Biden edges closer to win as Trump launches lawsuits and rages about fraud

Democrat Joe Biden crept nearer to victory over Donald Trump on Thursday in an exceedingly close U.S. election that hinged on razor-thin margins in a handful of states, while the Republican president escalated his legal efforts hoping to slow down his opponent.

Biden, the former U.S. vice president, was continuing to cut into Trump's leads in Pennsylvania and Georgia while retaining slim margins in Nevada and Arizona.

Ballot counting dragged on in those battleground states two days after polls closed, with protesters from both sides staging street demonstrations in major cities over the vote counting.

Trump, who during the long and rancorous campaign