ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

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January 2, 2023  (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.

WORLD

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

U.S.

Fierce winter storm still taking a toll: 28 dead; thousands without power; flight cancellations mount. (USA Today)

A mammoth winter storm that buried some areas in heavy snow and saw dangerous cold temperatures across much of the nation continued to wreak havoc on Christmas Day Sunday.  The storm has left at least 28 people dead, knocked out power to several hundred thousands of homes and businesses, canceled thousands of flights and led to at least one boil-water advisory. About 60% of the U.S. had been under a winter weather advisory or warning from the system, which has been called a "once in a generation" storm by forecasters and has stretched from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande on the Mexico border.More than 1,700 domestic and international flights were canceled as of Sunday morning, according to the tracking site FlightAware.

Zelenskyy's address to Congress puts him in a category with Churchill, Netanyahu and Mandela (Politico)

…At the joint meeting on Wednesday, the Ukrainian president appealed broadly to members’ sense of justice, as he asked for continued support. He also met with President Joe Biden on Wednesday, following an announcement from the State Department of $1.85 billion in new aid that included a sought-after Patriot defense missile system. The trip marked the first time he left Ukraine since the start of the war.

Migrants dropped near Vice President’s house on frigid New Year’s Eve (CBS)

Three buses of recent migrant families arrived from Texas near the home of Vice President Kamala Harris in record-setting cold on Christmas Eve. Texas authorities have not confirmed their involvement, but the bus drop-offs are in line with previous actions by border-state governors calling attention to the Biden administration's immigration policies… The people on board included young children. Some were wearing T-shirts despite temperatures hovering around 15 degrees Fahrenheit (-9 degrees Celsius). It was the coldest Christmas Eve on record for Washington

Three Washington state electric substations vandalized (AP)

Vandalism at three power substations in western Washington early Sunday initially cut power to about 14,000 utility customers, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said.  The attacks come as federal officials are warning that the U.S. power grid needs better security to prevent domestic terrorism and after a large outage in North Carolina earlier this month that took days to repair.  In January, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security report warned that domestic extremists have been developing “credible, specific plans” to attack electricity infrastructure since at least 2020.

Former Trump White House aide told Jan. 6 panel Mark Meadows burned documents a dozen times during the transition period (CNN)

The January 6 committee released another batch of transcripts Tuesday, including two more of its interviews with…Cassidy Hutchinson …. The transcripts shed new light on how then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows regularly burned documents during the transition period, according to Hutchinson. She also described how Meadows occasionally told staffers to keep some Oval Office meetings “close hold” and potentially omitted from official records.

The full January 6 report is out. Here are the key details and recommendations  (NPR)

After roughly 18 months of investigations, the House committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has released their full report. The document, which is more than 800 pages long, recommends the Justice Department pursue criminal charges against former President Donald Trump for his role in the attack. And they say Congress should act to bar Trump, and others involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection, from ever holding federal office again.

Fox News' Sean Hannity admits he knew Trump lost 2020 election  (NPR)

Fox News star Sean Hannity – one of former President Donald Trump's strongest allies on the air and one of his closest advisers off it – admitted under oath that he never believed the lie that Trump was cheated of victory in the 2020 presidential election by a voting tech company….

IRS mandatory presidential audit policy goes under spotlight (AP)

An IRS policy governing the audits of tax returns filed by U.S. presidents is under new scrutiny after a report published by a congressional panel found the agency failed to perform the mandatory inspection of Donald Trump’s returns until Congress pressed for information about the process.  

WORLD

Missiles rain down on Ukraine as Putin gives combative New Year speech (Washington Post)

As Moscow launched a fresh barrage of strikes against Ukraine on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an unusually aggressive prerecorded address, which was broadcast as Russians in the Far East began their New Year’s celebrations.

Turkey, Saudi Arabia decry Taliban university ban for women  (A)

Turkey and Saudi Arabia became the latest Muslim-majority countries to condemn a decision by Taliban authorities to bar women from universities.

Taliban orders NGOs to ban female employees from coming to work (Reuters)

Afghanistan's Taliban-run administration on Saturday ordered all local and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGO) to stop female employees from coming to work, according to an economy ministry letter, in the latest crackdown on women's freedoms. The letter…said the female employees were not allowed to work until further notice because some had not adhered to the administration's interpretation of Islamic dress code for women.

Ukrainian drone hits bomber base inside Russia (Reuters)

A drone believed to be Ukrainian penetrated hundreds of kilometers through Russian airspace, causing a deadly explosion at the main base for Moscow's strategic bombers in the latest attack to expose gaps in its air defences….  [Engels air] base, the main airfield for the bombers that Kyiv says Moscow has used in recent months to attack Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, is hundreds of miles from the Ukrainian frontier. The same planes are also designed to launch nuclear-capable missiles as part of Russia's long-term strategic deterrent.

German double agent passed Ukraine intelligence to Russia, had access to NSA info (Washington Examiner)

A German agent who works for the country’s foreign intelligence service is accused of accessing secret information about the Ukraine war and transmitting it to Russian officials…. The accused double agent, who was only identified as Carsten L, was reportedly a senior surveillance official in the Federal Intelligence Service and was tasked with analyzing information received through wiretaps. As part of this position, the agent had access to wiretap operations run by other Western countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States.

As Russia bombs Ukraine’s infrastructure, its own services crumble (Washington Post)

As Russia has launched relentless strikes on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, leaving millions without electricity, water and heat, towns across Russia have been beset by their own, utility-related disasters….  While disasters now raise suspicions of sabotage linked to the war in Ukraine, poorly maintained infrastructure is a long-standing and persistent problem in Russia …

 Bloody property disputes a dark side of Mexico real estate (AP)

Authorities have known for years there are armed, violent gangs that specialize in taking over houses. The trend is enabled by the fact that many properties — perhaps as many as one-fifth of homes — have no legal papers or have titles listed in the names of dead people who left no will.  

North Korea has hacked $1.2 billion in crypto and other assets  (NPR)

Experts and officials say North Korea has turned to crypto hacking and other illicit cyber activities as a source of badly needed foreign currency to support its fragile economy and fund its nuclear program following harsh U.N. sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic. / South Korea's main spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, said North Korea's capacity to steal digital assets is considered among the best in the world because of the country's focus on cybercrimes since U.N. economic sanctions were toughened in 2017 in response to its nuclear and missile tests.

S. Korea launches jets, fires shots after North flies drones (AP)

South Korea’s military detected five drones from North Korea crossing the border, and one traveled as far as the northern part of the South Korean capital region, which is about an hour’s drive away, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The military responded by firing warning shots and launching fighter jets and attack helicopters to shoot down the North Korean drones.

China sends 71 warplanes, 7 ships toward Taiwan in 24 hours (AP))

China’s military sent 71 planes and seven ships toward Taiwan in a 24-hour display of force directed at the island, Taiwan’s defense ministry said Monday, after China expressed anger at Taiwan-related provisions i n a U.S. annual defense spending bill passed on Saturday.  China’s military harassment of self-ruled Taiwan, which it claims is its own territory, has intensified in recent years, and the Communist Party’s People’s Liberation Army has sent planes or ships toward the island on a near-daily basis.

Sudden Russian death syndrome (The Atlantic)

It’s not a great time to be an oligarch who’s unenthusiastic about Putin’s war in Ukraine.  Some two dozen notable Russians have died in 2022 in mysterious ways, some gruesomely. 

 

 



 

 


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