By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Avaaz, 700,000 marchers for climate change action

June 28, 2015 (San Diego) – It’s been front-page news in Europe, but scarcely reported in the U.S. – though the news is of epic proportions. 

On June 6^th, at a meeting in a Bavarian resort,  all seven of the G7 world leaders agreed to end all use of fossil fuels by the end of this century and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 to 70 percent by 2050, compared to 2010 emission levels.   In another sweeping commitment, they agreed to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, Reuters reports.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, dubbed the “climate chancellor”, led the successful efforts to gain the commitments from the G7 leaders of  Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and the United States, which was represented by President Barack Obama.   Next up, the G7 leaders aim to create an agreement at the upcoming United Nations conference in Paris, where some 200 nations will work to set a new global agreement on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

June 26, 2015 (El Cajon ) – From now through July 4, Coldstone Creamery in Rancho San Diego (2963 Jamacha Road, El Cajon) will donate 20% of all purchase to benefit the ACES Foundation, which supports the El Cajon Animal Shelter. Just mention “El Cajon Animal Shelter” when ordering, or present the flyer in this story.

June 26, 2015 (Julian) – The Volcan Mountain Foundation is offering a series of events, from hikes to beer-tasting to a summer film festival.  Scroll down for highlights, and visit www.VolcanMt.org. for full details.

Supervisor Dianne Jacob welcomes news after leading efforts to launch Alzheimer’s Project

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: National Institute of Health

June 27, 2015 (San Diego) – The University of Southern California (USC)’s Keck School of Medicine announced Friday that it has established the USC Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute  in San Diego.

CAL-FIRE ISSUES WARNING TO DRONE OPERATORS, UPDATES ON FIRES

By Miriam Raftery

June 26, 2015 (San Diego)—With wildfires raging across California, an unmanned hobby drone interfered with firefighting aerial drops yesterday on the Sterling Fire in San Bernadino Fire.  According to CAL-FIRE Captain Kendal Bortisser, this is the second time in two days that a drone has halted air drops. The near-misses have prompted CAL-FIRE to issue this stern warning to hobby drone users: “If you fly, we can’t!”

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: The Moderate Voice

June 26, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – In a historic ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court majority has ruled that same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states, protected under the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.

President Barack Obama likened the decision to “justice that arrives like a thunderbolt,” declaring, “When all Americans are treated as equal, we are all more free.”

The high court, ruling in the Obergefell v. Hodges case, was asked to decide two issues: can individual states ban  same-sex marriage and must all states honor same-sex marriages for weddings performed in other states. 

Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Republican appointed by Ronald Reagan, wrote the majority opinion in the 5-4 opinion, joined by the court’s four liberal justices.

Utility also offers energy saving summer tips

June 25, 2015  (San Diego) – Today, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), the California Independent System Operator Corp. (ISO), and the California Energy Commission announced that sufficient electricity supplies are available to meet regional energy needs this summer. Customers, however, may be called to conserve in the event of an unexpected power emergency, such as much hotter than expected weather or the unplanned loss of a power plant or transmission line.

By Miriam Raftery

June 25, 2015 (Borrego Springs) -- You just never know what you might see on a warm desert night out in Borrego Springs! 

This shot by our editor, Miriam Raftery, was taken on the summer solstice eve.  The figure at left, a photography student on Dennis Mammana's night sky photography tour, is facing off with a sculpture of a giant sloth (a creature that once roamed the Anza-Borrego Desert). The gigantic metal sculpture is one of many created by artist Richard Breceda that appear tto rise from the desert floor, captivating the imaginations of young and old alike.

The moon, Venus, and Jupiter are faintly visible in the sky above.

June 25, 2015 (San Diego's East County)-- East County Magazine's 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.

• Theft Of Social Security Numbers Is Broader Than You Might Think (NPR)
• The VA's Broken Promise To Thousands Of Vets Exposed To Mustard Gas (NPR)
• Boston Marathon bomber apologizes to victims, then sentenced to death (CS Monitor)
• US says truck hijacked in Mexico, visas stolen (AP)
• Puerto Rico governor says declaring bankruptcy was option (AP)
• After Thousands Of Missions, Air Force To Cut Drone Flights (NPR)

WORLD

• Hungary to fence off border with Serbia to stop migrants (Reuters)
• Europe's Migrant Crisis Spreads Ashore As Refugees Enter Bulgaria On Foot (NPR)
• Danish centre-right opposition wins election, PM quits party (Reuters)
• Thousands rally against refugees in Slovak capital (UT San Diego)
• Hong Kong vetoes China-backed electoral reform proposal (Reuters)
• AP Exclusive: Document outlines big-power nuke help to Iran (UT San Diego)
• Wikileaks: Saudi officials suspect Iran shipped nuclear equipment to Sudan (CS Monitor)
• Chad bans burqas following terrorist attacks (CS Monitor)
• State of fear: Survivors tell of life under IS rule (AP) 
• Israel says it hits Gaza rocket launcher after rocket fired (AP)
• Israel arrests Druze suspects in attacks on ambulances (Reuters)

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

By Miriam Raftery

June 25, 2015 (Washington D.C.) –The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a landmark ruling to uphold nationwide federal subsidies in all 50 states to help people buy healthcare under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. 

Opponents had argued that the subsidies should be available only to people in states that set up healthcare exchanges .  Currently 8.7 million Americans receive the subsidies, but the vast majority of those – 6.4 million—are in states that did not set up exchanges. Those 6.4 million people would have lost their subsidies if plaintiffs had prevailed in the case, King v. Burrell.

Chief Justice John Roberts voted with liberal justices to support the law.  Writing the majority decision, Roberts concluded, “Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not destroy them.”

By Miriam Raftery

June 25, 2015 (El Cajon) – Nationwide, over 400,000 rape kits have never been tested, including many right here in our region.  Yet testing every rape kit can produce undeniably dramatic results.

June 25, 2015 (San Diego)--The San Diego Latino Film Festival has issued a call for entries for its 2016 event. The deadlines are September 11 for early entry, October 9 normal entry, and November 13, late entry. Entry fees range from $15-$25 for early entries up to $40-60 for late entries.

The 23^rd annual festival will be held March 10-20, 2016. The festival seeks entries for short films and feature films. Last year’s festival was attended by an audience of 21,500 actively-engaged film lovers, filmmakers, actors, programmers, distributors, industry representatives, and journalists.

By Miriam Raftery

June 25, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Only about 100 fluent speakers of the Kuyemaay dialect remain -- and most of thoe are in Mexico, Margaret Field, a professor of American Indian Studies at San Diego State University told the San Diego Union-Tribune. She added, “All indigenous languages around the world are endangered, in that they could disappear within a generation or two.”

But here in San Diego’s East County, local Native American tribal members are making efforts to keep their language alive.