Elon Musk is giving some US voters $1m. Is it legal?

Hello. With just two weeks to go before the US election, Sam Cabral looks at criticism of Elon Musk's pledge to give $1m to some voters in key battleground states. In Beirut, Orla Guerin tours a hospital which Israel claims Hezbollah has been using to stash its gold reserves. And Flora Drury reports on how emergency services were forced to intervene after an Australian women went to extreme lengths to retrieve her mobile phone.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Elon Musk is giving some US voters $1m. Is it legal?

Elon Musk speaks at a town hall in Pennsylvania. Credit: Reuters

‌

Scrutiny is growing on Elon Musk, after the tech billionaire said he will give away $1m (£766,000) a day to registered voters in key swing states. The winners will be chosen at random from those who sign a petition by Mr Musk’s campaign group America PAC, which he set up to support Republican nominee Donald Trump. Mr Musk pushed back against the criticism, saying it was a genuinely bipartisan campaign. Some experts told our reporter Sam Cabral that the move could violate election laws and is "likely illegal", while others noted the offer fell into a grey area.

What is Musk offering?

The petition encourages voters in six swing states - Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina - to sign a "petition in favour of free speech and the right to bear arms". Those who successfully refer another voter are promised a sum of $47 (£36) each, while those in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania are being offered $100 (£77). Each day until polling day on 5 November the $1m prize will be randomly awarded to any signatory in one of the seven swing states.

Is it legal?

Brad Smith, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, told the New York Times that Mr Musk had waded into an electoral "grey area", but felt the effort was not that "close to the line". However, several legal experts told the BBC that they felt the offer violated electoral laws. Paul Schiff Berman of George Washington University said that Mr Musk was likely violating rules against offering payment to people to register or to vote.

What have Democrats said?

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, described the move as "deeply concerning" and called for law enforcement agencies to investigate. Billionaire investor Mark Cuban, who has campaigned in recent weeks for Kamala Harris, said the offer was both "innovative and desperate". But Mr Musk has defended his offer, saying applicants can be from "any or no political party and you don’t even have to vote" to win.

‌

THE BIG PICTURE

Mega meteorite boiled Earth's oceans

The meteorite was 40-60km in diameter and left a crater 500km across. Credit: Getty Images

Scientists say a massive meteor - almost 200 times bigger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs - caused a massive tsunami and boiled oceans when it hit the earth three billion years ago. The S2 meteor slammed into modern day South Africa at a time when life on earth comprised of simple organisms. But experts told our reporter Georgina Rannard that the blast later helped to spread the essential nutrients which helped early life to thrive.

And finally... in Australia

A woman was rescued after spending hours trapped upside down between two boulders while trying to retrieve her phone. Photos shared by the ambulance service show her hanging between the boulders by her feet, as well as efforts from rescuers to free her from the large rocks. She was only left with bruises, but did not get her phone back.