ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

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April 12, 2016 (San Diego's East County)-- East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

WORLD

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.



 

U.S.

Obama administration is taking steps to shrink the financial sector (Washington Monthly)

…First of all is the crackdown on corporate inversions. These are vehicles to avoid corporate income taxes by buying a company that is headquartered in another country…Second is the crackdown on investment advisors - who will now be required to offer advice that is in the best interests of their clients rather than line their own pockets with fees…Finally, the administration has been working for several years on a rule that is aimed at preventing American banks from doing business with the kind of shell companies that have been the focus of revelations in the Panama Papers.

Senate refuses to stop airlines from shrinking seats (CBS)

An amendment by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., would have blocked airlines from further reducing the "size, width, padding, and pitch" of seats, passengers' legroom and the width of aisles. "It costs you an arm and a leg just to have room for your arms and legs," Schumer said. The amendment also would have required the Federal Aviation Administration to set standards for the minimum amount of space airlines must provide passengers for their "safety, health and comfort." Airlines would have had to post the size of their seats on their websites…

US water systems repeatedly exceed federal standard for lead  (Miami Herald)

An Associated Press analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data found that nearly 1,400 water systems serving 3.6 million Americans exceeded the federal lead standard at least once between Jan. 1, 2013, and Sept. 30, 2015. The affected systems are large and small, public and private, and include 278 systems that are owned and operated by schools and day care centers in 41 states.

FBI Allegedly Cracks Terrorist's Phone, Ending Fight with Apple (for Now) (Reason)

It appears as though a major court battle over whether the federal government can force Apple to weaken its iPhone security in order to assist in data gathering is not going to happen. That doesn't, however, mean this larger conflict is remotely over.

Bad News: The Justice Dept. Has Restarted Its Program to Share Seized Property with Police (Reason)

The Department of Justice has restored its program that allows it to partner with local law enforcement agencies, seize money and property from raids, and then redistribute the assets back to those police departments. This is bad news for criminal justice reformers. This program, known as "equitable sharing," incentivizes "policing for profit," pushing police to focus on enforcing laws that grant them the opportunity to seize property to bolster budgets (drug war stuff) over crimes that actually directly harm others

Puerto Rico sees rise in Zika cases, paralyzing condition (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Puerto Rico says more than 100 new cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus have been reported in the past week.

In Syria, militias armed by the Pentagon fight those armed by the CIA (LA Times)

Syrian militias armed by different parts of the U.S. war machine have begun to fight each other on the plains between the besieged city of Aleppo and the Turkish border, highlighting how little control U.S. intelligence officers and military planners have over the groups they have financed and trained in the bitter five-year-old civil war.

Bernie heads to the Vatican (Atlantic)

The senator from Vermont will speak about creating a “moral economy.”

Some Blacks Did Support Bill Clinton's Crime Bill. Here's Why  (NPR)

Bill Clinton was right in saying that some African-Americans supported the 1994 crime bill. It was part of the response to the crack epidemic that devastated many black communities in the 1980s.

Appeals court restores Utah's polygamy law in 'Sister Wives' case (Reuters)

 The polygamist family featured in the reality television show "Sister Wives" lost its bid to overturn parts of Utah's anti-bigamy law under a federal appeals court ruling issued on Monday.

IRS Head Says Cybersecurity Problems Leave Taxpayers Vulnerable (NPR)

With taxes on the minds of many Americans this week, a Senate committee looks at how vulnerable taxpayers' information is to cyber theft. The head of the IRS testifies on Capitol Hill.

Chinese investment in the US has made giant leap to more than $15bn (The Guardian)

Money was spread across 171 transactions in 42 states, with New York City being the largest recipient, according to the National Committee on US-China Relations

 

Flint Water Recovery Lagging As Residents Don't Let Tainted Water Run (NPR)

That's right — in an unfortunate cycle, the water additives that would "re-scale" corroded pipes in the water system, thereby preventing lead from leaching into the water, are not reaching the pipes because people in Flint don't want to pay for contaminated water that they can't use.

 

WORLD

The key posts you should read in Pope Francis’ major new document on family issues (Washington Post)

After two years of high-level meetings to discuss some of the most contentious and most personal issues in the Catholic church — including gay marriage, cohabitation and divorce — Pope Francis published a major teaching on Friday about the Catholic family.

Paris Terror Suspect Admits He Was In Video With Brussels Bombers, Prosecutors Say (NPR)

Belgium's prosecutors say Mohamed Abrini, who was arrested Friday in connection with November's Paris attacks, has admitted that he is the "man in the hat" seen in a video with two Brussels bombers.

Spain summons French ambassador over wine lorry (BBC)

The foreign ministry in Madrid has summoned France's ambassador after French farmers seized Spanish lorries and drained their cargo of wine…. Spanish farming organizations say tens of thousands of liters of wine were dumped as five vehicles were targeted near Le Boulou, in southern France.

Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia (Washington Post)

Putin was not personally named in the papers, a fact that the Russian president used to suggest the disclosures were meant to harm him by association.

South African religious leaders ask Zuma to resign (The Washington Post)

A group of South African religious leaders on Friday said President Jacob Zuma should quit over a scandal involving millions of dollars in state spending on his private residence. 

Pakistan's Christians: the precarious position of a minority community (CS Monitor)

A spokesman for the Muslim group that claimed to carry out the Easter attack said Christians were targeted deliberately. 

At Macedonian Border, Tensions Between Migrants and Police Erupt Into Violence (NPR)

Riot police with tear gas and stun grenades faced off with fence-storming migrants and refugees at the border between Greece and Macedonia on Sunday. Tens of thousands of migrants are stranded there.

Iran vows to pursue missile program despite new U.S. sanctions (Reuters)

Iran will pursue its development of ballistic missiles despite the U.S. blacklisting of more Iranian companies linked to the program, a senior Revolutionary Guards commander said on Monday.

Boko Haram Increasingly Using Children In 'Suicide' Attacks, UNICEF Says (NPR)

Child "suicide bombings" by the Nigeria-based militant group have risen from four in 2014 to 44 last year, the U.N. program says. Most of the children were girls.

As impeachment efforts continue, Brazil's President Rousseff targets conspirators (CS Monitor)

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff says "The mask of the conspirators has fallen" after Vice President Michel Temer accidentally released a 13-minute speech he intended to give after her impeachment.


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