they believe the state for this country. than. the us election is in full swing with polling stations now open in all states on business is up bracing for potential chaos with the prospect of a drawn out vote count on civil unrest. as the familiar claims of foreign meddling hang over the trump biden clash we hit the streets of moscow to find out who russians over reaching for. the famous doorstep. i can see trouble. here too but i don't see biden. by. the foot. and a gunman identified as

a convicted terrorist kills 4 people in vietnam before being shot dead himself by police witnesses describe what they saw. i saw. a trick or running into various parts of the restrooms i may burst all she's very scary she was in the. shooting. people running and screaming. making sure you never miss a story this is r.t. international a very warm welcome to the program from the whole team here and moscow. we've joined us in a good day because polling stations have just opened in hawaii meaning voting is now underway in all u.s. states it's expected to be the most divisive presidential election in the country's modern history. now we're going to see now the latest pictures from texas where

it's just off to enough and am now it's traditionally a republican stronghold the last democrat to win the lone star state was watching jim and jimmy carter back in 1976 and donald trump won that by comfortable 10 point margin 4 years ago but this time it's a closely watched battleground the democratic nominee is trading by just one percentage point according to some opinion polls joe biden is expected to receive a boost from hundreds of thousands of latinos in texas who offered for the 1st time . when a sign of growing anxiety business owners are boarding up the windows preparing for the was just there 1 are widespread fairs of the disputed result with some security experts predicting street riots in washington d.c. many offices and stores have ramped up their security while it is bunce one took a look at what's happening in the capital. this is the scene all across downtown

washington d.c. from the white house fanning out for miles if you have a shop or a business it's getting boarded up that is what is happening across the city and it's basically every business this is a wells fargo bank but we're talking basics we're talking restaurants we're talking buildings if it has glass windows or glass doors it seems like there is plywood going up over it there are dozens of these crews all around downtown washington d.c. putting up why would you think is a patient of what well in the anticipation of violent protest as a result of selection now going into a couple of these businesses and asked the store owners and the shopkeepers what are you guys expecting why are you boarding up now keep in mind most of these folks don't own these buildings they're owned by landlords but they're telling me they're boarding up in anticipation of in their words quote whatever happens in anticipation of whatever happens now keep in mind we have in this country 200 years plus of peaceful transition of power that takes place so this is a very unusual sight to see that during the u.s. presidential election that one. she to d.c.

would literally be boarded up in anticipation of possible violence but of course the other question that's coming up here does this become the new normal the new normal of when there is a presidential election buildings board up in anticipation of protests against whatever the outcome might ultimately be i did talk to one store owner who is a liquor store owner he told me that during the george floyd protests his business was broken into his windows were smashed so he's putting up the boards himself most of this work is being done by professional crews but i did ask him what do you think any of this has to do with the election he said your guess is as good as mine over at the white house there is another set of precautions being put up so aside from the plywood being designed to stop protesters and unscalable fits that's what it's being called unscalable fence has been set up here at the white house to protect the president and the white house from any protesters who may try to get over this initial fencing and the multiple layers of security what makes this fence different than these others is actually made of mesh and so there's no room for fingers or toes to be able to climb up and by the way some media organizations have

been mislabeled in it claiming it's a white fence on the other side of the white house made of wood it is not it is this mesh fence that has been confirmed for us by the secret service today the big question surrounding all this really comes down to the question of is this is the new normal for elections hard to believe but with more than 200 years of peaceful transitions of power we're now talking about possible massive protests on the night of election night and again new layers of security at the white house it's also about what happens in the next 4 years 8 years and into the future. much of the u.s. is still reeling from the shock of race riots over the sama and a wave a few 1000 and found innocent but some people out of business.

you new york city a luxury us apartment building is reportedly hiring armed guards for election day with more on the atmosphere before the elections his pen. well at this point we've had polls open already for several hours here in new york and tensions are certainly high at this point we've got police on patrol there is talk of protests happening if the results of the elections don't go a certain way multiple groups are already calling for protests now it's also important to note that gun sales have been at record high throughout the united states guns are flying off the shelves and being sold out on the west coast in los angeles one particular gun store had people lined up to purchase firearms the day before the election we were actually able to speak with the gun store owner out near los angeles this is what he had to say this or our 1st time purchasing is

probably 50 percent about half of the people that come into our shop are 1st time buyers and that's a big deal you know they fear the worst to come after you deal like sions and with that people are going to do you know riots and stuff like dad after the election i think it's going to get probably the worse you know and people once they start breaking down houses in the mobs get bigger you got to be able to protect yourself and there's a lot of people getting whatever they can in their hands within both camps we've heard indications that the candidates may not concede that certainly has people on edge but amid the divisions in the country out do americans really know solid differences between the 2 candidates for a lot of progressives it seems like voting for biden is just a way to vote against donald trump so we actually took to the streets here in new york and asked new yorkers if they could name differences between joe biden and

donald trump the 2 major candidates here is what we heard. very little. from from the other 3 different experience. from florida. oh so you just heard the word so very close to your heart let me see as opposed to. really. it's. going to say don from pretty creepy bride is now at this point we've got record high gun sales we've got talk of protests coming up and many store owners and individuals around the country kind of bracing for protests in the aftermath of the election we've got a lot of us and them rhetoric coming from supporters of both sides at this point

many fear that this election the results of it could escalate into some kind of very big explosion here in the united states well it's not cheap in an online campaign to vote against even if they're not particularly keen on the alternative and it's got a catchy slogan it's subtle for blyton want he's going underground spoke to us comedian jimmy dole who explains why the left isn't so sold on the democratic content. joe biden is going to move to the right he's already said but promised he's bought out he's going to veto medicare for all even if it passes the congress and 80 to 90 percent of the people in the country are for it is already vowed to do that and why did he vote to do that because he's in the pocket of wall street and the health insurance companies his record is not ever being able to be moved to the left his record is he moves to the right and then farther to the right he's not moving to the left before he has your vote the idea that he's going to move to the

left after you voted for him is as just nuts it's him it sure it's ridiculous and we've got to snap americans out of this idea because once joe biden gets elected we just have another problem to fight you know what they're saying is it's the equivalent does i'm going to go buy a car after i give the car dealer all my money that i'm going to negotiate the price and he's going to give me some of my money back that never happens this is which is why joe biden is never going to move to the left which is why these people have trump derangement syndrome to think that joe biden is anything what an exact warmongering fascist neal liberal who's going to workers and take care of the billionaire class. what i. considered a cool pot of donald thomas basin in the state of minnesota miners have expressed their misgivings agenda. told us why many in the industry actually needing to want. well it's mostly about the economy and what the needs of minnesota are and they're being best served by president trumpet this time we have

a price or it's up here called $20.00 metals minnesota which is a proposed copper nickel mine you know bum administration canceled lease renewables on the project that project is moving forward there are good paying jobs numbers really give a boost to the local economy of here the other part we had was a lot of cheap steel being downed. mostly from china and the president trying to put tariffs on our mines or you know we also have some other imports from around the state where their economy is doing better even with this coronavirus issue that's going on because all the season the trumpet ministration one least 100000000 americans have already made that choice using in pasta and take out man and products and that figure is actually as you can see twice as high as the last

election now as the postal votes take longer to count obviously it's likely to mean significant delays in some states mail in ballots cannot be opened until election day and into pennsylvania and north carolina they can even be accepted to several days off to the election has officially ended republicans including donald trump have claimed that the system is vulnerable to for what. the only way we're going to lose this election is if the election is rigged to remember the only way we're going to lose a select for you know joe biden should not concede under any circumstances because i think this is going to drag out and eventually i don't believe he will win but over the and count is but on the election that occurs on tuesday he will be elected on january 20th he will be inaugurated president of the united states it's

the election count today of the time in person today shows that trump is in the lead just quite possible that he'd be very tempted to declare a primitive old victory we have to remember that democrats in general have been voting by post and in advance voting and a $100000000.00 have done so mainly democrats when it's republicans seem to be voting on the day so it's highly unlikely he would have to be in the meet but he will be challenged clearly not only by some people in the administration who would worry if the president tries to interrupt the democratic process with results but also if it does of course counts in the supreme court and even that despite its new conservative majority and hans consent of the majority i think the we great resistance that. well according to mainstream media it is very important to know

which candidate is provide in moscow set up trying to now take the tongue in cheek look. big bucks being splashed on campaigns the electoral college swing states none of this matters as long as the american vote is being decided. right there by the box she says. you'll never be able to find out how exactly it works behind these red walls plus the fact that it's russia that's deciding can easily be felt outside the kremlin says. so i start walking down the are about street in the heart of moscow and the 1st thing i see pretty much. stealing the u.s. election deciding instead of the americans you want to see what it looks like this

is what it looks like. the famous photo shows i can see trump is here too but i don't see biden. by the us yet. but still full from the more sophisticated now about something that makes a difference right. i mean he's still down meddling when you see this joe biden's wife showing up in the same dress as the one our t's editor in chief was wearing while interviewing sergei lavrov. so the fear from the right total bullshit is different from. the 1st thing i knew it would be just pull the. pin gosh look at them but actually they're done with the what if we can see in them go. to sleep or sports or you jason stand.

when the night for. is the scheming put on hold now. the coverage of every. one in the store and you feel ok you're going to get. boys but you know things are going to flip over to. night or day russia's taking all around the world. but let me be serious for a 2nd i'll tell you what most russians barely know when the american vote is happening and to be honest with you most people don't care at all i would like to get over the fence. but this is the libertarian central bank example in the south. but thank you for your courage the

lowdown make you love the league to the. moment. but also please listen to that music or that i. think or do you know. what the electoral process in the us can be hard to figure out for those of outside the country don't know courts a house more on the complexity and potential pitfalls. for as long as anyone can remember washington's been helping people around the world fight wars change regimes influence elections all in the name of democracy but in 2020 america itself seems to have a crisis of democracy on its hands this is going to be a fraud like you've never seen our democratic institutions threatened like never before i think the choice in this election is whether america remains america is our democracy and dangerous this is a democratic emergency talk of democracy being in danger has become normal for both

democrats and republicans and there's more than just one reason as to why we could start with the fact that the actual popular vote doesn't even determine election outcomes we're the only democracy in the world that doesn't kill the popular vote and the bitter irony of america's winner takes all system in which the outcome could literally be the opposite of what most people voted for is that it's called the electoral college. so no matter who you vote for it's unlikely to make much of a difference unless of course you live in a swing state and these states the popular vote is usually up in the air meaning

they almost always determine the election outcome to give you an example no republican has ever become president without the critical swing state of ohio iowa michigan minnesota and north carolina are among those no less important swing states it's created a political situation where candidates will go to any length to please these specific voters i will be calling on the florida attorney general to launch an investigation into mike bloomberg. potentially engaging in bribery and vote buying in the state of florida bloomberg raised over $16000000.02 pay the legal fees of nearly $32000.00 black and hispanic felons in florida the democrats know how important a swing state is but so did the republicans at a recent florida rally trump demanded votes from the residents of the nearby island of puerto rico i'm not going to say the best but i'm just about the best thing that ever happened to puerto rico you better vote for you but unfortunately for trump he

clearly didn't know they can't vote the caribbean island still has the political rights of what many consider to be a 900 centuries calling puerto rico's 3200000 u.s. citizens aren't the only ones who can vote for the country's president american samoa the northern mariana islands and u.s. virgin islands are also vote lists u.s. territories even many people who live on the mainland have the right to vote but faced serious obstacles something human rights groups are calling a mockery it is. now we are and will to exercise it because their own these barriers not enough centers missing from voter guides are complicated to say you don't live in a territory and voting booths are accessible to you it's not like there's much of a choice everyone knows 2 parties run the show in american politics and even if a 3rd one does end up on the ballot it's not like it would have much of a chance to compete the polls show that about 2 thirds of the american people would

like to see another major already an alternative to the 2 major parties that we have now and despite all these problems with america's electoral system washington still claims the country is the world's beacon of democracy. well let's go live now to mike's abrams is assistant professor of public policy at northeastern university welcome to the program now we know that donald trump one what he likes to use a lot is fraud especially when it comes to democrats apparently trying to rig the election through. in your opinion to what extent has this rhetoric undermined the integrity of the election. i think that's a good question and i think that the chance of fraud isn't that high but you don't actually need fraud itself to deal with your demise and election all you need is for at the losing party to assume. that the game wasn't fair.

unfortunately i think that that's the situation we're in for this election if the democrats win the republicans will say you know it wasn't fair and vice versa and so in that sense even though today is you know in theory election day i suspect that it's not going to actually resolve for many americans who's going to be the next president. talking about resolutions if trump was to launch a nickel challenge to provide it for now folks because inside all it's all just forward anyway whack about ultimately need us what we see a resolution in coming days a week. i mean obviously we're in new territory we have seen before very very close elections that went to courts. like in 2000 however in this case america is in a very different situation where i mean maybe not since the civil rights movement

or even the civil war or is the american public so polarized and so i'm not sure that simply you know that the court could easily decide who's the rightful winner of this contest so i suspect that this will go on the real question is when does it isn't and honestly it may not even so so-called and even when a president is decided and that's what sort of happened in 2016 when you think about it president trump was elected but a large number of democrats and frankly even many republicans who became known as never trump or risk they were all part of this resistance and they never actually viewed trump as their rightful president and that's why they were constantly trying to get a fire trying to impeach him and openly saying that he's not their president and

that the only reason why he was elected is because a russian interference that sexual so i'm not sure that the winner will actually have necessarily a mandate. regarding it now we know that the arab battleground states and generally i mean there are quite a few that he has some unexpected ones for example texas will georgia but generally florida is seen as kind of the top prize of bomb away from campaigning on behalf of biden said you know when florida has things done why is florida so crucial. well i think it's crucial because these elections they tend to be close i mean we have a very bifurcated political system where you have democrats and you have republicans and florida has a lot of votes and it's close and so for all of those reasons it's described as a battleground that could be a really important tipping point it's basically believe that republicans need to carry florida there are other paths to success that democrats could have in if they

were to get florida it would make a victory quite difficult while stuffing you know it's not just that it's going to be a long night but perhaps a long couple of weeks ahead for us we'll be covering not that was mark's abram's assistant professor of public policy at northeastern state many thanks for coming to the program to us my pleasure. not find any a large scale manhunt is underway and after monday night's terrorist attack a gunman killed 4 people near a synagogue in vienna before being shot by police police have identified him as an islamic extremist who was released from prison last december let's have

a look at how the tragedy unfolded. upon hearing. that when. i saw the attacker running into various bars and restaurants lined up on our street. people running away. me and my friend we were in in the back. in the city center and then we heard some shootings and we were very scared of course and then mandrels that nice place he started she started to scream everyone please come inside inside and we went to the 2nd floor we tried to hide ourselves so all you've been so fortunate few around right next. to. my. she's going to skew

she was in the she's still shooting just saw people running and screaming. 4 people were killed on monday night it's being called to. to men and to women in this terror attack that unfolded in the center of the austrian capital vienna the gunman was shot dead by police at the scene we what we know about the attacker is that he was identified as a 20 year old islamist with north macedonian and austrian citizenship he was well known to the authorities and he had made in the attempt back in 2019 to get to syria to join the islamic state terrorist group he was sentenced to 22 months in april of last year but he was released early but operation is ongoing to determine

if he acted alone 18 homes have been raided by the police 14 people taken into detention for further questioning sebastiaan curt's the austrian chancellor has condemned this act which he calls an act of islamic terror. yesterday the republic of australia and our people with the target of a terrorist attack for defenseless civilians were murdered at close range in cold blood it is now been confirmed that it was an act of islamist terrorism. 22 people are in hospital receiving treatment after the terror attack on monday evening a number of those are said to be in a critical condition those that ages of being treated for wounds that have come from an automatic rifle handgun and also a machete as well chancellor could see it is addressed to the australian people stressed this cannot become a battle of then versus all spits we need muslim and christian communities inside

of austria he did announce that 3 days of national mourning are going to be taking place the center of d.n.a. or is still pretty much locked down we've also heard condolences and messages of support from international leaders including here from here in berlin the fight against islamist terrorism is our common struggle. the case thoughts are with the people of austria was 10 united with views against terror these evil attacks against innocent people must stop the u.s. stands with austria france and all of europe in the fight against terrorists including radical islamic terrorists operation continuing by police and security forces to determine whether or not that gunman acted alone. that's all from me for the moment but of course we will be back at the top of the hour with the very nature especially from the u.s. we're keeping an eye on that for you in the meantime check out dot com and have a great.