President Trump and Joe Biden return to the campaign trail after a calmer final election debate
Biden outlines his plan to tackle the crisis if elected, saying it would include free vaccines for all
The coronavirus crisis was one of the main clashing points at the debate in Nashville
He has accused Trump of downplaying the risk - Trump says his approach has saved lives
Trump attacked his rival's plans at the first of two rallies in the battleground state of Florida
There are now just 11 days to the US election. Trump trails Biden in most national polls
More than 50m voters have already cast their ballots
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US President Donald Trump and his White House challenger Joe Biden have taken part in their final live TV debate.
But what did their body language reveal, and how well did they get their messages across?
BBC Monitoring
The world through its media
Image source, Getty ImagesWe've analysed what Russian media thought of the debate - now we've heard from the Kremlin itself.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Trump and Biden of trying to outdo each other in terms of anti-Russian rhetoric.
"Competing over who shows the greatest hostility towards Russia has become something of a constant in all electoral process in the United States of America, it seems," the Interfax news agency quoted Peskov as saying on Friday. Both US presidential candidates accused each other of financial ties to Russia.
Asked whether Kremlin officials had watched the debate, Peskov said: "We have of course read many news reports about this, but didn’t watch the debates ourselves."
"After all, the main target audience of these debates is the American electorate," he added, saying it was up to "ordinary Americans to judge who won these debates, and not us".
Peskov went on to defend Russia's record on the environment, in response to a comment by Trump during the debate justifying the US's departure from the Paris Agreement on climate change - the US president said that Russia, China and India have "filthy" air.
"There are undoubtedly places in Russia where the air is dirty," Peskov said. "There are places like that in all the countries of the world. But in Russia one of our main priorities is ecology. It's part of the national development plans.
"But of course, a single country cannot cope with the problems of the environment on its own," he continued.
We've been saying that Thursday night's debate was more substantive than the first debate. So what do the candidates actually stand for?
On coronavirus:
On Climate:
On healthcare:
Read more about these issues and on the candidates' policies on race, foreign affairs and guns.
Image source, EPAFarmers burning crop stubble, along with pollution from vehicles and festive fireworks, lead to winter smog in India
As we've already reported, Indians have been responding to President Donald Trump's comments about their country's air quality.
"Look at India. It's filthy. The air is filthy," Trump said during Thursday's debate, while also criticising China and Russia for the same issue. His comments appear to have divided opinions on social media.
"Filthy" soon rose to the top of the list of trending topics on Twitter, along with "Howdy! Modi" - a reference to the large reception event held to mark the Indian leader's US visit last year, which was attended by nearly 50,000 people and described by Trump as a "profoundly historic event".
A senior leader of India's opposition Congress party, Kapil Sibal, asked if Trump's negative comments about the country's air quality was the "fruits of friendship" between the US and India following the "Howdy! Modi" event.
But others noted that air quality in the Indian capital Delhi has once again turned "severe", with levels of PM2.5 - dangerous tiny pollutants in the air - averaging around 180-300 micrograms per cubic metre in recent weeks, or 12 times higher than the WHO's safe limits.
Writer Kiran Manral tweeted that "air reaches levels of toxicity every single year".
"Instead of getting all insulted and upset, can we just take it up as a challenge to clean up our surroundings and our air? So no one can ever dare say that again," she wrote.
Image source, Getty ImagesMics could be muted on the night to stop the candidates interrupting each other as they did the first debate
Image source, ReutersTrump modified his style after the first debate, appearing more measured on Thursday night
Image source, ReutersBiden attacked Trump's record on managing the coronavirus crisis
Image source, Getty ImagesFirst Lady Melania Trump attended the debate, days after she stayed home from a campaign event due a "lingering" cough after earlier testing postive for Covid-19
Image source, Getty ImagesDr Jill Biden hugged her husband at the end of the debate
BBC Monitoring
The world through its media
TV viewers in Russia this morning woke up to extensive coverage of the final US presidential election debate. As usual, commentators liked Donald Trump more than his rival Joe Biden, and revelled in any mentions of Russia.
Russia's Channel One TV said Biden's criticism of Moscow was nothing more than a way of diverting attention away from the latest corruption allegations relating to his son Hunter.
The channel summarised the debate as "loud accusations, threats and insults". It said Trump and Biden did not agree on any of the topics they discussed, accusing each other of close ties with Russia.
NTV, a key television station, also found Biden's response to Trump’s corruption claims "unconvincing" and said: "If no moves are left to be made, mention the Russians. This a lesson which Joe Biden has learnt well in the four years out of government."
Official Rossiya 1, Russia's most-watched TV channel, praised Trump for learning his lessons from the previous chaotic debate: "He was unrecognisable. He didn't interrupt and raised his hand before speaking, like an exemplary pupil."
But, according to Rossiya 1, it was the debate moderator who emerged as the winner: "She [Kristen Welker] kept the candidates within the acceptable limits, and it was a debate, not a fight without rules."
The website of the ultra-conservative Tsargrad TV noted: "The degree of resentment between the two election rivals could be established by the fact that both US presidential candidates were discourteous to each other and left the stage without saying goodbye."
Rossiya 24 TV correspondent Nikolai Sokolov said the debate turned out to be "not as heated as the previous one". He also picked up on author Stephen King's "where is the fly?”, external tweet – a reference to the scene-stealing fly that landed on Mike Pence's head during the vice-presidential debate with Kamala Harris on 8 October.
"According to Stephen King, the fly was missed - it was a bit boring [without it],” the correspondent concluded.
Image source, Getty ImagesDonald Trump and Joe Biden clashed when the president was asked about his policy of separating hundreds of children from undocumented immigrant adults at the southern US border.
"Who built the cages, Joe?" Trump said, referring to the chain-link enclosures where unaccompanied migrant children were held during the Obama-Biden administration.
Biden replied that Trump had gone further by separating families and the practice was "criminal".
The bigger picture is that Trump has been keen to be seen as tough on immigration - cutting the number of people entering the US was one of his core promises in the 2016 election. Has he delivered on the rhetoric?
The number of immigrants has continued to rise under Trump, but less quickly than in other years - meanwhile admissions of people fleeing war or persecution has reached new lows.
If you're just joining us, here are the highlights from Thursday night's debate clash between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
The short story is that it was a toned-down, more substantive exchange than last time - with the audience given a better chance to hear the candidates as they put forward their plans for America (and the world). Topics included:
Trump and Biden spar in final presidential debate
Take a break from all the news of the day and try your hand at picking the next US president.
The election will come down to who can rustle up enough votes in a handful of key states. But today, why don't you decide?
BBC Monitoring
The world through its media
European media also watched the debate - after all, the election of one of the world's most powerful leaders affects us all. What did they think?
Germany's centre-right newspaper Die Welt noted that Donald Trump had completely changed his strategy and that the debate was "much more civil and decent".
"Trump's strategy of letting Biden talk in the hope that he is totally embarrassing himself does not work," it added. "Effect on election results? Difficult to predict, especially since at least 47 million Americans have already voted."
Noting a "surprisingly tame" debate, left-liberal paper Spiegel observed: "Trump adopted a calmer tone. Obviously, he had decided to listen to some of his advisors for once. They have been warning him for weeks that his aggressive style will primarily scare off female voters. So the president tried to be presidential."
France's centre-left Le Monde said the "constructive and respectful" tone of the final debate "should not profoundly change the dynamics" before the election.
It went on to praise debate moderator Kristen Welker and the decision to mute the candidates' microphones. "Kristen Welker's skill and this weapon of deterrence benefitted American citizens," it said.
Virtually all Italian outlets carried comment and analysis, with Il Post describing it as "a real debate… although it's unclear whether one of the two 'won' over the other or if there were any moments that might end up swaying the election".
La Repubblica's US correspondent Federico Rampini commented that muting the microphones ended up working in Trump's favour: "He was forced to be disciplined and avoided embarrassing scenes of the first debate…"
Polish liberal Gazeta Wyborcza said the second round "surprised America as "it was a real debate". It praised Biden's "solid performance" and noted that he landed "some really strong blows" on Trump.
Image source, Getty ImagesPresident Abraham Lincoln opposed slavery and brought about the emancipation of African-Americans
One claim that Donald Trump has made several times during this campaign is that he has done more for black people in the US than any other president except Abraham Lincoln.
He repeated it again during the debate on Thursday night: "With the exception of Abraham Lincoln, possible exception... nobody’s done what I've done" for black Americans.
Abraham Lincoln was president during the American civil war in 1861-65 and brought about the freeing of African-Americans from slavery.
Trump said he ran for office because he did not like what the US's first black president had achieved: "I ran because of Barack Obama. He did a poor job. If I thought he did a good job, I never would have run."
Joe Biden mocked Trump's claim about Lincoln, saying: "Abraham Lincoln here is one of the most racist presidents we've had in modern history. He pours fuel on every single racist fire."
Evidence suggests that on unemployment, black Americans are disproportionately affected now. It reached 13% in August this year, largely due to the pandemic. However, it did reach a record low in September last year. In 2019, poverty rates also reached their lowest ever, but the rate has been falling since 2013 before Trump came into office.
Relations, meanwhile, have deteriorated during Trump's presidency with serious clashes this year between Trump supporters and members of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of black man George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis. And the president has come under fire for being ambiguous about whether he condemns white supremacist groups.
Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America reporter
The final presidential debate, like earlier debates, started on the coronavirus pandemic - a topic the American public cares most about, according to polls.
Donald Trump once again touted a vaccine he said would be ready "in weeks". He offered personal testimony to the power of the new drugs to treat the disease and boasted that he was now "immune".
Biden, not surprisingly, went on the attack. He pointed out that Trump had repeatedly promised the disease would disappear on its own. He said there were 220,000 Americans dead and there could be another 200,000 by the end of the year.
Presidential debate: Trump and Biden clash on Covid response
In the back and forth between the two candidates, Trump continued to offer hope that things were getting better and businesses and schools should reopen. And when Trump said that people were "learning to live" with the disease, Biden pounced.
"People are learning to live with it?" he asked. "People are learning to die with it."
Reality Check
In a section of the debate about President Trump's handling of the economy during the coronavirus pandemic, Joe Biden said: "Now those small businesses - you've got one in six of them going under - they're not going to be able to make it back."
It's not clear exactly what numbers Biden was referring to. Some studies suggest he could be in the right ballpark, although numbers are inconclusive.
A survey of small business owners in the US has suggested that only 1% of small businesses had closed permanently by mid-July this year.
But a recent Yelp economic report found that an estimated 163,735 businesses have now permanently closed in the US since March 1 - representing a 23% increase since July.
According to a National Federation of Independent Business survey in August, one in five small businesses said that they would have to close if economic conditions do not improve in the coming months.
Image source, Getty ImagesCongresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
During exchanges on climate change, Donald Trump mentioned by name one of social media's most popular politicians, Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Elected to Congress in 2018, she's made a name for herself on the left of the party and is co-chair of Joe Biden's climate policy task force.
Talking about Biden's environmental plan, Trump used the Congresswoman's nickname, saying "You know who developed it? AOC plus three."
He accused her of knowing "nothing about the climate".
She's now responded saying if someone had told her three years ago that her name would be mentioned by the US president in an election debate, she would have "told them to shut up". She also criticised Trump for using her nickname, suggesting it was disrespectful.
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Two Biden voters. Two Trump voters. Two undecided voters. All from battleground states.
Our voters here react to issues raised during the debate and talk about what matters to them ahead of polling day:
Andrew Marsteller, undecided voter: "I questioned it when he said he did more for black people than any other president. He seemed like someone who has such a huge disconnect with reality."
Eliana Girard, Trump voter: "I ended up spending a tremendous amount on Obamacare. Biden said he would get rid of the competition and that ups the price."
Jessica Altobelli, Biden voter: "I worry about another four years of Trump being president and of Republicans rolling back civil rights, reproductive rights and climate measures."
Lesley Batson, Biden voter: "As a black person and an immigrant living in this country... I literally have fear - for my life and people who look like me - if there's another four years of Trump."
Noel Brown, undecided voter: "The debate did very little to help me. I am leaning more towards Trump after the debate because I didn't like what Biden said about the economy."
Rom Solene, Trump voter: "For the most part, it was a dignified slugfest. The one moment that stood out was when Biden said he was going to give a pathway to 11 million people who are in the US illegally."
Rajini Vaidyanathan
BBC News
There's a lot of outrage on Twitter in India over comments President Trump made during a discussion on climate change.
"Look at India, it's filthy... the air is filthy," the US president said.
The choice of words, and the way they were delivered, has attracted consternation here.
Indians don't take kindly to a close ally raising such public criticism during a debate watched the world over.
But, as others have pointed out, the substance of the president's comments are valid. Pollution levels are high in the country, as I type, AQI [Air Quality Index] readings in the national capital Delhi are rising to dangerous levels.
This isn't the first time Trump has attacked India. It's part of his playbook to criticise foreign nations when pursuing his America First agenda, while also offering them praise.
It's unlikely to dent the bond that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump share. But the timing is a little awkward. In just a few days from now, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will arrive in Delhi for talks.
On one hand the US administration is complaining about its filthy air, on the other it is travelling halfway across the world to strengthen ties with India just a week before election day.
Cases are rising in a number of US states, most notably in the Mid-West
One of the strongest parts of the debate was when the candidates clashed over the coronavirus pandemic. They have opposing views on how best to manage Covid-19.
Donald Trump said it was wrong to inflict further damage on the economy because of an infection from which most people recover. Citing an economic downturn and mental health, he said he did not want a national lockdown.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden laid blame for the 220,000-plus American deaths from the pandemic at Trump's door, and warned more restrictions could be needed.
While Trump declared that the virus was "going away" and that a vaccine would be ready by the end of the year, Biden warned the nation was heading towards "a dark winter".
What does the data show about the state of the pandemic in the US? Rising cases and daily deaths in the 800s throughout October suggest the country is in a third wave of infections.
Read our fact-check on the candidates' claims about Covid-19.
The US is in a third wave in the coronavirus pandemic
Image source, Getty ImagesKim Jong-un and Donald Trump met on the South Korean side of the demilitarised zone in June 2019
In a night of comparatively calm exchanges, there were still a few zingers.
Joe Biden attacked Donald Trump for his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, telling the debate audience that Trump had "legitimised North Korea".
"He's talked about his good buddy [Kim Jong-un], who's a thug. And he talks about how we're better off when North Korea is much more capable of firing a missile that is able to reach US territory."
You might remember Trump's meeting with Kim in 2019, when he became the first sitting US president to step into North Korea. Earlier that year, Trump had left a summit organised between the two countries when they could not reach agreement on nuclear disarmament.
US and North Korea: Trump and Biden clash over Kim Jong-un relationship
In response to Biden's comments during the debate, Trump pointed out that the US is not at war with North Korea. "We have a good relationship," he said, adding that he believes it's positive for presidents to have good relations with foreign leaders.
Biden retorted: "We had a good relationship with Hitler before he in fact invaded Europe. Come on."
BBC Monitoring
The world through its media
Latin American media has noted a "less aggressive" Donald Trump in his final presidential debate.
Several commentators from the region said this allowed his challenger Joe Biden to get his message across firmly in a US election race that opinion polls indicate the Democrat is leading.
Brazilian daily O Globo, which along with other major media outlets in the region ran live online and video feeds on the debate in Nashville, Tennessee, carried as its early headline: "Trump adopts less aggressive posture in second debate with Biden, who distinguishes himself in social policies".
Although Colombian daily El Espectador still found the Trump-Biden encounter "plagued with accusations and lies", it reported that it brought "few novelties in the worn political debate in the USA. However, analysts recognise that the US president was 'less aggressive and more presidential'".
Latin American media observers agree that this final US presidential debate displayed a "more civilised" climate than the previous bruising clash held on 29 September. O Globo commented that the Nashville encounter was a "debate more marked by the exchange of ideas than by violent verbal clashes".