their final rallies.