Trump duels Clinton and Sanders in North Carolina as polls draw close
Video: How the US electoral college works
The view from Middletown: ‘Whoever wins needs to address the rage out there’
2.28am GMT
Related: Trump duels Clinton and Sanders in North Carolina as polls draw close
2.06am GMT
Citing an anonymous source, CBS News reports that Beyoncé will join husband Jay Z at a get-out-the-vote concert in Cleveland tomorrow in support of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
The concert will be the penultimate event in a series under the title Love Trumps Hate, and is aimed at boosting voter engagement for African American youth. This is not the first time the Clinton campaign has recruited entertainment industry powerhouses. At the conclusion of the Democratic national convention in July, Lady Gaga and Lenny Kravitz performed for Democratic delegates in a thank-you concert held in Camden, New Jersey.
1.42am GMT
A conservative lobbying organization is pressuring Republican senators to stonewall any supreme court nominees put forward by Hillary Clinton if she is elected president, a move that would break with 150 years of tradition for the senate to hold up-or-down votes on any supreme court nominees.
The Hill reports that Heritage Action, a conservative policy advocacy organization, urged at a morning briefing today for Republican senators to commit to leaving the supreme court without a ninth justice for as long as half a decade.
1.27am GMT
A moving note from Tim Kaine’s law-school housemate:
Thirty-five years ago a new roommate moved into the attic bedroom. We were both single and trying to figure out our future. My parents called and asked what I thought of him. Long distance calls were expensive, so my answer was short and to the point. Thirty-five years later we are both married, fathers of three adult children and experienced in our chosen fields. My parents still call to ask questions about Tim. Voice plans now allow for unlimited talk, but my brief answer has never changed: “He’s the best person I have ever met.”
1.20am GMT
Closing out her address in Raleigh, North Carolina, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said that “the best way to repudiate the bigotry and the bluster and the hatred and discrimination is to show up with the biggest turnout in history.”
“I believe America’s best days are still ahead of us if we do what we’re supposed to do,” Clinton concluded. “Every social movement, every economic advance, has only come about because people going to work and sacrifice and keep pushing forward in the affect of adversity.”
1.02am GMT
“Everything I’ve done started by listening to people - listening to hear your stories, what you’re worried about - and then working to bring people together to solve those issues,” Clinton said. “If you elect me next Tuesday, that is the kind of president I will be.”
“So, let me just mention a few of the ideas that we’ve been putting forward,” Clinton continued.
12.49am GMT
“This election’s been a lot more fun since we’ve been on the same side!” Hillary Clinton said of Bernie Sanders in North Carolina, after being introduced by the Vermont senator as the best hope for progressivism.
“As Bernie said earlier this year, when people who care about progressive causes stand together, we win - and then we can get to work on making those causes into reality,” Clinton continued. “I am so excited about the election, about everything that we’re going to do together - and I’m especially pleased to have Pharrell here!”
12.43am GMT
Watch it here live:
12.43am GMT
Closing out his speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, Vermont senator and Democratic presidential also-ran Bernie Sanders told an ecstatic college-aged crowd that electing Hillary Clinton is a crucial step in protecting the hard-fought civil rights that his supporters value.
“We can disagree on many issues - but we have come too far, too many people have gone to jail, too many people have died in the struggle for civil rights. We are not going back to a bigoted society. And furthermore,” Sanders continued. “what we understand is our strength, our uniqueness, is our diversity. We should be proud of it!”
12.37am GMT
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders lauded Hillary Clinton’s stance on the environment, and drew contrasts with, well, differences with Donald Trump’s platform.
“There is one [difference] that is very, very profound,” Sanders said. “Secretary Clinton believes in science. And I know, I know I put her in a difficult position. In 2016, to believe in science is a little bit dangerous, but what the heck.
12.28am GMT
I’m brave in other ways — I’m financially brave. Big deal.
12.26am GMT
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, campaigning for Hillary Clinton in Raleigh, North Carolina, hit hard on the subject of paid family leave, one of Clinton’s most committed policy planks.
“That is why Secretary Clinton and I will fight o guarantee 12 weeks paid family and medical leave!” Sanders vowed.
12.17am GMT
Hammering on his primary-campaign message of economic equality, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders alleged that there is a network of billionaires attempting to purchase the upcoming general election, and Republican governors who are stifling ballot access to further that end.
“As we speak, this very moment, billionaires around the country are pouring tens and tens of millions of dollars into senatorial campaigns, house campaigns, and campaigns of all kinds,” Sanders said. “What we are saying tonight is we will not allow billionaires to buy the United States government!”
12.13am GMT
After being introduced by music artist Pharrell, Vermont senator and former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders urged the college-aged crowd in Raleigh to become “politicians” by being a part of the political process.
“I wanna begin with a startling revelation” Sanders said. “Despite what media may tell you, this campaign is not about Hillary Clinton; it is not about Donald Trump; it is not about Bill Clinton; it is not about Melania Trump; it is not about their children. This campaign is about you, and millions of other Americans!”
12.13am GMT
Watch it here live:
12.04am GMT
Appearing in Selma, North Carolina, more than an hour after he was scheduled to begin, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump declared that “in five days we’re going to win the great state of North Carolina, and we’re going to win back the White House - believe me.”
“You get out there and vote, because that’s the whole thing.”
12.01am GMT
More than an hour late, Donald Trump appears onstage in Selma, North Carolina:
11.59pm GMT
If you missed it, the Guardian’s Spencer Ackerman reports that deep antipathy toward Hillary Clinton within the FBI may have spurred a rapid series of leaks damaging to her campaign just days before the election:
Related: 'The FBI is Trumpland': anti-Clinton atmosphere spurred leaks, sources say
11.49pm GMT
Video: Melania Trump made an appearance in Pennsylvania earlier today and called on the country to find better ways to “disagree with each other.” especially on social media.
A nation burst out into tearful laughter.
11.40pm GMT
Watch it live here:
10.54pm GMT
The governor of Wisconsin celebrated National Sandwich Day as he does most days: by eating a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. The internet, dripping with disdain, asked the obvious question: why?
Celebrating #NationalSandwichDay with my daily ham & cheese sandwich and cranberry juice! pic.twitter.com/WNWaijjruj
9.36pm GMT
Thousands had gathered in an outdoor field on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, braving the sweltering sun for hours ahead of what was likely Barack Obama’s final visit to the area as president, The Guardian’s Sabrina Siddiqui and Richard Luscombe report.
Related: In North Carolina and Florida, is the Trump voter suppression plan working?
9.07pm GMT
Donald Trump had better get on that midnight train to Georgia, because a new trio of polls from NBC and the Wall Street Journal show him leading by only a single point in a state that hasn’t voted for a Democrat in nearly a quarter-century.
According to the polls, conducted in Arizona, Texas and Georgia between Sunday and Tuesday, Trump holds leads in the first two states - although by narrower margins than previous Republicans have relied on - but only leads Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by a single point in Georgia, an effective deadlock.
8.47pm GMT
The Guardian’s Lauren Gambino has more on Melania Trump’s address on cyberbullying:
Related: Melania Trump takes on cyberbullying: 'Our culture has gotten too mean'
8.32pm GMT
Eric Trump, Donald Trump’s younger son from his first marriage, told a Denver radio station that former Ku Klux Klan leader and current Republican senate nominee David Duke deserves to be assassinated.
“It’s disgusting and by the way, if I said exactly what you said, I’d get killed for it but I think I’ll say it anyway,” the younger Trump told Ross Kaminsky of 630 KHOW Denver radio after the host said that Duke deserved a bullet to the head, according to CNN.
8.25pm GMT
A new survey of likely Colorado voters released this afternoon shows former secretary of state Hillary Clinton leading Republican rival Donald Trump by six points, an increase by four points since the poll’s last edition.
The survey, released by Magellan Strategies, found Clinton ahead 44% to Trump’s 38%, with Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson trailing at 7% and Green candidate Jill Stein with 2% support.
8.17pm GMT
Donald Trump, speaking in North Carolina, rhetorically asked his assembled reporters that Hillary Clinton is crooked because, well, Hillary Clinton is crooked.
“Do you know why? Do you know why? Do you know why? I know the answer! I know the answer! Because she’s Crooked Hillary Clinton. Very simple. Very simple. Crooked Hillary.”
8.14pm GMT
It’ll be a great wall, and the harder they fight, the taller it gets. The harder they fight, the taller.
8.11pm GMT
Donald Trump, perhaps sensing the listlessness of his audience in North Carolina, interrupted a riff on his trade policy proposals to attack the news media that covers him as “bad people.”
“The crooked media. These are the world’s most dishonest people,” Trump said. “They have a very low rating right now, folks.”
8.07pm GMT
Donald Trump seemed peeved at a rally in Concord, North Carolina, when a crowd of “Build the wall!” chanters interrupted his riff on “jobs theft” by global interests that he accuses of pillaging American manufacturing.
“I won’t be able to shut you up until I say that, right?” Trump said, giving in to the chanters. “We will build the wall, and Mexico will pay for it.”
7.58pm GMT
Donald Trump, speaking in Concord, North Carolina, told a raucous audience that Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign will likely “end in a criminal trial,” and declared that she has no right to run for president in the first place.
“She has no right to be running, you know that,” Trump said, to loud cheers. “We are going to Washington, and we are going to drain the swamp!”
7.57pm GMT
Watch it live here:
7.54pm GMT
Speaking in Winterville, North Carolina, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton tied her fate to that of her beloved Chicago Cubs, the long-suffering baseball team that she grew up watching and which just won the World Series for the first time in more than a century.
“Who knows - maybe we’ll even see more history made in a few days?” Clinton said jokingly, to loud cheers.
7.46pm GMT
Watch it live here:
7.40pm GMT
Actor/dreamboat Chris Pine stars as... Congress (if Congress were a horrible, horrible coworker):
7.26pm GMT
Donald Trump seemed to be a fan of Melania’s speech:
Watching my beautiful wife, Melania, speak about our love of country and family. We will make you all very proud. https://t.co/12unVAD9pI pic.twitter.com/s1MoWKROTt
7.12pm GMT
Here’s a bit of Melania Trump’s speech:
.@MelaniaTrump "We have to find a better way to talk to each other, to disagree with each other, to respect each other." pic.twitter.com/47YL2y7ATG
6.53pm GMT
What did you think of that Melania Trump speech? When she talked about being a kid in Communist Slovenia and hearing of Reagan’s election and being inspired? When she described her husband’s growing concern over the years as he watched workers suffering and his growing “very upset” every time he “heard of a factory closing in Ohio, or North Carolina or here in Pennsylvania”?
She made him sound like the workingman’s best friend since Woody Guthrie.
6.46pm GMT
Here’s a live stream of Donald Trump’s next rally, in Concord, NC:
6.41pm GMT
Melania Trump: “Do we want president who is beholden to no one but you, the American people? Yes.”
The crowd applauds.
6.34pm GMT
Melania Trump says “after a 10-year process which included many visas and a green card, in 2006 I studied for the test and become a US citizen. It is the greatest privilege in the world. I’m an immigrant and let me tell you, no one appreciates the freedom and opportunity more than me...
He loves this country and he knows how to get things done, not just talk.
He certainly knows how to shake things up, doesn’t he?
6.30pm GMT
Trump continues:
I come here today to talk about my husband Donald, and his deep love and respect for this country and all its people... to talk about our partnership, our family and what I know for sure in my heart about this man who will make America great again.
6.28pm GMT
Melania Trump is recalling the June 2015 day Trump announced his bid.
“Donald promised to campaign on behalf of those who feel the esystem is broken... who just want a fair shake... and opportunity for a better future.
6.26pm GMT
“Thank you first lady of Indiana Karen Pence,” Melania Trump says.
“We love you,” the crowd shouts.
6.25pm GMT
Karen Pence concludes her introduction:
She is amazing. Let me tell you a little bit about her... the first time I met Melania... we joined them for a weekend at their resort in Bedminster [New Jersey]... I told her with a wink that we have raised three independently thinking children who don’t always agree with their father... she looked at me with her warm smile, and she said, I like that. You’re teaching them to think for themselves. I like that.
“And I knew right then that I was really going to enjoy meeting Melania.
6.21pm GMT
Karen Pence, the wife of Trump’s running mate, is introducing Melania Trump in Pennsylvania:
6.20pm GMT
Deep antipathy to Hillary Clinton exists within the FBI, multiple bureau sources have told the Guardian, spurring a rapid series of leaks damaging to her campaign just days before the election.
Current and former FBI officials, none of whom were willing or cleared to speak on the record, have described a chaotic internal climate that resulted from outrage over director James Comey’s July decision not to recommend an indictment over Clinton’s maintenance of a private email server on which classified information transited.
Related: 'The FBI is Trumpland': anti-Clinton atmosphere spurred leaks, sources say
6.16pm GMT
The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs is in Concord, North Carolina, waiting for Trump. But the candidate won’t come out, reportedly, until he’s watched his wife’s speech in Pennsylvania, which hasn’t started yet.
Which means more time for Ben to meet the crowd:
This is a look pic.twitter.com/p5M4r4I5Ge
6.14pm GMT
What does Donald Trump mean for Canada?
Kellyanne Conway just did a gaggle at Melania event. Star was Canadian reporter who asked about 11 Qs how what Trump means for Canadians.
6.09pm GMT
That’s a margin of two votes – not two points, two votes – from a sample of likely voters surveyed by Suffolk in New Hampshire:
Close in NH. https://t.co/gZHsfoH2SR pic.twitter.com/uCSjGu0ivB
Probably not (see NV early vote)... but looks a heck more possible than 24 hours ago. pic.twitter.com/BECLVeR1mj
5.56pm GMT
An analysis by the New York Times and Siena college pollsters of white voters and potential white voters in North Carolina, Florida and Pennsylvania concludes that the wave of newly active white voters that would be required to carry Trump to victory – barring an expansion of Trump’s appeal with other groups – does not exist:
Mr. Trump may yet win this election. But if he does, it probably won’t be because of a huge influx of Republican-leaning “missing” voters.
There has been no surge in registration among white voters since 2012, and the white voters who have joined the electorate are younger and likelier to support Mrs. Clinton than those who were already registered. [...]
Important for understanding voter reg trends: Clinton has a 42-21 lead among new unaffiliated voters in PA/FL/NC https://t.co/L2WZ7kR1wL
This year, Mr. Trump’s gains among missing white voters aren’t likely to be even enough to overcome four years of demographic shifts, let alone form the basis of a lasting political coalition.
These findings are based on an Upshot analysis of voter registration data nationwide, as well as Upshot/Siena College polls of North Carolina, Florida and Pennsylvania.
Donald Trump is on track to become the first Republican to lose college-educated white voters since at least 1956. https://t.co/gUsaTt02OD
In latest ABC/WP @HillaryClinton 22 points better w/col than non-col whites - biggest previous gap for a Dem: +7
5.45pm GMT
The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs is in Concord, North Carolina, for Trump’s first afternoon event:
Spotted outside today's Trump rally in Concord, NC pic.twitter.com/MpR0q4ISoc
5.42pm GMT
Here’s a live stream on the Melania Trump event in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, where the crowd is currently staring at an empty stage. It’s not scheduled to start for 20 minutes:
5.39pm GMT
We can’t wait to show you the futuristic interactive graphics we’ve built to bring you all the election night returns. It’s even more futuristic that this:
LBJ watching election returns, tonight 1964: #LBJL pic.twitter.com/OYd5t3oliB
Election Night '72 graphics fail pic.twitter.com/kUqk73TCif
5.23pm GMT
5.19pm GMT
The Nevada early vote continues to look good for Clinton, says Silver state journalism dean Jon Ralston:
Again, Clinton can afford to lose NH if she wins NV... From the master @ralstonreports https://t.co/n0CHAXFasC pic.twitter.com/nidqbwms6d
5.13pm GMT
Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have new campaign ads out – very different campaign ads:
5.04pm GMT
Trump’s done in Jacksonville. His next stop today is in North Carolina.
5.02pm GMT
Utah appears still to be anyone’s game, a new Monmouth University poll of the state indicates:
New Utah poll from Monmouth:
Trump: 37%
Clinton: 31%
McMullin: 24%
Johnson: 4%
5.01pm GMT
ABC News catches Texas senator Ted Cruz introducing Trump running mate Mike Pence in Prole, Iowa:
Ted Cruz introduces Pence: "He is someone who today I call my friend, and I very much look forward to calling him Mr. Vice President" pic.twitter.com/9PqvFQ88mC
4.55pm GMT
The crowd is settling in in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, for Melania Trump’s speech.
(Trump is still talking in Jacksonville.)
Woman walks up to press pen at Melania rally to inform us that she is an "educated professional woman” who is voting for Trump.
This has been recurring thing. Trump voters with degrees tell me they're upset about phenomenon being characterized as low ed vs high ed. https://t.co/66D2T85mFP
4.35pm GMT
Latino Decisions projects that between 13.1 million and 14.7 million Latinos will vote in 2016:
This estimate represents a three percent to five percent increase over the 2012 Latino turnout rate which, coupled with the dramatic growth of the age-eligible Latino population, will yield between 1.9 million and 3.5 million additional Latinos voters in 2016 compared to the 11.2 million who voted four years ago.
Latino Decisions also projects that 79 percent of Latinos will vote for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, 18 percent for Republican nominee Donald Trump, and the remaining three percent voting for other candidates. Clinton’s projected share is higher than both Latino Decisions’ estimated 75 percent Latino vote share and 71 percent exit poll share Democrat Barack Obama received during his 2012 re-election bid.
LD statistical model projecting voter turnout by Prof. @justinhgross forecasts 13.1-14.7 million Latino votes cast, up from 11.2M in 2012 pic.twitter.com/LyxQ9MPHXK
4.32pm GMT
Trump accuses Obama of having a conflict of interest in campaigning for Clinton:
I just left by the way Miami. And in leaving I saw AF1. And I said to myself, I wonder who that could be. And it’s our president, and he’s down here campaigning for Crooked Hillary. Why isn’t he back in the office, sometimes referred to as the Oval Office... he’s campaigning every day, and I actually think, considering that she’s under criminal investigation, I think he’s got a conflict.
4.29pm GMT
Who in this room has gotten rid of a phone, and then smashed the hell out of it with a hammer? Raise your hand. I see one hand over there. What business are you in? I don’t want to know. I don’t want to know.
– Donald Trump, in Jacksonville
4.25pm GMT
Here’s Donald Trump now, speaking in Jacksonville, Florida (where Obama is headed later today).
Trump is saying that Hillary Clinton is a criminal and “she should’t be allowed to run for the office of president, and that is where the system is rigged”:
4.08pm GMT
Wow, Bill Clinton was up very early this morning in Michigan:
Pres @billclinton makes an early stop in Detroit's Eastern Market to meet some voters, grab a coffee & check out the street art. #MISheCan pic.twitter.com/SVYcjqfgm9
4.04pm GMT
“If we win Florida,” Obama concludes, “we will win this election.”
2016 Florida President - Clinton 49%, Trump 45% (Opinion Savvy/Fox 13/Fox 35 11/1-11/2) https://t.co/Ra8JEAacGB pic.twitter.com/yjyUYwaQ6g
Of course, Clinton could just win Florida and make all this NH/NV talk meaningless https://t.co/FIaW8iapf0
4.00pm GMT
Obama closes with an appeal to young voters to reject political cynicism. “Right now you have a chance to move history in a better direction,” he says. “I want young people to understand, those moments don’t come that often. There are times when history is movable, when you can make things better or worse. This is one of those moments.”
3.57pm GMT
Obama takes a moment to note the news of rising premiums for some Obamacare enrollees. He mounts a defense of the health care law that culminates with an accusation that Republicans have no replacement plan.
“I’m going to take another aside. I know I’m running long. We have given – 20m people have health insurance that didn’t have it before,” Obama says. Then he notes Trump’s news conference to criticize Obamacare in Valley Forge, PA at the start of the week.
It is true, premiums are going up for a handful of people who don’t get tax credits, that’s important... the reason I point this out was, you watch the press conference and what you realize is, they got no plan. They want to repeal because ideologically they’re opposed to those 20m people getting health insurance.
3.49pm GMT
Obama hits Marco Rubio for voting for Trump, after the senator once tweeted, “friends don’t let friends vote Trump.”
“Obviously he didn’t have good enough friends,” the president quips. The Miami crowd enjoyed the line.
3.48pm GMT
This is only the first of two Obama speeches on Clinton’s behalf today. The president has additional campaign events right through to election day. Is the president spending too much time on the campaign trail?
Donald Trump thinks so:
Looking at Air Force One @ MIA. Why is he campaigning instead of creating jobs & fixing Obamacare? Get back to work for the American people!
Good time for this reminder.
There is no former President - either of Donald's party or Hillary's - who thinks Donald Trump should be POTUS https://t.co/DFcC0hFVn2
3.41pm GMT
Obama says that core biases that presidential candidates might have – not naming names – would not change with elevation to the Oval office “except you will have more power to carry out the twisted notions you had before you were in office.”
“This isn’t a joke,” the president says. “This isn’t Survivor. This isn’t the Bachelorette. This counts.”
3.36pm GMT
Our culture, our media has just gotten so, reality-TV-ized. I know that’s not a word. But you get my drift.
– Obama in Miami
3.35pm GMT
If Clinton ends up losing Pennsylvania (where a super-fresh Ipsos poll has her up six points), it won’t be for lack of focus on the Keystone state. The campaign has announced that its grand finale event, on the night before the election, will happen in Philadelphia, and will feature the candidate, her husband, the president, his wife, and Chelsea Clinton:
The big finale: On Monday, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and Chelsea Clinton will have a rally in Philly.
Trump camp announces the crowd at his NYC Election Night event will be by "invitation-only" pic.twitter.com/5lNywjXvKa
3.24pm GMT
Barack Obama is onstage in Miami. That was punctual!
2.59pm GMT
We’re run the excerpts of Melania Trump’s upcoming speech through a plagiarism detector – try it yourself at quetext.com! – and it says “no plagiarism detected”.
(h/t @paultowen)
Melania Trump speech - "no plagiarism detected" pic.twitter.com/7iePxD3Zd4
2.56pm GMT
We know, we’re treating this like it was the state of the union. With half-apologies, we append herewith advance excerpts of Melania Trump’s speech today, as prepared for delivery and released just now by the Trump campaign:
I come here today to talk about my husband Donald and his deep love and respect for this country, and all of its people.
I have come here to talk about this man I have known for 18 years. And I have come here today to talk about our partnership, our family, and what I know for sure in my heart, about this man, who will Make America Great Again.
2.51pm GMT
Ever wonder what Donald Trump’s interior monologue sounds like?
(...)
2016. pic.twitter.com/T0lX0lKtJS
2.44pm GMT
Philadelphia Democrats are seeing the Republicans’ Melania Trump and raising them Cyndi Lauper and Debra Messing.
Lauper, the pop star, and Messing, the Will & Grace star, will join former Philly mayor and Pa governor Ed Rendell, and current senate candidate Katie McGinty, for a “gayborhood bar crawl,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports:
Organized by the Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club, the get-out-the-vote “LCDC Bar Tour” will begin at 9 p.m at Knock (225 S. 12th St.), with the group then moving on to Tabu (200 S. 12th St.), UBar (1220 Locust St.), Tavern on Camac (243 S. Camac St.), Woody’s (202 S. 13th St.), and Boxers (1330 Walnut St.), according to a Facebook posting.
The bar crawl is free to attend and is pay-as-you-go, but organizers ask that those interested in attending RSVP online.
2.32pm GMT
The head of Nascar, the national stock-car racing association, endorsed Donald Trump way back in March. Now the track is getting its first Trump-branded car, Jalopnik reports:
NASCAR driver Reed Sorenson will have Trump/Pence branding for Texas Sprint Cup race this weekend. https://t.co/axDmvsgWQI pic.twitter.com/9er2KaN0aR
2.12pm GMT
The Pennsylvania state Democratic party has just mailed reporters an “EXCLUSIVE: ADVANCE EXCERPTS OF MELANIA TRUMP’S CHESTER COUNTY SPEECH”:
The Pennsylvania Democratic Party has obtained an advance copy of the speech Melania Trump is scheduled to deliver today in Chester County.
My wife, Melania, will be speaking in Pennsylvania this afternoon. So exciting, big crowds! I will be watching from North Carolina.
1.36pm GMT
Hello, and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the 2016 race for the White House. Melania Trump is scheduled to give her first campaign speech since the Republican convention today, addressing an afternoon crowd in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. She will talk “about her real American story as well as the kind of dedicated, strong and committed First Lady she will be for the country she loves so much”, the Trump campaign said.
Competing with Mrs Trump on the campaign trail will be American president Barack Obama, who is to deliver two speeches today in Florida for Hillary Clinton. Clinton has a campaign event today in Raleigh, North Carolina, with Bernie Sanders and Pharrell Williams. Tim Kaine’s in Arizona today.
Since endorsing Trump shortly after he secured the nomination, McConnell has been mostly silent about the nominee so that vulnerable incumbents – like New Hampshire’s Kelly Ayotte – could distance themselves from Trump and his increasingly erratic comments.
But speaking in a cavernous tractor dealership in central Kentucky on Wednesday night – where McConnell was introduced as the “most powerful Republican in the world” – the senator went all in for Trump before a small but enthusiastic crowd.
Donald Trump denies he is interested in launching a new conservative news venture, but somebody sure is.
What’s being billed as an “up-and-coming conservative media network currently in development” is now scouring for hosts, reporters and right-leaning, well-spoken panelists, according to a brand new casting notice obtained Wednesday evening by Fox News. [...]
Clinton can trade Nevada for NH. But she's probably got to win one. Good poll this morning from NH has Trump +1 https://t.co/DYpoD08ZLs
Clinton inches ahead, with enthusiasm back on par with Trump, Post-ABC Tracking poll findshttps://t.co/ncB9Ry6F4V
They did it! 108 years later and the drought is finally over. Way to make history, @Cubs. #FlyTheW -H
It happened: @Cubs win World Series. That's change even this South Sider can believe in. Want to come to the White House before I leave?
We asked @SaraBareilles to imagine what Obama might be thinking about this election and Trump. She wrote this song. @leslieodomjr sings. pic.twitter.com/0uAI37qlZS
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