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July 18, 2019 (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.
- Trump Says U.S. Navy Ship Shot Down Iranian Drone (Newsweek)
- Outdated software could make new voting systems vulnerable to hackers (San Diego Union-Tribune)
- Trump administration files regulation that could dramatically limit asylum claims (10 News)
- Refugee mothers separated at border to sue Trump administration for $3 million each (San Diego Union-Tribune
- House holds Barr and Ross in contempt (New York Times)
- Where the candidates stand on issues (Politico)
- U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta resigns amid questions about handling of Epstein case (CBS News)
- …Trump administration agrees to independent investigation of health conditions for children at border facilities (CNN)
- The Trump Administration Is Making Immigrant Parents Pay $800 for DNA Tests to Get Their Kids Back (Yahoo news)
WORLD
- France's Macron to speak to Rouhani, Putin and Trump to ease Iran tension (Reuters)
- Israel says EU's response on Iran recalls Nazi appeasement (Reuters) Radiation in parts of the Marshall Islands is far higher than Chernobyl, study says (Los Angeles Times)
- Man screams ‘die!’ as he sets fire to Japanese cartoon studio, police say, killing at least 20 (Washington Post)
- Italy seizes weapons, missile, Nazi plaques (ABC)
For excepts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.
U.S.
Trump Says U.S. Navy Ship Shot Down Iranian Drone (Newsweek)
President Donald Trump said that the USS Boxer "destroyed" an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz about a month after the Revolutionary Guards downed a U.S. Navy drone nearby.
Outdated software could make new voting systems vulnerable to hackers (San Diego Union-Tribune)
… An Associated Press analysis has found …the vast majority of 10,000 election jurisdictions nationwide use Windows 7 or an older operating system to create ballots, program voting machines, tally votes and report counts. …Windows 7 reaches its “end of life” on Jan. 14, meaning Microsoft stops providing technical support and producing “patches” to fix software vulnerabilities, which hackers can exploit.
Trump administration files regulation that could dramatically limit asylum claims (10 News)
… The regulation would prohibit migrants who have resided in a third country from seeking asylum in the US. It would, therefore, bar migrants transiting through Mexico from being able to claim asylum and as a result, drastically limit who's eligible for asylum. The regulation is an interim final rule, which allows the new restrictions to go into effect immediately.
Refugee mothers separated at border to sue Trump administration for $3 million each (San Diego Union-Tribune
Some immigrants seeking asylum are part of a novel legal strategy to seek redress for being separated from their families at the border. They are suing the US for emotional distress.
House holds Barr and Ross in contempt (New York Times)
The House voted Wednesday evening to hold Attorney General William P. Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in criminal contempt of Congress for their refusal to turn over key documents related to the Trump administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
Where the candidates stand on issues (Politico)
The most comprehensive guide anywhere to the issues shaping the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. Search by candidate, issue or category.
U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta resigns amid questions about handling of Epstein case (CBS News)
…Acosta had defended his handling of a decade-old plea deal with financier Jeffrey Epstein on sex crime charges when Acosta was the U.S. attorney in Florida's Southern District. Acosta faced renewed scrutiny over the case after Epstein was arrested on new federal sex trafficking charges in New York last week. President Trump said that Acosta called him Friday morning and said it was entirely Acosta's decision.
The Trump administration has agreed to allow a Stanford University pediatrician to conduct an independent investigation into health conditions for migrant children at US Customs and Border Protection facilities. The pediatrician, Dr. Paul Wise, toured detention centers at the border last summer and was critical of the conditions there…
The Trump Administration Is Making Immigrant Parents Pay $800 for DNA Tests to Get Their Kids Back (Yahoo news)
… now, as the Daily Beast reports, government officials have told at least four immigrant women that to get their children back, they'll have to pay for their own DNA tests to prove that they're related… This corresponds with other stories of the government demanding steep fees to release immigrant children from custody. Family members already in the U.S. who attempt to sponsor detained children have been told they must pay hefty airplane tickets…Immigrant and youth-rights advocates have accused the government of trying to raise barriers that make it impossible for typically poor people to free their family members.
WORLD
France's Macron to speak to Rouhani, Putin and Trump to ease Iran tension (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he would speak to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russia's Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump this week as part of a French initiative to prevent an escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
Israel says EU's response on Iran recalls Nazi appeasement (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned a European Union response on Monday to Iran's breaches of nuclear limitations, saying it recalled failed diplomacy with Nazi Germany ahead of World War Two.
Radiation in parts of the Marshall Islands is far higher than Chernobyl, study says (Los Angeles Times)
Think of the most radioactive landscapes on the planet and the names Chernobyl and Fukushima may come to mind. Yet research published Monday suggests that parts of the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific, where the United States conducted 67 nuclear tests during the Cold War, should be added to the list. In a peer-reviewed study, Columbia University researchers report that soil on four isles of the Marshall Islands contains concentrations of nuclear isotopes that greatly exceed those found near the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear power plants. On one isle, those levels are reported to be 1,000 times higher.
Man screams ‘die!’ as he sets fire to Japanese cartoon studio, police say, killing at least 20 (Washington Post)
A series of explosions triggered an inferno that swept through the three-story workspace near Kyoto, authorities said. The suspect, a 41-year-old man, was in police custody.
Italy seizes weapons, missile, Nazi plaques (ABC)
Police in northern Italy have detained three men, including one linked to a neo-fascist Italian political party, after uncovering a huge stash of automatic weapons, a missile and material featuring Nazi symbols.Police said the discoveries stemmed from a previous investigation into Italians who took part in the Russian-backed insurgency in eastern Ukraine.
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