it's election day in america — i'm anna foster, live in philadelphia with the latest. polls are opening in pennsylvania —— one of the key swing states that could decide the election. in their closing rallies, donald trump and kamala harris have made their final 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. and i'm lucy hockings in london with all the latest analysis and predictions, plus: everything you need to know about the how the us systems works — including what the electoral

college is — and how it could affect the result. it is just after 7am here it isjust after 7am here in philadelphia. it is election day here in america. many people are calling it the most consequential election in a decade. tens of millions of early ballots have already been cast, following a campaign that's seen two assassination attempts on the republican candidate, donald trump, and the withdrawal mid—race of president biden in favour of kamala harris. it is such a short time ago sincejoe biden stepped aside and kamala harris became the democratic candidate. the

election is too close to call. that is why so many people are turning out here this morning. this is the polling station right in the centre of the city. the voting machines are ready and switched on. there are exceptions of people when they get inside. how they need to cast their ballot. despite the two camps spending billions on advertising, opinion polls remain deadlocked. particularly in those swing states that both candidates are trying to win. that is what we saw last night in those final values. those flying visits are both candidates were making right across the country last night. the seven swing states are absolutely key. they are

with a selection will be won and lost. they asked a certain voted for both democratic and republican candidates over the years. georgia, arizona, nevada, wisconsin, michigan, north carolina, and pennsylvania. our correspondent tom bateman has the latest. 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. state—wide, 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. thomas is talking about how close the races in the state of pennsylvania. you can really see their how people find that people are by the state of

democracy. people have been able to vote in advance for a couple of weeks now. but when you look at the fact that in six minutes past seven in the morning, you can see these queues behind me as people line up queues behind me as people line up slowly shovelling forward head into the polling station cast their vote. it is notjust about the presidential election today. american voters are also deciding who will control congress, vital in terms of the kind of legislation, the kind of control that the president can have. there are 435 seats in the house of representatives that had been elected here. also 34 seats in the senate. when you look at where the control is, weight might change, analysts had predicted that the republicans have a good chance of taking back the senate. because it is very slim democratic majority at the moment. but the flip side of thatis moment. but the flip side of that is that they could lose the house.

the outcome is likely to be decided by a small number of contests but it will have a large impact on how easily the next president will be able to govern, at least until the next congressional elections in 2026. it is worth taking a moment to explain how things work. around 240 million people are eligible to vote. and a third of them — 82 million — have already voted early, either in person or by post. the reason we talked about states like pennsylvania is because it comes down to electoral college votes. you can get more votes here than anyone else, but that is not what it's about. it is about

the electoral college. think of this not as one national election, but as 50 state elections. 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 54 votes. it's largely democrat, so if more people vote democrat in california, all 54 votes go to the harris camp. whereas texas, the second largest state, is largely republican. so all of its 40 votes are likely to go to donald trump. the total number of electoral college votes across all 50 states is 538.

so the overall winner is the first candidate to get more than half of them. 50%, plus one of the electoral college is what they need, so the magic number is 270. and a reminder of how you can keep up with results , you'll be able to watch live coverage 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 question remains who is going to win. we will not know tomorrow. people have spent years trying to predict who will win presidential elections. allan lichtman is distinguished professor of history at american university in washington. 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 the 5th. before the harris — september the 5th. before the harris debate. i wanted to drive _ harris debate. i wanted to drive home my message that it is not _ drive home my message that it is not about governance not campaigning. that is my prediction system. it is about the performance of the white house — the performance of the white house party. based on the system, _ house party. based on the system, for the last two months, i haven't changed, i have— months, i haven't changed, i have been_ months, i haven't changed, i have been predicting a new female _ have been predicting a new female president and the first president of mixed african and asian — president of mixed african and asian descent, foreshadowing where — asian descent, foreshadowing where america is going. we are rapidly— where america is going. we are rapidly becoming a majority black— rapidly becoming a majority black country. maybe predict winners _ black country. maybe predict winners and losers. i like the pollsters _ winners and losers. i like the pollsters will give you these ridiculous probabilities. some

are saying it is 50 —— 50, so he carri— are saying it is 50 —— 50, so he can't ire— are saying it is 50 —— 50, so he can't be right can't be wrong _ he can't be right can't be wrong. retrospectively, in development, i developed the system — development, i developed the system in 1981. it goes all the way system in1981. it goes all the way back_ system in 1981. it goes all the way back to 1860 where women didh't_ way back to 1860 where women didn't vote and that people are mostly— didn't vote and that people are mostly insane. there was no television _ mostly insane. there was no television or radio. we were an agricultural society. this is based _ agricultural society. this is based on _ agricultural society. this is based on a pattern of the hundred there is a huge sense of excitement and anticipation. but in — of excitement and anticipation. but in a — of excitement and anticipation. but in a state like pennsylvania, is also a sense of relief? ten billion dollars has been spent on political advertising. it has been spent on political advertising.—

advertising. it is really interesting, _ advertising. it is really interesting, lucy. - advertising. it is really interesting, lucy. i- advertising. it is really| interesting, lucy. ifeel advertising. it is really i interesting, lucy. i feel a advertising. it is really - interesting, lucy. ifeela mix of emotions. we will see how they actually respond to the leg that has been lavished upon them. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

welcome back to our continuing coverage. we are getting pictures and right across the east of the us. these are live pictures coming to us from grand rapids in michigan. let us take it to another swing state, which is georgia. people are queueing up to vote. we also have anna foster with us in pennsylvania. there is a good turn out so far from what we can see from these pictures that are coming into s. there

are more than 50 states altogether. we'll be following across the us as these polling stations open. you can see queuesin stations open. you can see queues in georgia they in atlanta. let's speak to kyle kondik from the university of virginia centre for politics. he's the editor of their political newsletter, sa bato's crystal ball. when we love to have a crystal balljust now. you are still saying that you won't be surprise whichever way it goes. is that still cases money?- is that still cases money? yes, is that still cases money? yes, i think is that still cases money? yes, i think s0- _ is that still cases money? yes, i think so. we _ is that still cases money? yes, i think so. we put _ is that still cases money? yes, i think so. we put our - is that still cases money? yes, i think so. we put our final- i think so. we put ourfinal projections on monday. we did have kamala harris slightly ahead. this has been a challenging election. there are a lot of strange factors. the fact that kamal harrison

replaced joe biden as democratic nominee. it has been a topsy—turvy election. the polls have been very consistent. they have shown a very close and competitive race. i think things may have moved a little bit towards harrison. moved a little bit towards harrison-— moved a little bit towards harrison. ~ , ., harrison. we will start finding out tonight _ harrison. we will start finding out tonight. would _ harrison. we will start finding out tonight. would you - harrison. we will start finding out tonight. would you thinkl out tonight. would you think finish strongest this week? i finish strongest this week? i would say donald trump finished weakest. in the sense that he made no attempt, and this has been true for so long with charm. no attempt to moderate or reach out to people who are sceptical of him. his public comments over the left three days have been standard trap. his comments have been very typical of mr trump. the

headlines coming out had been about offensive jokes, very negative. if trump loses, he was actually in favour ten days ago,. we have treated this as a close election for some time. in terms of what is happening today, people going to the polling stations, is there a difference in the ground game, the field operation from the democrats and the republicans. 7 democrats and the republicans. ? who is picking up and taking people to polling stations? it definitely feels that the democrats have an advantage. they are doing their traditional field they are doing their traditionalfield operation. republicans are quite

decentralised. people like elon musk have been trying to operate it outside the official structures of the republican party. anecdotally, it hasn't seemed like it is gone that way for the republicans. i don't want to passjudgment in advance here, but if you like in a state like pennsylvania where 30% of people who have already voted by mail, that means 70% of people are going to vote today. that is relatively high compared to the other key battleground states. i wouldn't say that a field operation is going to deliver a huge sweeping victory. but if you do have an advance on that, and the democrats do, that could be important in a race that most people expect to be very close in that state. in terms of _ very close in that state. in terms of other factors that could influence those few hundred sided voters, you mention elon musk, my social media feed was awash with other

celebrities endorsing kamala harris. we know what a difference that will make? it’s difference that will make? it's a very hard — difference that will make? it�*s a very hard thing to quantify. there are two sides to this. one of the longer term problems at the democratic party is at the republican party is the party of —— part of cultural elites, the democrats. that reinforces stereotypes. what is potentially significant is that there was a comedian making offensive jokes at the madison gardens rally. that into resonating that community. there is a significant puerto rican voting block there. there

are prominent people and prominent celebrities in the puerto rican community. they have got involved in this election because of those comments. that may have been important. that specific development may move the needle a little bit. pare development may move the needle a little bit. �* ., , a little bit. are there any other transformer - a little bit. are there any other transformer early i a little bit. are there any - other transformer early voting that you are finding particularly striking? i think what happened _ particularly striking? i think what happened is _ particularly striking? i think what happened is that - particularly striking? i think what happened is that back| particularly striking? i think l what happened is that back in 2020, during the pandemic, there was much more desire for democrats to vote in person rather than by mail. this varies across different states. donald trump criticised voting by mail. the early signs from early voting a few weeks ago seem to be fairly positive for the republicans. there was a question as to whether the democrats would catch up. it is

not necessary predicted, but it does not seem like in the early voting you have an overwhelmingly republican electorate. it is a problem is election day won't be as republican as it was in 2020. search engines are getting eight when very popular question today which is when will we get the result? we can't quite say. is there a state that you would point our viewers to where we could see in early results could be an indicator?— indicator? florida is one of the early _ indicator? florida is one of the early poll _ indicator? florida is one of the early poll closes, - indicator? florida is one of the early poll closes, so i indicator? florida is one of the early poll closes, so is| the early poll closes, so is georgia. georgia is a more competitive state. it also sounds like george is going to be counting its votes very quickly. like florida does. i

think kamala harris could win the white house without winning georgia, but i do not think mr trump can. it does put harris in a good position if she wins georgia. we did have that stay slightly leaning to donald trump. north carolina is also an early state. but they may not count as fast as georgia. chang should win north carolina. but at the end of this campaign, it is not entirely clear that he will. how is the country feeling today with the election so close? there has been so much advertising, so much focus on the battleground states. is there a sense of relief that there a sense of relief that the day is finally here? i

think people would be glad not to see all the television ads which are all over the place. there is a time of anxiety. particularly among democrats. they tend to be more anxious than the republicans. that is a cultural difference between the parties. a lot of people recognise that there are legitimately high—stakes. maybe legitimately high—sta kes. maybe not legitimately high—stakes. maybe not as high as some suggest. they really want the candidate to win and not the other person. because of x, y and c. it does seem like turnout is going to be fairly robust. in 2020, the turnout of eligible

voters was historically high in modern times. voters are engaged. in the 1990s, people did not care about this stuff. that shows the turnout. great to get your thoughts. thank you forjoining us at bbc news. staying in the us, president biden has welcomed a deal to end a seven week strike by tens of thousands of factory workers at the us aviation giant, boeing. the agreement will see them receive a 38 per cent pay rise during the next four years, as well as a substantial bonus and improved retirement funding. 33,000 employees, mainly in washington state and oregon, will now return to work. with me is our business correspondent, theo leggett. tell me more of the details of the deal. how much better is it? it the deal. how much better is it? , , , , it? it is significantly better than the one _ it? it is significantly better than the one that - it? it is significantly better than the one that was - than the one that was originally offered. that shows the weakness of boeing when it went into these talks. the

original offer was a 25% pay increase over four years. what the workers ended up with was 38% over four years, which the workers ended up with was 38% overfour years, which is much better. they have to pay $12,000 to ratify this deal. it is a significant improvement. what has happened here is that boeing was taken aback a bit early on by how strong the opposition to its initial offer was. there are some deep seated resentments in boeing's workforce. for instance, workers in that region lost their pensions. boeing was in a strong position then. they could threaten to take the work out of washington state. they are not backed in that position now. they are dealing with crises. they need to fix relations with its workforce. that is why we have had this holed out from the workforce and boeing giving in to a large

extent on what the employees wanted. ., . . extent on what the employees wanted. ., ., ., ., , wanted. how damaging has it been for boeing. _ wanted. how damaging has it been for boeing. it _ wanted. how damaging has it been for boeing. it has - wanted. how damaging has it been for boeing. it has been| been for boeing. it has been extremely — been for boeing. it has been extremely costly _ been for boeing. it has been extremely costly for - been for boeing. it has been extremely costly for boeing. been for boeing. it has been l extremely costly for boeing. it has cost them at least $1 billion. boeing has had to follow workers. they have had to get rid of their managerial workforce. they had to cut back. it is up to go to shareholders to raise more money. it has now raised tens of billions of dollars. this is a strong position and it was. but it now needs to concentrate on restoring relations with its workforce so we can get on with its other priorities. building their planes quickly and building them in a way that sec for spies regulators. safety standards are at a high level. there was a big scandal where boeing's quality control was in question. boeing's quality control was in cuestion. .

boeing's quality control was in cuestion. ,, , ., �* �* question. stay with us on bbc news as we — question. stay with us on bbc news as we cover _ question. stay with us on bbc news as we cover our - question. stay with us on bbc. news as we cover our coverage of the us election. as you can see, there are like pictures of people voting here in new york. we will be talking to some of them. stay with us. we have a lot of cloud already cross the channel islands. a lot of cloud into the afternoon, sun breaks across the north—east of scotland, northern ireland and wales. some passages across northern western isles. apart from that, light breezes and temperatures 11 to 16 celsius. like yesterday, some of us could see occasional glimmers of brightness. if you're going to

any bonfire event tonight, you may see a few showers in the north—west. forthe may see a few showers in the north—west. for the rest of the country, largely dry, cloudy with some hill fog. especially part of the south—east. temperatures seven to 12 celsius. a chilly 2 degrees in aberdeen. high pressure remains in charge of our weather on wednesday. you can see this ridge here. it is keeping this weather front at bay. you can also see how the wind is coming from a southerly direction. it will be milder as represented ijy will be milder as represented by the yellow and amber. as a weather front skirt pass the outer hebrides, will introduce some rain. breezy across the north west. for all of us, again, — of 17 celsius.

thursday, a lot of cloud once again. again, breezy across the far north—west. temperatures 12 to 15 celsius. as we head on friday into the weekend, different areas of weather friends coming our way. some of them could make inroads. the jury them could make inroads. the jury is still out on that. as we head into friday and into saturday and sunday, we hang onto a lot of cloud. the chance of some rain coming into the west. the temperature is still about the seasonal average.