Sing-Alongs, Speeches Start Protest Weekend

Protesters kicked off a weekend of demonstrations in the nation’s capital with a rally against U.S. policies in Latin America, offering a low-key menu of sing-alongs, street theater, visits to lawmakers and rounds and rounds of speeches.

A mass bike ride ended with 40 protesters being rounded up by police after going the wrong way on a one-way street.

Elsewhere in Washington, as police braced for tens of thousands of demonstrators to fill city streets today, city workers cleared sidewalks of anything that could be thrown, and protest groups prepared for marches with sign-making and organizing sessions.