ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version Share this

February 24, 2016 (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.: general news

Presidential primary

WORLD

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

 

U.S.

General news

CDC reports 14 new cases of sexually transmitted Zika (NBC)

Fourteen more people may have caught the Zika virus in the U.S. without traveling to affected zones, federal health officials said Tuesday — strong evidence that the virus is sexually transmitted fairly often. Some of those suspected of having been infected sexually have been pregnant women, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

McConnell will not meet with Obama’s nominee (The Hill)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday said he won't even meet with President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court.McConnell said Republican members of the Judiciary Committee unanimously recommended to him that there should not be confirmation hearings this year to fill the vacancy created by Justice Antonin Scalia's death.

Apple, The FBI And iPhone Encryption: A Look At What's At Stake (NPR)

The Justice Department wants Apple to help investigators get around iPhone security features so that the FBI can access data belonging to one of the San Bernardino killers. Apple is firmly opposed.

Welcome to the “Agrihood”: homes built around working farms (ABC)

Gated communities with houses clustered around golf courses, swimming pools, party rooms and fitness centers are common in many suburban areas. But homes built adjacent to functioning farms? Welcome to "agrihoods" — pastoral ventures with healthier foods as their focus.

He Led The Financial Bailout But Says Banks Are Still Too Big To Fail (NPR)

Neel Kashkari, now the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, tells NPR's Steve Inskeep that despite changes to Wall Street made as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, big banks are still too big to fail. / "If there were another crisis and banks ran into trouble, I'm afraid that taxpayers would have to step in again and bail out these banks. So we have not solved that problem, and we need to," Kashkari says.

Presidential primary

Stunning new Reuters poll shows Sanders leading nationally by 6 percent (US Uncut)

A new national poll from Reuters shows Bernie Sanders leading Hillary Clinton by 6 points among Democrats — his largest lead of the primary so far.

Donald Trump wins Nevada caucus, fortifying his lead in Republican race (Los Angeles Times)

Donald Trump romped to a third straight election victory Tuesday night, winning the Nevada caucuses and solidifying his position atop the Republican field as the presidential race now expands into a nationwide test. Marco Rubio was trailing far behind in early returns, followed by Ted Cruz in third place.

Jewish and Seventh Day Adventist voters left out of Nevada Democratic caucuses (CBS)

Religious Jews and Seventh-day Adventists both observe the Sabbath, a holy day of rest, on Saturdays. Members of Nevada's Jewish community call the timing of Saturday's caucus "disappointing," as the 11 a.m. start time precludes observant Jews from participating. Sabbath is observed from sundown Friday through sundown Saturday…In 2012, Republicans also caucused on a Saturday, yet an alternate time was arranged after sundown…the Orthodox Union, among the U.S.' largest Orthodox Jewish groups, asked Nevada Democratic officials to "ensure that all Nevadans can participate in the important presidential caucus." The statement continued: "We must protect religious freedom."

DNC Chair tries to defend superdelegates to Rachel Maddow (Washington Free Beacon)

Following Hillary Clinton’s win in Nevada’s Democratic caucus on Saturday, DNC chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz attempted to defend an undemocratic feature of the Democratic Party’s nominating process to MSNBC host Rachel Maddow. Maddow noted that socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) beat Hillary Clinton by 22 points in the New Hampshire primary yet came out of that race trailing Clinton in delegates due to “superdelegates” who were selected from the party establishment before the contest, and who overwhelmingly support Clinton.

Jeb Bush drops out of presidential race (USA Today)

Jeb Bush drops out of the Republican race for president, ending a bid that drew a staggering level of financial support from donors but failed to win over voters angry with Washington,

170 economists endorse Bernie Sanders’ plan to reform Wall Street and reign in greed (Politics USA)

170 of the nation’s top economists have released a letter endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’s plan to reform Wall Street. A letter signed by 170 economists including former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, University of Texas Professor James K. Galbraith, Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC., Brad Miller, former U.S. Congressman from North Carolina, and William K. Black, University of Missouri-Kansas City endorsed the Sanders plan to reform Wall Street.

Top Democratic economists just launched a brutal attack on Bernie Sanders (The Washington Post)

A group of left-leaning wonks -- including several former top economic advisers to Democratic presidents -- went hard at Bernie Sanders on Wednesday, attacking him for projecting that his proposals would deliver the type of enormous economic benefits that not even Republicans have dared to suggest their plans would accomplish.

WORLD

'A right to disconnect'? France proposes ignoring work emails after hours (CS Monitor)

French unions say digital technology has effectively destroyed the 35-hour work week and created an "explosion of undeclared labor" that should be tempered with a "disconnect” rule….

European Leaders Reach Deal To Help Keep Britain In European Union (NPR)

British Prime Minister David Cameron says he negotiated a deal to give the United Kingdom special status in the European Union. The deal follows a series of meetings between Cameron and other leaders.

Iraq sentences 40 to death over Islamic State's mass killing of captured soldiers (Reuters)

 An Iraqi court sentenced 40 captured members of Islamic State to death on Thursday for the killing of hundreds of soldiers after their capture by the ultra-radical militant group as it swept across northern Iraq in 2014, a judicial spokesman said.

Red Cross halts operations in Afghan province after staff taken (Reuters)

 The Red Cross has suspended operations in the central Afghan province of Ghazni after an armed group kidnapped five local staff members, the international aid organization said on Thursday.

Expelliarmus! Saudi Police to learn anti-magic tactics

Who you gonna call? Countering the occult is taken seriously by the Kingdom's religious police….Unfortunately, sorcery is no laughing matter for those accused of the crime, with Saudi Arabia carrying out the death penalty for those convicted.

Exclusive: Radioactive material stolen in Iraq raises security fears (Reuters)

 Iraq is searching for "highly dangerous" radioactive material whose theft last year has raised fears among Iraqi officials that it could be used as a weapon if acquired by Islamic State.

 


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.