WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND WORLD NEWS HEADLINES

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)

U.S.

Assault weapons ban dropped from Senate bill (NBC)

A ban on assault weapons won't be included in major gun legislation set to take shape this week -- all but guaranteeing it won't pass Congress. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a onetime ally of the National Rifle Association, informed California Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Monday that the proposal to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines won't be included in a broad package of new gun laws that's taking shape this week and will be considered on the Senate floor in April.

States' aid to public colleges has fallen 28 percent since 2008 (Reuters)

State governments, which have been battling slow economic growth, cut aid to public colleges for five years and now spend 28 percent less per student than they did in 2008, according to a study published on Tuesday.

Rand Paul wins  CPAC straw poll (The Hill)

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) won the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) straw poll on Saturday, an outcome largely expected by those in attendance, but one that will give him added legitimacy as he seeks to expand his appeal to compete on the national stage in 2016.

Sen. Rand Paul introduces fetal personhood bill to outlaw all abortions (RawStory)

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Friday introduced so-called “fetal personhood” legislation that would completely outlaw abortion in the United States. The Life at Conception Act would declare that human life began at conception, providing fertilized eggs with the same legal status as born persons.

First-ever cyberattack on US election points to broad vulnerabilities (Christian Science Monitor)

Over a 2-1/2 week period last July, more than 2,500 online “phantom requests” for absentee ballots were made to Miami-Dade County election headquarters, marking the first known cyberattack on a US election.

Prop. 37 Died, but the Food-Labeling Fight Lives (Voice of San Diego)

You might remember the fight over California’s failed Proposition 37, which would have required labeling of foods that contain genetically modified ingredients….

The movement to label genetically modified ingredients, however, is alive and well. The JustLabelIt campaign says there are currently 14 states with similar bills being considered…. And in California, expect to see a new ballot initiative in 2014.If that’s not enough to convince the food industry that GMO labeling is inevitable, on Friday, national grocer Whole Foods announced it had set a deadline for its suppliers to label genetically modified foods.

Census shows record 1 in 3 US counties are dying (Sacramento Bee)

A record number of U.S. counties - more than 1 in 3 - are now dying off, hit by an aging population and weakened local economies that are spurring young adults to seek jobs and build families elsewhere.

Report makes chilling forecast on Northwest quake (Sacramento Bee)

More than 10,000 people could die when - not if - a monster earthquake and tsunami occur just off the Pacific Northwest coast, researchers told Oregon legislators Thursday. Coastal towns would be inundated. Schools, buildings and bridges would collapse, and economic damage could hit $32 billion.

WORLD

Islamist law takes hold in rebel-held Syria (Washington Post)

The evidence was incontrovertible, captured on video and posted on YouTube for all the world to see. During a demonstration against the Syrian regime, Wael Ibrahim, a veteran activist, had tossed aside a banner inscribed with the Muslim declaration of faith. And that, decreed the officers of the newly established Sharia Authority set up to administer rebel-held Aleppo, constitutes a crime under Islamic law, punishable in this instance by 10 strokes of a metal pipe.

Syria, rebels accuse each other of firing a chemical weapon (Washington Post)

The Syrian government and rebels accused each other Tuesday of firing a chemical weapon near the city of Aleppo, killing at least two dozen people in an attack that, if confirmed, would mark the first use of chemical arms and a major escalation in Syria’s two-year-old conflict.

Pope Francis wants Church to be poor, and for the poor (Reuters)

Pope Francis, giving his clearest indication yet that he wants a more austere Catholic Church, said on Saturday that it should be poor and remember that its mission is to serve the poor.

Francis, speaking mostly off-the-cuff and smiling often, made his comments in an audience for journalists where he explained why he chose to take the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi, a symbol of peace, austerity and poverty.

New Pope Criticized For His Association With Argentina's Dirty War (NPR)

Audie Cornish talks to Ian Mount, a freelance reporter in Buenos Aires, for more on Catholicism in Argentina, the home country of Pope Francis I.

Flight to nowhere: Refugees’ plight is worsening (The Economist)

They are fast approaching 1m and their future is bleak. It is unlikely that the refugees who have fled the ghastly war in Syria will be able to return home anytime soon. Nor are many likely to start a new life abroad. They live in camps or shared rooms in neighbouring countries….The plight of Syria’s refugees exemplifies a growing global problem. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) counts 15.2m (4.8m of them Palestinians, looked after by a different UN outfit), with an additional 26.4m displaced within their own lands. But hosts are increasingly unfriendly to refugees, and ever more unwilling to allow them to settle permanently.

Venezuela to probe Chavez cancer poisoning accusation (Reuters)

Venezuela will set up a formal inquiry into claims that deceased President Hugo Chavez's cancer was the result of poisoning by his enemies abroad, the government said.

Israeli lawyer goes after Abbas, Hamas in ICC (Jerusalem Post)

An Israeli law firm on Thursday formally announced its request to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, to open a criminal investigation into violations by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and nine members of Hamas for war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression.

Co-Founder Of Khmer Rouge Dies; Ieng Sary Escapes Judgment For Genocide (NPR)

The death of Ieng Sary, co-founder of the Khmer Rouge that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 and killed an estimated 1.7 million of that nation's people in the process, has dashed the hopes "among survivors and court prosecutors that he would ever be punished for his alleged war crimes," The Associated Press writes.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood says UN proposal on women will destroy the world (Christian Science Moitor)

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, the power behind President Mohamed Morsi, usually makes its more incendiary statements in Arabic only. But such was the movement's horror at a United Nations proposal to reduce violence against women that it issued a statement in English today complaining that "the complete disintegration of society" would result if the UN adopts a set of recommendations from its Commission on the Status of Women. 

SCIENCE AND HEALTH

Could Brazilian waxing increase STD risk? (Fox)

Brazilian waxing and other methods of removing pubic hair may increase the risk of catching certain skin infections through sex, preliminary research from France suggests.

Driving coast to coast with no gas – on water and sunshine (USA Today)

A professor from Middle Tennessee State University plans to drive cross country in a car that runs exclusively on water and sunshine to show that the U.S. can be energy independent.