Image source, PA Media

College students are being encouraged to vote early in a final bid by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to win over the youth vote in battleground states.

The board is spending a reported hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new advertising campaign as analysts regard college students as a key demographic for Democrats.

The DNC is planning to paper 30 college campuses in 11 states with ads directing students to the 'I Will Vote' website.

Seven of those states - Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - hold the keys to the White House.

All of this follows the DNC's push for votes in a Snapchat campaign that coincided with the last leg of Taylor Swift's Eras tour.

Holly Honderich
Reporting from Washington

Image source, Reuters

Kamala Harris’s campaign has released a new series of adverts focused on reproductive rights, telling the story of a Texas woman named Ondrea who suffered a miscarriage at 16 weeks of pregnant.

According to the ad, Ondrea was denied standard care - an abortion - after losing her pregnancy, and suffered a life-threatening infection as a result.

The video features graphic images of Ondrea, lying in a hospital bed with a large surgical incision down the centre of her stomach, while a recent quote from Donald Trump plays in the background: “You will be protected and I will be your protector.”

Harris has made reproductive rights a major theme of her campaign, leaning hard into an issue that has energised Democrats and independents since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in June 2022 and has featured prominently in Harris’s presidential campaign.

On Friday she will visit Texas, a solidly Republican state, to deliver a speech focusing on abortion rights, as part of her efforts to draw moderate voters to her side.

Image source, Getty Images

While Kamala Harris has spent some of her afternoon attacking Donald Trump and capitalising on concerns about him from his former chief of staff, Trump's running mate has been hitting back against the vice-president at a rally in Nevada.

Speaking to a crowd in Las Vegas, Vance used the first 10 minutes of the event to attack Harris, accusing her of not understanding middle-class workers in America.

Harris frequently cites her middle-class background in campaign speeches.

Vance went on to claim, without evidence, that Trump - who made an appearance behind the fry counter at a McDonald's this week - had probably worked at the fast-food chain that day "for longer than Harris".

• For context: Harris has previously said she worked at McDonald's in California in 1983. The burger restaurant has said it does not have records dating back that far.

We can now bring you some fresh reaction from the Trump campaign, who has offered their first remarks since Kamala Harris said the former president wants "unchecked power".

She was responding to comments made by Trump's former chief of staff where he described his former boss as being "dictatorial".

In the statement from the Trump-Vance campaign, Trump's communications director says Harris is a "stone-cold loser" who he says "is increasingly desperate because she is flailing".

Steven Cheung also goes on to accuse Harris of peddling "outright lies".

Trump's campaign has denied the comments from former chief of staff John Kelly, who said Trump repeatedly told him that Hitler "did some good things".

Image source, Getty Images

As Donald Trump continues with his podcast tour, surrogates for the Harris-Walz campaign are also tapping in to alternative media platforms to reach younger voters.

After appearing at a rally for Kamala Harris yesterday in Detroit, former President Barack Obama joined The Young Man and the Three podcast hosted by NBA players.

Speaking in an episode released on Wednesday, Obama tried to appeal to younger male voters, telling them: "It's not that hard to vote."

Those who don't vote are letting "old people decide your future", he added.

"You wouldn’t do that about your music. You wouldn’t do that about your clothes. But you’re going to let them decide what your future, your potential careers, what the environment’s going to look like?" Obama said.

He went on to acknowledge the difficulties some young people are facing, including struggling to own a home or find a job without a college degree.

But Trump, he said, is “not somebody who is going to work hard on behalf of ordinary people”.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from White House press briefing

Some more now from the White House briefing, where Karine Jean-Pierre has dodged a question on whether President Biden would hold a customary news conference for reporters after the election.

"I totally hear that [question] and know it's a tradition," she says. "I don't want to get ahead of what the schedule is going to be like."

Similarly, Jean-Pierre did not reveal much when asked on whether Biden would see or meet Kamala Harris around the 5 November election.

"I don't have anything to share on scheduling," she says. "One day is like an eternity in this space. Two weeks feels like so far away."

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from White House press briefing

I'm now at the White House press briefing, where Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is facing questions about President Biden's calls to "lock up" Donald Trump politically.

While Jean-Pierre says she's limited in what she can say about an electoral issue, she did address the issue, saying that Biden "has never shied away" from discussing "what's at stake" in this election.

"He was referring to defeating Donald Trump," she adds.

Additionally, Jean-Pierre acknowledges that the White House agrees with the assertion from John Kelly - Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff - that his former boss fits the definition of a fascist.

"It's not just us, the White House saying this," she says of Kelly's comments. "You heard it from former officials who worked for former president."

Jean-Pierre adds that she believes that Trump's comments have "real world impact" - such as the 6 January 2021 riot.

Trump's campaign has denied the comments took place.

Sam Cabral
US reporter

Image source, Getty Images

With its 14.5 million Spotify and 17.5 million YouTube subscribers, The Joe Rogan Experience is America's top-ranked podcast but, until recently, it seemed highly improbable Donald Trump would appear as a guest.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) commentator, stand-up comedian and former host of the Fear Factor game show was once outspokenly liberal on social issues. As recently as 2022, he called Trump "an existential threat to democracy" and said he did not want to "help" him electorally.

Trump lashed out earlier this year after Rogan said Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has since endorsed the former president, was the only candidate that made sense to him.

But Rogan has expressed more right-wing positions in recent years and it appears he has warmed to Trump. In fact, as Trump allies like RFK and Elon Musk pushed for a collaboration between the two, rumours that Kamala Harris might appear on an episode have dissipated.

Rogan has cultivated an enormous cultural footprint and his multi-hour interviews draw an audience of mostly young men, whom polls suggest have increasingly trended toward the Trump campaign.

That makes Friday's interview potentially the most significant stop on his ongoing "bro podcast tour". Confirming the interview to Fox News radio earlier, Trump said there was "no real strategy" in the appearance, adding: "I do a lot of shows - good, bad or indifferent...and they come out good."

Harris aims to boost familiar Democratic line of attackpublished at 18:39 British Summer Time 23 October

18:39 BST 23 October

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Kamala Harris is doing her best to give John Kelly’s recent criticisms of Donald Trump a boost.

Warning that the former president is "increasingly unhinged and unstable", she said that if he is returned to the White House there won’t be people around like former chief of staff Kelly to provide "guardrails" on what she portrays as Trump’s more dangerous propensities.

None of this is exactly new. Harris said similar things to the former president’s face during their debate last month. She even name-checked a number of prominent former Trump officials who are opposing Trump’s campaign.

It's a line of attack, however, that has become more prevalent from Democrats as they are making a direct pitch to the kind of Republican and independent voters who may be wary of a second Trump presidential term and could determine who wins the handful of key battleground states.

"We know what Donald Trumps wants – he wants unchecked power," Harris said. "The question will be what do the American people want."

That's still an open question, of course.

At least for the moment, polls suggest the American people are sharply divided on who they want in the White House for the next four years.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the Naval Observatory

Image source, Getty Images

We've just wrapped up some very brief - but strongly worded - remarks from Vice-President Kamala Harris about former President Donald Trump.

I was among the pool reporters at the Naval Observatory in Washington just now as Harris came out to speak in front of her residence.

In her brief remarks - which came in at under four minutes - Harris addressed John Kelly's recent claims that Trump invoked Hitler's generals.

"He wants a military that isn't loyal to the United States Constitution," Harris said. "He wants a military loyal to him."

Harris added that it is "troubling and dangerous" that Trump would - according to a claim Kelly made in his interview with the Times - mention Adolf Hitler as an example of a leader.

Trump and his campaign have pushed back on Kelly's comments, claiming that the alleged conversations never took place.

Harris left without taking our questions, and ignored a shouted question about whether she agrees with Biden's remark yesterday that Trump should be "locked up politically".

The pool is now heading back to the White House after a short, intense visit to the Naval Observatory.

Harris addresses comments that Trump's former chief of staff made about him being "dictatorial".

"He does not want a military that's loyal to the United States Constitution," Harris claims. "He wants a military that will be loyal to him."

She claims he wants "unchecked power" in a potential second term.

Harris also addresses Trump's previous remarks about dealing with "the enemy from within" the US, which he made while referring to "radical left lunatics".

The vice-president claims Trump was talking about his political opponents, journalists and those who disagree with him.

Harris referenced an interview published by the New York Times, external on Wednesday with Trump's former chief of staff John Kelly, in which he said Trump had once told him: "You know, Hitler did some good things, too."

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told the Times that Kelly's comments were "debunked stories" and that the former aide had "beclowned himself".

Harris says it is disturbing that Trump would "invoke Adolf Hitler".

"Donald Trump is increasingly unhinged and unstable," she said.

Harris also said it was clear from Kelly's words that Trump "falls into the general definition of fascist".

Without people like Kelly in his administration, Harris said Trump would be "without guardrails", a frequent attack from Harris.

We're expecting to hear from Kamala Harris at 13:00 EDT (18:00 BST).

The vice-president will be speaking right outside her residence, the Naval Observatory, in Washington DC.

Will bring you the latest from the remarks. Stick with us.

Vice-Presidential contender Tim Walz cast his ballot alongside his wife, Gwen Walz, and son Gus Walz in Minnesota this morning.

This is Gus Walz's first election as he recently turned 18.

Speaking to reporters outside the St Paul, Minnesota, polling station earlier, Walz took the opportunity to criticise Trump and recent reports about the former president.

“Donald Trump made it very clear that this is election about Donald Trump taking full control of the military to use against his political enemies, taking full control of the Department of Justice to prosecute those who disagree with him, taking full control of the media on what is told and what is told to the American public,” Walz said.

Will Kelly's warning change any minds?published at 17:20 British Summer Time 23 October

17:20 BST 23 October

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

A number of prominent former Trump administration officials previously have spoken out against their old boss, including Vice-President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Attorney General William Barr, Defence Secretaries Mark Esper and James Mattis, and National Security Advisors John Bolton and HR McMaster.

But as chief of staff for a year and a half, John Kelly was one of the most influential figures in Donald Trump’s White House, managing daily access to the president and serving as one of his closest aides. Prior to that, he worked as Trump’s homeland security secretary.

That doesn’t mean that Kelly’s latest remarks will fundamentally alter the trajectory of a White House race in which most voters have already formed firm opinions about the former president.

In recent weeks, the Harris campaign has been attempting to amplify these concerns as part of its pitch to disaffected independent and moderate Republican voters. It's a return to the dark warnings about Trump being a “threat to democracy” that had been a staple of Joe Biden’s re-election campaign but were set aside by Harris for a more positive message.

In the home stretch, the vice-president’s team may be expanding its attacks to see what sticks.

Polls suggest that these efforts have yet to make substantive headway, although in a close election even slight improvements in vote share could be decisive.

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

John Kelly, Donald Trump’s longest-serving White House chief of staff, has made his most direct and critical public statements about the former president’s character and fitness for office.

In a recorded, on-the-record interview with the New York Times, the retired Marine general said that, based on his experience in Trump’s White House, the former president had fascist tendencies.

“Looking at the definition of fascism, it’s a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterised by a dictatorial leader, centralised autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy,” he told the paper.

“Certainly, in my experience, those are the kinds of things he thinks would work better in terms of running America.”

Kelly also confirmed previous reports that Trump had told him that US service members killed or injured in battle were “losers and suckers” and had at times voiced a positive assessment of Adolf Hitler

“You know, Hitler did some good things, too,” Kelly says Trump observed on several occasions.

Kelly told the Times he would not endorse a candidate for president, but that he did not support Trump’s re-election bid.

In a statement released to the media, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said Kelly “failed to serve his president well” and had “beclowned himself with these debunked stories”.

With 13 days left until the US election, both candidates for president and their running mates are busy on the campaign trail as they try to court support ahead of 5 November.

Here's what's on the agenda today:

• Donald Trump campaigns in Georgia, starting with a town hall at Christ Chapel in Zebulon, Georgia at 1500 EST (1900 GMT), followed by a rally in Duluth at 1900 EST (2300 GMT)
• Meanwhile, Trump's running mate JD Vance will be in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he is holding a rally at 1300 EST (1700 GMT). Later, he will be in Reno to speak at a campaign gathering
• Kamala Harris will participate in a live CNN town hall near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania moderated by Anderson Cooper. It is scheduled to air at 2100 EST (0100 GMT). An interview Harris did with Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo will also air today at 1900 EST (2300 GMT)
• Her running mate, Tim Walz, is starting the day in his home state of Minnesota, where he has stopped to cast his vote. He will later head out to Louisville, Kentucky, where he will speak to a fundraiser

Stay with us as we bring you coverage from all these events and more.

Image source, Reuters

We are turning our attention now to Georgia, where Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has been giving an update on the local early voting system, saying his state has the “cleanest voter list in the entire country”.

His comments come after a Washington Post analysis, external suggested over half of Republican candidates running for Congress cast doubt on the integrity of the upcoming election.

In a public update to reporters, Raffensperger says Georgia is having a record number of early votes - as polls closed on Tuesday, officials received 1,929,628 ballots, of which 1,814,223 were early voting in person and 115,000 by mail

He adds that 26.8% of all active voters have already participated. "This is proof in Georgia it's easy to vote and hard to cheat," he says.

Four years ago, the BBC reported on how Trump was recorded telling Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to overturn the 2020 presidential result. In the recording, Raffensperger can be heard replying that Georgia's results were correct.

Image source, Getty

Donald Trump says he will be voting early this year, marking a departure from his previous messaging where he challenged the legitimacy of ballots cast before election day.

Speaking to Fox News radio earlier this morning, Trump says he still has mixed feelings on voting early, but "the main thing is you got to get out and you got to vote, and I'll be voting early".

In 2020, Trump discouraged his supporters from casting mail and absentee ballots by saying they cause "chaos and confusion" and claiming, without evidence, they make elections vulnerable to foreign interference.

Many of his supporters opted to vote in person on election day as a result, which analysts say helped Joe Biden win the election as Democrats showed up in higher numbers to vote early. In this election, however, Trump doesn't seem willing to take any chances.

"Go tomorrow as soon as you can go to the polls and vote," he told an Atlanta, Georgia rally last week and Republican voters appear to be listening to him. Data from states where early voting is underway show a higher turn-out altogether, including from Republicans.

Mike Hills
Visual Journalism team

With less than two weeks to go until election day the polls are continuing to tighten.

Kamala Harris is currently leading Donald Trump by 48% to 46% in the national polling averages, but the gap between the two has been closing in recent days.

A week ago, polls suggested the Democrat was ahead by 2.4 percentage points but she has seen that fall to 1.7 points over the last few days, as the chart below shows.

Harris has been ahead of her Republican rival since she entered the race at the end of July. Before he quit the race, President Biden had been trailing Trump by more than three percentage points in the national averages.

We are tracking the polls every day as we approach the election here.

Image source, Reuters

Kamala Harris's calendar today is focused on Pennsylvania, as she remains set on winning over support across the crucial swing state.

Later today she'll be taking questions from undecided voters during a CNN town hall in Chester County, just outside the Philadelphia metro area.

Pennsylvania is one of seven states that will decide the outcome of the election. Harris campaigned in the state on Monday, making her pitch to disillusioned Republicans, and will return again after the town hall to campaign in Philadelphia.

Also happening today: Harris's running mate Tim Walz is off to Kentucky. While there's little chance to flip the state - it's voted Republican since 1996 - Walz is expected to use a campaign reception to spotlight the party's stance on abortion.