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Cheering people flooded the streets of Brooklyn as they hear Joe Biden won the key battleground state of Pennsylvania. Wochit

In New York, car horns and shouts of joy permeated the air as news spread thatDemocratic nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden had won the presidency Saturday morning and Kamala Harris would be his vice president, becoming the nation's first woman of color in that role. In downtown Chicago, hundreds of people gathered across from Trump Tower, hugging, popping champagne and singing We are the champions."And in Lansing, Michigan, hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trumptook to the Capitol stepsto protest what they consider a rigged presidential race.

After anxious days filled withuncertainty, legal wrangling,street protests and unfounded claims of voter fraud from the White House, Biden was unofficially declaredthe nation's next presidentas the painstaking counting ofvotes in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolinaand Alaska drew to a close.

Biden's supporters hoped the outcome would bring renewed effortsto solving some of the nation's deepest troubles, including racial injustice,immigration reform, climate change and the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Some Republican votersresolved to give Biden a try, while others were not ready to say goodbye to the Trump White House.

Inthe traditionally liberal stronghold of Boulder, Colorado, Marisole Bolanos, 38, listenedSaturday as a wave of cheers spread among the crowd at a farmers market, powered by smartphonealerts. Passing cars honked their horns and people whooped in celebration in this county where Biden took more than 77% of the vote.

These are tears of joy, she said, taking a break from ringing up corn tortillas.

Bolanos said shes been frustrated at how Trump scapegoated immigrants like herself. She came to the United States as a four-year-oldbut has been a U.S. citizen since college.

I feel like the last four years have given us a lot of division among each other. I hope we can all come together in respect for each other, to respect our differences but be a more respectful United States, she said. All that promoting hate and blaming things on immigrants? Ugh. Its a direct attack on who we are.

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In Washington, D.C., Jerry Hauser, 52, a non-profit organizer, rushed out to a street corner to celebrate with his family with noisemakers and percussion instruments. He hoped the next four years would bring, "an end to the madness if nothing else."

"It will bring progress on all the issues I care about, climate change, immigration, civil rights, healthcare, but I think more than anything, end the madness," he said.

Of Harris' historic victory, he added,"It's a huge day for our country, it's an amazing thing. It shows who we really are as a people and that we're better than we've been these last four years."

Many Trump supporters, however, were in disbelief over Biden's victory.

In Michigan,Michael Elkins, of Westland, wore an American flag suit and joined protesters in Lansing. He saidhe suspected election fraud,pointingto adebunked claim that Biden received 100%, or more than 130,000 Michigan votes, during an election update.

"If Joe Biden won legitimately, I'm OK with that," Elkinsaid. "Election integrity is a cornerstone of society that is crumbling away."

In Chicago,Lane Kreisl, 39, came out of the gym high on adrenaline and convinced the election was a fraud despite no evidence to support this theory.

Kreisl, whoserved one tour in Afghanistan and a double tour in Iraq and works in construction, didnt vote in 2016 but backedTrump this year.

My biggest thing with Trump is, he says stuff that maybe is not the most graceful, but hes been attacked for four years," he said. "If it is Biden and Harris, I hope they get treated with more respect than this president did.

Mike Quillen, who owns several restaurants in Sarasota, Florida, said he's concerned that a shift in the White House will mean higher taxes, more regulations and tougher COVID-19 restrictions on small businesses.

"A lot of the policies the Trump Administration has done is to help small business, which is the backbone of the country," Quillen said. "I'm really afraid of a one-size-fits-all" approach.

In Los Angeles County, Dan Welte, 40, who splits his time between Southern California and New Mexico, said he was disappointed Trump didn't win and had lingering concerns about howvoteswere counted.

I hope its a fair election and I hope President Biden will rule as a person who makes both sides happy, said Welte, a sales workerwho said he is registered independent, as he waited to pick up food at an IHOP restaurant. Everyone needs to have their voices heard.

Carol Fleming, 83, of San Francisco, says she burst into tears when she heard the news that Joe Biden had won the presidency. Im just so moved, we can have some normalcy again, she said.(Photo: Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY)

The news came after a tense week that saw Americans on both sides of the political divide taketo the streets. In Michigan and Arizona, Trump supporters converged on vote counting centerswith signs and chants thatdemanded the process be stopped. In Washington, D.C., Biden supporters staged days of largely peaceful protests in front of the White House, dancing and setting off fireworks at nearby Black Lives Matter Plaza.

The Electoral College fight with some state races coming down to fewerthan 50,000 votes highlighted the deeply divided nature of the nation after four years of Republican and Democrat leaders exchanging accusations of corruption and wrongdoing and less than a year after President Donald Trump was impeached by the Democrat-led U.S. House of Representativesfor abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Republican-controlled Senate later acquitted Trump on both impeachment articles.

When the tension of the week finally was released with news of Biden's win, some took tosong.

Sitting outside a crepe shop in San Francisco, Carol Fleming, 83, burst into tears when she heard the news Saturday morning.

Im just so moved, we can have some normalcy again, she said. She then began singing a rendition of the song "New York, New York." Start spreading the news. she sang.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden hugs his wife Jill Biden after his speech during the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Del.(Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP)

At a busy intersection in the Astoria neighborhoodin New York City, a largecrowd of roughly several hundred people celebrated, with some holdingBiden-Harris signs and afew crying. At one point, a brief chant of lock him up broke out.

For Ceasar Barajas, 45, Biden's win waspersonal. His aunt in El Paso, Texas, died two weeks ago from COVID-19, and the Biden voter was hopeful that the next few years will help change government systemsthat have resulted inunequal outcomes in health and criminal justice for people of color, he says.

Barajas said thenews made him flashback tothe first time he was slammed to the ground by police. At 14, he was skipping school whenthree white officers grabbed him.The Navy veteran is a first-generation American whos from Houston, Texas. His parents came to the United States from Mexico, he said.

We still have so much work to do, he said. But this is the start.

Molly Rose, a New York City native, heardthe race had been called for Biden as she was in her apartment in Astoria. She grabbed a tambourine and ran out to the street where thecrowd had gathered.

I hope for a more progressive country, Rose, 32, who voted for Biden, said. Less racism, more science. I want more equality.

Biden's victory felt unifying, she said. I feel like Im on the right side of history.

People celebrate in reaction to Joe Biden being declared the presidential winner near the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pa.(Photo: Michael Karas, NorthJersey.com via USA TODAY Network)

The United States and its citizens were uniquely tested this election season.

A new civil rights movement sprung up in the wake of George Floyds death at the hands of Minneapolis police earlier this year. A pandemic that flared in March gathered steam in the fall to render voting even more challenging, with COVID-19 now infecting 120,000 Americans a day as winter nears. And the resulting recession seemedto further galvanize voters.

Those physical and financial pressures conspired to drive voting to record levels, with some 100 million casting votes early and largely by mailto avoid contagion and have their voices heard.

Going into Election Day, myriad polls had Biden comfortably ahead of Trump in a number of states. But, as in2016, Trump upset all predictions of an easy win for Democrats.

Falsely declaring victory while votes are still being counted, President Donald Trump threatened to ask the Supreme Court to halt the counting of legally cast absentee ballots, which he described as a "fraud." USA TODAY

Biden wound up claiming Rust Belt states that Clinton lost four years ago. Trump took Florida, Texas and Ohio, but he struggled in states such as Arizona, where Latino voters seemingly rejected the president's tough stance on immigration and border security. Votes also eluded Trump in Georgia, thanks to massiveget-out-the-vote mobilization efforts in Black communities, including Atlanta.

By and large, rural counties buttressed Trump while urban centers supported Biden. Iowa went solidly for Trump, 53% to 45%, for example, but aglance at the states voting pattern map shows a sea of red counties interrupted by just a few pockets of powerful blue around the hubs of Des Moines and Cedar Rapids.

Americans remained torn Saturday about the election results.

A demonstrator holds up a sign while watching election returns outside the White House, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Washington.(Photo: Jacquelyn Martin, AP)

In Oregon,Malcolm Menefe, a 28-year-oldPortland resident, said he did not vote in the 2020 election because,as a Black man, he feels both candidates weren't doing enough for his community.

Under Trump's presidency, he said, racial issues were put on the front page, finally. His actions were called out more. But he worries that a Biden presidency will be more of the same, just maybe more under the radar.

Across the nation, Black voters overwhelmingly picked Biden, securing his White House victory.

Sonna Singleton Gregory, a county commissioner in her fourth term in Clayton County, Georgia, said "we are ecstatic to see Joe Biden win."

"We let our voices be heard. This is a big win for Clayton County," she said.

Clayton is a predominantly black suburb in south Atlanta, where much of the Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International sits. And it was Clayton voters who erased Trump's initial lead in Georgia with overwhelming support for Biden.

A caravan of supporters for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden drives past supporters of President Donald Trump standing on the sidewalk next to the Versailles Restaurant on Oct. 18, 2020 in Miami, Florida.(Photo: Joe Raedle, Getty Images)

In Miami, Rocio Velazquez, a 40-year-old immigrant from Guatemala, spent the week terrified that Trump would somehow pull out a win. Velazquez, a legal immigrant in the process of becoming a U.S. citizenship, said a Biden presidency will hopefully end - or at least tamp down - the divisiveness that Trump sowed.

"I love that he's talking about representing all people, including those who didn't vote for him," said Velazquez, who works for a non-profit that advocates for children's education and health care. "This gives me hope for a more compassionate country, a more inclusive country."

Her only regret? That the COVID-19 pandemic madeit difficultto celebrate.

"I wish we were in a position where we could have a party," she said.

Renee Wilson dances with fellow gatherers in support of counting every vote Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pa.(Photo: Joe Lamberti, Courier Post-USA TODAY NETWORK)

It was a week of uncertainty and fearfor many Americans. Election nightbrought hope to Trump's re-election campaign, as tallies largely reflected in-person voting, which skewed more towardRepublican voters. But it was always clear that votes mailed in weeks ago to avoid polling stations would both lean Democratic and take days to count, in part because some electionofficials, such as those in Pennsylvania, were not allowed to review the ballots until Election Day.

As that process unfolded, Trump began to see his lead dwindle ever so slowly in states such as Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania andimmediately called for the count to stop. His unproven claims of election fraud werecondemnedby politicians on both sides of the aisleeven before the presidentsurfaced Thursday to give a speech outside the White House laced with unfounded charges of corruption and malfeasance.

"If you count the legal votes I easily win," Trump told reporters.

Detroit Elections employees gather around looking at election results on their phone as they count absentee ballots at TCF center in Detroit, on Nov. 4, 2020.(Photo: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press)

Critics decried the president's speech as an attack on democracy and urged the White House to accept the legal count.

"This is getting insane," said Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., and an Air Force veteran who had repeatedly criticized the president for his attacks on the election process.

The big three networks ABC, NBC and CBS took the unusual step ofbreakingaway from Trump's 17-minute talk, cutting toanchors who explainedwhy the president's claims of election fraud were unfounded.

As of Saturday, Biden appeared to have won the election by 5 million popular votes. More crucially,he won the Electoral College, surpassing the necessary 270 votes by taking Nevada, Arizona and Pennsylvania.

Despite the voting results, President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday, "I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!" The president's team continued to dispute the results, saying he would not concede.

In the end,some Americans were ready Saturday to simply move on.

Frank Pelanek, 41, a career firefighter and paramedic from the suburbs of Chicago, was stopped at a stop sign on his way to get coffee when his wife read him the news alert from her phone. He saidrelief washed over him, as much for the Biden win as for having the election finally called.

People celebrate in reaction to Joe Biden being declared the presidential winner near the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pa.(Photo: Michael Karas, NorthJersey.com via USA TODAY Network)

"I've said for the last four years, there's really nothing Trump has done outside of the environmental things that I don't agree with. So," he said, "there is nothing Biden can't fix in one day with writer's cramp."

Pelanek isan independent who voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 and for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. This time, he cast his vote for Biden.

I've come to believe that in a more liberal society, I am still free to be conservative, but in a more conservative society, others are not free to be themselves, and that should not be tolerated, Pelanek said.

But his nervous state hadnot completely subsided. With Trump refusing to concede, Pelanek feared violent outbreaks.

In San Diego,Jacqueline Baxter, 35, a stay-at-home mom,said she expected Trump to contest the outcome -- "He's probably going to want a recount" -- and was worried his most ardent loyalists may not accept the results peacefully.

"I'm not sure how violent it could get,"said Baxter, who supported Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders.

Biden supporters, meanwhile, moved forward with their celebrations.

InOak Park, Illinois, resident and PR professional Chevonne Nash, 38, was putting her 3-month-old son down for a nap when she got the news of Biden's win on her phone. She wanted to jump up and yell in excitement but didnt want to wake her son.

I walked out of the room, and I was likeoh my god! she said. I dont think I was ready for the call to be made for some reason, even though its been days. Im surprised. Im excited. Its starting to hit me. Its starting to sink in.

Nash, who voted for Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020, said she hoped the new administration would restore dignity to the office and focus on improving access to health care and the quality of public education.

In Arlington, Virginia, people held Biden-Harris signs and yelled from apartment building balconies as cheers erupted in the streets and cars passed by honking.

JC Cheng, 32, stopped outside his apartment building on his way to get groceries to take pictures in his Biden-Harris shirt and mask as people celebrated. Cheng, a Taiwanese-American software engineer who led a coalition group for Asian American Pacific Islanders for Biden, said he said he was particularly proud to see Asian American turnout rise.

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The anger and the pain that weve all felt every time that you got a news notification in the past four years, its so much hope that that is coming to an end,he said.It was an amazing moment.

Contributing: Trevor Hughes in Boulder, Colorado; Dennis Wagner in San Diego; Mark Johnson in Lansing, Michigan;Chris Woodyard in Los Angeles;N'dea Yancey-Bragg in Arlington, Virginia.;Josh Salmanin Sarasota, Florida.;Jessica Guynn andElizabeth Weise in San Francisco;Claire Thornton in Washington, D.C.; Alan Gomez in Miami;Grace Hauck in Chicago;Lindsay Schnell in Portland, Oregon;Ryan Miller and Kevin McCoy in New York, andHollis Towns in Clayton County, Georgia.

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'These are tears of joy': Americans honk horns, dance in the streets as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris claim victory in a deeply divided nation - USA...