US Vice-President Mike Pence's spokesman said at the weekend that his boss planned to maintain a busy election campaign schedule despite being exposed to a senior aide who has tested positive for Covid-19.

News breaking this morning is that Pence - and his wife - have again tested negative for the coronavirus, so he'll be continuing on to campaign stops in Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

Earlier this month, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris temporarily halted her campaign travel after two members of her staff tested positive. The campaign said it was a precautionary decision as the pair were not considered to be close contacts of the senator.

Erica hasn't made up her mind yet on whether she's going to vote for Joe Biden or Donald Trump in the US election.

Her aunt Kay is backing Biden, while her friend Senen is voting for Trump.

Watch as they both try to convince her to support their candidate.

Image source, Reuters

As we continue with today's theme of Divided America, it is worth looking at just how far some divides extend in the US - with voters likely to be friends with people who back the same candidate.

According to a survey carried out by the Pew Research Center, external in July and August this year, around four in 10 registered voters - both Republicans and Democrats - said that none of their friends supported the other party's candidate.

Less than a quarter of those who responded said they had more than a few friends who did so.

Instead, many people said their friendships reflected their political preferences - with 59% of Trump supporters reporting that a lot of their friends backed the same candidate, compared to 48% of Biden voters.

Ritu Prasad
BBC News, Florida

For many, Judge Amy Coney Barrett's views on abortion (and the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that protected the procedure nationally) are at the centre of their support or condemnation of her nomination.

She has not ruled specifically on abortion before, but she has reviewed two abortion restrictions cases while on the appeals court. Judge Barrett voted in favour of a law that would have mandated doctors to inform the parents of a minor seeking an abortion, with no exceptions. She also called for a state law that sought to ban abortions related to sex, race, disability or life-threatening health conditions to be reheard.

She was also one of five appeals judges who argued that an Indiana state law requiring burial or cremation for foetal remains may have been constitutional. She wrote in a 2013 Texas Law Review article, external that the "public response to controversial cases like Roe reflects public rejection of the proposition that [precedent] can declare a permanent victor in a divisive constitutional struggle rather than desire that the precedent remain forever unchanging".

"Court watchers embrace the possibility of overruling, even if they may want it to be the exception rather than the rule."

Read more: Amy Coney Barrett in her own words

Chelsea Bailey
BBC News, Washington

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, external”.

In a year marked by protests over systemic racial inequality and police violence, Biewen said he thinks many Americans are finally open to talking about the enduring legacy of slavery -- 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 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 brought together a diverse group of Americans to at least try:

Image source, BETFAIR

Betting on politics is big business these days and there appears to be no shortage of people prepared to back their opinions on the US election result with hard cash.

According to the betting exchange Betfair, Joe Biden is now at odds of 1/2 (67%) to win, while Donald Trump is at about 2/1 (33%). But despite the favourable market opinion of Biden's chances, more money - in the UK - appears currently to be being placed on Donald Trump.

At the weekend Trump attracted 6,700 bets totalling £3.7m, while 5,250 bets were placed on Biden that came to £3.6m.

The 10 biggest bets placed on the outcome of the election are all on Biden, the betting exchange says, including a £500,000 stake that will return £775,000 if he wins.

American teenagers Paul and Kayleah live in two different political bubbles, but they've found an online community of others in the same boat.

Rajini Vaidyanathan
BBC News South Asia Correspondent

A week before the presidential election, during times of Covid, two of America’s most senior cabinet ministers - its foreign and defence secretaries - have travelled half way across the world for talks with their Indian counterparts – in a sign of just how important officials see the visit.

Strengthening the partnership with India will be key over the coming days – with the focus on security and defence ties. This trip is also about building regional co-operation to counter China’s influence – as tensions build between Delhi and Beijing.

China enjoys strong ties with Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia – all stops the US delegation will visit this week.

Read more: Who does China really want to win the US election?

The UK's prime minister has responded to reports he is holding off a decision on a deal for the country's departure from the EU until after the US election result.

Boris Johnson said the US election and Brexit were two "entirely separate" issues, according to Reuters news agency, adding that the UK would not get involved with its closest ally's vote on 3 November.

One of the themes of our coverage today is Divided America, and one new poll shows just how deeply ingrained some differences are.

The survey, carried out by Reuters/Ipsos, found that many supporters of both candidates would not accept the result of November's election if the opposing candidate won.

The survey showed that 43% of people backing Democratic nominee Joe Biden would not accept the result if President Donald Trump was re-elected, while 41% of Trump supporters would not accept a Biden victory.

Smaller numbers in both camps said they would take part in protests or even violence if their candidate lost.

This year's election has been closely fought, but Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on the use of postal ballots - despite no evidence that they lead to widespread fraud. Last month, the president refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power after the election, saying: "We'll have to see what happens".

A senior aide to President Donald Trump has suggested that the US is "not going to control the pandemic" - seemingly completely at odds with his boss who claims, despite rising cases, that America is turning the corner on Covid-19.

In an interview with CNN, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Covid-19 could only be defeated by "mitigation areas" like vaccines and therapeutics.

His remarks come as coronavirus cases surged to record daily highs in the US at the weekend.

Democratic candidate Joe Biden said in response that the White House was waving "the white flag of defeat".

More than 8.6 million infections have been recorded in the US since the pandemic began, while 225,000 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University - the highest numbers of any country in the world.

Republican Senators are expected to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Monday.

President Trump named Barrett as a proposed replacement for liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last month aged 87.

There has been fierce opposition to Barrett's nomination so close to a presidential election from Democrats, as Supreme Court appointments are for life and the body rules on some of the most contentious issues in American society.

Her confirmation would give the nine-member court a 6-3 conservative majority, swinging its ideological balance for potentially decades to come.

Democrats have failed to draw Barrett on issues like climate change, abortion, healthcare and LGBTQ rights.

The vote is expected to take place much later today, some time between 16:00EST and 20:00EST (20:00GMT-00:00GMT).

Read our profile of Amy Coney Barrett.

With just eight days to go until election day, Biden is leading in national opinion polls, with 51% to Trump’s 43%.

But while national polls are a good guide as to how popular a candidate is across the country as a whole, they're not necessarily a good way to predict the result of the election.

In 2016, for example, Hillary Clinton led in the polls and won nearly three million more votes than Donald Trump, but she still lost - that's because the US uses an electoral college system, so winning the most votes doesn't always win you the election.

And in this year's race, polls are much closer in key battleground states.

Find out more here.

With just over a week until election day, here is a reminder of the top US headlines:

• The Republican-controlled Senate is expected to confirm President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, on Monday. Democrats are opposed to the move so close to a presidential election
• A senior White House aide has admitted the US is "not going to control the pandemic", following a surge in coronavirus cases. Democratic candidate Joe Biden responded that the White House was waving "the white flag of defeat"
• Vice-President Mike Pence has continued campaigning despite being in close contact with Marc Short, his chief of staff, who has tested positive for Covid-19. Pence and his wife both tested negative on Sunday, according to the vice-president’s office
• Trump is scheduled to appear at two rallies in Pennsylvania on Monday, before making his way to Michigan, Wisconsin and Nebraska on Tuesday
• Joe Biden, meanwhile, is expected to stay in his home state of Delaware on Monday, before campaigning in Georgia on Tuesday.

Hello and welcome to our live updates, where our teams in Washington DC and London will bring you the top election stories throughout the day.

As well as focusing on news and views from the campaign trail - and the likely vote on the next Supreme Court justice - we'll also have a theme running through the output - today it is Divided America. More on that shortly.