The United States reported record new coronavirus cases for the third day in a row, as Joe Biden vowed to act against the pandemic on "day one" if he wins the presidential election in the world's worst-hit nation.

Joe Biden says he is already preparing to assume the presidency even though he has not been declared the winner in his race against President Donald Trump.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Friday urged both sides in the US election to show restraint until the results were available, adding it was irresponsible to aggravate tensions.

The US Office of Special Counsel has opened an investigation into allegations that the Trump campaign’s use of the White House as an Election Day command center violated federal law, Democratic Representative Bill Pascrell said on Thursday.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg hit back at Donald Trump on Twitter late on Thursday saying the US president should “chill” about the election, a riposte to his tweet last year mocking the teenager over what he called her anger management issues.

The US State Department gave Congress notification it plans to sell 18 sophisticated armed MQ-9B aerial drones to the United Arab Emirates in a deal worth as much as $2.9 billion, people briefed on the notification said.

Backers of President Donald Trump, some carrying guns, ramped up demonstrations on Thursday night against what he has baselessly called a rigged election, in battleground states where votes were still being counted.

A bipartisan majority of Americans do not accept Trump’s premature victory declaration in the US presidential election and most are willing to wait for all votes to be counted before deciding who won, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll.

It was at the same time shocking and utterly to be expected. As the nation held its collective breath and awaited the result of the 2020 presidential election, US President Donald Trump stepped to the podium in the White House on Thursday and made a full-frontal attempt to undermine the integrity of the vote, which was leaning in the direction of Democrat Joe Biden.

Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has said he expects a recount due to the small margin for the presidential election in the battleground state, where Democrat Joe Biden has a small lead over President Donald Trump of just over 1,000 votes.

Some Republican lawmakers are criticising President Donald Trump’s unsupported claim that Democrats are trying to “steal” the election, saying Trump’s comments undermine the US political process and the bedrock notion that all Americans should have their vote counted.

Backers of President Donald Trump, some carrying guns, ramp up demonstrations against what he has baselessly called a rigged election, in battleground states where votes were still being counted.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has taken a narrow lead over President Donald Trump in the battleground states of Georgia and Pennsylvania, edging closer to winning the White House in a nail-biting contest as a handful of undecided states continue to count votes.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg hit back at Donald Trump on Twitter late on Thursday saying the US president should "chill" about the election, a repost to his tweet last year mocking the teenager over what he called her anger management issues.

A judge has tossed a lawsuit brought by US President Donald Trump's campaign in hopes of halting vote-counting in Michigan.

The US presidential election is still up in the air, but one thing is for certain: the movement created by Donald Trump is alive and well, and more solid than pundits expected.

The New York Times reported better-than-expected results on Thursday as revenue from digital-only sign-ups surpassed print subscription revenue for the first time in a quarter dominated by news related to the Covid-19 pandemic and the US presidential election.

Police in Portland declared riots, arrested 11 people and seized fireworks, hammers and a rifle, as Oregon Governor Kate Brown activated the National Guard in response to protests on the night after voting in the US presidential election.

A crowd of Donald Trump supporters, some armed with rifles and handguns, gathered outside an election center in Arizona on Wednesday night after unsubstantiated rumors that votes for the Republican president were deliberately not being counted.

Arizona (Electoral votes 11) Biden 50.5% Trump 48.1%