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Former Olympic doctor Larry Nassar has been handed a jail sentence of 175 years in Michigan for abusing female athletes he was supposed to be treating.

Here, the BBC's Rajini Vaidyanathan, who was in court, and Roland Hughes detail the extraordinary testimony given in court by the survivors of his abuse.
This article contains graphic details of sexual abuse
One hundred and fifty-six young women - mothers, sisters, daughters, Olympians.

All say they were abused by the same man: former Team USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.

Over seven days, they took to the stand one by one to do what few survivors of sexual abuse ever get the chance to do - directly confront their attacker.

Nassar had already pleaded guilty to 10 counts of sexual assault for abusing young girls under the guise of medical treatment.

Women who filed criminal complaints against Nassar spoke out at his sentencing hearing in Lansing. But they were followed by close to 150 others, many of whom chose to do so without the anonymity to which they were entitled.

Kyle Stephens was the first to tell her story.

For years she was known only as Victim ZA, but last Tuesday morning, she stood before Judge Rosemarie Aquilina and calmly shared her name.

In doing so, she waived her anonymity in public just as she was about to testify to the damage her abuser had done.

"I was ready to speak," Kyle said in an interview with the BBC after her testimony. "I think it was really empowering to get up there and give my story from start to finish."

For decades, Larry Nassar abused young women. It was Kyle's call to police that led to him finally being arrested.

Unlike many of the other women who shared their stories in this case, Kyle wasn't a gymnast and a patient of Nassar's. Her parents were friends with his family.

As she stood in the small courtroom, photos of her as a smiling child were projected on to a screen. Nassar first abused her when she was six, "when I still had not lost all my baby teeth".

It began with him exposing himself. Later, he would masturbate before her. Then, he physically abused her - all while both their families were in the same house.

When Kyle, aged 12, told her parents that Nassar would rub his erect penis on her bare feet, he denied it. Back then, her parents did not believe her, and urged her to apologise to him.

"He forced me to grow up really fast," Kyle told the BBC after the hearing. "It was such a benign action until you grow up and realise it was a vile thing."

Seven minutes into her testimony last Tuesday, delivered alongside her mother, Kyle looked up at Judge Rosemarie Aquilina and politely asked if she could address Nassar directly.

She reminded him of how her parents invited him round to their home after she had accused him. Sitting in her living room, he had denied abusing her and had said that if she was ever really abused, she should remember to report it.

"Well Larry, I'm here," she told him in court. "Not to tell someone, but to tell everyone.

"Perhaps you have figured it out by now, but little girls don't stay little forever. They grow into strong women who return to destroy your world."

In her teens, Kyle was asked to babysit Nassar's two daughters. Doing so helped her protect them, she told the court, and allowed her to save enough money to pay for counselling.

Having reached a point where she had started to question whether the abuse had indeed occurred, she tried again to explain to her parents what had happened.

This time, they believed her.

Nassar, 54, graduated from the University of Michigan in 1985 and joined the medical staff of the US national gymnastics team based in Indianapolis a year later.

In 1997, alongside his work with the national gym team, he began working as a team physician at Michigan State University (MSU). He began abusing Kyle Stephens a year later.

He worked for the US gymnastics team in four Olympic Games, regularly rushing to the help of gymnasts who might have fallen awkwardly.

Carrie Hogan, a former softball player at MSU, told the court it was seen as a "privilege" to be treated by Nassar. Successful treatment could make a difference to the university's stars on the brink of a sports career.

"I was very aware of the signed photographs of the Olympic gymnasts he had treated," she said. "He was the best of the best." Others said he was seen as a "god" in the gymnastics world.

In an episode of a gymnastics podcast broadcast in December 2013, Nassar spoke about how important it was to look after young athletes.

"Not just physically but mentally, you have to protect your athletes," he told GymCastic, speaking uncharacteristically slowly. "You have to let them know they will be cared [for]."

He also warned of the danger of mental injury to athletes, saying "the physical injuries almost always they can recover from. The mental injury leaves the scars that keep coming back and haunt them later."

Many of the women who spoke in court said that after he abused them, they were intimidated by his powerful status.

Reporting the offence - if they understood that they had been subject to an offence at all - felt almost impossible.

Nassar had a strikingly similar pattern of how he abused young women, the vast majority of whom were gymnasts.

They came to him often in pain, looking for help.

At their most vulnerable moment, he tried to convince them what he was doing was normal - even talking about everyday life and joking as he touched them.

By projecting a sense of normality from his position of authority, Nassar made his victims feel they were wrong to believe this was abuse, and that they would be in the wrong if they complained.

"I remember having the option of keeping my spandex on, which I was very grateful for and chose," said Jennifer Rood Bedford, a volleyball player at MSU between 2000 and 2003.

"He had me lay down face down on the medical table. When he started treatment, I remember him saying his treatment relied upon applying pressure to areas around the pelvis and that this was normal.

"So when he went down there, I just told myself it was normal, that he knows what he's doing and don't be a baby.

"I remember laying there and thinking 'Is this OK? This doesn't seem right'."

Rachael Denhollander, a former gymnast from Michigan, was the first victim to speak up publicly in 2016.

She told the BBC that Nassar abused her during every visit she made to his clinic over a year after she turned 15.

Nassar would position Rachael's mother at the head of the table so she was not able to see what he was doing.

With one hand, he would carry out sports massage. With the other, covered by a towel, he would insert his fingers into Rachael's vagina or anus. In one of their last sessions, he unhooked her bra and fondled her breast - the only time Rachael said she knew she was definitely being assaulted and not treated.

Many of the women said their trust in male relatives, partners, doctors, strangers, friends and teachers was destroyed as a result of Nassar's actions.

"My first reaction was to question myself, to blame myself," said Jennifer Rood Bedford.

"I wanted to believe the best in people, but no matter how much I rationalised - he's a doctor, he's treating you, he didn't mean for that to happen - I couldn't shake the voice in my head that something wasn't right."
If you have been affected by child sexual abuse, sexual abuse or violence, help and support is available. If you are in the UK, you can find links here: If you are in the US, you can contact Rainn, the national sexual abuse hotline, here, or by calling 800.656.HOPE BBC Action Line
For Gwen Anderson, a former gymnast who competed for her state of Michigan, the abuse began when she was just 12.

Now, as a teacher to girls of the same age, she says she sees Nassar's actions in an even starker light.

"I teach 12, 13, 14-year-olds every day," she told the court. "And every single day, when I look at them, I am faced with the reality of how young and defenceless we were when you molested us.

"I look at them every single day and I think to myself 'I am their safe place. I am their protector. I am their encouragement. I am their motivator. I am their rock'."

It is unclear when and how Nassar's abuse of his patients started, though the first allegations date to 1994.

In August 2016, the Indianapolis Star published a story detailing allegations of sexual abuse committed by coaches working for USA Gymnastics. It claimed that the sporting body did not report allegations of abuse to relevant authorities.

The initial article did not name Nassar. But after it was published, Rachael Denhollander realised this was her chance to speak up.

The newspaper published allegations against him from two named former gymnasts, including Rachael, a month later.

"I knew this was how it was going to have to be done," she told the BBC outside court. "When you have a predator who is surrounded by two very powerful institutions, one anonymous voice is never going to be enough.

"When you have a predator who is manipulative, gregarious and as engaging as Larry is, you have to be willing to meet him where he is the most comfortable - on very public ground. And never flinch."

Rachael's bravery helped encourage other women to come forward. In the corridors outside the sentencing hearing, countless women cited Rachael's actions as inspiration for their own decision to speak up.

As a result, instead of 90 survivors sharing their stories of abuse over four days - as had been expected at the start of the hearing - 156 women and girls ended up doing so over seven days.

The feeling in the courtroom throughout was one of collective empowerment and solidarity built through a shared experience of horror.

Last week, four-time Rio Olympic champion Simone Biles issued a statement to say she too had been abused by Nassar. On Friday, Olympic gold medallists Aly Raisman and Jordyn Wieber came to court to detail what he did to them during the 2012 Games in London.

Nassar was eventually arrested on 21 November, 2016.

He was sentenced to 60 years in jail a year later for three counts relating to child sex abuse images on his computer.

He then pleaded guilty to molesting females at his home, at a gymnastics club and in his MSU office, a plea that led to the 156 pre-sentence testimonies.

"I realise what I am feeling pales in comparison to the pain, trauma and emotional disturbance that I have wreaked," Nassar told the survivors as the hearings drew to a close.

"There are no words that can describe the depth and breadth of how sorry I am for what has occurred.

"I will carry your words with me for the rest of my days."

At the start of the hearings, Nassar had stared blankly down at his hands, avoiding eye contact with all those who came forward to speak.

But on Wednesday, his former colleague, gym coach Tom Brennan, stood alongside Gwen Anderson while she was testifying. "Look at her," he yelled at the man he called his former mentor, ordering him to pay attention to the women as they testified.

After that, Nassar appeared to look up and listen to the survivors with greater frequency.

The question of how repentant he was remained unanswered at the end of the hearings, however: Judge Aquilina read excerpts of a letter he sent her, saying he was a good doctor, and that the media had convinced the young women to believe he had acted wrongly.

Judge Aquilina's role in this case was crucial. Almost every testimony began with survivors thanking her for her support and encouragement.

Given that Nassar had admitted his guilt months before, Judge Aquilina had no obligation to be impartial. As she took on the role of therapist, advocate and friend to the women who stood before her, she condemned his actions.

"The monster who took advantage of you is going to wither, much like the scene in the 'Wizard of Oz' where the water gets poured on the witch and the witch withers away," she told one woman after her testimony.

She also encouraged a number of the abuse survivors not to kill themselves when they said they had considered suicide - taking their own lives would hand Nassar victory, she said.

"I know you're a little nervous, pretend you're talking to me and your mum," she told one another woman as she prepared to deliver her testimony.

A crime writer in her spare time, Judge Aquilina's words were a powerful force throughout the hearing. She described the women as "sister survivors" and "warriors" who had demonstrated "superwoman steel."

"I didn't want even one victim to lose their voice," she told the court, as she explained why she was prepared to let the hearing go on for as long as it took to hear all of the survivors who wanted to speak.

The survivors, in turn, responded. One after the other waived their anonymity and came to realise this was a chance to take charge of their own story.

Not all the women knew each other, but many acknowledged the invisible bond between them, and the strength they had gained from the others who had spoken in court.

One former MSU softball player, Tiffany Thomas Lopez, told Nassar she was part of "the army you created when you violated us", going on to say: "Your actions have had me by the throat for years. I'm ready to be released from your clench."

As the hearings went on past the four days that were initially scheduled, anger gradually built towards the institutions where Nassar worked.

Aly Raisman, part of the gold medal-winning gymnastics team in the 2012 Olympics, demanded an independent investigation into how Nassar was allowed to continue abusing girls even after complaints were made.

She attacked both USA Gymnastics - an organisation she said was "rotting from the inside" - and the US Olympic Committee for their lack of support. Three senior USA Gymnastics board members subsequently quit.

The focus has now shifted on to who knew what, and when.

The Lansing State Journal newspaper reports that seven women or girls made complaints about Nassar to coaches, trainers, police or university officials between 1997 and 2015.

In 2014, an investigation by MSU even cleared Nassar of wrongdoing after a recent graduate accused him of molesting her. Two years later, he was under arrest.

The university has put aside $10m (£7.2m) to reimburse former students for counselling, but is being sued by about 140 women.

On Friday, MSU's board of trustees asked the Michigan attorney general's office to conduct an outside review into how it handled the allegations. There is also growing pressure on MSU President Lou Anna Simon.

As Nassar starts his jail sentence - brought about by a team of female investigators, prosecutors and judges - the battle to seek answers from the authorities is only just starting. Why did they not listen to survivors' stories sooner?

Rachael Denhollander, now a mother of three and a lawyer, was the last to give her testimony on Wednesday. Judge Aquilina called her "the five-star general in the army of survivors".
If you have been affected by child sexual abuse, sexual abuse or violence, help and support is available. If you are in the UK, you can find links here: If you are in the US, you can contact Rainn, the national sexual abuse hotline, here, or by calling 800.656.HOPE BBC Action Line
For Rachael, the sentence has been a vindication of her decision to speak out publicly 16 months ago.

"I'm so deeply grateful for where we are," she told the BBC. "But it's absolutely heartbreaking to me.

"To know that the vast majority of those little girls could have been saved from what they went through is devastating."

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Former Olympic doctor Larry Nassar has been handed a jail sentence of 175 years in Michigan for abusing female athletes he was supposed to be treating. Here, the BBC's Rajini Vaidyanathan, who was in court, and Roland Hughes detail the extraordinary testimony given in court by the survivors of his abuse.

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A gunman opened fire on the crowd at a music festival Oct. 1, 2017, killing at least 58 in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history

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Actresses wore black gowns in support of the Time's Up movement, standing in solidarity with victims of sexual assault and harassment.

Many men also wore Time's Up pin badges or black shirts with their suits.

Loving Pablo's Penelope Cruz, singer Mariah Carey and The Crown's Claire Foy are among the many wearing all black.

Some chose to wear a splash of colour - including Suicide Squad's Margot Robbie, actress Mandy Moore and singer Kelly Clarkson.

Many celebrities were sporting lapel pins and badges in favour of Time's Up and 50:50, campaigns intent on fighting sexual harassment and gender inequality in the entertainment industry.

Above, Thor actor Chris Hemsworth and Ewan McGregor are seen sporting Time's Up lapel pins, while Game of Thrones' Kit Harrington also joined in with wearing black.

Classic options were chosen by Stranger Things' Millie Bobby Brown, Nicole Kidman and Jessica Biel on the red carpet.

Model Kendall Jenner was joined in wearing black by Angelina Jolie and Jessica Chastain.

Master of None's Aziz Ansari, The Greatest Showman actor Zac Efron, actress and The Disaster Artist's James Franco also showed their support for the campaign.

America Ferrara and Natalie Portman walked the carpet in black, with La La Land star Emma Stone and former tennis champion Billie Jean King.

Actresses Reese Witherspoon, Eva Longoria, Salma Hayek and Ashley Judd pose together to show their support.

Nicole Kidman, named best actress in a limited series or motion picture made for TV for Big Little Lies, with her husband, musician Keith Urban.

Who didn't wear black?

Hollywood Foreign Press Association President Meher Tatna wore red, with a source telling The Wrap, "she wore the dress that she chose with her mother.

"As part of her Indian culture, it's customary to wear a festive colour during a celebration."

Tatna also showed her support for the Time's Up movement by wearing a pin badge on her dress.

German model Barbara Meier wore a beige floral gown, while actress Bianca Blanco wore a red dress.

Meier explained her choice on Instagram, saying that women should be able to wear something "a little more sexy" and that it wasn't their fault that "men cannot control themselves".

Blanco has not commented on her decision to wear red.

Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

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The stars who did (and didn't) wear black to the Globes

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Actresses wore black gowns in support of the Time's Up movement, standing in solidarity with victims of sexual assault and harassment. Many men also wore Time's Up pin badges or black shirts with their suits. Loving Pablo's Penelope Cruz, singer Mariah Carey and The Crown's Claire Foy are among the many wearing all black.

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Announcements about exoplanets, those found outside our solar system, seem almost commonplace in this golden age of discovery for astronomers. So why is Ross 128 b unique -- apart from its rather human-sounding name?

The planet is about the same size as Earth, and it may have a similar surface temperature, making it a temperate world that could support life.

Every 9.9 days, it completes an orbit around its host star, Ross 128, which is what's known as a red dwarf star: They're the coolest, faintest and most common stars found in the universe.

Because of their plentiful nature and the fact that other exoplanets have been found around these types of stars, red dwarfs are being studied and observed with increasing frequency in the hopes of finding more exoplanets.

Astronomers found Ross 128 and its planet using the European Southern Observatory's planet-hunting instrument, called HARPS. The High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher is based at La Silla Observatory in Chile. The astronomers detail their discovery in a new study, published Wednesday in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

"To be involved in such a discovery is very rewarding, and it helps to realize that so much effort is worth it," Nicola Astudillo-Defru, one of the study's co-authors at the University of Geneva's observatory, wrote in an email. "The special properties of this system means that we are contributing our bit on the search of an Earth 2.0."

Other notable discoveries of Earth-size exoplanets in recent years, like the TRAPPIST planets and Proxima b, were also found around these types of stars. They are also considered to be among the best hopes for supporting life on planets outside our solar system because they exist within the "habitable zones" of their stars, where liquid water could pool on the surface of the planet and potentially support life as we know it.

The astronomers don't yet know whether Ross 128 b is in the habitable zone of its star, but it's likely, given what they understand about red dwarfs and the planets that orbit them.

Ross 128 b is 20 times closer to its star than Earth is to the sun, but because the star is small, dim and cool, the planet would still be at a potentially comfortable temperature. The nature of the star is also why the planet is subjected to only 1.38 times the radiation that Earth receives from the sun, even though the planet and star are close together.

But the reason astronomers are excited about Ross 128 b is because the star is "quiet." Other red dwarfs, like Proxima Centauri -- the star that Proxima b orbits -- have a tendency to lash out at their planets with deadly flares of ultraviolet and X-ray radiation.

But Ross 128 doesn't seem to be doing this, so it's considered "quieter," which means the planet is a more comfortable place for life to form without being subjected to such violent episodes from time to time.

Proxima b is currently the closest exoplanet to our solar system ever discovered, at a distance of 4.2 light-years. Ross 128 b could change this, because the planet and its star are moving toward us.

"A detailed study investigated the movement of our stellar neighbor by combining data from the Hipparcos satellite and ground-bases velocimeters," Astudillo-Defru said. "They list all the close encounters with other stars, and because of the relative movements of stars and the Sun, it results that Ross 128 will be our closest star."

Astronomers estimate that in 79,000 years, Ross 128 b will be our exoplanet neighbor, even closer than Proxima b. That may sound like a long time, but in a universe that is billions of years old, it's merely a cosmic moment.

The astronomers believe that Ross 128 b is a good candidate for further study when the European Southern Observatory's Extremely Large Telescope can begin searching the atmospheres of exoplanets for biomarkers in 2025.

"I plan to continue searching for new worlds, specially around Ross 128 because it is likely that there are more planets," Astudillo-Defru said.

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newly discovered nearby planet could support life - cnn

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Newly discovered nearby planet could support life

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Announcements about exoplanets, those found outside our solar system, seem almost commonplace in this golden age of discovery for astronomers. So why is Ross 128 b unique -- apart from its rather human-sounding name? The planet is about the same size as Earth, and it may have a similar surface temperature, making it a temperate world that could support life.

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Written by Andrea Lo, CNN

The world's first "space nation" has taken flight.

On November 12, Asgardia cemented its presence in outer space by launching the Asgardia-1 satellite.

The "nanosat" -- it is roughly the size of a loaf of bread -- undertook a two-day journey from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, the United States, to the International Space Station (ISS).

It contains 0.5 TB of data belonging to 18,000 of Asgardia's citizens, such as family photographs, as well as digital representations of the space nation's flag, coat of arms and constitution.

Russian scientist Dr Igor Ashurbeyli founded the world's first independent nation to operate in outer space in October 2016.

Named after a Norse mythological city of the skies, Asgardia is free to join and so far, about 114,000 people have signed up.

Ashurbeyli says the project's mission is to provide a "peaceful society", offer easier access to space technologies, and protect Earth from space threats, such as asteroids and man-made debris in space.

While Asgardia's citizens will -- for the time being --remain based on earth, the satellite launch brings the nation one step closer to space.

The satellite's mission

Asgardia-1 made its journey to the ISS aboard the OA-8 Antares-Cygnus, a NASA commercial cargo vehicle.

Now it must wait forabout three weeks asvital supplies and scientific equipment are transferred from the NASA ship to the six people currently living at the ISS.

The nanosat will then be detached from the NASA vehicle and begin its own orbital journey around the earth. Citizens' data will remain in orbit for between five and 18 months, the typical lifespan of this type of satellite. It will then burn out and disappear.

For Ashurbeyli, the launch fulfills a pledge he made when establishing the "space nation" to take its citizens to space via their data.

"I promised there would be a launch," he says. "We selected NASA as a reliable partner ... because we have to meet the commitments that I made 13 months ago."

Getting it off the ground

Within 40 hours of the project being announced in 2016, over 100,000 people had applied for citizenship on Asgardia's website. After three weeks, Asgardia had 500,000 applicants.

Anyone over 18 years old, with an email address, regardless of gender, nationality, race, religion, and financial standing can apply for citizenship -- including ex-convicts, provided they are clear of charges at the time of application.

Today, there are 114,000 Asgardians from 204 countries -- a population drop from 211,000 in June, when voting to determine the details of Asgardia's constitution began.

Only those who agreed to adopt the finalized constitution are counted as Asgardians.

Turkey currently has the largest number of Asgardians, with over 16,500 residents.

Rayven Sin, an artist based in Hong Kong, told CNN that she signed up to become an Asgardian in November 2016 after hearing about it on a Chinese radio show while she was in Toronto.

"I really want to be able to see if human beings are able to have more opportunity to express their opinions," she told CNN. "The society we live in now -- everything seems to be either capitalism or communism -- there's a lot of conflict.

"As a human being, I would hope (to see) if we could have other ways (of living). For a better life, and for more options."

John Spiro, a digital marketing specialist who organizes a monthly meet-up for Hong Kong-based Asgardians, told CNN it was the possibility of sending personal data into space that excited him.

"I help translate and preserve Buddhist sutras as a hobby and the symbolism of sending one of those religious texts in electronic form 'up to the heavens' seemed very nice."

Out of this world idea

Going forward, the Asgardia team hopes to create habitable platforms in low-earth orbits -- the first one located 100 to 200 miles (161 to 321 kilometers) from space, which is also where the ISS is located.

The first human flight to this location is projected to take place in eight years' time.

"We want to give equal opportunities to everyone who has a mind, who can do something, for their protection," Ashurbeyli said.

"Our real home is not the house or the city where we were born. (Our) home is planet Earth, (and) we want to protect it.

"(It's) not a fantasy. Going to Mars, the galactics, so on -- that's just fake. I intend something more real."

Further satellite launches are in the works but no dates have yet been confirmed.

Rocket scientist

A 53-year-old rocket scientist, Ashurbeyli says he is single-handedly bankrolling the project -- for a sum that's undisclosed.

Regularly reported to be a billionaire -- although he has never appeared on the Forbes rich lists -- the Azerbaijan-born Russian graduated from the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy in 1985, and three years later founded Socium, a software and consulting firm turned holding company with over 10,000 employees, according to his website.

After moving to Moscow in the 1990s, he became a heavyweight in the science industry and, in 2010, was awarded the Russian State Science and Technology Prize. Three years later, he founded the Aerospace International Research Center (AIRC) in Vienna, and today he is chairman of UNESCO's Science of Space committee.

In short, Ashurbeyli is no beginner when it comes to space.

He did, however, resign from all governmental organizations in 2011, according to his website, and now claims to be politically neutral.

At a press conference in Hong Kong in June 2017,Ashurbeyli explained that Asgardia is a project he has been dreaming of since childhood.

"I was interested in doing something unusual that nobody else was doing," Ashurbeyli told CNN. "It was my dream to create an independent country."

That ambition became more concrete after Ashurbeyli gave a speech at a conference on space law at McGill University in Montreal in 2016, where he was inspired by a discussion about the laws governing murder, marriage and divorce in space.

"I thought: 'Why not organize a country?' Not only for lawyers. But for technicians, for engineers, for every human ... because he's currently restricted by the laws of the country he was born in."

Currently space law is adhered to in the form of the Outer Space Treaty, signed by 103 countries including the US and Russia.

Asgardia advocates for the creation of a new legal platform in space.

Becoming a legitimate country

One of Asgardia's most ambitious plans is to gain UN membership.

To achieve this, the UN's Security Council must firstly approve Asgardia's application to be considered a nation, then two-thirds of members of the General Assembly must vote for its admission.

"A state has to have these characteristics: a permanent population; a defined territory, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. And it must be recognized as a state by other states," Joanne Gabrynowicz, a space law expert and professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology's School of Law, tells CNN.

Ashurbeyli plans for Asgardia to form a democratic government, as well as a Prosecutors Office, National Audit Office and the other governmental bodies.

Governmental departments will be run by Asgardians in the locations they represent, while the administrative center will be in Vienna.

These have not yet been formed. A parliamentary election will come first: Asgardians have until March 29 to submit their applications to become parliamentarians. After the election, governmental bodies will then be formed.

When asked by CNN how Asgardia intends to provide peace to its citizens without a physical settlement, Ashurbeyli says the nation's citizens can take advantage of their "dual citizenship".

"If I have problems on Earth, I'll have my embassy from Asgardia. (It's as if) you are a tourist, you can go to your embassy and they'll try to help you."

Ashurbeyli does, however, recognize the multitude of issues that come with forming his own nation -- let alone one based in space.

"We have to be like a normal country. All countries have problems, and soon we will have the same problems," he says.

"But we will have more than normal countries because we are not on earth."

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World's first 'space nation' Asgardia launches satellite into space

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Written by Andrea Lo, CNN The world's first "space nation" has taken flight. On November 12, Asgardia cemented its presence in outer space by launching the Asgardia-1 satellite. The "nanosat" -- it is roughly the size of a loaf of bread -- undertook a two-day journey from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, the United States, to the International Space Station (ISS).

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Another year, another church. Another month, another mass killing. Another day, another political shrug about gun massacres across the United States.

There is still some shock left in this uniquely American series of mass killings. And with that shock, maybe a small glimmer of hope that the silent majority of Americans might demand something more than prayers from their lawmakers.

Prayers, sadly, did not save 26 churchgoers in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Just as they didn't save nine lives at the Bible study group in Charleston, South Carolina, two years ago.

There's still some shock left from the faces of the Texas death toll, which included a pregnant woman, a five-year-old child, and the pastor's teenage daughter. But there was also shock at the toll inside Charleston's Emanuel AME church, which included the pastor himself. And we have yet to process the shock of the carnage in Las Vegas, that left 58 country music fans dead just last month.

There's also some shock left from the pathetic excuses for inaction that tumble out at times like this. This isn't just a failure of leadership at the very top: members of Congress and statehouses on both sides of the aisle and across the country have proved themselves to be delusional cowards. Either they act like nothing can be done to stop gun violence, or they pretend guns make America safer.

Then there's the special podium of delusional cowardice occupied by Donald Trump. "I think that mental health is your problem here," he told reporters at a press conference in Tokyo on Monday. "This was a very - based on preliminary reports - very deranged individual. A lot of problems over a long period of time. We have a lot of mental health problems in our country, as do other countries. But this isn't a guns situation."

Let us all sigh for the souls whom we have yet to lose, in part because of this stupidity. Of course these are mental health issues. Of course we need to treat mental health like any other health challenge. Of course other countries have the same issues.

But other countries are not awash with guns. So it's that much harder for people suffering from mental health issues to gun down large numbers of their fellow citizens in church, or at school, or at an open-air concert. Or take their own lives, which is by far the bigger killer with guns.

"Fortunately somebody else had a gun that was shooting in the opposite direction," continued Trump, speaking without any factual basis, "otherwise it would have been - as bad as it was, it would have been much worse. But this is a mental health problem at the highest level."

Yes, this is a mental health problem at the highest level. Just not the one you think it is, Mr President.

According to the local sheriff, the gunman was only confronted by an armed civilian once he emerged from the church, after the massacre was completed. The mass murderer died by killing himself.

So along with the victims, let's please bury once and for all the storyline pushed so hard by the National Rifle Association, and echoed by Donald Trump. The only thing that stopped the bad guy with a gun was the bad guy with his own gun. The good guys were shot dead in their church pews.

On the bleak day after the Texas shooting, there is a determined effort to understand the shooter's motives, as if that explanation could mitigate future disasters or make sense of the last one. This has not been the case of Las Vegas, where the local sheriff now suggests the shooter was depressed after losing money.

It is too easy to compare the political reaction to Sutherland Springs with the reaction to last week's Isis-inspired mass killing in New York. The truth is they are both appalling and our lawmakers and leaders have the capacity to deal with both kinds of murders.

But here's how demented our gun debate has become: for all the fear and loathing of potential terrorists, it is still perfectly legal for people on the terrorist watch-list to buy as many guns as they want in the United States. We won't let them board a plane, of course. But we will let them purchase an assault rifle like the Ruger AR-15, a semi-automatic modeled on the standard military issue.

Why is there such a gaping hole in our national security? You might ask the National Rifle Association that question. On the other hand, ask the members of Congress who are so ready with their outrage about Islamist terrorism but so silent about domestic terrorism.

Texas governor Greg Abbott sounded surprised by the fact that this shooter got his hands on an AR-15 when he was refused a Texas gun license. "By all the facts that we seem to know, he was not supposed to have access to a gun," Abbott told CNN. "So how did this happen?"

Come on, Governor. Don't act so dumbfounded. You have personally championed the unrestricted sale of guns to all-comers at gun shows and in private sales. When President Obama tried to close the gun-show loophole after the Sandy Hook massacre, you tweeted this: "Obama wants to impose more gun control. My response#? COME & TAKE IT."

Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX)
Obama wants to impose more gun control. My response.#? COME & TAKE IT @NRA #tcot #PJNET https://t.co/RUPbcev5jY pic.twitter.com/8VNwisj966

Just to be clear about your intended audience, you tagged the National Rifle Association in that tweet.

The NRA's position is as clear as it is nonsensical. Only guns will save us from guns. We must have a national database of the mentally ill, but we cannot have a national database of gun owners. We must confront Islamist terrorists but we cannot stop them buying guns. Hollywood is to blame for the culture of violence, but the gun culture itself has nothing to do with it.

Donald Trump is right. This is a mental health problem at the highest level, and our leaders need urgent treatment. In the meantime, let us pray for them to come to their senses as soon as they can.

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The heartbreaking stupidity of America's gun laws | Richard Wolffe

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Another year, another church. Another month, another mass killing. Another day, another political shrug about gun massacres across the United States. There is still some shock left in this uniquely American series of mass killings. And with that shock, maybe a small glimmer of hope that the silent majority of Americans might demand something more than prayers from their lawmakers.

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After months of negotiations, the UK and European Union finally agreed a deal that will define their future relationship, which comes into effect at 23.00GMT on 31 December.

It has. The UK voted to leave the EU in 2016 and officially left the trading bloc - its nearest and biggest trading partner - on 31 January 2020.

However, both sides agreed to keep many things the same until 31 December 2020, to allow enough time to agree to the terms of a new trade deal.

It was a complex, sometimes bitter negotiation, but they finally agreed a deal on 24 December.

The deal contains new rules for how the UK and EU will live, work and trade together.

While the UK was in the EU, companies could buy and sell goods across EU borders without paying taxes and there were no limits on the amount of things which could be traded.

Under the terms of the deal, that won't change on 1 January, but to be sure that neither side has an unfair advantage, both sides had to agree to some shared rules and standards on workers' rights, as well as many social and environmental regulations. You can read more detail on other aspects of the deal, including more on travel, fishing, and financial services, here.

Freedom to work and live between the UK and the EU also comes to an end, and in 2021, UK nationals will need a visa if they want to stay in the EU more than 90 days in a 180-day period.

Northern Ireland will continue to follow many of the EU's rules in order to avoid a hardening of its border with the Republic of Ireland. This will mean however that new checks will be introduced on goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

Now that it's no longer in the EU, the UK is free to set its own trade policy and can negotiate deals with other countries. Talks are being held with the US, Australia and New Zealand - countries that currently don't have free trade deals with the EU.

There may not be new taxes to pay at the border, but there will be new paperwork, and the potential for it to cause delays is a serious concern.

"This is the biggest imposition of red tape that businesses have had to deal with in 50 years," according to William Bain from the British Retail Consortium.

The UK says it will delay making most checks for six months, to allow people to get used to the new system, but the EU will be checking paperwork and carrying out checks from day one. So if businesses are not prepared, or do not fill in the new paperwork correctly, it could cause delays and backlogs at ports like Dover.

The government has known about this for years, and has made plans to divert trade to other ports around the country and has built lorry parks in Kent, to avoid gridlock on the roads.

It's difficult to predict what the scale of any disruption might be, but government minister Michael Gove has said that UK businesses should prepare for some "bumpy moments".

Sadly, no. Decisions are still to be made on data sharing and on financial services, and the agreement on fishing only lasts five years.

Also while the UK and EU have agreed to some identical rules now, they don't have to be identical in the future, and if one side takes exception to the changes, they can trigger a dispute, which could ultimately lead to tariffs (charges on imports) being imposed on some goods in the future.

Expect the threat of disputes to be a new constant in UK-EU relations.

What Brexit words mean

The last few years have seen many words and phrases enter our lives. We haven't used them here, but politicians do use them. Here's what some of them mean:

Transition period: The 11-month period following the UK's exit from the EU (finishing at the end of 2020), during which time the UK has followed EU rules, to allow leaders to make a deal.

Free trade: Trade between two countries, where neither side charges taxes or duties on goods crossing borders.

Level playing field: A set of rules to ensure that one country, or group of countries, doesn't have an unfair advantage over another. This can involve areas such as workers' rights and environmental standards. Free trade agreements like the Brexit deal often include level playing field measures.

Tariff: A tax or duty to be paid on goods crossing borders.

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Brexit: What you need to know about the UK leaving the EU

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The UK and EU begin a new relationship on 1 January 2021.

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It's been four years since Donald Trump made a string of promises during his long 2016 campaign to be the 45th president of the United States. Four years later, his supporters often cite "promises made, promises kept" as a reason why they're backing him again.
Many of them made headlines - from banning all Muslims entering the US, to building a border wall paid for by Mexico.

But others went a little under the radar, like his pledge to eliminate the national debt.

So how has he done in keeping his promises?

Tax cuts

Before election: Trump promised to lower the corporate tax rate and bring in huge tax cuts for working Americans.

After: The Republican tax plan passed in December 2017, and it largely ticks the box for the president although its merits are hotly disputed. He has had to compromise on his pledge to bring corporation tax down from 35% to 15% (it will be 21% instead).

And the tax cuts for individuals will expire, although Republicans say future governments will simply renew them. But wealthy Americans are expected to benefit more than poorer ones.

Not everyone saw their taxes lowered. For some higher earners in urbanised, mostly Democratic states, taxes went up due to a cap on state and local property and income tax deductions.

Paris climate deal

Before: As a candidate, Mr Trump derided climate change as a hoax concocted by China, and the regulations of Paris as stifling to American growth.

After: After three months of hemming and hawing behind the closed doors of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the president came down decisively on the side near the exits. Quitting the Paris deal, signed by nearly 200 countries, is unequivocally a promise kept. The exit officially takes effect 4 November, the day after the US election.

Reshaping the judiciary

Before: "I am looking for judges and have actually picked 20 of them. They'll respect the Second Amendment and what it stands for and what it represents."

After: He vowed to appoint a conservative justice and he has appointed two - Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

Mr Gorsuch's appointment required a procedural change to Senate rules, but it was Mr Kavanaugh's appointment that was particularly controversial.

Mr Kavanaugh faced sexual assault allegations - which he denied - and was eventually voted through by 50-48 - the tightest nomination vote since 1881.

What's more, his third nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, is on course to be confirmed. If approved by the Republican-controlled Senate, she could ensure a conservative majority on the Supreme Court for decades to come.

In addition to making his mark on the top court, Mr Trump has appointed nearly 200 conservative judges to lower federal courts.

Repeal and replace Obamacare

Before: One of Mr Trump's trademark rally pledges was to repeal and replace Obamacare - his predecessor's attempt to extend healthcare to the estimated 15% of the country who are not covered.

It is widely hated by Republicans, who say the law imposes too many costs on business, with many describing it as a "job killer" and decrying the reforms - officially the Affordable Care Act - as an unwarranted intrusion into the affairs of private businesses and individuals.

After: Republicans have been unable to pass a repeal or reform bill.

That said, the Trump administration has managed to dismantle parts of the law - enrolment periods have been shortened, some subsidies have been axed, and the fine for people who did not purchase health insurance has been eliminated as part of the 2017 tax plan.

And in December 2018, a federal judge in Texas ruled that repealing this penalty, an "essential" part of the law, meant the entirety of Obamacare is therefore unconstitutional.

The law, however, remains in place as an appeal heads to the US Supreme Court, with a ruling expected sometime in 2021.

Before: His vow to build a wall along the US-Mexican border was one of the most controversial of Mr Trump's campaign promises. Mr Trump also insisted that Mexico would pay for it.

After: Mexico poured scorn on the claim that it would pay for such a barrier, and even Mr Trump appears to have dropped that idea.

Democrats are vociferously opposed to a wall, whereas some Republicans have baulked at a bill that could reach $21.5bn (£17bn), according to a Department of Homeland Security internal report.

In December 2018 the US government went into shutdown after Democrats resisted Mr Trump's demands for $5bn to fund the wall. He has since redirected defence and some other funds to build or replace sections of the wall, a decision that has faced legal challenges.

As of late May, 194 miles of wall system had been built, mostly to shore up dilapidated or outdated designs of the barrier already in place - just three miles construction was part of an entirely new system.

Bombing IS

Before: During a speech in Iowa in November 2015, Mr Trump warned that he would, using an expletive, bomb the so-called Islamic State group into obliteration.

After: The president dropped the biggest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal on an IS-stronghold in Afghanistan. He also takes credit for driving IS out of parts of Iraq and Syria, saying the group has been "largely defeated", although that process was under way under Obama. Last year, IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed himself during a raid by US commandos.

Moving Israel embassy

Before: Mr Trump pledged during his campaign to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a divided city which both Israelis and Palestinians claim.

After: In 2017, he said he formally recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and approved moving the US embassy. It opened in May 2018 to coincide with Israel's 70th anniversary. The construction of a permanent US embassy building in Jerusalem was approved in 2019.

Military spending

Before: "I'm going to build a military that's going to be much stronger than it is right now. It's going to be so strong, nobody's going to mess with us," Donald Trump said on the campaign trail in October 2015.

He promised to reverse defence cuts brought in by President Barack Obama in 2013. "We want to deter, avoid and prevent conflict through our unquestioned military dominance," he said.

After: Defence spending has indeed risen steadily throughout the Trump presidency - although overall levels remain below the first years of the Obama administration.

Military spending increased dramatically from 2002 as the US entered protracted wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It peaked in 2010 as a percentage of GDP - the value of all goods and services - after which the US began stepping back from its engagement in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Cutting regulations

Before: Just a month before his election win in November 2016, Mr Trump said he could cut as many as 70% of US federal regulations if elected.

"It's just stopping businesses from growing," he told an audience in New Hampshire.

The promise drew him support from large and small businesses, who helped him to victory that year.

After: The president has slashed through regulations on everything from labour to the environment.

Just days after taking office he signed the Presidential Executive Order on Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs, which mandated that when government departments asked for a federal regulation, they had to specify two others they would drop.

Throughout his term he has continued to slash back red tape. In January 2020 he scrapped protections for US wetlands and streams, and in July he announced changes to the National Environmental Protection Act in a bid to speed up infrastructure projects.

"We are reclaiming America's proud heritage as a nation that gets things done," he said.

Bringing troops home

Before: Mr Trump has long called for the US to leave the Middle East. On the 2016 campaign trail, he said the region was a "total and complete mess" and wished the government had spent the trillions of dollars in the US instead.

His talk of an end to US military deployments overseas predates his presidential run. In 2013, he tweeted: "Our troops are being killed by the Afghanis we train and we waste billions there. Nonsense! Rebuild the USA." That same year, he said the US should "stay the hell out" of the Syrian war.

After: In September 2017, the Trump administration announced the deployment of 3,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. Mr Trump said his approach would be based on conditions on the ground. In Syria, the US had led a coalition against IS along with Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters, with around 2,000 troops on the ground.

By December 2018, Mr Trump ordered the withdrawal of all US troops from Syria, though about half the troops, approximately 500, still remain.

Mr Trump recently said he has plans to further cut troops in Afghanistan - after reducing them to 8,600 from 13,000 over the spring and summer - before the 3 November election. In February, US and Nato allies agreed to withdraw all troops from the country within 14 months if Taliban militants uphold a new peace agreement.

The president's efforts to pull down troops has at times been met with criticism from his own officials. Following Mr Trump's announcement of a Syria withdrawal in part prompted the resignation of US Defence Secretary James Mattis.

Trade deals

Before: Mr Trump called Nafta "a disaster" and warned that the TPP "is going to be worse, so we will stop it". He also pledged to correct the trade deficit with China.

After: Mr Trump followed through in his first few days on his pledge to withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). He later said he would consider re-joining the TPP if he got a better deal.

On 30 November, after protracted negotiations, the US, Canada and Mexico signed the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which was designed to replace Nafta and recently came into force. However, the US has reimposed aluminium tariffs on Canada, and Ottawa reciprocated with retaliatory tariffs.

The US and South Korea also signed a revised trade pact in September 2018.

The US and China, meanwhile, became embroiled in an escalating trade battle - with both sides imposing tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of goods.

Despite ongoing tensions, in August the US and China held talks over their so-called "phase-one" trade deal - signed early this year - that is aimed at easing the trade war.

Ban on Muslims

Before: Mr Trump initially promised to ban all Muslims entering the US - a "total and complete" shutdown should remain until the US authorities "can figure out what's going on".

But he switched to "extreme vetting" after he became the party's presidential candidate.

After: As president, he introduced two travel bans which became ensnarled in the courts - but the third had more luck. The US Supreme Court ruled President Trump's ban on six mainly Muslim countries can go into full effect, pending legal challenges.

The current ban restricts travellers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela and North Korea.

And in January, the US has announced it was expanding its curbs on immigration to include six more countries. Citizens from Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan, Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar will now be blocked from obtaining certain types of visas.

Cuba thaw no more

Before: Mr Trump said in September 2016 that he would reverse the deal President Barack Obama had struck to reopen diplomatic relations and improve trade.

After: As president, he told an audience in Miami that he was "cancelling the Obama administration's one-sided deal."

In 2017, Mr Trump reimposed some trade and travel restrictions lifted by his predecessor. He kept the embassy open in Havana, although without naming an ambassador to the country.

Last year, the administration announced a ban on travel to Cuba for American group tours as well as cruise ships journeying to the island

Until then, US tourism to Cuba was not permitted, but certain forms of organised group travel, known as "people-to-people" travel, had been allowed.

This month the US administration announced further restrictions, saying it would suspend all private charter flights between the United States and Cuba, to increase economic pressure on Havana. The suspension comes into force on 13 October.

China as currency manipulator

Before: Mr Trump repeatedly pledged to label Beijing a "currency manipulator" on his first day in office, during an election campaign when he also accused the Asian powerhouse of "raping" the US. China has been accused of suppressing the yuan to make its exports more competitive with US goods.

After: In August 2019, the administration officially named China as a "currency manipulator". The US Treasury department defines currency manipulation as when countries deliberately influence the exchange rate between their currency and the US dollar to gain "unfair competitive advantage in international trade".

But in January, the US reversed its decision when China had agreed to refrain from devaluing its currency to make its own goods cheaper for foreign buyers.

National debt

Before: "I know the Wall Street people probably better than anybody knows them," Donald Trump told the Washington Post in 2016, and promised to clear the country's then-$19tn national debt "over a period of eight years".

After: Halfway through that eight-year promise, the US national debt has ballooned by more than a third, hitting $27tn in October 2020. Mr Trump increased the national debt ceiling in 2017, before suspending it until after the 2020 election in July 2019.

It is predicted the debt will rise even further once the full economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic becomes apparent.

Deporting all illegal immigrants

Before: Mr Trump repeatedly told his supporters that every single undocumented immigrant - of which there are estimated to be more than 11.3 million - "have to go".

After: As polling day approached, his stance began to soften slightly, then after the election he scaled it back to some two to three million deportations of people who "are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers".

In fiscal year 2019 deportations were at 267,000, a slight rise on the year before, though not as high as the 2012 peak of 410,000 under the Obama administration.

Mr Trump's plans for immigration reform faced defeat this summer when the Supreme Court ruled against his administration's bid to rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca), which protects about 650,000 young people who entered the US without documents as children.

Rebuilding infrastructure

Before: The country's infrastructure "will become, by the way, second to none, and we will put millions of our people back to work as we rebuild it", he said in his victory speech in November.

After: Has repeated his vow to spend big on the country's roads, rail and airports, but as yet, there is little sign of action. By March 2018 Congress had allocated $21bn for infrastructure spending - far short of the $1.5tn Mr Trump has called for. The money will be spent on a wide range of upgrades and investments, according to a congressional graphic.

In April 2019, Mr Trump and Democratic leaders agreed to spend $2tn on infrastructure, an agreement that later fell apart. This June there were reports the Trump administration had a $1tn plan in the works, but no announcement has been made.

Ditching Nato

Before: Mr Trump repeatedly questioned the military alliance's purpose, calling it "obsolete". One issue that irked him was whether members were pulling their weight and "paying their bills". In one New York Times interview in July 2016, he even hinted that the US would not come to the aid of a member invaded by Russia.

After: But as he hosted Nato's secretary general at the White House in April 2018, the US president said the threat of terrorism had underlined the alliance's importance. "I said it [Nato] was obsolete," Mr Trump said. "It's no longer obsolete."

In July 2018, Mr Trump reiterated his support at the Nato summit, but suggested the US might still leave if allies did not acquiesce to his budget demands.

Mr Trump has continued to argue that Canada and European members of Nato are not spending enough to support the alliance, and recently said the US will move nearly 12,000 troops out of Germany.

Torture

Before: Mr Trump said he would approve waterboarding "immediately" and "make it also much worse", adding "torture works".

After: But after his inauguration, the president said he would defer to the countervailing belief, espoused by former Defence Secretary James Mattis and then-CIA director Mike Pompeo, who is now secretary of state.

Mr Pompeo said during his CIA confirmation hearing that he would "absolutely not" reinstate such methods.

Prosecuting Hillary Clinton

Before: "Lock her up" was one of the main rallying cries of Mr Trump's supporters.

They wanted to see Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in prison over the use of her private email server while secretary of state.

And Mr Trump was more than willing to back their calls for, at the very least, a fresh investigation. During the debates, he told Mrs Clinton: "If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation."

After: The president-elect's tone changed almost as soon as he had won, describing the woman he had said was "such a nasty woman" as someone the country owed "a debt of gratitude". Later, he said he "hadn't given [the prosecution] a lot of thought" and had other priorities.

In November 2016 Mr Trump's spokeswoman said he would not pursue a further investigation - to help Mrs Clinton "heal".

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US election 2020: Has Trump delivered on his promises?

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Donald Trump made voters a number of promises before they elected him. But has he kept his word?

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Would Donald Trump win a presidential election again today? Five experts - and a bookmaker - have their say.

There are many words to describe the 12 months since Mr Trump was elected.

Smooth is not one of them.

Mr Trump won despite getting almost three million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton.

Since then, there have been sackings, spats with NFL players, and sabre-rattling with North Korea.

His approval rating has fallen, and a special counsel is investigating the election itself.

But his supporters say a booming economy and improved border security prove they were right to take a gamble on an outsider.

So would the president win again now?

Verdict 1: Trump is in trouble

After shocking the world in November 2016, Mr Trump sent Allan Lichtman a handwritten note.

"Professor - congrats - good call," it said.

The note was written on a print-out of a Washington Post article from 23 September 2016.

In the article, Professor Lichtman said that - despite what most experts thought - Mr Trump was heading for the White House.

For the ninth presidential election in a row, he called it right. So how would Mr Trump do in a hypothetical election today?

"There are probably enough negative keys to predict his defeat," says Professor Lichtman, who teaches at American University.

The professor uses 13 "keys" to predict elections. They focus on the incumbent party, and cover the economy, scandal, the candidates' charisma, and other areas.

It is "very difficult" to call an early, hypothetical election, Professor Lichtman says. For example: one of his "keys" is the mid-term elections, which haven't happened yet.

But he says things aren't looking good for the president, with a lack of significant achievements and "scandals piling up", although the economy is currently a positive.

Mr Trump himself is also a drag on his chances, he says. "The very, very negative personal ratings would count against him."

The professor also downplays the importance of his opponent. "Only one of my 13 keys has anything to do with the opposing candidate," he says.

He thinks the scandals are so great, he wrote a book predicting Mr Trump's impeachment. Does he stand by that?

"You bet I'm standing by it," he says.

Verdict 2: Trump would beat Clinton, but could lose to a different Democrat

The Trafalgar Group - a small polling firm from Atlanta, Georgia - didn't just forecast Trump's win. They forecast the margin.

So, one year on, how would a rematch go?

"If it's the same match-up, I don't think there's any question," says Robert Cahaly, the group's senior strategist.

"Trump would win again."

Trafalgar has been "in the field" in 12 states this year, and always measures Trump's approval.

"Trump is still doing things that energise the people who brought him to the White House," says Mr Cahaly. Such as?

"The NFL thing. Anyone who thinks the NFL thing has hurt Trump among the people who won the swing states is completely crazy."

But what about the Russian links? The special counsel indicting Mr Trump's former campaign chairman?

"There are strong Russian connections with Hillary now," he says.

"The idea there's something fishy going on with Hillary, if nothing else, has counter-balanced any accusation against Trump."

But there is a caveat.

"My personal opinion has always been the Republican Party was very lucky Joe Biden wasn't the nominee.

"He appeals to the same demographic as Trump. It would have been a battle royal in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan."

Verdict 3: Don't rule out another Trump victory

Since 20 January, Gallup has carried out a daily poll, asking Americans whether they approve of the job the president is doing.

The numbers aren't great.

From June, Mr Trump's approval rating has usually been below 40%. On 29 October, it was just 33%.

But, says Frank Newport, Gallup's editor-in-chief, that doesn't mean he would lose a hypothetical election.

"He may be trending down a little, but if you look at the big picture from March or so, there's not a dramatic change," he says.

Gallup also tracked Mr Trump's popularity before the election. "He's unpopular now and he was unpopular then," says Mr Newport.

"He lost the popular vote (in 2016) and he managed to squeak in the electoral college.

"I wouldn't rule out the possibility, with the same opponent, he could pull that off again."

Mr Newport, however, will not put his neck on the line.

"I absolutely would not say he would win," says Mr Newport. "I neither confirm nor deny."

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Verdict 4: The Democrats need someone special to beat Trump

Helmut Norpoth - a political science professor at Stony Brook University in New York - also forecast Mr Trump's win in 2016.

"If you look at his approval rating, it's abysmal," he says.

"It's the worst any president has had [at this stage in his presidency]. It looks like a long shot - but it was a long shot for him to win in the first place."

So - in a hypothetical election against Hillary - who would he put his money on?

"I would bet that he would win again," he says. "He would beat her again."

Like Robert Cahaly from the Trafalgar Group, he thinks a different Democrat could have a better chance. But he doesn't know who that might be.

"I think Democrats don't realise what kind of a special candidate they had in Barack Obama," he says.

"They had Bill Clinton, they had Obama, but these guys don't come around every year. I don't know who, at this point, would have that kind of appeal."

Verdict 5: Trump would beat Clinton, but not Joe Biden

The answer to Professor Norpoth's question, says Professor Barbara Perry, might be the previous vice-president.

"If tomorrow we put Donald Trump up against Joe Biden, I think Joe Biden would win," says Professor Perry, the director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia's Miller Center.

The problem with that plan, she says, is that Mr Biden will be 77 when the 2020 election is due. So if Mr Trump faced Mrs Clinton tomorrow?

"I would say, against Hillary, he would win," she says.

"His win (in 2016) was multi-causal of course. But what ultimately put him over the top was the Hillary factor in those three states - Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin."

Verdict 6: Trump would beat Hillary - so Democrats need to think differently

On 18 October last year - almost three weeks before the election - Irish bookmaker Paddy Power was sure of the result. So sure, in fact, they paid out early.

Sadly for them, they called it wrong: they paid out on Hillary.

Their mistake cost them $4.5m. Since then, they've appointed a Head of Trump Betting, Joe Lee.

"On election day last year, Trump went in as a 4/1 underdog," he says.

"That more or less gave him a 20% chance. If we were going to market again, tomorrow or next week, we'd probably be closer to 50-50."

Trump has been strong on terrorism in the last few days, and on other topics that resonate with his core supporters, he says.

So, in the hypothetical election - Trump v Hillary part two - where would this bookmaker place his money?

"Oh, I'd absolutely go with Trump," he says. "No question or doubt about it."

Like the professors and pollsters, Paddy Power thinks Mr Trump's chances are "all down to the calibre of candidate the Democrats roll out".

The bookmaker has taken money on - among others - Mark Zuckerberg and Oprah Winfrey, while the Hawaiian congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has been backed into 20/1.

For now, though, Mr Trump is calling the shots.

The bad news for the president?

Paddy Power has him 5/4 to be impeached - down from 9/4 before the special counsel's indictments.

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Would Donald Trump win an election today?

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Would Donald Trump win a presidential election again today? Five experts - and a bookmaker - have their say. There are many words to describe the 12 months since Mr Trump was elected. Smooth is not one of them. Mr Trump won despite getting almost three million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton.

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Donald Trump will become the 45th US president after a stunning victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The Republican said he would serve all Americans and called for the country to unite, following a divisive campaign which saw him beset by controversies.

Hillary Clinton is due to appear in New York for her first public statement since conceding to Mr Trump in a telephone call on Tuesday evening.

Outgoing President Barack Obama has congratulated his successor by phone.

Mr Obama invited Mr Trump to a meeting at the White House on Thursday to discuss the transition.

When Mr Trump is sworn in as president in January, he will have the benefit of a Republican majority in both houses of Congress, as the party unexpectedly retained control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The Republican nominee defied pre-election polling to claim swing states, winning the key battlegrounds of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The president-elect told cheering supporters that Americans must now "bind the wounds of division", after a gruelling, acrimonious electoral battle.

"I want to tell the world community that while we will always put America's interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone," he said.

Global markets fell sharply at the news, but later recovered.

House Speaker Paul Ryan paid tribute to his fellow Republican, saying he had "turned politics on its head" and would lead a unified Republican government.

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Around the world, leaders and the media have been reacting to America's election upset:

Germany's foreign minister said the outcome would make things "more difficult', with US foreign policy "less predictable"

Russian President Vladimir Putin - for whom Mr Trump has voiced support but who Democrats accused of election meddling - said he hoped ties could improve from their current "critical condition"

The European Union said close co-operation with the US was the only way to deal with "unprecedented challenges" around the world

British Prime Minister Theresa May said the UK and the US had an "enduring and special relationship" and would remain close partners on trade, security and defence

'United people'

While US media report that Mrs Clinton is slightly ahead in the popular vote, in the US electoral college system which determines the presidency, what matters is winning individual states.

As poll counting went late into the night, it was Mr Trump's shock victory in Wisconsin that put him over the 270 out of 538 electoral college votes needed to win the White House.

Minutes after Mrs Clinton called him to concede, the US president-elect took to the stage with his family at his victory rally in a New York hotel ballroom and paid tribute to his rival.

"Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country."

He called for Americans to "come together as one united people" and pledged to be president "for all Americans", after a campaign that saw him hit out at Muslims, Hispanics and other minority groups.

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'Popular revolution': By Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington

Donald Trump defied all expectations from the very start of his presidential campaign more than a year ago.

Very few people thought he would actually run. He did. They thought he wouldn't climb in the polls. He did. They said he wouldn't win any primaries. He did. They said he could never overcome resistance from the Republican establishment and win his party's nomination. He did.

Finally, they said there was no way he could compete for, let alone win, a general election match-up with Hillary Clinton. Now he's President-elect Trump.

He staged the most unconventional of campaigns, running on gut instinct and his trademark bombast when others - both within his own party and outside - counselled moderation and a pivot to positions perceived to be more acceptable to mainstream voters.

He stayed true to the methods and tactics that got him to the cusp of the presidency, and in the end he was rewarded for it.

Down the stretch Mr Trump boasted that he was leading a movement, riding the crest of a popular revolution that would change the face of American politics. He was right.

Mr Trump has so far won 28 US states. Mrs Clinton, 69, has only notched up victories in 18 US states and the District of Columbia.

New Hampshire and Michigan remained too close to call as of Wednesday morning.

Mr Trump held solidly Republican territory, despite vigorous Democrat campaigning in states such as Georgia, Arizona and Utah, and achieved major upsets in swing states, winning Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, states that have not supported a Republican presidential candidate since 1988 and 1984 respectively.

At 70, the billionaire will be the oldest first-term president in US history.
How Trump won in maps
Mrs Clinton, who dreamed of becoming the first female US president, did not appear at what was meant to be her victory rally in Manhattan.

Mr Trump provoked controversy on the campaign trail for comments about women, Muslims and a plan to build a wall along the US-Mexican border.

He fired up white, working-class American voters who were angry at the Washington establishment and felt left behind by globalisation.

Mrs Clinton - who held a slim lead in opinion polls going into the vote - saw her campaign dogged by FBI investigations into her use of a private email server as US secretary of state. Last Sunday, the FBI cleared her once again of any criminality.

Mr Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told CNN that Mr Trump had not discussed the issue of prosecuting Mrs Clinton in her concession phone call.

Polls showed she won support from female, African American and Hispanic voters, while Mr Trump scored well with male and white voters.

In a separate development, Massachusetts, Nevada and California voted to legalise recreational marijuana, which could lead to the creation of the largest market for marijuana products in the US.

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Donald Trump will become the 45th US president after a stunning victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton. The Republican said he would serve all Americans and called for the country to unite, following a divisive campaign which saw him beset by controversies.