Nevada caucuses: crucial ‘first in the west’ Democratic contest kicks off – live

Saturday’s vote could be a make-or-break moment for candidates in the first state with a diverse electorate

At Sparks high school outside Reno, a group of Sanders supporters were the first to arrive hours before the caucus, encouraging voters to back the Vermont senator as they lined up.

Essie Richard, 73, one of the first voters to arrive. Supporting @JoeBiden. “I’m Biden all the way. He was Vice President for eight years. He has the experience.” Protecting social security and Medicare are most important to her: “I’m barely surviving.” pic.twitter.com/Ibb8YF6fVb

Naomi Zamarripa, 18, high schooler voting for first time: “I love his commitment. He’s been around for so long, he keeps fighting + stays true to his beliefs.” @BernieSanders will win, she said: “Nevada is the first state that has a diverse makeup, he appeals to a lot of groups” pic.twitter.com/btVEPFiCV6

As the caucuses get underway, social media streams are starting to fill with “first alignment” results from individual caucus sites. But what about the actual, official results?

Tom Perez, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, told reporters today that results will be released as soon as possible, but that the priority is, “first and foremost, to get it right,” according to the AP.

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5.32pm GMT

Secretary of state Mike Pompeo condemned China for expelling three Wall Street Journal reporters over a critical op-ed published by the newspaper.

The United St...