ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

September 5, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) - East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen on important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Can Trump pardon himself? Kavanaugh won’t say (Time)
• AFL-CIO President Likes Where Revised NAFTA Deal Is Headed (NPR)
• The first major hurricane of the year could pose a threat to the US East Coast (CNN)
• Bob Woodward’s book on Trump: The most explosive passages (BBC)
• White House Withholds 100,000 Pages of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Records (New York Times)
• Kris Kobach Will Be Investigated by a Grand Jury as He Runs for Governor (Mother Jones)
• After surprise primary victory, can Andrew Gillum win the Florida governor's race? (NBC)
• Trump stands by warning of ‘violence’ if Dems win midterms (Associated Press)

WORLD

• Microwave Weapons Are Prime Suspect in Ills of U.S. Embassy Workers (New York Times)
• U.S. accuses China of `super aggressive` spy campaign on LinkedIn (Reuters)
• U.S. confirms death of ISIS leader in Afghanistan (CNN)
• If Cardinal Was Under Pope’s Sanctions, Why Was He Allowed at Gala Events? (New York Times)
• Lula: Brazil's jailed ex-leader barred from presidential race by electoral court (BBC)
• Mass Far-Right Protests in Germany Enter Third Day  (Newsweek)
• These five world leaders had the worst summers of their political lives (Time)
• Myanmar court jails Reuters reporters for seven years in landmark secrets case (Reuters)
• 'Looks like Soviet propaganda': Putin turns to new TV show as popularity rating falls (CBC)
• UK charges two Russians for attempted murder of Skripals, blames Moscow  (Reuters)

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

U.S.

Can Trump pardon himself? Kavanaugh won’t say (Time)

Judge Brett Kavanaugh (Supreme Court nominee) declined to answer two questions from Democratic senators related to presidential investigations during his confirmation hearing — if a president should comply with a subpoena and if he has the ability to self-pardon — saying both were hypothetical.

AFL-CIO President Likes Where Revised NAFTA Deal Is Headed (NPR)

David Greene talks to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who's optimistic that a NAFTA replacement deal would better serve workers.

The first major hurricane of the year could pose a threat to the US East Coast (CNN)

Hurricane Florence is still way out in the Atlantic, but the Category 4 storm could threaten the US East Coast by late next week.

Bob Woodward’s book on Trump: The most explosive passages (BBC)

A Bob Woodward expose book has been a rite of passage for presidential administrations since the storied investigative reporter first made a name for himself by breaking Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal. Now it's Donald Trump's turn under the microscope.

White House Withholds 100,000 Pages of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Records (New York Times)

The Trump White House, citing executive privilege, is withholding from the Senate more than 100,000 pages of records from Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh’s time as a lawyer in the administration of former President George W. Bush…..

Kris Kobach Will Be Investigated by a Grand Jury as He Runs for Governor (Mother Jones)

The Kansas Supreme Court is allowing a citizen-initiated investigation of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to proceed. The grand jury investigation will focus on whether Kobach, a champion for restrictive voting laws and anti-immigrant policies, mishandled voter registration information in the 2016 election, the Lawrence Journal-World reported on Friday.

After surprise primary victory, can Andrew Gillum win the Florida governor's race? (NBC)

Andrew Gillum won a surprise victory in the crowded Democratic gubernatorial primary in Florida on Tuesday. But before he had a chance to celebrate, he was mixing it up with the president of the United States on Twitter and responding to what the Florida Democratic Party chairwoman called “racist dog whistles” and what he called a “full bullhorn” from his Republican opponent. It’s just a taste of what it will take for him to win what is already the most expensive governor's race in history and become Florida’s first black governor …

Trump stands by warning of ‘violence’ if Dems win midterms (Associated Press)

Trump made the dire warning at a White House dinner Monday evening attended by dozens of conservative Christian pastors, ministers and supporters of his administration. Trump was stressing the stakes in November when he warned that, if Democrats win, they "will overturn everything that we've done and they'll do it quickly and violently," according to attendees and audio of his closed-door remarks obtained by media outlets, including The New York Times.

How does America use its land? These maps show a whole new way to look at the U.S. (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg - There are many statistical measures that show how productive the U.S. is. Its economy is the largest in the world and grew at a rate of 4.1 percent last quarter, its fastest pace since 2014. The unemployment rate is near the lowest mark in a half century.

WORLD

Microwave Weapons Are Prime Suspect in Ills of U.S. Embassy Workers (New York Times)

Doctors and scientists say microwave strikes may have caused sonic delusions and very real brain damage among embassy staff and family members.

U.S. accuses China of `super aggressive` spy campaign on LinkedIn (Reuters)

The United States’ top spy catcher said Chinese espionage agencies are using fake LinkedIn accounts to try to recruit Americans with access to government and commercial secrets, and the company should shut them down.

U.S. confirms death of ISIS leader in Afghanistan (CNN)

…The strike, on Saturday, August 25, was in the eastern area of Nangarhar province and killed Abu Sayed Orakzai, according to a statement from US forces in Afghanistan.

CNN reported previously that the ISIS leader and 10 other fighters from the terrorist group were killed in an airstrike, according to provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogyani.

If Cardinal Was Under Pope’s Sanctions, Why Was He Allowed at Gala Events? (New York Times)

A review of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s activities during the time he was supposedly under restrictions raises questions of how tough the Vatican is on bishops accused of sexual abuse.

Lula: Brazil's jailed ex-leader barred from presidential race by electoral court (BBC)

Brazil's top electoral court has ruled that jailed former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva cannot run as a candidate in the presidential election because of his corruption conviction.

Mass Far-Right Protests in Germany Enter Third Day  (Newsweek)

As far-right protests continue in eastern Germany for the third day, police said a 20-year-old Syrian was badly beaten while walking home Wednesday evening in the city of Wismar. Police said they were investigating the incident as a hate crime and claimed that the attackers had used xenophobic slurs as they beat the young man.

These five world leaders had the worst summers of their political lives (Time)

Another August gone by too quickly. But for some political leaders, summer can’t end soon enough. Here are five leaders who have suffered true summers of discontent.

Myanmar court jails Reuters reporters for seven years in landmark secrets case (Reuters)

A Myanmar judge on Monday found two Reuters journalists guilty of breaching a law on state secrets and jailed them for seven years, in a landmark case seen as a test of progress toward democracy in the Southeast Asian country.

'Looks like Soviet propaganda': Putin turns to new TV show as popularity rating falls (CBC)

CBC News / A new series on Russian state television devoted to President Vladimir Putin extolled his charisma, stamina and athleticism and left puzzled Russians wondering how seriously to take it. // The first episode, which aired Sunday night, featured virtually non-stop sycophantic commentary by Putin's closest allies in government and the media, extolling his charisma, stamina and athleticism — even his abilities to put dangerous wild animals at ease.

UK charges two Russians for attempted murder of Skripals, blames Moscow  (Reuters)

(Reuters) - Britain charged two Russians in absentia on Wednesday with the attempted murder of a former Russian spy and his daughter, and said the suspects were military intelligence officers almost certainly acting on orders from high up in the Russian state.