BBC News Briefing

1 November, 2024

Tom McArthur

Hello. With four days to go before Election Day, we explore how just seven US states will play an integral role in deciding who will get to the White House. Elsewhere, Fergal Keane and our trusted network of freelancers in Gaza to learn the story of a three-year-old girl photographed with a group of detainees in the territory, and my colleagues at BBC Verify highlight the misinformation the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, is engaging with on X. And finally, as many come down from Halloween sugar highs, we look at the celebrities who made the most of spooky season.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

The states Harris and Trump need to win

promo picture of the White House with the number 270 emblazoned on it

Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - are thought to hold the keys to the White House. Credit: BBC

With a total of 538 electoral college votes up for grabs, the next US president will be whoever gets to 270 or more. With the states that historically vote Republican and Democrat finely balanced, the 93 votes available in just seven “swing states" this year are thought to hold the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: the ‘Rust Belt’ of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and the ‘Sun Belt’ of Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina and Georgia. Both Harris and Trump will need to take several swing states to win the election. We’ve delved into the data to take a look at how both candidates might make it across the line next week – and what happens if neither of them does.

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Election latetst: Kamala Harris promised to fight for working people and Donald Trump repeated false election fraud claims ahead of the pair's big blitz on Wisconsin today

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Childhood photos: Born decades apart, here are the US presidential candidates as you've never seen them before.
Poll tracker: Who is ahead in the race - Harris or Trump?

WORLD HEADLINES

Spain floods: More rain is forecast to hit Spain as emergency workers in the Valencia region struggle to restore basic services after catastrophic flash floods killed at least 158 people.

Israel: Seven people have been killed in two separate Hezbollah rocket attacks in northern Israel, the deadliest day of such strikes in months.

Sugar free: Limiting the sweet stuff in the first 1,000 days of a child's life appears to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and other illnesses later on.

Africa: Voters in diamond-rich Botswana have rejected the country’s long-serving ruling party, after nearly six decades in power.

No "infinite monkey theory": A study has found primates will never type out the complete works of Shakespeare, regardless of how much time they're given.

AT THE SCENE

Gaza City

Finding the young girl captured in a photograph of Gaza detainees

A group of dozens of detained Gazan men pictured in their underwear, during what appears to be an Israeli check for weapons and signs of any links to Hamas. They are sitting or squatting, some young and some older. At the far left of the picture, in the middle of the group, a little girl with dark hair can be seen. The BBC has chosen to blur the faces of the men nearer the front of the picture. In the background is a destroyed building, collapsed into rubble.

In a group of Gazan men, detained by Israeli forces, a little girl can be seen (circled). Credit: Supplied

In a sea of fearful and exhausted men, it's easy to miss the tiny face of a three-year-old girl, looking off camera. She's staring at something, perhaps a distraction to the distress surrounding her. The group of Gazan men she is with have been detained and ordered to strip to their underwear by Israeli forces. After this picture began to go viral, my colleagues tracked her - and her father - down to discover what happened to them.

Fergal Keane, Special correspondent

Julia Abu Warda was alive. When our journalist reached the family in Gaza City - where many from Jabalia have fled - Julia was with her father, grandfather and mother. She was watching a cartoon of animated chickens singing, difficult to hear because of the ominous whine of an Israeli drone overhead. “Life used to be normal. She would run and play,” her father Mohammed said. “But now, whenever there’s shelling, she points and says, ‘plane!’ While we are trapped she looks up and points towards the drone flying over us.”

Find out more

More from the region: US warns Israel it must act over "catastrophic humanitarian situation" in Gaza

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Investigating Musk's far-fetched claim about Democrats importing voters

Since July, Mr Musk has posted at least 22 times about voters being "imported" from abroad. Credit: BBC

Since first endorsing Donald Trump for president in July, Elon Musk - the billionaire owner of X - has posted about the US election hundreds of times, attracting billions of views. Immigration and voting emerge as key themes in his posts, with Musk engaging with misinformation about "illegal aliens" voting for the Democrats in this election. BBC Verify spoke to experts who have challenged these claims.

Read now

A hand holds a smartphone with an AI app on it.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Rufus and Alexa

The weird way AI assistants get their names.

Read now

And finally...

Let's have one more piece of Halloween fun before we move on to merrier festivities. Celebrities, who admittedly have an easier access to special effects teams than the rest of us, have again made the most of the spooky season. Our personal favourite is Janelle Monae wearing a lifelike costume of ET. Here it is, alongside a few other scary looks.

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– Tom

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