US election: Trump, Harris head to North Carolina

Recent opinion polls suggest that voters care the most about the economy. But immigration remains a hot topic, with supporters of both Trump and Harris ranking it among the top 10 issues for this election. 

During his campaign, Trump has blamed the Biden administration for record migration numbers across the Mexico border. Is that really the case? Watch DW's report:

In Nigeria, a West African nation with a strong socially conservative population, many people hope Donald Trump will return to the White House.

On the streets of Lagos, vendors sell Trump paraphernalia and the former president's successful books, "The Art of The Deal" and "Think Like a Billionaire."

"I sell books almost every day. I sell two copies, three copies [of Trump's books] every day," Emmanuel Akhuetie, a book vendor, told DW. "When you read his book and apply it, you will make it in life."

Watch DW's full report here to find out what Nigerians find so appealing about the Republican presidential nominee.

The US president is not directly elected by a majority vote, but through an institution called the Electoral College, a proportional system that ultimately determines the winner of the election.

When US citizens vote in the presidential election, they are voting for the candidate's electors. In most states, if a candidate wins the general population vote they will receive all its electors. 

The number of electors from each state is based on how many members it has in Congress, and by extension based on its population.

Why does this system exist? And what happens if no candidate gets a majority? Find out in this explainer on the Electoral College.

Few issues in the US election are as emotionally charged and divisive as abortion.

Along with the economy and the rising cost of living, migration and health care, abortion rights have emerged as a key campaign issue pulling many Americans to the ballot box.

The vote on November 5 will be the first presidential election since the US Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which had guaranteed women the right to decide whether to continue or terminate a pregnancy since 1972.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has made abortion rights one of the main talking points in her campaign against Donald Trump. 

Covert Russian influence deeply impacted the 2016 US presidential election, undermining many voters' confidence that their elections were safe from foreign meddling.

Authorities warn that Russia hasn't backed off, and China has also entered the ring. Watch the full report here:

Russia has rejected allegations from US intelligence agencies that it was behind a video circulating online that falsly claimed voter fraud is taking place in the US election.

The video in question appears to show a Haitian immigrant in the battleground state of Georgia saying he plans to vote mutliple times in two counties.

Three US agencies on Friday said in a joint statement that "Russian influence actors" created the video as a way to "raise unfounded questions about the integrity of the US election."

On Saturday, the Russian Embassy in the US released a statement on Telegram calling the allegation "baseless."

The embassy said American authorities had provided no proof to suggest Russia's involvement.

"We would like to emphasize that Russia has not and does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, including the United States," the statement said.

"We respect the will of the American people. All insinuations about 'Russian machinations' are malicious slander."

 

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are making last-minute appeals in a string of crucial battleground states on the final weekend of the campaign.

Harris is set to hold rallies in Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan on Saturday.

Trump, meanwhile, is expected to make campaign stops in North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

The southeastern battleground state of North Carolina is tied with Georgia as the second-most important swing state to win. Each one has 16 votes in the Electoral College, where 270 are ultimately needed to clinch the presidency.

Harris has plans to appear with rock star Jon Bon Jovi in Charlotte, North Carolina's biggest city.

Trump is to hold a rally in Gastonia, west of Charlotte, at around midday, before speaking at the Coliseum arena in Greensboro later on Saturday.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris both headed to the battleground state of Wisconsin on Friday, where they held dueling rallies in the city of Milwaukee.

Harris, who attended a rally in the suburb of West Allis, told the crowd that Trump would be the worse choice when it came to the economy, health care and women's reproductive rights.

She was joined on stage by rapper Cardi B, who asked: "Are we ready to make history?"

Just a few miles away, Trump was addressing his supporters at the same venue where he earned the Republican Party nomination earlier in the year. During his speech, he criticized President Joe Biden's handling of the economy and warned that a Harris presidency would usher in a depression.

Also on Friday, billionaire Elon Musk lost his bid to move his $1 million giveaway lawsuit to federal court.

The owner of Tesla and X has been giving away $1 million each day to one voter in a swing state who has signed a petition to support First and Second Amendment rights to free speech and gun ownership.

Musk is being sued by Philadelphia's chief prosecutor, who argues the giveaways are "an illegal lottery scheme."

nm/kb (Reuters, AFP, AP)