ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

March 5, 2014 (San Diego’s East County ) --ECM 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.

• White House touts tax breaks in budget (The Hill)
• Majority of Americans now support gay marriage, survey finds (Reuters)
•  Who'll fund journalism? Meet the new Medicis (CS Monitor)
• Thermal Imaging Gets More Common But The Courts Haven't Caught Up (NPR)
• Shutdown cost national parks at least $414M (SacBee)

WORLD

• Ukraine mobilizes troops after Russia’s declaration of war(CNN)
• Ukraine crisis resurrects Cold War ghosts as U.S. warns Russia, Poland appeals to NATO (Washington Post)
• Will Mexico's capture of 'El Chapo' mean border instability? US agents on alert. (+video) (CS Monitor)
• Idle No More: Japan Plans To Restart Closed Nuclear Reactors (NPR)

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

U.S.

White House touts tax breaks in budget (The Hill)

The White House on Monday night touted middle-class tax breaks it is including in its 2015 budget proposal set for release on Tuesday.  The expanded tax breaks were mostly called for in President Obama’s State of the Union address last month, in which the president stressed combating income inequality as a top goal.  The biggest is an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit used by lower-income workers, paid for by ending several tax breaks for more wealthy individuals.  

Majority of Americans now support gay marriage, survey finds (Reuters)

 Support for gay marriage has surged in the United States in the decade since it first became legal in Massachusetts, with just over half of Americans now supporting the idea, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Who'll fund journalism? Meet the new Medicis (CS Monitor)

With newspaper revenues falling billionaires are stepping in to fund reporting, either by buying existing media outlets or starting new ones.

Thermal Imaging Gets More Common But The Courts Haven't Caught Up (NPR)

 Thermal imaging devices have been available for sale online, relatively cheaply, for at least a couple of years. These devices — which show you the image of what you are looking at but with colors highlighting heat levels from objects — are getting easy to own and use. But it also raises an interesting legal question involving the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure

 

Shutdown cost national parks at least $414M (SacBee)

The government shutdown last fall resulted in nearly 8 million fewer visitors to national parks, costing the parks and surrounding communities an estimated $414 million in lost visitor spending, the Interior Department said Monday.

WORLD

Ukraine mobilizes troops after Russia’s declaration of war(CNN)

Ukraine's new leaders accused neighbor Russia of declaring war, as Kiev mobilized troops and called up military reservists in a rapidly escalating crisis that has raised fears of a conflict.

Ukraine crisis resurrects Cold War ghosts as U.S. warns Russia, Poland appeals to NATO (Washington Post)

Cold War shadows loomed ever larger over the crisis in Ukraine on Monday, as the United States and Russia traded bitter accusations at the United Nations, the Obama administration sought to mobilize international outrage against Moscow, and nervous Eastern Europeans sought Western protection. With no substantive response to his demands that Russia withdraw its troops from the autonomous Ukrainian region of Crimea, President Obama said Moscow was “on the wrong side of history” and threatened “a whole series of steps — economic, diplomatic — that will isolate Russia and will have a negative impact on Russia’s economy and its status in the world.”

Will Mexico's capture of 'El Chapo' mean border instability? US agents on alert. (+video) (CS Monitor)

Some are cautioning that the arrest of top drug lord Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán could unleash a wave of violence. That happened in 2009, after the killing of a Guzmán rival.

Idle No More: Japan Plans To Restart Closed Nuclear Reactors (NPR)

A new energy plan reverses an earlier decision to phase out nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster. The public is largely opposed to nuclear power, but Japan says it's necessary to meet demand.