Candidates sign off on 2016 election campaigns

The long, bitter presidential campaign is finally over and the two historically unpopular candidates have handed off to the nation’s 225,788,000 eligible voters. At a monumental, final rally at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Hillary Clinton, flanked by her husband, President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama promised a better future for the country and vowed to “bridge the divides” that emerged during the campaign. Obama, passing the torch to Clinton, echoed the themes of 2008 as he urged voters to “reject fear and embrace hope”. The party was joined on stage by Lady Gaga and Jon Bon Jovi. Meanwhile in Michigan, Republican candidate Donald Trump ended his campaign with a show of relative restraint: “We’re hours away from a once-in-a-lifetime change,” Trump told thousands of supporters who waited until 12.30am to see him. “We’re going to have real change, not Obama change.” Here’s a timeline of how we got here and check out our election day live blog for rolling coverage.

You can also sign up for our groundbreaking mobile election alert: The new live-updating alert we’re launching will be one of the fastest ways worldwide to monitor US election results. Find out more here.

Election polls open after Clinton and Trump make final pitches

What’s at stake in Congress?

All eyes are on the race to be the next US president, but the battle to control Congress may be almost as consequential. It is extremely unlikely that the Democrats will seize control of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, owing to an overwhelming, 60-seat Republican majority in the lower chamber, but Democrats could overcome the GOP’s current majority in the Senate. Races to watch: progressive star Zephyr Teachout in New York’s 19th congressional district and California state attorney general Kamala Harris, touted as a future national star for Democrats.

What’s at stake for Congress in the US election?

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Election survival guide

The candidates have spent what feels like 100 years locked in mortal combat, but several hours from now there will finally be a victor – probably. We take you through the basics: the electoral college, the “swing states”, the delegate counts, the candidates’ respective paths to victory and what to expect as the polls across three time zones close …

Your election night survival guide: what to expect as polls close – with cocktails!

Trump’s legacy: GOP civil war

“It’s a movement, not a campaign.” Of all the outlandish assertions to emerge from Donald Trump’s mouth, this one is by far the most credible. Win or lose, Trump has catalyzed a movement that has destroyed the conventional wisdom – and the establishment – that has led the Republican party for a generation, writes Richard Wolffe. Whether he built the movement or simply rode its wave, Trump has profoundly reshaped the politics of the Grand Old Party.

Win or lose, Republicans are heading for civil war after election day

Standing Rock Sioux reject presidential politics

Generations of broken treaties, discrimination, police harassment and poverty have led to disillusion with mainstream politics among the Native Americans at Standing Rock. No surprise, then, that activists at the North Dakota pipeline site say they have little faith in either presidential candidate to bring about the kind of change they hope for. “I don’t want to have a say in government,” said Frank Archambault, a 45-year-old member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. “I guess you could call it trauma. I don’t have faith in government, so I don’t want to have a say.”

Standing Rock protesters sit out the election: ‘I’m ashamed of them both’

Stock markets surge

World stock markets surged on Monday as investors grew increasingly confident that Hillary Clinton will win the US presidential election, after the FBI said it would take no further action against the Democratic nominee over her use of a private email server. The three main US indices all ended the day more than 2% higher, following strong gains in markets across the world. The US dollar also strengthened and the oil price ticked up by more than 1% in further signs of traders’ confidence in a Clinton victory.

World stock markets surge amid confidence Clinton will win US election

Military introduces electrical ‘brain-tuning’

US military scientists have used electrical brain stimulators to enhance mental skills of staff, in research that aims to boost the performance of air crews, drone operators and others in the armed forces’ most demanding roles. The successful tests of the devices pave the way for servicemen and women to be wired up at critical times of duty, so that electrical pulses can be beamed into their brains to improve their effectiveness in high-pressure situations.

US military successfully tests electrical brain stimulation to enhance staff skills

Ghana’s museum on wheels

A new project in Ghana aims to make moveable museums available to all corners of the country by taking a small kiosk-sized gallery on the road to showcase artworks and cultural artefacts. The “kiosk museum” is the brainchild of Nana Oforiatta Ayim, a writer and film-maker. In December, the curator will begin a mammoth journey with the kiosk, starting in the capital Accra and travelling across Ghana’s 10 regions.

Ghana’s first travelling museum ready to hit the road

In case you missed it …

After local Democratic parties in six battleground states filed lawsuits against Trump adviser Roger Stone’s voter fraud monitoring project, the Republican operative released new rules for volunteer monitors and pledged to a Nevada judge that he “will not target voters based on their race”. But election monitors remain concerned that voter intimidation could still occur. Stone, an informal Trump adviser, said he was concerned that the Republican party in Ohio would try to manipulate votes to undermine Trump, and said that the Stop the Steal fraud prevention project was a “neutral process”.

Donald Trump ally swears vigilante poll watchers will not target voters by race