ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

September 27, 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 a  variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Brett Kavanaugh accused of drugging women, ‘gang rapes’ by Michael Avenatti client (Newsweek)
• Kavanaugh hearing: Christine Blasey Ford gives Senate testimony about sexual assault allegation (Washington Post)
• Defiant Kavanaugh testifies before Senate panel (Boston Globe)
• Senate Democrats Investigate a New Allegation of Sexual Misconduct, from Brett Kavanaugh’s College Years (New Yorker)
• 'Unforgiving' news cycle buries GOP spending victory (Politico)
• Bill Cosby sentenced to three to ten years in state prison (Washington Post)

WORLD

• China pulls out of Washington talks over new Trump tariffs as trade war escalates (Newsweek)
• Labour set to vote against Brexit deal, open to second referendum (Reuters)
• Donald Trump accuses Russia of enabling Syrian regime’s ‘ butchery’ (Newsweek)
• Salisbury poisoning suspect named as a Russian colonel by UK media  (Reuters)

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

U.S.

Brett Kavanaugh accused of drugging women, ‘gang rapes’ by Michael Avenatti client (Newsweek)

A third woman accused Brett Kavanaugh Wednesday of sexual misconduct, claiming he spiked drinks to “cause girls to become inebriated” and was part of gang rapes that occurred at high school parties in the early 1980s. 

Kavanaugh hearing: Christine Blasey Ford gives Senate testimony about sexual assault allegation (Washington Post)

…Feinstein zeroed in on the details of the alleged attack and Ford’s assertion that it was Kavanaugh who covered Ford’s mouth with his hand to prevent her from screaming. “How are you sure it was he?” Feinstein asked.Ford said the trauma from the experience “is locked” in her memory while “other details drift.”“This cannot be a case of mistaken identity?” Feinstein asked. “Absolutely not,” Ford responded.

Defiant Kavanaugh testifies before Senate panel (Boston Globe)

Striking both a defiant and emotional tone, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh forcefully denied that he sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford, telling the Senate panel considering his nomination, "I'm innocent of this charge." Kavanaugh told the panel, "You’ll never get me to quit. Never," before breaking down in tears as he recalled his daughter suggesting they pray for Ford.

Senate Democrats Investigate a New Allegation of Sexual Misconduct, from Brett Kavanaugh’s College Years (New Yorker)

As Senate Republicans press for a swift vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Senate Democrats are investigating a new allegation of sexual misconduct…The claim dates to the 1983-84 academic school year, when Kavanaugh was a freshman at Yale University. ..Senior Republican staffers also learned of the allegation last week and, in conversations with The New Yorker, expressed concern about its potential impact on Kavanaugh’s nomination. Soon after, Senate Republicans issued renewed calls to accelerate the timing of a committee vote.

'Unforgiving' news cycle buries GOP spending victory (Politico)

...political stories that are overshadowing the low-drama, bipartisan effort to fund the government on time. By Wednesday night, both chambers of Congress are expected to have cleared 87 percent of federal funding without a single blow-up, and with days to spare before the Sept. 30 deadline for fiscal 2019. That includes the Pentagon’s first on-time annual funding bill in 22 years.

Bill Cosby sentenced to three to ten years in state prison (Washington Post)

Comic legend Bill Cosby, a once-beloved father figure and moralizing African American cultural icon, was sentenced to 3 to 10 years in state prison Tuesday in a sexual assault case that was capped by the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era. In his ruling, Judge Steven O’Neill said the evidence that Cosby planned the drugging and sexual assault of his victim was “overwhelming,” based on Cosby’s own words in a civil deposition.

WORLD

China pulls out of Washington talks over new Trump tariffs as trade war escalates (Newsweek)

China has cancelled planned trade talks with the U.S. after the White House slapped a fresh set of tariffs on Chinese goods, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. 

Labour set to vote against Brexit deal, open to second referendum (Reuters)

Britain's opposition Labour Party is set to vote against any deal Prime Minister Theresa May clinches with the European Union and is open to a second referendum with the option of staying in the bloc, Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said on Tuesday.

Donald Trump accuses Russia of enabling Syrian regime’s ‘ butchery’ (Newsweek)

Departing from his routine praise of Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump criticized Russia for its actions in Syria, saying it has “enabled” the regime’s “butchery” of civilians. Trump raised the issue of chemical and biological weapons as he chaired a U.N. Security Council meeting Wednesday during the General Assembly's session.

Salisbury poisoning suspect named as a Russian colonel by UK media  (Reuters)

 The real identity of one of the men wanted by Britain for the Salisbury nerve agent attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter is Anatoliy Vladimirovich Chepiga, according to media reports on Wednesday which said he was a decorated Russian colonel….