After a campaign marked by rancour and fear, Americans on Tuesday decide between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, selecting a leader to steer a nation battered by a surging pandemic that has killed more than 231,000 people, cost millions their jobs and reshaped daily life. A record-breaking number of early votes more than 100 million have already been cast in the US presidential election that has the nation on edge and is being closely watched in capitals around the world.