Cold comfort for Clinton, but she looks set to become the fifth presidential candidate in history to win the popular vote but lose the election.

Because of America's convoluted electoral college system, it is possible to win more votes overall but still lose. 

The system alots a certain number of college votes to each state, with the winner needing 270 to cross the finish line. Trump currently has 279 to Clinton's 228.

The last nominee to win the popular vote but lose the election was Democrat Al Gore in 2000.

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So the pollsters got it wrong, again. Perhaps we should have gone old-school in search of our prophecies.

A letter from today's Guardian.

Trump's victory came well into the early hours of Wednesday morning in the UK - too late for our newspaper colleagues. 

Here's how Thursday's front pages reflected his shock win.

You can read a review of the papers here.

Nadya Tolokonnikova, artist and singer with the Russian punk group Pussy Riot, has called on those angered by Trump's victory to use art to protest. 

"If you can draw, just draw. If you can make music, make music against the patriarchy," the 27-year-old told Reuters news agency.

Tolokonnikova, who now lives in LA, was jailed in Russia in 2012 after performing a protest song about Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a church.   

She released a protest video last month about Trump, titled "Make America Great Again". 

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Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Madeleine Albright, the first woman to become US secretary of state, told the BBC's Today programme this morning that she hoped Trump would absorb the intelligence from people around him with foreign policy experience.

During the campaign, Albright called Trump "Putin's useful idiot". She talks here about relations with Russia. 

Cartoonists around the world react to Trump's surprise victory.

And this one from the New Yorker, which was originally posted earlier this year but has been making the rounds again.

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Bernie Sanders, Clinton's one-time Democratic rival, says he is prepared to work with Donald Trump but "vigorously" opposes the President-elect's "racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies". Here's his full statement:

Donald Trump tapped into the anger of a declining middle class that is sick and tired of establishment economics, establishment politics and the establishment media.

People are tired of working longer hours for lower wages, of seeing decent paying jobs go to China and other low-wage countries, of billionaires not paying any federal income taxes and of not being able to afford a college education for their kids – all while the rich become very much richer.

To the degree that Mr Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him.

To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him.

Image source, Reuters

The main event today will be President-elect Trump's visit to the White House, where he will discuss the transition of power with President Obama. 

Oh to be a fly on the wall at this meeting. Obama acknowledged yesterday that his differences with Trump were "no secret", and White House press secretary Josh Earnest said: "It's not going to be an easy meeting."

But Obama pledged to extend to his successor the same level of professional courtesy that he was shown by George W Bush's outgoing administration in 2008.

Trump will be accompanied to the White House by his wife Melania, who will have a meeting with Michelle Obama in the White House residence.  

Donald Trump's unexpected election victory ignited a wave of protest on Wednesday that continued into the night.

In cities across the US, from New York to LA, thousands marched and chanted "Not our President" and "Love trumps hate."

Crowds gathered around the billionaire's various buildings, including Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, where a shredded US flag was waved.

In Oakland, California about 6,000 people blocked traffic and chanted. Protesters threw objects at police in riot gear, set off fireworks and smashed store front windows. 

In downtown Chicago, an estimated 1,800 people gathered outside the Trump International Hotel and Tower, chanting "No Trump! No KKK! No racist USA." 

There were also protests in Philadelphia, Boston, Portland, and other cities. Most passed off peacefully.

Read the full story: Trump election win sparks protests in US cities

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We're going to pause our live coverage here for the night. Here's a recap of today's main developments:

• Speaking in New York, Hillary Clinton made her first comments since conceding the US presidential election, telling her supporters: "We must accept this result. Donald Trump is going to be president. We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead."
• President Obama also made his first comments, saying he had spoken to President-elect Trump and congratulated him, adding: "We are now all rooting for his success."
• Donald Trump was invited to meet President Obama at the White House on Thursday to discuss the transition of power.
• Paul Ryan, a senior Republican and one-time Trump critic, paid tribute to the president-elect for turning "politics on its head" and said he would "lead a unified Republican government".
• There were some anti-Trump protests across the US following Trump's win and they look set to continue into the night in New York and some other cities.

Here are some of the pieces we've published today looking at the outcome and aftermath of the election:

Five reasons Donald Trump won

What went wrong for Hillary Clinton?

How a Trump presidency changes the world

Michelle Obama in 2020?

There are a few anti-Trump protests planned in various cities across the US tonight. The BBC's Anna Bressanin, external is following one in New York City, which got under way about an hour ago. 

Image source, AP

The congressional probe into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server will continue, first term Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, leader of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said on Wednesday, external.

"It would be totally remiss of us to dismiss it because she’s not going to be president," Chaffetz said of the defeated Democratic nominee, who the FBI said was "extremely careless" in her handling of classified intelligence.

“I still have a duty and obligation to get to the truth about one of the largest breaches of security at the State Department,” he said. “Tens of thousands of documents still have not been turned over to Congress.”  

Just last week, congressional Republicans were talking about using the investigation as a way to impeach Clinton, if she had been elected to the presidency.

He said that Clinton herself would likely not be asked to testify, but that several of her staffers could be, and that they could lose their government security clearance.

California's tech hub Silicon Valley is known for its liberal views, so how are they coping with the prospect of a Trump presidency? It's mixed. 

Chris Sacca, an investor in big tech companies like Twitter, Uber and Kickstarter, helped raised money for Hillary Clinton's campaign but he said earlier that the tech community were willing to work with Trump. 

But not everyone in the industry shares his view. Shervin Pishevar, also a major investor in Uber and AirBnB and Slack, has vowed to fund a campaign for California to leave the US. 

Dave Lee, the BBC's North America technology reporter, has taken a deeper look at the response from a shell-shocked Silicon Valley. 

The BBC has been meeting with Ohioans to ask what they think about last night's outcome.

There was a lot of speculation about the Hispanic vote, and whether it would turn out for Clinton before the election.

But initial data provides a surprise - more support for Trump than expected. 

Hispanics favoured Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton 65% to 29%, according to exit polling conducted by Edison Research, but that margin was smaller than the 71%-27% split that President Obama won in 2012, and when her husband won in 1996.

That's because there are almost 56 million Hispanics in the US and they don't all vote the same way. 

BBC Mundo's Liliet Heredero broke down the issues affecting different Latino communities - such as Cubans, Puerto Ricans and Mexicans - in the US in the video below.

"How did Trump win?" and "Why did Trump win?" were the most searched phrases on Google the day after Trump's stunning victory. 

His Democratic rival Hillary Clinton was the favourite to win across national polls, leaving many Americans to scratch their heads in understanding how Trump was elected their 45th president. 

This tweet, posted by a gay rights activist, has been retweeted more than 100,000 times as of Wednesday.

Take a look at how the state electoral votes would have been awarded if only young Americans had participated.

Racist graffiti, which included swastikas and references to Donald Trump and Nazi Germany, was spotted in South Philadelphia, Philly.com reports, external. 

The graffiti was spotted a day after Trump's upset, which the Anti-Defamation League points out was the same day as the 78th anniversary of Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass), or attacks on Jews in Germany in 1938. 

“That makes this singular event all the more distressing and horrifying," said Nancy Baron-Baer, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.

Breitbart News, the most-read conservative news website in the US, has aligned itself closely with Trump through this campaign and is celebrating his victory today.

The site's London editor-in-chief says some MPs in the UK could regret speaking out against Trump. Raheem Kassam is talking in particular about a debate in the UK's Parliament, where some likened the now-President-elect to a "hate preacher" and one Scottish representative memorably called him a "wazzock".

"It's not a good look," Mr Kassam said.

"If you're Donald Trump and looking at this you think 'well, you now what, i'm not going to deal with you guys on a very nice basis.' 

"I think Britain needs to go to the front of the line in terms of trade deals with the United States - something that Barack Obama opposed - but the British government is going to have to show some contrition towards President-elect Trump before that happens."

Read more on Breitbart: How it became Trump's favourite news site

Image source, Breitbart

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Republican Kelly Ayotte has called Maggie Hassan to concede the senate race, giving Democrats their second senate seat previously held by Republicans.

Ayotte drew criticism for her endorsements then un-endorsement of Donald Trump, her party's presidential candidate.

See a timeline of her relationship with Trump