ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

April 14, 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.

• Justice department and drugmaker ask Supreme Court to block abortion pill ruling (NBC)
• Second Tennessee state lawmaker reinstated (Politico)
• Suspect charged in leak of classified documents  (Washington Post)
• Report: railroads cut costs, prioritize speed and efficiency over safety (NPR)
• Former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson announces he is running for president  (NPR)

WORLD

• 'It was heartbreaking': Some Ukraine children back home after alleged deportation (Reuters)
• Activists' network in Mexico helps U.S. women get abortions  (AP)
• Finland to join NATO Tuesday, military alliance chief says  (AP)
• Finland turns to the right as country prepares to enter NATO (AP)
• Parisians overwhelmingly vote to expel e-scooters from their streets (NPR)
• An explosion at a Russian cafe kills a prominent pro-war military blogger  (NPR)
• The EU is trying to sanction diamonds from Russia  (NPR)

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

U.S.

Justice department and drugmaker ask Supreme Court to block abortion pill ruling (NBC)

The Biden administration and Danco Laboratories want to freeze a court decision that curbs access to the abortion pill mifepristone.

Second Tennessee state lawmaker reinstated (Politico)

Rep. Justin Pearson was ousted by Republicans last week for participating in a protest calling for gun reform…He was removed along with Rep. Justin Jones, who was also renamed to his seat earlier this week.

Suspect charged in leak of classified documents  (Washington Post)

Jack Teixeira, 21, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was charged Friday with retention and transmission of national defense information and willful retention of classified documents.

Report: railroads cut costs, prioritize speed and efficiency over safety (NPR)

A ProPublica report on a railroad cost-cutting approach called Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) concludes that a strategy that employs longer trains with fewer employees puts profits ahead of safety in the freight rail industry.

Former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson announces he is running for president  (NPR)

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, saying he believes that "people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts."  … Hutchinson subsequently called on Trump to step aside from the race. He told ABC the "grand jury found probable cause and that's the standard for any criminal charges in our society." That's a departure from the rest of his party….

WORLD

'It was heartbreaking': Some Ukraine children back home after alleged deportation (Reuters)

More than 30 children were reunited with their families in Ukraine this weekend after a long operation to bring them back home from Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea, where they had been taken from areas occupied by Russian forces during the war…Kyiv estimates nearly 19,500 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea since Moscow invaded in February last year, in what it condemns as illegal deportations.

Activists' network in Mexico helps U.S. women get abortions  (AP)

From the headquarters of Marea Verde Chihuahua, an organization that has supported reproductive rights in northern Mexico since 2018, Castro and her colleagues provide virtual guidance, as well as shipments of abortion pills for women who want to terminate a pregnancy on their own. This abortion model, in which no travel, clinics or prescriptions are needed, sparked interest in the U.S. — and a surge of requests for help — as the Supreme Court moved to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion last year.

Finland to join NATO Tuesday, military alliance chief says  (AP)

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday Finland will become the 31st member of the world’s biggest military alliance on Tuesday, prompting a warning from Russia that it would bolster its defenses near their joint border if NATO deploys any troops in its new member.

Finland turns to the right as country prepares to enter NATO (AP)

Finnish voters have given a boost to conservative parties in a weekend election…Sunday’s election was largely fought over economic issues, with voters in the nation of 5.5 million people shifting their allegiances significantly to parties on the political right as they seek solutions to rising state debt, inflation and other economic problems. 

Parisians overwhelmingly vote to expel e-scooters from their streets (NPR)

The question that City Hall asked voters in its citywide mini-referendum on Sunday was: "For or against self-service scooters in Paris?" The result wasn't close. City Hall said on its website about 103,000 people voted, with 89% rejecting e-scooters and just 11% supporting them.

An explosion at a Russian cafe kills a prominent pro-war military blogger  (NPR)

An explosion tore through a cafe in Russia's second-largest city Sunday, killing a well-known military blogger and strident supporter of the war in Ukraine….  Russian media and military bloggers said Tatarsky was meeting with members of the public when a woman presented him with a box containing a bust of him that apparently blew up.

The EU is trying to sanction diamonds from Russia  (NPR)

A large part of the world's supply of diamonds comes from Russia. The U.S. and Europe may try to cut off the revenue the country is raising from the gems given the war in Ukraine.