April 17, 2013 (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.

• Miss. Man arrested in ricin scare (CNN)
• After blast horror, many Bostonions extend kindness to runners (Reuters)
• Supreme Court to consider adoption case of American Indian girl (Reuters)
• Japanese Car Makers Recall Millions Of Vehicles Over Faulty Airbags (NPR)
• AP source: Immigration bill could exclude many  (Sacramento Bee)
• Postal Service backs down on cutting Saturday mail (Sacramento Bee)
• Pentagon study: N. Korea can launch nuke missile (Jerusalem Post)
• U.S. offers to help Iran after deadly quake (Reuters)
• Poverty plagues Obama’s America; press based in booming cities shrugs (Daily Beast)
• FOIA documents suggest IRS may have ignored court ruling on email privacy (Raw Story)
• Even 'Highly Motivated' Students Aren't Ready For College (NPR)
• Bailed-Out Banks Used Billions Meant For Small Business Aid To Repay TARP Funds (Huff Post)
• A Legal Twist In The Effort To Ban Cameras From Livestock Plants
• Idaho restricts drone use by police agencies amid privacy concerns
• Checks Threaten Gun Rights  (Reason)
• Internet-based attacks hit emergency call centers. What's the damage? (Christian Science Monitor)
• Secret Service investigating hack of director's information (Reuters)

WORLD

• Anonymous 'hacks' North Korea pages (BBC)
• Volcano spews ash in central Mexico (U-T San Diego)
• Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad resigns (U-T San Diego)
• Some 50,000 flee Sudan into Chad after Darfur clashes (Reuters)
• New leak found at Fukushima plant water storage pool: regulator (Reuters)
•  Report: Soil sample confirms WMD use in Syria (Jerusalem Post)
• Hungary promises changes after EU threat in amendment row (Reuters)
• 23,085 soldiers have fallen protecting Israel (Jerusalem Post)
• Palestinian funerals draw thousands in tense West Bank  (Reuters).  
• Turkish police uncover plot to bomb synagogue (Jerusalem Post)

Click "read more" and scroll down for excerpts and links to full stories.

April 3, 2013 (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.

• New Visa Would Allow At Least 20,000 Low-Wage Workers To Come To U.S. (NPR)
• Expert: Recent Attacks On Justice Community 'Really Unprecedented' (NPR)
• IRS weighs changes to Obama healthcare investment tax rules (Reuters)
• Fracking’s latest scandal: earthquake swarms (Mother Jones)
• Want a U.S. visa? Got a spare $500,000? (American Public Media)
• Americans On Disability Play An Increasingly Important Role In The Economy (NPR)
• Obama administration moves ahead with sweeping rules requiring cleaner gasoline (Washington Post)

WORLD

• North Korea to restart nuclear reactor in weapons bid (Reuters)
• From The Stone Age To The Digital Age In One Big Leap (NPR)
• Why is the US shifting its missile defense out of Europe? (Christian Science Monitor)
• Vigilantes seize town in Mexico, arrest police (Christian Science Monitor)
• Pope washes women’s feet in break with church law (Yahoo! News)
• How potent are North Korea’s threats? (BBC)
• Al-Qaida linked group doubles size in Syria (Jerusalem Post)
• Putin flexes Russian military muscle in naval exercise (Reuters)
•  Banks score major win in private Libor suits (Reuters)

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March 28, 2013 (San Diego's East County)--Health and Science Highlights brings you news on the cutting edges in these fields. 

On the science front, have earthquakes mastered the secrets pursued by alchemists since the days of legend? The journal Nature Geoscience writes about the ability of earthquakes to vaporize water in faults, depositing gold. Plus beekeepers are suing the EPA-- and a new study shows pesticides are affecting bees memories and navigation skills.

On the health front, does aspirin reduce cancer risk? A study in the Journal Cancer this week suggests it might. The Community Asthma Initiative at Boston's Children's Hospital may provide a model for Medicare and insurance companies to keep costs down while preventing asthma. Speaking of governments involvement in health, this week the New York Superior Court struck down New York City's soda ban as "arbitrary and capricious," while the Mayor defiantly promised to challenge the decision.

In perhaps the most far reaching health development of the week, a new peer reviewed study lead right here in San Diego indicates that Down Syndrome may be caused by the lack of an important brain protein, SNX27-- and may lead to development of therapies that can reverse the syndrome if treatment is started up to as late as puberty.

For links to these stories and more, scroll down.

March 21, 2013 (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.

• Assault weapons ban dropped from Senate bill (NBC)
• States' aid to public colleges has fallen 28 percent since 2008 (Reuters)
• Rand Paul wins  CPAC straw poll (The Hill)
• Sen. Rand Paul introduces fetal personhood bill to outlaw all abortions (RawStory)
• First-ever cyberattack on US election points to broad vulnerabilities (Christian Science Monitor)
• Prop. 37 Died, but the Food-Labeling Fight Lives (Voice of San Diego)
• Census shows record 1 in 3 US counties are dying (Sacramento Bee)
• Report makes chilling forecast on Northwest quake (Sacramento Bee)

WORLD

• Islamist law takes hold in rebel-held Syria (Washington Post)
• Syria, rebels accuse each other of firing a chemical weapon (Washington Post)
• Pope Francis wants Church to be poor, and for the poor (Reuters)
• New Pope Criticized For His Association With Argentina's Dirty War (NPR)
• Flight to nowhere: Refugees’ plight is worsening (The Economist)
• Venezuela to probe Chavez cancer poisoning accusation (Reuters)
• Israeli lawyer goes after Abbas, Hamas in ICC (Jerusalem Post)
• Co-Founder Of Khmer Rouge Dies; Ieng Sary Escapes Judgment For Genocide (NPR)
• Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood says UN proposal on women will destroy the world (Christian Science Moitor)

SCIENCE AND HEALTH

• Could Brazilian waxing increase STD risk? (Fox)
• Driving coast to coast with no gas – on water and sunshine (USA Today)

March 7, 2013 (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:

NATIONAL

• Carrier cancellation heats up sequester fight as cuts take effect (The Hill)
• But what do the cuts mean for me? A sequester FAQ for the rest of us (Slate) 
• Goal to cut deficit by $4 trillion in reach (Sacramento Bee) 
• Sequester puts more cancer patients at risk of dying, researchers say  (Daily Beast) 
• Military foreclosure rates raise concerns (U-T San Diego, based on New York Times story) 
• DHS freed over 2,000 immigrants since February (Sacramento Bee) 
• Military draft registration: Goodbye to the draft board? (Christian Science Monitor) 
• Democrats turn to FCC to reveal secret donors behind political ads (The Hill) 
• Birds May Use 'Sound Maps' To Navigate Huge Distances (NPR) 

INTERNATIONAL 

• Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez dies (CNN) 
• Mexican president warns party over graft: No one is untouchable (Reuters) 
• The Holocaust just got more shocking (New York Times) 
• Afghan Government Bans Some American Forces For Links To Killings And Torture (NPR) 
• In Depressed Spain, ATMs That Dispense Free Cash (NPR) 
• Assad forces take Aleppo village, reopening supply line (Reuters) 
• Volcanic eruptions might lessen greenhouse effects (CS Monitor) 

HEALTH/SCIENCE 

• MIT Invents A Machine That Can Look At Batman's Face And See His Heart Beating (NPR – fascinating video) 
• Doctors report first cure of HIV in a child (USA Today) 
• New drug doubles risk of pancreatitis (Ivanhoe Newswire)

 Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

February 21, 2013 (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:

NATIONAL

• States join battle over drone fights (The Hill)
• The Voting Rights Act: Under fire (Ebony)
• Sequestration could mean across the board pain (CBS)
• FTC advises consumers to keep eye out for unauthorized charges on credit card bills (ABC)
• Kerry comes out swinging on climate change (The Hill)
• Pentagon informs Congress of plans to furlough 800K civilian workers (The Hill)
• In US, big strides in reducing domestic violence (CS Monitor)
• Farmer's Fight With Monsanto Reaches The Supreme Court (NPR)
• Who will clean up after the nuclear plants? (Christian Science Monitor)
• Alaska brewery plans to use beer as source of green energy (Fox)

WORLD

• Meteor blast injures 1,000 in Russia (CNN)
• Ozone hole shrinks to new low (Christian Science Monitor)
• Journalist rips ‘pro-life’ Republicans for seeking to cut infant nutrition program (Raw Story)
• GOP lawmakers propose $30 million a year to fund cops in schools program (The Hill)
• India farmers’ rice revolution (UK Guardian)
• U.K. Slaughterhouses Raided As Europe's Horse Meat Scandal Widens (NPR)
• A glimpse of Mexico's new crime fighting strategy (Christian Science Monitor)
• Chernobyl hit by roof collapse (BBC)
• The Afghan Battle Over A Law To Protect Women (NPR)
• Foreigners arrested for trying to spread Christianity in Libya (Reuters)

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

February 7, 2013 (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:

NATIONAL

• Latest job numbers signal economic recovery (CBS)
• John Kerry sworn in as Secretary of State (Boston.com)
• The biggest public land grab (Canyon Country Zephyr)
• Are Mini-Reactors The Future Of Nuclear Power? (NPR)

WORLD

• Defiant Iran plans to speed up nuclear fuel work (Reuters)
• Iran says US offer of direct talks a 'step forward, but...' (Christian Science Monitor)
• Israel on airstrikes in Syria: When we say something, we mean it (Christian Science Monitor)
• Turkish leftist group claims U.S. embassy bombing: website (Reuters)
• Iran launches monkey into space, showing missile progress (Reuters)
• Explosion at Mexican oil giant Pemex offices kills 14 (Reuters)
• Solomon Islands hit by five-foot tsunami, leaving six dead (+video) (Christian Science Monitor)

SCIENCE AND HEALTH

• Birds May Use 'Sound Maps' To Navigate Huge Distances (NPR)
• With Elbows, Cortisone Shots May Hurt More Than Help (NPR)

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

January 24, 2013 (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:

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

U.S.

• House approves debt limit extension, presses Senate to pass budget (The Hill)
• Pentagon lifting ban on women in combat, opening new opportunities (Christian Science Monitor)
• Women in combat: Will they have to register for the draft? (Christian Science Monitor)
• TSA removing virtual strip search body scanners (CNN)
• OPEC forecasts record US oil supply growth in 2013 (Christian Science Monitor)
• How Older Parenthood Will Upend American Society (New Republic)

WORLD

• North Korea to target U.S. with nuclear, rocket tests (Reuters)
• Idle No More movement sweeps Canada and beyond as aboriginals say enough is enough  (Indian Country Today)
• Syrian opposition leaders fail to form government (Reuters)
• Algerian hostage-takers threaten further attacks (Jerusalem Post)
• Jakarta, Indonesia's megacity of 10 million, is under water (+video) (Christian Science Monitor)
• Egypt opposition leader aims to break Islamist dominance (Reuters)
• Blast, drone kill 13 al Qaeda-linked militants  in Yemen (Reuters)
• Raised on Hatred (New York Times)

HEALTH/SCIENCE

• Algae Fuel Could Help Solve The Navy’s Oil Dependence  (KPBS)
• It's Legal For Some Insurers To Discriminate Based On Genes (NPR)
• Warnings from a flabby mouse [strong link between endocrine disruptors and obesity] (NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof)
• TA researchers: Genome can reveal surname (Jerusalem Post)

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

January 10, 2013 (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.

• Congress less popular than cockroaches (Salon)
• High court to tackle Native American adoption dispute (CNN)
• Congress lets Violence Against Women Act wither away (MSNBC)
• New immigration policy aims to limit family separations (KPBS)
• Disappearing Mule Deer A New Reality Throughout Western U.S. (NPR)
• Gabrielle Giffords takes on the gun lobby (CNN)
• Texas school can force teenager to wear locator chip: judge (Reuters)
• Hillary Clinton released from hospital after treatment of blood clot (Los Angeles Times)
• Fiscal cliff deal sneaks in Wall Street gifts, NASCAR perks (Huffington Post)
• Al Jazeera buys Al Gore’s Current TV (CBS)
• Canadian oil sands pollute nearby lakes. Report is blow to Keystone pipeline.(Christian Science Monitor)
• State Department made "grievous mistake" over Benghazi: Senate report (Reuters)

WORLD

• Indian proposes ban on child labor (Washington Post)
• UN says more than 60,000 dead in Syrian civil war (U-T San Diego)
• Malala's father given diplomatic role in UK(U-T San Diego)
• Protecting Native rights: idle no more  (LA Progressive)
• Biofuels cause pollution, not as green as thought - study (Reuters)
• Online comments hurt science understanding, study finds (Journal of Science)

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

December 26, 2012 -- (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.

• Business groups grow frustrated over impasse in ‘fiscal cliff’ talks (The Hill)
• Immigrants Welcomed: A City Sees Economic Promise (NPR)
• Nearing fiscal cliff, wind industry waits (North County NPR)
• American wind industry proposes to phase out tax credits (Hydrogen News)
• End the Wind Production Tax Credit (U.S. News and World Reports)
• NRA defends call for armed guards at schools (Reuters)
• Audits looking for undocumented immigrants on the rise (Christian Science Monitor)
• Few tests done at toxic sites after superstorm (U-T San Diego)

WORLD

• North Korea could have U.S. within missile range, says South (Reuters)
• Mayan temple damaged in tourists’ ‘apocalypse’ frenzy (Raw Story)
• India rape protests; reporter shot dead (Sky News)
• AP Exclusive: Palestinians aim to isolate Israel  (U-T San Diego)
• UN confirms Hezbollah fighting for Assad in Syria (Jerusalem Post)
• Thousands of Islamists clash with opponents in Egypt (Christian Science Monitor)
• Risk For Pakistan's Polio Workers Escalates (NPR)

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

December 12, 2012 -- (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.

• Bracing for fiscal cliff, investors move assets (Washington Post)
• Public backs fiscal cliff compromise; will Washington listen? (CBS)
• USDA chief: Rural American becoming less relevant (Associated Press)
• Washington state lights up as smoking marijuana becomes legal (UK Telegraph)

WORLD

• Egypt president scraps decree that sparked protests (Reuters)
• Protest at Egypt president's palace turns violent (UT San Diego)
• NATO warns Syria not to use chemical weapons (Reuters)
• Thousands accept postal service buyout deal  (cbsnews)

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

November 28, 2012 -- (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 reflecti 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.

• Supreme  Court blocks Illinois law banning taping of police (Chicago Tribune)
• More Republicans break with Norquist on anti-tax pledge (Washington Post)
• U.S. Fiscal cliff: Death, taxes and the GOP (BBC)
• U.S. gas prices see sharpest dip since 2008 (CNN)
• Millions will qualify for new options under health care law in next few months; most have no idea (Washington Post)
• Five economic trends to be thankful for (Washington Post)

WORLD

• Electronic tracking: New constraint for Saudi women (France24)
• Anger as Hungarian far-right leader demands list of Jews (Reuters)
• Spanish company involved in nuclear smuggling scheme with Iran (Reuters)
• Clinton announces cease fire between Israel and Hamas (The Hill)
• With Clinton’s shuttle diplomacy success, focus shifts to long-term Mideast solution (Washington Post)
• Egypt: Who holds the power? (BBC)
• Egyptian judges prepare for a strike (NPR)
• Call for noise based wind buffer laws (Queensland Country Life)

HEALTH

• Grapefruit and pills mix: warning (BBC)
• Abortion rate drops 5%, largest drop in decade (LA Times)
• Rare Meat Allergy Caused By Tick Bites May Be On The Rise  (NPR)
• Dogs being trained to sniff out ovarian cancer (CBS News)
• FDA halts operations at peanut butter plant (UT San Diego)
• Smoking rots brain, says study (BBC)

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

November13, 2012 --  (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 reflecting 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.

• War opens inside GOP on immigration (The Hill)
• Can police collect DNA before conviction? Supreme Court to hear case. (Christian Science Monitor)
• Supreme Court appears ready to nuke the Voting Rights Act (Mother Jones)
• CIA Director David Petraeus resigns, cites extramarital affair (NBC News)
• Obama wins Florida, sweeping all battleground states (CNN)
• George P. Bush gears up for political run in Texas (KPBS)
• Obama, Boehner reiterate plan to work on ‘fiscal cliff’ but offer differing ways to do so (Washington Post)
• Marijuana legalization victories could be short-lived (Reuters)
• After Sandy, communities mobilize a new kind of disaster relief (Common Dreams)
• West Nile cases still climbing as temperatures drop (NPR)

WORLD

• To combat sanctions, Iran buys up gold (NPR)
• Wind farm noise does harm sleep and health, say scientists ( UK Telegraph)
• Strong earthquake off Guatemala kills at least 48 (Reuters)

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

November1, 2012 --  (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 reflecting 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.

• Sandy blamed for 157 deaths (CNN)
• Impact by state: States pick up pieces as Sandy fades (CNN)
• Hurricane Sandy blows election off course (Reuters)
• Obama on storm recovery: We will not quit until this is done (CNN)
• Romney’s challenge: How to campaign after Sandy (CBS)
• Romney ties to voting machine company that could decide the election causing concerns (Forbes)
• Romney’s lax regulation may have fueled meningitis outbreak (Salon)
• Did U.S. go too far in secret surveillance of citizens? Case heads to Supreme Court  (Christian Science Monitor)
• U.S. sues Bank America for mortgage fraud (NPR)
• Citing food safety concerns, Kroger calls it quits on sprouts (NPR)
• Bloomberg Backs Obama, Citing Fallout From Storm

WORLD

• Death knell for wind farms: Enough is enough, says Energy Minister in Britain (UK Telegraph)
• In world first, biggest refugee camp gets university (Christian Science Monitor)
• In vitro fertilization increases risk of birth defects (Jerusalem Post)
• AP interview: Japan nuke plant water worries rise (U-T San Diego)
• Did Israel just blow up an Iranian weapons factory in Sudan? (Christian Science Monitor)
• Death toll tops 100 in ethnic strife in Myanmar (NPR)

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

October 18, 2012 --  (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 reflecting 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.

• Fresh signs of U.S. housing recovery (BBC)
• This is the biggest economic story in the world ( Business Insider)
• Man arrested after plotting federal reserve bomb, authorities say (CNN)
• Women’s issues move to forefront after debate (Washington Post)
• Romney’s missteps on Libya may hurt criticism of Obama foreign policy (Washington Post)
• Obama edges Romney in second debate: Poll (CBS)
• Conservatives assail debate moderator Crowley (CBS)

WORLD

• Report: Syria using widely banned cluster bombs (Christian Science Monitor)
• Israel parliament to hold new election (UT San Diego)
• Russia moves to prosecute leader of protests (Reuters)
• Thousands of British troops to leave Afghanistan in 2013 (Reuters)
• Thousands march in Spain to protest austerity (UT San Diego)
• French president proposes banning homework (ABC News)
• Firefox 16: latest upgrade taken offline due to security (BBC)

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.