Few places in the United States are feeling the impact of climate change as directly as Tangier Island, Virginia in the Chesapeake Bay. A combination of rising sea levels and erosion means they've been losing 20ft of shoreline a year - and much of the island could disappear beneath the waves in the coming decades.

Yet this small community of fishermen and crabbers is putting its faith in a sea wall - and President Trump - to protect them and their way of life.

"We call them big, beautiful Trump stones," Mayor James "Ooker" Eskridge told us this week as he showed off the wall (he credits Trump for helping fast track the project which had stalled for years).

"I can see the climate changing. But I'm just not convinced that man is the cause of it," he says.

Mayor Eskridge also likes that the president's priority is to cut regulations and help small business owners like him. "You want to protect the environment, the resources, but at the same time, you want to protect the families that depend on that resource."

You can watch the full story about Tangier Island - and hear from the conservatives trying to convince islanders to take action to tackle climate change - on the BBC's Cut Through The Noise show, external.

Ritu Prasad
BBC News writer, Florida

Janice Irene Gunn, 63, in Los Angeles, California asks: Will Joe Biden actually be able to make any strides toward eliminating climate change, given that the Senate leans toward Republican, and the House has a slim Democratic majority?

There’s actually a real chance he could. Let’s take a look at the situation on Capitol Hill going into the election.

As things stand, Republicans hold a three-seat majority in the 100-seat Senate. In the House of Representatives, which has 435 seats, Democrats hold 232 to Republicans’ 197.

Analysts say it’s unlikely Democrats will lose their majority there - even in the more “vulnerable” districts, many still favour Democrats. Meanwhile, in the Senate, there are a number of possible states that could flip from Republican red to Democratic blue, including Arizona, Colorado and North Carolina.

If Democrats win three seats in the upper chamber and the White House, they’ll get the Senate majority, as the vice-president would become the tie-breaker.

According to a 19 October forecast from FiveThirtyEight, Democrats have a 72% chance of winning the presidency, Senate and House this election.

Action on climate change is high on the Democratic agenda, so control of the executive and legislative branches would make it likely for bills to be pushed through.

Do you have a question about the US presidential election that you would like our team to answer? If so, submit your question here.

The topic is now turned to climate change, an issue that the candidates perhaps couldn’t disagree on more.

Trump has famously referred to human-caused climate change as an “expensive hoax” perpetrated by China to stymie the US economy.

However, he has also said it is something to take seriously. But during his time in office he has slashed countless environmental regulations and promoted environmentally destructive policies such as coal mining.

Biden has said he will undo Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate agreement, but has not backed a proposed “Green New Deal” put forth by liberal Democrats in Congress.

Biden says that his climate change plan would see the US energy sector become carbon-free by 2035.

He also has ambitious plans to revolutionise transportation with electric cars and trains, and to adopt climate change tariffs on nations who do not reduce their emissions.

Read more:

• What does Trump actually believe on climate change?
• What the results of the election mean for climate change

Image source, Getty Images

Trump repeats his notion of being the best president for black Americans - with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln, who ended slavery.

He also hits back that Biden was in politics for decades and didn't accomplish much for the black community, while bringing up alleged old comments Biden made while in Congress about "super-predators". Biden denies it.

Trump adds that he's "saved" historically black colleges and universities.

Biden fires back sarcastically: Abraham Lincoln here is one of the most racist presidents we’ve had in modern history.”

Aleem Maqbool
BBC North America correspondent

Even many who would never consider voting for Donald Trump, including black voters I met in North Philadelphia yesterday, question how much Democratic administrations have delivered in bringing about equality for African Americans, something that the president played to tonight in the debate.

A decrease in Black voter turnout in 2016 as compared to previous elections was a big factor in Hillary Clinton losing key states like Pennsylvania. It is still debatable whether Joe Biden has done enough to prove he will change things.

Reality Check

A little earlier, Joe Biden said: “He [Trump] has caused the deficit with China to go up, not down. With China, up, not down”

That’s not quite right. After rising in 2017 the trade deficit with China – the gap between imports and exports - fell sharply after 2018 following tariffs imposed by Washington on Chinese goods.

It stood at about $308bn in 2019, slightly less than the $310bn in 2016.

According to data from the US Census Bureau, the first six months of 2020 saw a $130bn deficit in both goods and services with China - that's $34 billion less than the first half of 2019 and nearly $53 billion less in the first half of 2018.

As we begin the topic of race, Welker asks about "the talk" - a discussion black and brown US parents give children about being targeted by police because of the colour of the skin. She asks Biden to speak directly to those families.

"There is institutional racism in America," Biden says. He says we've been moving closer to inclusion, but that Trump's the first leader to come along and say otherwise.

Biden says there should be better access to things like schooling, financial help and security in addition to being free from violence.

Chelsea Bailey
Digital producer, BBC News, Washington DC

In the weeks after George Floyd’s death, I spoke to journalist John Biewen who tackled the history of race and racism in America in his podcast "Scene on Radio".

In a year marked by protests over systemic racial inequality and police violence, Mr Biewen said he thinks many Americans are finally open to talking about the enduring legacy of slavery, known as the country’s original sin.

But that doesn’t mean those conversations will be easy.

"We’re not really telling the truth about how we got here,” he said. "Racism is not a kind of blemish on a country whose ideals are freedom and equality - it’s a core, founding idea."

Not everyone agrees with Mr Biewen’s call to re-examine how American history is taught.

In September, President Trump created a commission to promote "patriotic education" in US schools, rejecting curriculums that talk about systemic racism.

"Our children are instructed from propaganda tracts," Trump claimed. "They try to make students ashamed of their own history".

So how can we talk about these difficult issues?

Well, this project (above) brought together a diverse group of Americans to at least try.

The debate has now moved on to the topic of Race in America - a subject which, like coronavirus, has reshaped the landscape of the election this year.

It's an area where the battle lines are well drawn. Trump says he doesn't believe racism is an intrinsic problem within US police forces - and positions himself as a firm advocate of law enforcement.

Biden views racism as a systemic problem, and has set out policies to address racial disparities in the justice system, although he rejects calls to defund police.

Polling has suggested a majority of American voters support demonstrations against police brutality, and that many see the president as ill-equipped on racial justice. Will this exchange change any minds?

Read more:

Seven solutions to US police problems

Image source, Get

Welker asks Trump about a recent report saying that the parents of 545 children separated from their families at the US-Mexico border as part of his administration's zero tolerance' policy still cannot be found. The president reversed the policy in 2018 amid intense public pressure.

The president goes on the offense, saying that "children are brought here by coyotes [smugglers] and lots of bad people", and are used to get in the US.

Pushed by Welker on the children who's parents are still missing, Trump says that the administration is "trying very hard" to locate them.

Moving to Biden, Welker notes the record deportations under the Obama administration, when Biden was vice-president. Biden mostly evades and pivot back to Trump's record.

The candidates are now sparring over immigration - specifically, the Trump administration's so-called 'zero-tolerance' policy.

The policy enacted at the US-Mexico border led parents to become separated from their children. And the parents of 545 separated kids still have yet to be found.

But what has Trump's impact on immigration really looked like over the last four years?

Our data journalist Ed Lowther took a look at the issue - click here for the full story.

Hunter Biden claims. Trump's tax returns. Here's how our voters reacted when the candidates' attacks got personal:

Eliana Girard, Trump voter: “Biden had all those business deals with Ukraine and China while vice-president. Trump had those businesses before becoming president.”

Jessica Altobelli, Biden voter: “Respectfully, Eliana, there is no evidence for these things that the Trump campaign is saying about Hunter Biden.”

Noel Brown, undecided voter: “These are personal attacks, I don’t think this debate should be about that. We should get into the meat about what really matters to this country.”

And after the healthcare exchange, we asked who the voters trusted more on healthcare - Trump or Biden.

Andrew Marsteller, undecided voter: “I don’t trust either. Biden says healthcare is a right, but people still have to pay for it. To me, it’s kind of a moot point.”

Lesley Batson, Biden voter: “I am always confused when I hear Trump talking about healthcare because he has had four years to put [in] the replacement for what he hates so much, Obamacare.”

Rom Solene, Trump voter: “I trust Trump because under Obama my health insurance cost tripled. I am sure there is a segment of the population that it probably did help, but not me.”

We're watching tonight's debate with voters from battleground states -the places that will ultimately decide the election.

Join our voter panel or submit your questions on the US election.

Biden and Trump have been squabbling about Covid-19 relief legislation, currently stalled in Congress.

Here's some context:

• White House officials and congressional Democrats entered last-ditch talks to agree on a stimulus bill to inject cash into the battered US economy this week

• Earlier this month, Trump cancelled the budget negotiations, before later directing his team to resume them

And who wants what?

• Democrats and Republicans have been haggling over a stimulus package ranging from $1.8tr to $2.2tr (£1.4tr to £1.7tr), which would address both economic and health issues
• One major sticking point continues to be federal funding to cash-starved state and local governments, which Democrats insist on, but Republicans as label a "blue-state bailout".

Both Democrats and Republicans have said they want a deal before the 3 November election, but experts say this is unlikely.

Here's more detail on Congressional virus relief talks

Reality Check

As the candidates debated the coronavirus outbreak in the US, Democratic challenger Joe Biden said: "The coronavirus spikes are in red states" - implying that the rise in infections is centred on Republican (red) run states.

Covid-19 cases are rising in more than 40 US states - these include both Republican and Democratic run states.

North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Wisconsin have seen the most coronavirus cases per capita over the last week, according to New York Times data, external.

The Dakotas are run by Republican governors, but Montana and Wisconsin both have Democratic governors.

Reality Check

Trump said the excess mortality rate in the US is “much lower than almost any other country".

'Excess mortality' is a measure of how many extra deaths a country experiences above the number expected in a normal year.

The latest numbers out of the US show there were almost 300,000 excess deaths since the start of this year.

Making international comparisons is tricky, as countries record deaths in different ways.

Other countries also publish excess death data less frequently, but a recent study by Oxford University showed Europe’s excess death rate, accounting for March to July, was 28% below the US rate.

Reality Check has looked at US excess mortality compared to the other developed countries. While the US had a lower proportion of excess deaths than some countries - such as the UK - it was significantly higher than others.

Moments ago, Biden and Trump clashed over allegations of corruption.

Trump claims that Biden took money from China, referring to allegations that Biden's son took money from Chinese businessmen while his father was vice-president. Biden says Trump has a bank account in China, referring to a New York Times reporting finding that Trump paid more taxes to China than the US in the past two decades.

In their opening comments on healthcare, both Trump and Biden start with Obamacare - the informal name for the Affordable Care Act passed under the Obama administration.

"We terminated the individual mandate," Trump says, referring to the requirement that people buy health insurance or pay a tax penalty. "The worst part of Obamacare."

He gives himself high marks - "we have done an incredible job on healthcare," he says.

Trump also says he will make sure to protect Americans with pre-existing conditions - a major concern for voters - though so far, Republicans have failed to come up with a plan, which Biden points out.

The former vice-president said he has a plan to expand coverage, aptly named "Bidencare".

"What I’m going to do is have Obamacare with a public option," Biden says.

Trump returns that whatever Biden comes up with will be "socialised medicine" - a term that sceptical Americans associate with limitations to medical choices and soaring prices.

Read more on this issue: Has Trump managed to kill off the Affordable Care Act?

Reality Check

President Trump said during the debate: "We have a vaccine that's coming, it's ready. It's going to be announced within weeks and it's going to be delivered.”

There are several vaccine candidates in development in the US, but none has been approved yet.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the leading US infectious disease expert, said the US will know by November or December “whether or not they [referring to two of the vaccine candidates] have a safe and effective candidate”.

If they do there are only “a few million” doses of those vaccines that would be available for use.

The head of the vaccine programme Moncef Slaoui told Axios on 16 October that applications to approve a vaccine are expected to be made in a matter of weeks.

If one of those is successful (he cites late November or December), then the US will be in a position to use some of the few tens of millions of doses available and start “immunising... in 2020” he says.

Earlier, we heard Biden and Trump present two very different Covid forecasts for the months ahead. Biden said Trump has no idea how to stop the virus. Trump fired back that Biden's plan is to "hide in the basement".

Ritu Prasad
BBC News writer, Florida

Now the debate's turned to the topic of healthcare - and specifically, President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.

The US Supreme Court is due to consider the act's legality next month. There are tens of millions of Americans whose access to healthcare could drastically change as a result of their ruling.

Trump has criticised the act, nicknamed Obamacare, and has promised to protect people with pre-existing conditions while coming up with a "new beautiful" healthcare plan. But while ending Obamacare was a part of Trump's 2016 promises, he hasn't been able to do so yet.

I spoke to patients in the US about what the end of Obamacare could mean for them.

One told me: "If [the ACA] got repealed, then I would spend one week just paying for medication instead of paying for insurance. I'm going to be afraid to go to a doctor for anything."

Read their full stories - and learn more about this healthcare row - here.