Mike Wendling
Reporting from the arena

Image source, Reuters

Trump's former CIA director and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo takes the stage to outline a list of the former president's foreign policy achievements - among them, no new wars involving US troops and the fight against the Islamic State group.

He contrasts that with what's happened under President Joe Biden - a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, and wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

Under Trump, Pompeo says, "the evil of Vladimir Putin was held at bay".

Brandon Livesay
Reporting from the arena

Image source, EPA

One of the first speakers tonight here at the Republican convention is Alina Habba, Donald Trump's lawyer.

Habba is a well-known surrogate for Trump who rose to fame after defending him in his New York defamation case (which Trump lost).

She was known for her fiery clashes with the judge.

I spoke with Habba yesterday about Trump and his family, and his ongoing court cases.

On the Supreme Court's recent decision to grant Trump some immunity from criminal prosection, Habba told me: "How can we be doing better right now, other than the fact that every single one of them (Trump's court cases) should be dismissed".

On the role of Trump's family in a potential future administration, she said: "I know the family is very important to him. I know they are a critical part of this campaign, but also a critical part of his life.

"So ultimately it’ll be president Trump's decision who he puts in his administration, but they're all amazing people."

I'd expect Habba to speak more tonight about Trump's legal battles, many of which have stalled in recent weeks.

Mike Wendling
Reporting from the arena

The last night of the Republican convention has officially kicked off with a flag procession and the national anthem, and we're back covering proceedings at the Fiserv Forum here in Milwaukee.

Delegates and guests are starting to slowly file in and fill empty seats as the speeches begin.

We're expecting to hear from Donald Trump's son Eric, his lawyer Alina Habba, employees who work at his golf club, and a trifecta of macho: wrestler Hulk Hogan, musician Kid Rock and Dana White, the chief executive of Ultimate Fighting Championship.

But of course the main event is Trump himself, who is expected to take the stage about three hours from now.

You can watch our live coverage of the speeches at the top of this page.

The most senior Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee tells the BBC that US President Joe Biden should end his re-election bid as questions about his fitness for office are “a deep distraction” from the party’s message.

Speaking to The World Tonight’s Shaun Ley, congressman Adam Smith of Washington said he remains “an optimist… in the sense that I think we still have time to pick a nominee who puts us in the best possible position to win,” but “questions about [Biden’s] health are not going away.”

Biden’s political future was put further in doubt on Thursday amid media reports that Barack Obama said his path to victory in November’s election has diminished and he should rethink whether he can win.

Asked whether he feels Biden’s candidacy for president is coming to end, Smith said: “That is my sense… I think that is the direction that this is heading right now.”

On the question of whether Vice-President Kamala Harris should be the new Democratic candidate, should Biden drop out, Congressman Smith said the nomination shouldn’t “automatically” go the current vice-president.

Donald Trump is leading Joe Biden by five points nationally, according to a poll from the BBC's US partner, CBS News.

The former president leads by three points across the key battleground states.

Trump also topped a list of candidates who voters feel will "fight a lot for people like you". Of those surveyed, 37% said Trump would fight the most for them while 28% chose Biden.

In a hypothetical matchup between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump leads the current vice president by three points.

Alex Lederman
Reporting from the convention

I just saw former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss in the hallway of the RNC. I asked her why she has travelled all the way to Milwaukee to attend this Republican convention.

Her aide stepped in front of me, blocking my view. Truss put on sunglasses and turned her head in the opposite direction. She didn’t answer my question.

The former Conservative Party leader lost her seat in Parliament earlier this month in the UK’s general election.

Image source, Getty Images

Conservative US political commentator and vocal Trump supporter Lou Dobbs has died at the age of 78, according to a family statement.

He became a household name at CNN, a network he ultimately left after espousing the disproven theory that Barack Obama was not a US citizen.

Dobbs went on to host a show on Fox, where he embraced Trump’s unsubstantiated claims about a stolen 2020 election, referring to the vote as a "cyber Pearl Harbor".

In 2021, voting-machine firm Smartmatic sued Fox, naming Dobbs as a defendant, and alleging the network had spread falsehoods about its technology. Dobbs was fired.

Trump, in a post on his Truth Social account, praised Dobbs as a "friend, and truly incredible Journalist, Reporter, and Talent".

He is survived by his wife, Debi, children, and grandchildren.

Brandon Livesay
Reporting from the convention

Every day here at the convention you need to get through waves of security.

The first barriers are for vehicles, where a sniffer dog trots around your car (or pick-up truck, there's a lot of those around).

Bomb disposal experts hold mirrors under the vehicle, check your engine bay and look through the trunk.

Today, things were noticeably stricter ahead of Donald Trump's speech.

Agents spent a lot longer looking inside our car, searching through everything.

No doubt tensions are high ahead of Trump's big speech, considering a would-be assassin evaded security just days ago at Trump's rally in Butler.

In the moments after an assassination attempt on Donald Trump's life, BBC Senior North America Correspondent Gary O'Donoghue spoke to an eyewitness who claimed he had seen a gunman on a roof.

The interview went viral, mostly because what the man had seen was so significant - but in part because he was such a compelling character.

Talking to the BBC's Media Show, O'Donoghue shares a behind-the-scenes account of the interview. He reveals his initial disbelief and his process of verifying the eyewitness's story.

US investigators continue to probe how a gunman was able to scale a building last Saturday and shoot Donald Trump in the ear in an assassination attempt. The incident also left one person dead and two others injured.

Here's the latest on the investigation.

• The Secret Service continues to face criticism over its handling of security at the event in Pennsylvania
• The suspected gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, visited the rally site twice, according to CNN, and Crooks had photos of both Biden and Trump on his phone
• Crooks motive remains unclear
• The FBI has declined an invitation from the House Homeland Security Committee for director Christopher Wray to testify about the attempt, but he will appear in front of the House Judiciary Committee on 24 July, the BBC's US partner CBS News reports
• Anonymous sources told CBS that Secret Service agents did not stop Trump from taking the stage after they identified Crooks as suspicious because there were no reports he had a weapon or was making threats

Stick with us as news from the investigation continues to unfold.

Jenny Kumah
reporting from Pennsylvania

Image source, Getty Images

As the political drama swirls, there is still a tragedy hanging over the events of the last week, when an attempted assassination of Donald Trump killed a rally attendee.

I'm in Freeport, Pennsylvania, where dozens of cars have arrived at Laube Hall for a public visitation and celebration of life that started at 14:00 local time (19:00 BST) for Cory Comperatore.

One man raised his fist - like Trump did after the shooting - as he drove down the drive past the media towards the building where the memorial is being held.

Comperatore was a 50-year-old father of two daughters. He’s described as a quintessential family man, a man of deep faith and a committed Republican by friends and family.

His family have said the former volunteer fire chief jumped in front of them to shield them from the shooter last Saturday.

There is a sombre mood in the town of Freeport, with US flags flying at half-mast.

Image source, Getty Images

Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland is the latest Democratic lawmaker asking Joe Biden to step aside, according to a letter spanning more than three pages that was obtained by the BBC's US partner CBS News.

Raskin, who was a key member of the House committee that investigated the 6 January 2021 riot at the Capitol, heavily compliments the sitting president in the letter, but asks him to reflect on his leadership and what is at stake in November's election.

"Your presidency will always be known as one of the finest in American history," Raskin writes.

But he adds: "The hard questions that have been raised about your mental and physical stamina... are not just medical and scientific questions now."

"They are also political questions because both political leaders and tens of millions of voting citizens have formed judgments based on the events of the last few weeks."

Raskin joins a growing group of Democrats and their donors who have asked Biden to step down as their presidential candidate.

Alex Lederman
Reporting from the convention

Image source, Getty Images

At the concession stand we’ve passed every day of this convention in Wisconsin, I noticed a new shirt.

It had the photo of Trump with his fist up after he survived the July 13 assassination attempt. The caption said “MAGA: Even a bullet won’t stop us!”

Earlier this week, my team spoke with an employee at the concession stand. He had said they were hoping to have new merchandise with this photo ready by the end of the week.

He expected it to be a best seller.

Image source, Getty Images

As he Democrats continue to debate their future, the Republicans are celebrating their candidate at their national convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Donald Trump is set to address the country for the first time since a gunman attempted to assassinate him.

He is expected to give a speech at 21:00 CST (3:00 BST) that he says he rewrote in the wake of his near-death experience.

Americans may see a "different version" of Trump when he gives the speech, his daughter-in-law Lara Trump told the BBC’s US partner CBS News today.

Trump told the Washington Examiner that he decided to refocus his speech on a message of unity, instead of attacking his rival, President Joe Biden.

According to the Republican Party, his speech will share his vision to "usher in a new golden age for America".

His remarks will follow a day of speeches at the Republican convention, including from his son, Eric Trump, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, and Dana White, the president of Ultimate Fighting Championship, who will introduce the former president’s speech.

The last day of the RNC is set to wrap after Trump’s speech.

Mike Wendling
Reporting from the convention

I’ve been talking to delegates as they file into the security zone here at the Republican convention. And with rumours continuing to swirl about whether Joe Biden will continue in the race, I want to know if there’s a Democrat that they think might pose a stiffer challenge.

Confidence is sky high here, so it’s tough to get a straight answer. But one name keeps coming up - Michelle Obama.

“I think she could win,” says Kent Mercado, a retired doctor and former congressional candidate from Illinois.

The former First Lady has shown no interest in running, even though rumours that she might be a late-minute replacement for Biden have long circulated on the right.

She’s the one Democrat that seems to spark any political fear at all here.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from Milwaukee

Here in Wisconsin, Donald Trump’s son Eric Trump has weighed in on President Biden’s future and the question of "will he or won’t he" quit the race.

He told a group of reporters outside on the plaza of the Republican National Convention that if Biden is forced out by his own party, it will mar his legacy. He guesses that the president is making that calculation right now.

At the same time, he believes Vice-President Kamala Harris would be the nominee should he ultimately decide to drop out.

There’s a lot of conjecture about who the Trump campaign would rather go up against. Eric Trump says they believe they can beat anyone who the Democrats put on their ticket.

Image source, Getty Images

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Vice-President Kamala Harris is taking aim at Donald Trump's running mate.

Speaking to supporters in North Carolina, Harris mentions JD Vance's speech at the RNC on Wednesday.

She says his story of growing up in southwestern Ohio is a "compelling" one, but is "not the full story".

“What is very telling is what he did not talk about on that stage," she says

One of the omissions, Harris says, is Project 2025, which she calls “a 900-page blueprint for a second Trump term”.

She says the plan is "extreme and divisive", and “deprives whole groups of Americans of basic freedoms, opportunities and dignity”.

“In recent days they have been trying to portray themselves as the party of unity,” Harris says of her Republican opponents.

“But if you claim to stand for unity, you need to do more than just use the word.”

She also defends Joe Biden’s record as a president who works for the people, adding the contrast between him and Trump is like “night and day”.

Former President Barack Obama is declining to respond to a report that he has told Democratic allies that he has concerns about Biden's ability to win.

A Washington Post report, external said Obama was fielding calls from anxious Democrats about Biden's fate and that he has only spoken with Biden once since the debate.

A person familiar with Obama's thinking told the BBC's US partner CBS News that Obama sees himself as a counsellor for his former vice-president Biden, and that he's very protective of him and his accomplishments.

His office declined to comment on the report.

Gareth Evans
reporting from the convention

Image source, Getty Images

Hello from the final day of the Republican National Convention here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

As President Joe Biden struggles to shake the crisis over his candidacy, the concern and division in his Democratic Party is spilling into public view once again.

It's a stark contrast to the feeling at this event - it's been a celebratory, confident convention underpinned by a message of total unity behind Donald Trump.

And after hearing days of praise for the former president on stage - including from his defeated former rivals - we'll finally hear from the man himself later tonight.

As his Democratic rival isolates with Covid in Delaware, and his campaign pushes back on internal pressure to stand aside, Trump will take the stage riding a wave of momentum to address a party that is entirely behind him.

It's fair to say the two parties are in very different places right now.

Sarah Smith
Reporting from the RNC in Milwaukee

While I'm here reporting on the Republican convention in Milwaukee, I’ve been contacting Democrats back in Washington DC to take the temperature within the party and ask: is Joe Biden really getting closer to stepping aside as the Democratic candidate?

One told me “the mood is funereal” and said “we are all waiting for the inevitable decision”.

Others say this is no longer about whether Biden would lose to Donald Trump. The worry now is that if stays at the top of the ticket, he will drag down other Democratic candidates and could hand the Republicans majorities in the House and Senate too.

If that happens, this would allow Trump to pass almost any legislation he likes.