Latest / The Rest of the World Podcast / The Rest of the World Report | November 3, 2026 — Evening Edition

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The Rest of the World Report | November 3, 2026 — Evening Edition · The Rest of the World Podcast

• 0:00
  [music]
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Good evening from Paris.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Rudy Martinez with The Rest of the World Report for Tuesday evening, November 3rd.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: A couple of quick election updates.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: North Carolina extends voting hours.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: North Carolina State Board of Elections approved longer voting hours
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: in five counties on Tuesday and scattered problems at polling places were reported
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: in several other states.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: The board approved an extension after technical issues in the Tabor City Courthouse
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: in Columbus County and shorter extensions in Gates, Lenoir, Wilson,
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: and Hertford counties.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Voting hours were extended to 8.15 p.m.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: in Columbus County, 8 p.m.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: in Lenoir County, 7 .55 in Hertford County and 7 .45 in Wilson County.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: According to an election board post on X,
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: the extensions will delay the posting of statewide results by 45 minutes.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: In Pennsylvania, machine setup problems delayed the opening of three precincts
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: in Chester County.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: A petition for a 30 -minute extension was granted and those precinct stay open
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: until 830 p .m.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: In Westchester County, New York,
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  SPEAKER_00: ballot scanners stopped accepting votes when polls opened at 6 a .m.,
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Election officials told voters to keep filling out ballots,
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: which go into orange emergency bags, to be secured and counted later.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: In New Bedford, Massachusetts,
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: a city spokesman said machines at four precincts had a problem with an internal wire
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: that interfered with a ballot feed port.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Officials adjusted the wire and the machines returned to normal.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: In Florida, Broward County reported a system-wide issue
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: that delayed some polling sites by 15 to 20 minutes as polls opened.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Supervisor of Elections, Joe Scott,
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: said the problem involved a feature meant to help poll workers issue
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: the right ballot because some precincts had been split by redistricting this year.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Gerrymandering.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Election officials said some people who arrived around 7 a.m. left because of the delay.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Officials said the issue was fixed quickly and did not affect any votes.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Flooding also moved polling places.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency on Monday in Brevard, DeSoto,
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Hardy, Highlands, Indian River, Martin, and St.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Lucie counties after heavy rains from October 31st through November 2nd.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: Florida's Department of State lists temporary voting locations in all of the above counties.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Problems at polling places on Tuesday were scattered and mostly short.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: North Carolina extended hours in five counties, which delays statewide results by 45 minutes.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Broward County's opening delay was fixed quickly
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: and officials say there are no votes that were affected.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Flooding moved polling places in several Florida counties.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: DOJ deploys 1,000 election monitors. The U.S.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: Justice Department said on Tuesday it has deployed about 1,000 election monitors
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: and observers in all 50 states for the first time ever.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: The department calls it the largest monitoring effort in its history.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: The Civil Rights Division coordinates it.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: The monitors include staff from the division, other Justice Department components,
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: and U.S.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Attorney's Office, plus federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: The department says it will check compliance with federal voting rights statutes.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dillon of the Civil Rights Division said
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: the effort pursues transparency for elections in an assertive
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: and nondiscriminatory manner.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: The department says it has sent election monitors
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: since the Voting Rights Act became law in 1965 under every administration.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: In an update to our own Friday, October 30th morning edition,
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  SPEAKER_00: the United States did not invite observers from the Organization for Security
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: and Cooperation in Europe to the midterms.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is the first time that's happened since 2002.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: The October 30th morning edition said Washington had given no explanation as of September 25th.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: A State Department spokesperson did say in October
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  SPEAKER_00: that the OSCE should focus its limited resources on elections where it can have
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: the greatest impact.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Under the OSCE's code of conduct, its observers are limited to observing and reporting.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: The OSCE's report on the 2024 election called the vote well-managed, resilient,
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  SPEAKER_00: and professional.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: The Justice Department's monitors are federal personnel checking compliance
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: with U.S. voting laws.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: The OSCE's observers Belong to a 57-member body of which the U.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: is a member, and they report on an election from outside the government
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  SPEAKER_00: that runs it.
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  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: The Justice Department sent about 1,000 monitors to all 50 states on Election Day,
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  SPEAKER_00: which it calls its largest effort.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: The OSCE, a European security body the U.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: belongs to, was not invited to observe for the first time since 2002.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: A State Department spokesperson said the group should spend its limited resources
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: where it can have the greatest impact.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: The United States joins only Russia and Belarus in excluding OSEE observers.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: China hosts three Gulf delegations.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: China held talks with Iranian, Saudi,
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  SPEAKER_00: and Omani officials in Beijing on Monday and announced that its special envoy
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: on the Middle East will visit all three countries.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Ali Bagheri Kanai, Deputy Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council,
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  SPEAKER_00: was already in Beijing.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Vice Foreign Minister Miao Dayu held talks with him on October 31st.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: On Monday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Bagheri Kanai and, in a separate meeting,
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: Mossad bin Mohammed al-Aiban, Saudi Arabia's national security advisor.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: President Xi Jinping also hosted Oman Sultan Haitham bin Tariq during a two-day state visit.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: It was the first by an Omani head of state
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  SPEAKER_00: since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1978.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Wang told Bagheri Kanai that Dialogue and negotiations offer the best way forward
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: as the fighting drags on, and that the parties should not resort to arms again.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: He said China supports Iran safeguarding its sovereignty and security.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Bakari Kanai said Iran is willing to engage in talks and negotiations with all parties.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Wang told Al-Iban,
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: He said regional countries should work together
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: through consultations to build a new regional security architecture.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Ali Ban delivered a letter from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Xi.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Xi told Sultan Haitham that the Middle East and Gulf region should not become
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: an arena for great power rivalry.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: China and Oman issued a 20-point joint statement.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: It called for the safe navigation to resume in the Strait of Hormuz.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: It urged the U.S.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: and Iran to restart dialogue and return to the agreement reached in June aimed
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: at ending the conflict.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Pakistan and Qatar helped broker that agreement,
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: which unraveled quickly as both sides renewed attacks.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: The Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Middle East Envoy Jaijun will visit Iran,
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: Oman, and Saudi Arabia in early and mid-November.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Liu Jianfa, its Special Representative for African Affairs, will visit Ethiopia,
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Djibouti, and Egypt in early and mid-November.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Hu Shengchun, its special envoy for the Horn of Africa, will visit Eritrea in early November.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: On October 27th, Spokesperson Guo Zheokun had said special envoys would soon travel
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: to regional countries to promote dialogue and de-escalation.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: At Tuesday's briefing, a reporter asked whether China had been able to bring
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: the Iranian and Saudi officials into the same room and whether it plans to.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Spokesperson Mao Ning pointed to the published accounts of the visits
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: and said China is always ready to play a role in promoting dialogue
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: and communication.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: Another reporter asked about concern over U.S. or Israeli attacks after the midterms.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Mao said military means are not the solution and will only lead to escalation
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: that serves no one's interest.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: Translators note, outside the United States,
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  SPEAKER_00: Monday in Beijing reads as three delegations in one city with no confirmed contact
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  SPEAKER_00: among them. Each side took something different from the same day.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: Bahari Kanai said afterwards that China had reaffirmed its full support for Iran,
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  SPEAKER_00: a stronger phrase than the sovereignty and security language
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  SPEAKER_00: in Beijing's own accounts of the talks.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Oman Sultan said that he looked forward to a greater role for Beijing
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  SPEAKER_00: while Beijing's account of the Saudi talks centers
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: on a new regional security architecture.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now, Jazeera's correspondent in Beijing, Katrina Yu, reads the week as a late move.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: She said China has done little diplomatically toward ending the war for weeks
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  SPEAKER_00: or even months and wants to be seen entering the process.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: The envoy trips to Tehran, Muscat,
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  SPEAKER_00: and Riyadh in early and mid-November are the next scheduled step.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: China hosted Iranian, Saudi, and Omani officials in Beijing on Monday,
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  SPEAKER_00: and its Middle East envoy will make visits to Iran, Oman,
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: and Saudi Arabia in early to mid-November.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: China says it supports dialogue in Iran's sovereignty and security.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Asked whether it could bring Iranian and Saudi officials into one room,
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: Beijing pointed to its published accounts of visits.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: China and Oman urged the U.S.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: and Iran to return to the June Agreement, which Pakistan and Qatar helped to broker.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Talks set as Russia strikes.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: President Vladimir Zelensky said Russia launched 289 attack drones,
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: 17 ballistic missiles, and 59 cruise missiles at Ukraine overnight.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: The U.S., Russian, and Ukrainian officials will meet in Abu Dhabi on November 10th and 11th.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Zelensky said the main target was energy,
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: with power generation and substations hit in nine regions.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: He said the cardiology department was damaged
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: in the Kharkiv hospital strike we covered this morning.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: The governor of the Zitomir region said more than 180,000 people were without power
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: on Tuesday morning.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Russia's defense ministry said it targeted electricity facilities that supply
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: the Ukrainian army and military factories.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: At least 33 people were killed in Monday's strike on an aid distribution center.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: Danielle Bell, the head of the U.N.
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  SPEAKER_00: human rights mission in Ukraine,
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  SPEAKER_00: said the timing and location of the distribution were well publicized.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: She said that either Russian forces knew a distribution was underway or they failed
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: to take the most basic steps to find out what was happening in the village.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: The U.N. mission said the attack likely violated international law. U.S.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: Envoy Steve Witkoff announced the Abu Dhabi round on Monday.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: He said it will cover post-war security arrangements, de-escalation,
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: humanitarian efforts, and the next step toward peace.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Zelensky, speaking in Berlin,
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: said he hopes it will lead to a leaders' meeting that includes Putin.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Chancellor Friedrich Merz said it is important that Russia engages seriously
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: in ceasefire negotiations.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: He added, I do not see that happening so far.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed a Russian delegation will attend,
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: led by Vladimir Medinsky, a former culture minister.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: European governments want to be involved but are unlikely to be at the table in Abu Dhabi.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: Witkoff said U.S.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: negotiations will meet representatives of France, Germany, the United Kingdom,
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: the European Union, and NATO in Brussels this week.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: Russia hit Ukrainian energy sites and a Kharkiv hospital overnight.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: The toll from Monday's strike on an aid center is at least 33 dead. U.S.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Envoy Steve Witkoff announced talks among U.S., Russian,
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi on November 10th and 11th.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: Europeans are unlikely to be in the room,
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: and Germany's chancellor says Russia is not yet engaging seriously.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Spain's transport minister, Oscar Puente, resigned on Tuesday.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: Six days earlier, a train run by state-owned Renfe hit a stationary train
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: of the private company Irio near Erda and killed 69 people.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: Puente announced it in his last turn to speak at a hearing
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: of the permanent deputation of Congress, where he had been appearing since 5 p.m.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: to explain the crash.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: He also said he is withdrawing from the lists for the November 29 early election
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: and will not head the socialist list in Valladolid.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Puente said the decision came in the first minutes after the crash
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: and that a minister cannot remain in office after two accidents of this gravity
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: in less than a year, which he called a matter of political dignity.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Several times since the crash, he had ruled out resigning.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: The right-wing opposition and unions had criticized Puente for appearing to pin
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: the blame on one control center operator.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: The failure of an automatic safety system halted all trains
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: on a 63-kilometer stretch of track,
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: but a control center authorized the Renfe service to resume its journey.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Hours before he resigned, Puente announced measures that include
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: a second operator confirming any decision a controller takes
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: while the automatic system is down.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: He announced a 30 million euro aid package for the families of the dead and for the injured.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: The train driver's union, Samoff, has called strikes at Renfe for November 10th and 12th.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: The crash was the second on the Madrid-Seville line this year.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: A collision in Andalusia in January killed dozens of people.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: Spain's transport minister resigned after two high-speed rail disasters in under a year.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: The latest killed 69 people near Erda on Wednesday, October 28th.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: He will not stand in the November 29th election.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: Train drivers at Renfe have called strikes for November 10th and 12th.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: President Trump said Tuesday in a television interview that he made a deal
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop giving Israel $4 billion a year,
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: adding that Israel does not need it.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: There was no confirmation from Israel's foreign minister or Netanyahu's office,
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: and Congress appropriates the money.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: A memorandum of understanding that provides $3.8 billion a year in U.S.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: military aid runs to 2028, and Netanyahu has said he wants to reduce military aid
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: over 10 years.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Lawmakers in Greenland passed a security agreement with Denmark
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: and the United States 16-0 on Tuesday, with seven abstentions.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Friedrichsen,
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Fredrik Nielsen signed it in September.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: The deal paves the way for more U.S.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: bases and lets the U.S. expand its activities at the Pitufik Space Base.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: It would still apply if Greenland chooses independence.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: Danish lawmakers debate it later this month.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: No U.S. Senate approval is required.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer said Monday that South Africa
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: and Rwanda will lose duty-free access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: from January 1, 2027.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: South Africa sent about $1.7 billion of goods to the U.S. under the program in 2025.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: Its trade department says AGOA exports are about 10% of its total exports to the U.S.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: There was no immediate response from either government,
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: and South African President Cyril Romfosa has said
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: the country is seeking new markets.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: A group of 66 U.S.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: lawmakers wrote Monday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: and Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen asking them to stop
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: a planned deportation of Afghans.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: Advocacy groups say at least 150 Afghans were scheduled to be flown from Louisiana
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: to Pakistan on Tuesday.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: And Human Rights First says it confirmed a flight from Alexandria,
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: Louisiana was scheduled that day.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: The Taliban government expressed serious concern about the plan.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's it for this evening's edition of The Rest of the World Report.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: I will have updates on all the election results tomorrow morning.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for listening.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Rudy Martinez and I will see you in the morning.
• 14:10
  [music]