Plus: Watch a special BBC US election Question Time, and see Shackleton's Endurance as never before ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. Several people are confirmed dead after Hurricane Milton lashed the US state of Florida. As recovery efforts swing into action, we hear a first-hand account of what it was like to sit things out. Meanwhile, the White House campaign rolls on - and you can watch a special BBC debate from Pennsylvania. Anthony Zurcher explains why the state is so crucial. Plus scroll down for striking photos from the 1950s, and the bottom of the sea. | |
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| 'Long and challenging' recovery ahead | | Power was restored to 635,000 customers early on Thursday but more than three million remained cut off. Credit: BBC | More than 20 urban search and rescue teams are going door-to-door in parts of Florida worst-affected by Hurricane Milton, the US state's emergency chiefs have said. Meanwhile, recovery teams are working to restore power to millions of homes and businesses. |
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| | Naomi Choy Smith, BBC News |
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| | We're at a staging ground in Miami, where a constant stream of disaster response trucks is hitting the road. In total, 1,500 linesmen are being dispatched from here to the worst-affected areas across Florida. They will clear fallen trees and other dangerous debris, and repair and restore power lines.
The crews have their work cut out for them, as more than three million Floridians are currently without power. But these are experienced linesmen who are used to responding to natural disasters, and their spirits are high. Even so, their supervisor tells us, the scale of damage in Florida will make the recovery long and challenging. |
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QUESTIONS ANSWERED | Why Pennsylvania is the biggest prize |
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| | The two campaigns have spent a combined $188m (£144m) on advertisements in Pennsylvania. Credit: EPA | As the most populous US swing state, analysts believe the road to the White House runs through Pennsylvania. So the BBC's flagship political debate programme, Question Time, is hosting a US presidential election special from the state to give voters a chance to grill politicians and commentators. |
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| | Anthony Zurcher, North America correspondent |
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| Why Pennsylvania? | Pennsylvania can be seen as a microcosm of the US - demographically, economically and politically. A former manufacturing state that has been transitioning to newer industries and businesses, it has a large energy sector because of its abundant oil shale deposits. Agriculture is still its second-largest industry. The majority of the population is white but some areas are now majority-Latino. The state's black population, at 12%, is just under the US total of 13%. | Why does it matter so much? | According to calculations by elections analyst Nate Silver, the candidate who wins Pennsylvania has more than a 90% of winning the White House. With its 19 electoral votes, Pennsylvania - the fifth most populous US state - is the lynchpin of the swing-state electoral firewalls for both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. | And where are the votes coming from? | The state's two large urban areas, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, heavily favour the Democrats. Between the two are vast stretches of rural territory where Republicans dominate. And the suburbs that once were reliably conservative are now tilting to the left. Somehow, all these political cross-currents and shifting dynamics have kept Pennsylvania at a near dead-even balance when it comes to presidential elections. | | Swing states: Pennsylvania is one of seven states that analysts believe will decide the election. Here's what's at stake in each. 'Non-stop ads': Both the Harris and Trump campaigns are spending more in Pennsylvania than anywhere else. Natalie Sherman asked voters and analysts if it would make a difference. And here's what the polls tell us. Watch live: The Question Time special is being streamed on the BBC website from 16:00 EST - that's right about the time I hit "send" on this email. Follow it here. | |
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THE BIG PICTURE | Revealing the secrets of Shackleton's ship |
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| | | It's thought the boot belonged to Shackleton’s second-in-command. Credit: Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust/National Geographic | A single boot lying on the deck of the Endurance - more than a century after it sank - is among the striking images revealing explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship as never before. It's one of 25,000 that make up a 3D scan of the vessel, which sank in the Weddell Sea during an Antarctic expedition in 1915. The images have been released as part of a new documentary, Endurance. |
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FOR YOUR DOWNTIME | A new 'Blue Zone' | Life expectancy has skyrocketed in Singapore. | |
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And finally... in the 1950s | Amateur photographer Ray Stokes took his Voigtlander camera with him when he travelled by motorbike around the UK and Europe. After his death aged 88, in 2012, his son Simon rescued more than 2,000 slides. But it was only last weekend he posted one - of seagulls at Aberdeen harbour, in Scotland - on social media. And the reaction catapulted the collection into the spotlight. From shots of women ploughing with cattle in Germany, in 1957, to (my favourite) a sleek bus negotiating a bend in the Scottish hills - they are hugely evocative. See which you like best. | |
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World of Business | Gain the leading edge with global insights for the boardroom and beyond, every Wednesday from New York. | |
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