[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Businesses are boarding up in Washington as the capital braces for Tuesday's knife-edge presidential election - and any potential repeat of the shocking violence that erupted in the wake of 2020's vote.
City authorities have warned of a 'fluid, unpredictable security environment' in the days and possibly weeks after the polls close, adding that they do not expect a winner between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump to be declared on Election Day.
The specter of January 6, 2021, the day that Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, seeking to overturn the former president's election loss to Joe Biden - hangs heavy over the preparations.
Rings of fencing now envelope the White House, U.S. Capitol building and Vice President Kamala Harris's residence.
'Honestly, it's just fear,' Jones said. 'I'm getting constant emails and text messages because people are really engaged. … People would rather be overprepared and have nothing happen, as opposed to the alternative.
'At a time when we are trying to revitalize, especially our downtown core, what we don't want is destruction of property that discourages folks from coming back to the city, or that creates a situation where we are trying to rebuild those areas,' Jones said.
Around the corner from the White House workers have been hammering fresh-smelling plywood into place at several businesses along Pennsylvania Avenue and Treasury Department complex.
Some businesses and property owners are bracing for the worst and reinforcing windows and entrances at street-level in case there's any looting or rioting.
A 8ft high security fence cuts across leafy Lafayette Park, in front of the presidential mansion, with barricades stacked up behind it as construction workers have been laboring in unseasonably warm fall weather to build the stand that will form part of the ceremonies for the inauguration.
The work usually begins in November but during the Capitol riot, workers had to flee as Trump supporters swarmed the steps of the seat of Congress.
This year, the National Park Service said, construction began a month early 'to accommodate additional time needed for a safer and more secure environment for construction activities.'
Rodriguez, speaking during the city council briefing, warned especially of disinformation on social media in the days and weeks to come that could impact safety in the capital city.
International events such as Israel's war in Gaza add a 'layer of complexity... which could yield political violence,' he said.
The FBI said it was setting up a command post to monitor threats, while the Secret Service -- the agency tasked with protecting presidents, their families and high-level officials -- said it would 'enhance our security posture if necessary.'
'The Secret Service is working closely with federal, state and local partners in Washington, DC and Palm Beach County, Florida to ensure heightened levels of Election Day safety and security,' the agency said in a statement on Sunday.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman, members of OPEC+, have decided to extend the voluntary reduction in oil production by 2.2 million barrels per day until the end of December. A statement about this was published on November 3 on the OPEC website.
It is noted that all eight countries have confirmed their agreement to fully compensate for the overproduction volumes allowed since the beginning of 2024 by September 2025.
“The countries also noted the recent statement by Iraq and the joint statement by Russia and Kazakhstan, in which they strongly reaffirmed their commitment to the agreement, including additional voluntary production adjustments and their schedules for compensation for excess production volumes from January 2024,” the statement said.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in May that Russia's cooperation with countries within OPEC+ helps keep oil prices stable. This helps ensure revenues for the state budget, he added.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak noted in September that Russia had exceeded the OPEC+ deal targets by 67 thousand barrels per day, but by the end of August had met its obligations to reduce oil production.
Why are they yelling at him? As I recall, the king of Spain, like the monarch of Britain, reigns rather than rules. So he gets to sign off on things and preside over things, but he doesn’t actually get to decide or order anything. It seems a thoroughly frustrating existence compounded by a very tight schedule and entirely too many clothes changes.
[Regnum] Residents of the settlement of Paiporta in Valencia, who survived a massive flood, threw mud at the King of Spain Felipe VI, his wife Letizia, the country's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and the officials accompanying them. This was reported on November 3 by the ABC television channel.
Ah. Yelling at the prime minister is reasonable —somehow politicians and officials are always to blame, whether by acts of commission or of omission.
It is noted that the region was one of the most affected by the natural disaster. More than 60 people died there.
"Get out! Get out!" and "Murderers!" were among the insults heard from the crowd.
Bodyguards held up umbrellas to protect the royals and government officials from flying mud, and mounted police had to intervene to restore order.
The king, with dirt on his face, attempted to calmly communicate with individual residents. One man appeared to cry on his shoulder, after which the monarch shook the man's hand.
One of the residents complained to the Queen about the lack of water. The article notes that in Paiport, with a population of about 30 thousand people, some of the blocks are still filled with garbage, broken cars and dirt.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, storm Dana hit Spain on October 29. The heaviest rainfalls occurred in Valencia, Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia. The Spanish National Meteorological Service called the level of precipitation "extraordinary".
On October 31, the country declared three days of official mourning in connection with the loss of life as a result of the massive flooding that hit the country. As of November 2, 211 victims of the cataclysm are known. Russia expressed condolences to the Spanish people who suffered from the massive flooding.
World Weather Attribution, an organization that studies the impact of climate change on extreme weather events, linked the scale of the floods to fossil fuel emissions warming the planet. It was the largest in 30 years.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
