Brandon Livesay
Reporting from New York

The economy consistently comes up as a major concern when US voters are asked about their views on the election.

And today we saw both presidential candidates ramp up their messaging on the issue.

Donald Trump spoke at a rally in North Carolina, talking about his plans to cut taxes and energy costs.

And Harris spoke in her first major solo interview of the election about her plans to boost the middle class.

For more on this topic, our team at BBC Verify has looked into the nuances of if the US economy is better or worse now than under Trump.

And while we don't yet know how much impact today's campaign events will have on the election, you can stay across who is ahead in the polls here.

We're pausing our live coverage for the day and will be back again on Thursday.

Thanks for following along.

With the 5 November election rapidly approaching, here's a recap of what the candidates have been doing today.

It's no surprise that they have been spending their time in crucial swing states, like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and North Carolina - areas which will likely decide the winner of the election.

• Kamala Harris unveiled more of her economic plan during a speech in Pittsburgh, in which she argued for higher tax rates on businesses and billionaires in order to fund new childcare and housing initiatives
• The vice-president also sat down for her first major one-on-one interview - with MSNBC - after getting criticised by Donald Trump for not making herself more available to journalists since becoming the Democratic nominee
• Trump, at a rally in North Carolina, spoke about his economic plan to cut taxes, cut energy costs in half and trigger a "manufacturing renaissance" in the US
• Trump's running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, visited a county fair in Michigan where he criticised Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine. Zelensky had said Vance was "too radical" and called his ideas to end the war "awful". Vance responded today by saying: "I don't appreciate Zelensky coming to this country and telling America's taxpayers what to do"

Did Trump say there should be punishment for women who have an abortion?published at 01:32 British Summer Time 26 September

01:32 BST 26 September

By Merlyn Thomas

Answering a question on abortion during the interview earlier, Kamala Harris said Donald Trump is the person who said “women should be punished for exercising a decision they should be rightly able to make about their own body.”

However, this claim needs context.

In March 2016, Trump was asked in an interview with MSNBC , externalwhether women should be punished for having an abortion, if it were made a crime.

He replied that “there has to be some form of punishment”.

But after strong criticism, he rowed back and released a statement , externalshortly after the interview, saying that "the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman."

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent, reporting from Michigan

JD Vance spoke here in Michigan before Kamala Harris’s MSNBC interview aired, but he offered an advance rebuttal to her appearance.

“Every time she answers a question, we get about a hundred thousand votes,” he said.

“What is she actually planning to do for the American people?” he asked.

“The answer is we don’t have to guess that much because she’s been the vice-president for three and a half years and she hasn’t done a damn thing.”

Did Trump leave the 'worst economy since the Great Depression'?published at 01:04 British Summer Time 26 September

01:04 BST 26 September

By Jake Horton

In her interview, Kamala Harris claimed “Trump left us with the worst economy since the Great Depression when you look at the employment numbers”.

When Donald Trump was in office in January 2021, the unemployment rate was 6.4% - which was high - but it has been higher since the Great Depression.

In October 2009, for example, unemployment peaked at 10% in the wake of the financial crash.

And during Trump’s presidency, Covid lockdown measures led to soaring levels of unemployment in the US.

More than 20 million jobs were lost during the pandemic and the unemployment rate hit 14.8%.

Before Covid hit the US economy, the unemployment rate was 3.5% under Donald Trump.

Under the Biden administration unemployment hit a low of 3.4% in January 2023 - the lowest rate in more than 50 years - but it has since ticked up to 4.3%.

BBC Verify has looked at several other measures to assess if the US economy better or worse now than under Trump.

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent, reporting from Michigan

Greg Techel, a retiree from near Traverse City, said JD Vance wasn’t his first pick for Donald Trump’s running mate – he would have preferred former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard – but he really likes what he’s seen from the Ohio senator.

He particularly liked his working class upbringing, he said.

As with many Americans, Techel said the economy is his top issue.

“It’s really bad up here,” he added.

He thinks lower energy costs, something both Trump and Vance talk about regularly, would help make things more affordable for Americans.

“The world revolves around energy,” he said. “It would be nice to go green, but it’s pretty hard to do.”

Let's revisit one of the more light-hearted moments of Harris's first major solo interview, when she was asked whether "at any point" in her life she "served two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheeses, pickles, onions" at McDonald's.

"On a sesame seed bun," Harris said.

Harris' employment at McDonalds has become a common feature of Trump speeches, with the former president casting doubt she'd ever really worked there.

The vice-president said in tonight's interview that she worked there as a student,

"Part of the reason I even talk about having worked at McDonald's is because there are people who work at McDonald's in our country who are trying to raise a family," she said.

Harris said that she believes her work there gave her "perspective on the needs of the American people, and what our responsibility, then, is to meet those needs".

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent, reporting from Michigan

JD Vance just finished his remarks here in Traverse City, Michigan. He spoke for about half an hour, giving what has become his traditional stump speech of swipes against Democrat Kamala Harris and a push for Donald Trump’s immigration, energy and trade policies.

He ended his speech by taking questions from the media, including one asking him to respond to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent criticism of his views on the Ukraine war – which include possibly giving up Ukrainian territory in exchange for an end to the conflict – as being “too radical”.

Zelensky told The New Yorker that Vance is "too radical" and called the Republican's ideas for ending the war "awful".

“The details for how Donald Trump is going to end the war in Ukraine is by not being weak and not being dumb – which is something unfortunately you can’t say about the current administration,” Vance said.

“I don’t appreciate Zelensky coming to this country and telling America’s taxpayers what to do.”

“He ought to say thank you,” he said, as the Michigan crowd cheered.

The Harris interview has now finished. It focused heavily on the economy, with Harris saying that Trump would "invite a recession" by the middle of 2025.

Harris also said that "Donald Trump has a history of taking care of rich people."

"I'm not mad at anybody for being rich, but they should pay their fair share," she added, arguing that Trump advocates "tax cuts for the billionaires and the top corporations in our country".

"My perspective on the economy is when you grow the middle class, America’s economy is stronger, and there’s empirical evidence to prove my point correct," she added.

Harris was also asked about how she can stop price gouging without price control - a common refrain from her Republican political foes.

In response, Harris said she "would go after" companies that unfairly raise prices.

Polls have shown that economics is the primary concern for a majority of US voters.

Hitting back against recent comments by Donald Trump, Kamala Harris says: "I don't think the women of America need him to say he's going to protect them."

"The women of America need him to trust them."

Trump appointed three of the six judges that overturned the national right to abortion, known as Roe v Wade. The issue of abortion is now left up to states to decide how to regulate and legislate.

Harris's comment comes after Trump posted last week that women "will no longer be thinking about abortion, because it is now where it always had to be, with the states".

"I will protect women at a level never seen before," he said. "They will finally be healthy, hopeful, safe, and secure."

Harris has also addressed the border and immigration issues, saying that she would take steps to alleviate the concerns of communities who feel overwhelmed.

"We have a broken immigration system, and it needs to be fixed," adding that a bipartisan border security bill fell apart due to pressure from Donald Trump earlier this year.

If elected, Harris said she would bring the bill back and sign it into law.

Additionally, she called for a plan that would also create pathways for people seeking citizenship.

In Harris's first major solo interview of this election, she has criticised Trump's pledge to implement an import tariff on foreign-made goods as "a sales tax on the American people".

Speaking to MSNBC, Harris said: "You don't just throw around the idea of just tariffs across the board, and that's part of the problem with Donald Trump."

"I say this in all sincerity, he's just not very serious about how he thinks about some of these issues," Harris continued.

Trump, in the debate in Philadelphia earlier this month, suggested a tariff of 10% on all imported goods, and a 60% tariff on goods brought from China.

Harris also told MSNBC that she plans to raise corporate taxes if she becomes president, in order to fund her childcare and housing proposals.

"We're going to have to make sure that the biggest corporations and billionaires pay their fair share," she said. "That's just it. It's about paying their fair share."

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the Washington DC

An interview with Vice-President Kamala Harris will air tonight - only the second sit-down interview - and first solo interview - with the Democratic presidential hopeful since she became her party's nominee.

The interview, with MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle, was recorded in Pittsburgh and will air at 19:00 EDT (0000 BST).

In late August, Harris also sat down for an interview with CNN anchor Dana Bash, alongside her running mate, Tim Walz.

Since becoming the Democratic nominee, Harris has come under increasing criticism from her detractors and political opponents - including Donald Trump - for not giving more interviews.

Trump's running mate JD Vance is scheduled to deliver a speech in Traverse City, Michigan, in the next 15 minutes.

The Ohio senator will be attending the Northwestern Michigan County Fair. It is at least his sixth stop in the swing state of Michigan since he was chosen as Trump's pick for vice-president.

The Republican's campaign says that his speech will focus on the auto industry, and electric vehicles policy.

It comes after Vance's team cancelled events for Thursday in Georgia, because of the approaching Hurricane Helene.

Trump himself plans to visit Michigan on Friday. He will deliver a speech on the economy before speaking at a local community college.

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent, reporting from Michigan

Image source, Anthony Zurcher / BBC

It’s a sunny, pleasant evening here at the Northwestern Michigan Fairgrounds just outside of Traverse City, Michigan.

Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance is scheduled to hold an event in what looks like a large shed surrounded by food stalls and farming equipment.

Several thousand supporters are already spilling out of the structure and into the grass beyond, with several thousand more lined up to check through security. It has all the feeling of Donald Trump rally, albeit on a smaller scale.

This part of northern Michigan, on the shores of Lake Michigan, was sharply divided in 2020, with Donald Trump carrying Grand Traverse County over Joe Biden 50% to 47% with about 60,000 total ballots cast.

Biden won the state, though, on the way to winning the White House.

Right now, the polls are very tight in the seven states which are considered battlegrounds in this election.

There are fewer state polls than national polls so we have less data to work with and every poll has a margin of error that means the numbers could be higher or lower, which makes it hard to know who is really leading the race.

As it stands, the latest averages show there are just one or two percentage points separating the candidates in all of the battleground states.

Donald Trump is ahead by less than one percentage point in North Carolina, where he is holding a rally today, while Kamala Harris is ahead by just over one point in Pennsylvania, the state she will be campaigning in later. Both camps will be hoping these visits can help them increase their lead in the polls.

We’ll be tracking the numbers in the battlegrounds every day as we approach the election.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Washington

Image source, Getty Images

On Saturday, 5 October, former President Donald Trump will return to rally in Butler, Pennsylvania - the scene of an attempt on his life that left one person dead and two wounded.

Trump had repeatedly previously vowed to return to Butler, although a date was not confirmed until today.

A senior campaign official told CBS, the BBC's US partner, that Trump's return to the town "will stand as a tribute to the American spirit".

"In America, we do not let monsters like that evil assassin have the last word," he said. "Every time our nation is struck by attack or hardship, we rally, we persevere, and we prevail."

The campaign official added that "tens of thousands" would join Trump to "celebrate a unifying vision for America's future in an event like the world has never seen before".

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Washington

The US House of Representatives has approved a short-term spending deal that extends its 2023 fiscal year budget past its expiration date on 1 October - averting a government shutdown, at least for the time being.

A total of 341 of the chamber's members voted to approve the deal, compared to 82 who voted against.

The deal, however, still requires lawmakers to work with each other to come to a funding real or pass another extension in December, following the US election.

A similar effort to pass a short-term deal through March fell apart last week after failing to pass in the House.

The previous deal also included a Republican-backed provision requiring proof-of-citizenship to vote - a measure that was not included in today's agreement.

Former President Donald Trump had urged his fellow Republicans to let the government shut down if the voting provision was not included.

Image source, Reuters

Kamala Harris's 39-minute speech to the Economic Club of Pittsburgh highlighted her goal of expanding the middle class, and building what she calls "an opportunity economy".

In her speech, she:

• Disputed attacks by Trump, who frequently calls her a communist, by declaring "I am a capitalist"
• Laid out economic policies to help young families, first time home owners and the elderly through a series of tax breaks and financial incentives
• Accused her rival of only working to help the richest Americans. “I intend to chart a new way forward and grow America’s middle class. Donald Trump intends to take America backward to the failed policies of the past,” she argued
• Largely stuck to her campaign talking points, reminding voters "I grew up in a middle class family"

US unemployment rate is low but has ticked up recentlypublished at 21:26 British Summer Time 25 September

21:26 BST 25 September

By Jake Horton

During her speech, Kamala Harris said “unemployment is near record low levels”.

The US unemployment rate is currently 4.3% - this is relatively low but significantly higher than the lowest point on record of 2.5% in 1953.

Under the Biden administration unemployment hit a low of 3.4% in January 2023. This was the lowest rate in more than 50 years - but it has since ticked up.

Weaker than expected job growth in July and August has led to fears of a downturn in the US economy.

Before Covid hit the US economy, the unemployment rate was 3.5% under Donald Trump.

As in many parts of the world, Covid lockdown measures led to soaring levels of unemployment in the US - but the unemployment levels dropped back down to 6.5% by the time Trump left office.

BBC Verify has looked at several other measure to assess if the US economy better or worse now than under Trump.