>> this is "bbc world news america." funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits from newman's own to charity and pursuing the common good, kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs, and aruba tourism authority. >> planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you think. you can find it here, in aruba. families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the island with warm, sunny days, cooling trade winds, and the

crystal blue caribbean sea. nonstop flights are available from most major airports. more information for your vacation planning is available at aruba.com. >> and now, "bbc world news america." katty: this is a special edition of "bbc world news america." reporting from times square in new york city, i am katty kay. it is election day in the u.s. finally, after more than a year of campaigning, we soon will know which of these two is going to be the next president. millions of americans have turned out to vote. now whoever wins will have to unite this bitterly divided country. and what a year it has been, from the beginning in iowa until tonight, we look back at the moments that made this a campaign like no other.

katty: welcome to "world news america," and our election studio in new york, a city that is tonight the center of the political universe. both hillary clinton and donald trump are just a few blocks from here, meeting their supporters and getting ready for their election night rallies. americans cued for hours to vote for the next president, and soon we will know who that will be. we have full coverage of an election to remember, and we start with the bbc's north america editor jon sopel. jon: when the sun rises over this place tomorrow, we should know who the occupant will be for the next four years, who will have the keys to the nuclear codes, who will be the most powerful politician in the world. but before that, there is the small matter of voting. millions of people across 50 states and multiple time zones choosing between 2 of the most polarizing and unpopular

candidates ever to run for the highest office in the land. >> it is not about who you are voting for, it is all most about who you are voting against. >> i'm just tired of all the mudslinging, basically. i'm very relieved that it is over. jon: they started in new hampshire at the stroke of midnight in the charmingly named dixville notch. in virginia, they waited patiently in the late autumn sunshine to vote. it was a similar story in florida, a must win state for both campaigns, where there were long lines. and in colorado and perhaps only in america, there was a drive-through polling station. hillary clinton was the first to vote in chappaqua just outside new york, a former first lady joined by her former president husband. mrs. clinton: it is a humbling feeling, because i know how much responsibility goes with this

and so many people are counting on the outcome of this election, what it means for our country, and i will do the very best i can if i am fortunate enough to win today. jon: in new york, and again, it could only happen in this extraordinary election, one of the voting venues was branded with the name of one of the candidates. but the women lining up sensed history for a different reason as they brought their daughters along, too. >> i was prepared to cry. i was going to dress in all white, but working mom. jon: donald trump voted later and the family came along, too. he said he was feeling good about everything and claimed he would do well. but the polls are not with him. he hasn't lost his sense of humor. >> who did you vote for? mr. trump: tough decision. jon: he spent the final day of the campaign hurtling across key swing states, ending in grand rapids, michigan. mr. trump: today is our independence day.

today, the american working class is going to strike back, finally. jon: hillary clinton speaks at these was in philadelphia, the city of america's founding fathers, now contemplating an american mother as leader. she brought along star power, like the balladeer of the working class, bruce springsteen. >> ♪ sit around getting older jon: president obama was the warm-up. president obama: i am betting that america will reject the politics of resentment, the politics of blame, and choose a politics that says we are stronger together. jon: and then it was more celebrity endorsements later on in north carolina. ms. clinton: it is a choice between division or unity, between strong, steady leadership, or a loose cannon who could risk everything. jon: and then after her

11th-hour dash, this plane home. no, this is a still photo good -- still photo. this is her staff and journalists and the would be future president and jon bon jovi playing statues, or the mannequin challenge, perhaps the only occasion time as stood still on this frenetic campaign. in nevada, like everywhere else in this is an election that has divided races, young and old, men and women, even families. >> she doesn't like the way trump speaks or the way he conducts himself. >> no, if you would have spoke better, maybe, but he talks a lot about people. >> i like his ideas. jon: democratic elections are meant to be the way we resolve our differences peacefully, but not this election and this couple in florida. jon sopel, bbc news, new york.

katty: what can we expect on this election night? i am joined by a clinton supporter and a republican strategist who served as special assistant to president george w. bush. how confident are you? >> i do not think they are taking anything for granted. the clinton campaign is hopeful she has been able to put together the obama coalition from 2008 and 2012. latino coalition looks good for the clinton campaign. she has to be excited, but not taking anything for granted. katty: how optimistic is the trump campaign? they're looking at returns from florida. my brother-in-law stood in line for three hours in north carolina. what donald trump has to do is get an early victory on the board, perhaps in florida, then beat a state that obama won.

if they can do that, their confidence will go up. katty: kellyanne conway believes pathsmpaign has different to the white house. are they right, wrong? >> i do not see 6. if donald trump cannot win in florida his path is almost a mathematical impossibility. he has to get at colorado, iowa, new hampshire. one state that people are not thinking he has a chance, yes to win one of those states. katty: as a clinton supporter, what are you worried about? >> i'm worried about the lack of support for hillary clinton. katty: in which group? white males with a high school degree or less. there seems to be a hatred for hillary clinton that frankly is to explain.lt

we have a segment of the american population that is either anti-woman or so unhappy with bill clinton or the economic plight that they find themselves in, and hillary clinton has become a target for that anger. hillary clinton needs the obama trump has and donald given voice to a segment of the population that has felt unheard for a long time. i think we have seen an uptick in white voters who have not loaded in the past. their voting in the selection for donald trump. katty: you are a republican. you voted republican as a adult for your entire life. you are not a supporter of donald trump. what position does that put you in on election day? >> it has been a very interesting last couple of weeks. you find a lot of people that have been friends for a long time, friendships have been strained and ruined of either i will never vote for donald

trump, or what kind republican are you if you won't support the nominee. it has been difficult for many of us. the republican party as we knew wins orad weather trump not. how do republicans rebuild after this year? katty: did you vote? >> a couple of days ago. katty: and? watch out for what your republicans friends are saying. more seriously, what does this tell us about the changing nature of america? the changing nature of american demographics? >> you are seeing the two political parties have changed from their base. what you would find is there are a lot more white folks in a republican party. they're not attracting as many people of color or young millennials. with we have to do to grow as a party is to broaden the base.

for donald trump to when he has to have 59%, which is matching what mitt romney got of the white vote. we are not as ethnically diverse as we should be. katty: expecting an early night or late night? >> expecting to be here all night. >> same thing. we will be with you. katty: we will get a result at some time. thank you there much for joining me. tonight, there are key states that everyone will be watching. two of the most hotly contested our pennsylvania and ohio. barbara plett usher is in cleveland, ohio. we will start in philadelphia with jane o'brien. we saw the enormous rally that hillary clinton had in philadelphia. how confident are both sides feeling about pennsylvania?

jane: the festivities are continuing. there is an election party. the confidence is pretty high for hillary clinton. whether or not that will translate into actual votes, we don't know. in pennsylvania there is no early voting. hillary clinton was here last night with the star-studded rally. people are still really pumped up. that is why we have seen donald trump ear for so often, especially in the last hours of the campaign. today is the day, the only chance he will have to get out and vote. that is a much smaller windows and other areas around the state. everyone is hoping there will be high voter turnout. that is critical or hillary clinton. philadelphia, the suburbs, they are the bedrock of her support.

she could lose those to donald trump who making inroads to the manufacturing and rural areas. tonight, it is all about turnout. katty: jane o'brien in a bar with men and women who had presumably been voting in philadelphia. let's go to cleveland, ohio. barbara plett usher is there. a different state in many ways from florida and pennsylvania. how is it looking in ohio in terms of what we can learn from early voting? donald trump has been ahead in the polls consistently over the past couple of weeks and months. he still seems to have the energy going into the election day. it is interesting because the traditional judicial demographics have shifted. normally, the democrats would be

solidifying their base in the big cities, the blue-collar working areas. the republicans would be solidifying their bases in suburban and rural areas. trump's tradeald message which appeals to the working class, he is winning over blue-collar workers. because republicans in the affluent suburbs are not happy with him and many aspects of him, mrs. clinton is trying to win them over. both candidates are trying to appeal to the other constituency in ways they have it, which makes this election interesting. early voting, we saw another aspect of the demographics, the african-americans which are important to the democratic vote. they came out for the vote but had very long lines. critics said because of republican-led reforms that

reduced the sites and hours for early voting stations that are important for the black community. there has been cases in their. it is important to see how they come out in the end. they did turn the calculus for president obama when he ran in 2008 and 2012 because of their enthusiasm for him. they are not as an for hillary clinton, but she hopes to draw them out with the concert she had with beyonce and jay-z. o'brien in pennsylvania, barbara plett in cleveland. whoever becomes the next president of the united states, the fight against the islamic state will be one of their strongest challenges. iraqi forces have retaken the .irst neighborhood inside mosul fighting and other areas is continuing.

with heavy armor, the city was breached. iraqi special forces pushed forward. eastkilometers from the right inside mosul city. we're three kilometers from the heart of the city. as you can see, it is still a very act of area, more dangerous than where we were before -- active area, more dangerous than where we were before. the so-called islamic state named this neighborhood after the founder. before it was the set on -- saddam district. this belongs to iraq's forward division. why is this breach so important? >> because we will control this

area, and keep this area safe. moving to be with my guys in the frontline. reporter: the day began with a push forward. the i.s. positions in the northeast, the ground forces went in. he stuck it out first long as he could. and his, his hall livelihood. now he is taking his 8 children and escaping. everything they had and hoped for here is gone. have," here it do we said?

"we have no future, we lost everything. our homes, cars, it is all gone." he climbs aboard an army truck, heading to a camp. 35,000 people have fled. these people are leaving the neighborhood. 2000 are leaving every day. .hey can't handle anymore after 2.5 years they are saying goodbye to mosul. nearly one million remain, .rapped in mosul the fight to free the city is far from over. it could risk engulfing those that have endured here. bbc news, mosul. katty: it was to be expected. as iraqi forces get closer to the center of mosul the fighting

is getting fiercer and the battle is getting harder. let's get more on the american presidential election. we will be watching it here on bbc. i'm joined by strategist and political scientist. he can make sense of everything that has been happening. i want to look at what we have learned so far. there has been a lot of early voting. millions of americans who went early to cast their ballots. what does it tell you about the state of the country and what america wants? >> voting in america is a difficult thing to do. if you vote on election day lines are long. sometimes you will get challenged. a lot of people are trying to find convenient ways. we are seeing immobilization of people this time around because of the sharp polarization in the electorate. we have the candidates, hillary clinton has been particularly

sophisticated, who loves to get people out early because you can pinpoint those who will vote for you and get them in the bank. we have groups like hispanic americans who are charged up in this election. we have seen historic numbers coming out. it complicates matters at one level. on another level it gives you an early clue of where states may go. no sure thing. you will have 40% of all the votes cast cast before election day. you also get a lot of people who vote before the last events occur that could change people's minds. katty: let's talk about women voters. if hillary clinton wins it is an historic moment for the united states. among womenport voters has not been consistently high? >> no, but we have had a gender gap.

women vote more for democrats, then vote more for republicans. katty: women tend to to side american elections. >> used to be a different phenomenon. of course you have partisan differences, regional differences, and just as we have that split between urban and rural voters, urban voters tend to be more democratic, rural more republican. now we have an education gap. more educated move toward hillary, less educated towards trump. you said this is his story, that needs to be emphasized. we have had a number of women run for president, the first and african-american from new york. we had a democratic congresswoman who ran. we had carly fiorina on the republican side. be on a nomination and

the verge of becoming president is huge for the united states. katty: as we anticipate those results, they will start coming in and a couple of hours, let's pause to look back at what has campaign.storic it started in the deep i will mentor, what seems echo long time ago. mr. trump: they are rapists. you have called women that you don't like "fat pig."

mr. trump: only rosie o'donnell. blood coming out of her wherever. governor christie: that is what washington, d.c. does. mr. trump: he referred to my hands being small. something else must be small. senator sanders: sick and tired of hearing about your dam e-mails. ms. clinton: you know -- senator sanders: excuse me, i'm talking. mr. trump: total and complete shutdown of muslims --

governor johnson: and what is aleppo? mr. trump: i have a winning temperament. ms. clinton: woo, ok. mr. trump: you can do anything, grab them by the [bleep] because you would be in jail. ms. clinton: ok, donald. mr. trump: such a nasty woman.

katty: i made that video to remind me what an extraordinary campaign this has been. remarkable moments, amazing personalities, controversial proposals and counterproposals. after tonight, there will be a new resident chosen in the united states. their job will be to unite this country and bring the country, and americans, behind them. stay with bbc news on television and online as the night unfolds. i will be here bringing you the results as they come in and getting reaction from the united states and around the world. make sure to join us. from all of us, thanks for watching on this election day in

the united states. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation. newman's own foundation, giving all profits from newman's own to charity and pursuing the common good. kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and aruba tourism authority. >> planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you think. you can find it here in aruba. families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the

island with warm sunny days, cooling trade winds, and the crystal blue caribbean sea. nonstop flights are available from most major airports. more information for your vacation planning is available at aruba.com. >> bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles.

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