US President Joe Biden is expected to address the nation this afternoon after Donald Trump was elected as his successor in an extraordinary political comeback.

Mr Biden, who was replaced by vice president Kamala Harris as the Democrats’ presidential candidate over concerns about his mental fitness, will speak at 4pm (UK time), the White House said on Thursday.

He has already issued a statement in which he said Ms Harris “stepped up and led a historic campaign” that “embodied what’s possible when guided by a strong moral compass and a clear vision for a nation”.

US election latest: Trump to select team in days

But later today will be the first time the country will hear from the president in person.

Mr Biden called Mr Trump after his emphatic victory in the US presidential election on Wednesday.

He has also invited the man he ousted from the White House four years ago to an Oval Office meeting to prepare to return the keys.

The president and president-elect will get together in the coming weeks as the administrations begin the process of changing leader.

Ms Harris called Mr Trump to concede the election and to congratulate him last night, and told her supporters in a speech in Washington she was “proud of the race we ran” but “we must accept the result”.

Mr Trump, who has described his return to power as the start of a “golden age of America”, has been keeping a low profile after addressing supporters in Florida yesterday morning to declare victory.

The 78-year-old made history as the first defeated president in over a century to return to the Oval Office – and the first convicted criminal to win the presidency.

He is also facing other criminal and civil cases.

Experts say his election victory will essentially end the criminal cases brought against him, at least for the time he occupies the White House.

The former president refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the US Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts.

The property mogul and former reality star told his supporters at his election party in Florida: “People told me that God spared me for a reason.”

He added: “This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to ‘make America great again’.”

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Against the expectations of most polls and pundits, Mr Trump surpassed 270 Electoral College votes and clinched a second term in the White House with crucial wins in five battleground states: North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

He is also leading in Arizona and Nevada (which are yet to called), according to Sky’s US partner NBC News, and remains on course to claim all seven swing states.

Mr Trump spent his first day as president-elect receiving congratulatory phone calls from world leaders – and will now begin the process of choosing who will be in his administration for his second stint in the White House.

He may opt to dramatically transform US foreign and domestic policy.

Mr Trump has previously said he would end Russia’s war in Ukraine if he returned to office.

He has also long criticised NATO, threatening to pull the US from the alliance.

On Thursday, NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte warned the strengthening ties between Russia and North Korea are not only a threat to European security, but also for the United States.

“I look forward to a sit down with Donald Trump to discuss how we face these threats collectively,” he said.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she was looking forward to working with Mr Trump again to strengthen the transatlantic bond.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet commented on the outcome of US election.

However, contact between him and Mr Trump before the 20 January inauguration has not been ruled out, the Russian Interfax news agency cited the Kremlin as saying.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged Mr Trump’s win but said he had no information on whether Mr Putin planned to congratulate him.

He underlined that Russia still sees the US as an “unfriendly” country due to its support for Ukraine.

With Donald Trump preparing to return to the White House, attention has turned once again to Project 2025 – controversial plans for government linked to the president-elect.

The 922-page blueprint for government could reshape American democracy, it has been claimed.

It was written by an influential conservative thinktank, the Heritage Foundation.

It sets out policy proposals for a Republican win in the US presidential election, which was achieved when Mr Trump took Wisconsin yesterday morning, taking him past the 270 electoral college vote required for victory.

What policies are included in the document?

The document proposes a four pillar approach – the first sets out policies to be enacted, the others how those policies will be put in place.

This includes setting up a list of personnel who it says will be willing to move to Washington to form “an army of aligned, vetted, trained, and prepared conservatives to go to work on Day One to deconstruct the Administrative State”.

At its heart, it says, is the need to “restore the family” to the centre of US life, recommending that once a conservative president is inaugurated “Federal power must… be wielded to reverse the crisis and rescue America’s kids from familial breakdown.”

The policy agenda includes criminalising pornography, disbanding the departments for education and homeland security and overhauling the FBI.

It rejects the concept of abortion as healthcare and proposes the rollback of LGBTQ+ rights, ending climate projections and using the military to tackle large-scale protests.

On immigration, the blueprint calls for the largest deportation in history, a policy for which Donald Trump has also expressed his support.

The database of personnel willing to help deliver Project 25 would create a pool of politically-appointed civil servants, who would be trained via an online presidential academy.

A 180-day action plan for how the government would achieve its goals is the fourth pillar of the project.

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What is the Heritage Foundation?

The Heritage Foundation, based in Washington DC, was founded in 1973.

Its mission upon its creation was to mould America into a more Christian, conservative country.

“Essentially, what this boils down to is a vision of the country that privileges and prioritises Christians,” said US historian Dr Kristin Kobes Du Mez.

In 1981, the foundation wrote its first manifesto, which promised to roll back the state and unleash free market capitalism, the same year in which, in the January, Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as president.

One of the report’s authors says in its introduction: “By the end of that year, more than 60% of its recommendations had become policy.”

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What has Trump said about the document?

Donald Trump tried to distance himself from Project 2025 during the election campaign, but the president-elect has previously spoken at Heritage Foundation events.

In April 2022, he said: “This is a great group and they’re going to lay the groundwork in detailed plans for exactly what our movement will do and what your movement will do when the American people give us a colossal mandate to save America.”

But in a rally this summer, he said the project had been designed by some on the “severe right”, and in September’s presidential debate he said he had “nothing to do with Project 2025”.

What have the Democrats said?

During the election campaign, the Democrats used Project 2025 as a major political attack point.

President Biden said the project would “destroy America”, while vice president Harris called it “extreme” and said would “weaken the middle class”.

Would such a large number of political appointees be possible?

Many positions in the US administration have to be vetted and go through a series of rounds of approval before they can be appointed.

Read more:
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Some have questioned whether a plan to put such a large number of politically aligned appointees into positions across government would be possible.

Javed Ali, a security analyst and former senior director of counterterrorism under Donald Trump, told Sky News: “Depending on who is prefered by [Trump], will they go through the traditional process by which you have to be presidentially appointed, confirmed by the US senate, go through an extensive background investigation process to get your security clearance? Those are all things that have stood the test of time.

“If President Trump wants to bypass those, I’m not sure of the legal basis on which he can operate, or if there is some executive basis he might have as commander in chief, but that will be a fascinating aspect of this.”

A real estate developer who has bought Matthew Perry’s former home in Los Angeles has shared details of a blessing ceremony carried out at the property.

Anita Verma-Lallian, who is also a film producer, posted pictures and a video on Instagram, saying she and her family plan to honour “the positive aspects of the previous owner’s life, his immense talent, and all the joy he brought to so many people”.

She also said she would retain some of the features – including the famous Batman logo in the pool at the property, which “is definitely staying”.

Perry was found dead at the house in the Pacific Palisades area on 28 October 2023, aged 54.

In her post on Instagram, Ms Verma-Lallian wrote: “The moment I walked into the home, I absolutely fell in love with the features, especially the view of the Pacific Ocean. We knew it was ‘the one’ and decided to write an offer on it immediately.

“As a real estate developer myself, I believe every property has a history that we may or may not know about, and every home carries the energy that the current owner brings to it.

“I am Hindu, and it’s customary to do a blessing and prayer anytime you buy a new home. We were so lucky to have our Panditji [Hindu priest] from Arizona come to the house to do the blessing.”

The decision to buy the property had nothing to do with Perry, “just our love of the home”, Ms Verma-Lallian added.

She said the family would keep some of the design elements, including the Batman logo, and added: “It’s a piece of paradise that is filled with light and the perfect vacation home for us. Can’t wait to make new memories in it.”

The property was sold for $8.55m (£6.6m) in an off-market deal, according to US media.

During his life, Perry was open about his battle with substance abuse and addiction – and set up a sober living facility for men with similar issues.

Ketamine, a sedative that can be used as a recreational drug, as well as to treat depression and pain management, was found to be the primary cause of his death.

Five people were charged earlier this year after an investigation unearthed a “broad underground criminal network” of people who “took advantage” of Perry when he fell back into addiction.

On the anniversary of the actor’s death last month, Friends stars including Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston paid tribute, with Cox sharing photos and writing on Instagram: “Missing you today and always.”