ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

U.S.

March 2, 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:

Presidential primary

• Justice Dept. grants immunity to staffer who set up Clinton e-mail server (Washington Post)
• Jesse Ventura: I’ll run for president if Bernie Sanders loses (Daily Beast)
• Therapists confirm Trump’s narcissistic personality disorder (Psychology Today)
• Can Marco Rubio save his campaign and his career in Florida? (Washington Post)
• National poll: Clinton, Sanders both top Trump (CNN)
• Current Affairs: Unless Democrats run Sanders, a Trump nomination means a Trump presidency (Current Affairs)
• Ben Carson, seeing ‘no path forward’, signals end to candidacy (New York Times)
• Nearly 20% of Trump supporters disapprove of Lincoln freeing slaves (Vox)

General news

• ISIS leaders threaten Zuckerburg and Dorsey, say they will take down Facebook and Twitter(CNN)
• Abortion clinics are closing at record pace (Bloomberg)
• The unexpected side effects of legalizing weed (Newsweek)
• IRS says phishing and malware scams are up 400 percent this year (10 News)
• Despite promised transparency, US drone policy remains cloudy (CS Monitor)
• Investigation offers glimpse into polygamous sect's secretive compound (CS Monitor)
• 106 Burmese pythons captured in Florida in monthlong hunt (CS Monitor)
• IRS identifies more cyberattacks to access tax data (Reuters)
• U.S. Air Force vet one of first to face trial for Islamic State support (Reuters)

WORLD

• Former Tepco execs indicted over Fukushima nuclear disaster: media (Reuters)
• Mugabe birthday bash riles critics in drought-hit Zimbabwe  (Reuters)
• Cameroon frees several hundred hostages from Boko Haram (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Israel: Lebanon violated UNSC resolution calls to disarm Hezbollah more than 2,000 times (JPost)
• Huge increase in European products passing through Israel to Arab states (JPost)
• Missing radioactive material found dumped in south Iraq (Reuters)
• To stay or go? UK to vote on membership in European Union. (CS Monitor)
• Thousands pay respects to slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in solemn march (Social Media News)

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

U.S.

Presidential primary

Justice Dept. grants immunity to staffer who set up Clinton e-mail server (Washington Post)

The Justice Department has granted immunity to the former State Department staffer who worked on Hillary Rodham Clinton’s private email server as part of a criminal investigation into the possible mishandling of classified information, according to a senior law enforcement official.

Jesse Ventura: I’ll run for president if Bernie Sanders loses (Daily Beast)

The former governor of Minnesota likes Trump and Sanders, but says he will get in the race by June if Hillary wins the Democratic nomination.

Therapists confirm Trump’s narcissistic personality disorder (Psychology Today)

Concerned therapists break silence to warn the public.

Can Marco Rubio save his campaign and his career in Florida? (Washington Post)

Bruised by a string of Super Tuesday losses, Marco Rubio is desperately fighting to win the Florida Republican primary in two weeks to save both his presidential campaign and his political future. Florida and its 99 delegates are Rubio’s last best hope to at least slow Donald Trump’s path to the nomination…

National poll: Clinton, Sanders both top Trump (CNN)

Both of the remaining Democratic candidates for president easily top Republican front-runner Donald Trump in hypothetical general election match-ups, according to a new CNN/ORC Poll. In the scenario that appears most likely to emerge from the primary contests, Clinton tops Trump 52% to 44% among registered voters… Sanders -- who enjoys the most positive favorable rating of any presidential candidate in the field, according to the poll -- tops all three Republicans by wide margins: 57% to 40% against Cruz, 55% to 43% against Trump, and 53% to 45% against Rubio.

Current Affairs: Unless Democrats run Sanders, a Trump nomination means a Trump presidency (Current Affairs)

With Donald Trump looking increasingly likely to actually be the Republican nominee for President, it’s long past time for the Democrats to start working on a pragmatic strategy to defeat him… Every one of Clinton’s (considerable) weaknesses plays to every one of Trump’s strengths, whereas every one of Trump’s (few) weaknesses plays to every one of Sanders’s strengths.

Ben Carson, seeing ‘no path forward’, signals end to candidacy (New York Times)

Ben Carson, the only Republican to have once threatened the lead of Donald J. Trump in national polls, said on Wednesday that he saw no path forward and would skip a debate on Thursday in his hometown, Detroit, signaling an end to his candidacy after paltry performances in the nominating contests.

Nearly 20% of Trump supporters disapprove of Lincoln freeing slaves (Vox)

The New York Times took a dive into whether Donald Trump's supporters are unusually racist — or, in the newspaper's delicate phrasing, "responsive to religious, social and racial intolerance." And they came up with a stunning statistic: Nearly one in five Trump supporters didn't approve of freeing slaves in the Confederacy…. It gets even worse. An additional 17 percent of respondents said they are not sure.

General news

ISIS leaders threaten Zuckerburg and Dorsey, say they will take down Facebook and Twitter(CNN)

In a new video, ISIS supporters threaten the CEOs of Twitter and Facebook in response to their efforts to stop terrorist activity.

Abortion clinics are closing at record pace (Bloomberg)

Abortion access in the U.S. has been vanishing at the fastest annual pace on record, propelled by Republican state lawmakers’ push to legislate the industry out of existence. Since 2011, at least 162 abortion providers have shut or stopped offering the procedure, while just 21 opened. At no time since before 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion, has a woman’s ability to terminate a pregnancy been more dependent on her zip code or financial resources to travel.

The unexpected side effects of legalizing weed (Newsweek)

Retail recreational cannabis is changing Colorado’s social, economic and political landscapes in ways that few could have imagined.

IRS says phishing and malware scams are up 400 percent this year (10 News)

The online scams target taxpayers in the form of an email or text message. In these fake messages, the hackers ask taxpayers to update their online account information and Electronic Filing Identification Numbers (EFINs).

Despite promised transparency, US drone policy remains cloudy (CS Monitor)

Despite the government’s pledge to provide “clear guidelines, oversight and accountability” regarding its policy regarding the use of lethal force involving Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones, against terrorists, a new report suggests that President Obama’s administration is not being transparent with its approach. 

Investigation offers glimpse into polygamous sect's secretive compound (CS Monitor)

After church leaders Lyle and Seth Jeffs were arrested for food stamp fraud, investigators have been given an intriguing picture of life in the movement's compounds, particularly its highly secretive South Dakota compound.

106 Burmese pythons captured in Florida in monthlong hunt (CS Monitor)

… The 106 Burmese pythons captured over a monthlong hunt won't help control Florida's invasive snake population, but wildlife officials said Saturday that doesn't matter as much as the awareness they bring to the state's environmental concerns. Thousands of pythons, far from their natural habitat in Southeast Asia, are believed to be stalking Florida wildlife in the beleaguered Everglades.

IRS identifies more cyberattacks to access tax data (Reuters)

The Internal Revenue Service said on Friday an investigation into a hacking attack revealed in May found that cyber criminals had made attempts to gain access to about 390,000 additional taxpayer accounts.

U.S. Air Force vet one of first to face trial for Islamic State support (Reuters)

 A U.S. Air Force veteran betrayed his country and tried to become a fighter for the militant group Islamic State, federal prosecutors told a New York jury on Monday at the start of his criminal trial.

WORLD

Former Tepco execs indicted over Fukushima nuclear disaster: media (Reuters)

 Three former Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) executives were indicted on Monday for failing to take safety measures to prevent the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, a local media report said.

Mugabe birthday bash riles critics in drought-hit Zimbabwe  (Reuters)

 President Robert Mugabe marked his 92nd birthday at a nearly $1 million party organized by supporters in a drought-stricken area on Saturday, drawing criticism from opponents who said the celebrations were an affront to ordinary Zimbabweans.  Mugabe, Zimbabwe's only leader since its independence from Britain in 1980, said no-one would starve as a result of a drought which has left three million people in need and prompted the declaration of a state of disaster in most rural areas.  But in a characteristic gibe at Western countries, he said Zimbabwe would not accept aid if it came with conditions that the country should accept gay rights.

Cameroon frees several hundred hostages from Boko Haram (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Cameroon says it has joined Nigerian troops fighting Boko Haram extremists to free a Nigerian border town, liberating several hundred hostages in the process.

Israel: Lebanon violated UNSC resolution calls to disarm Hezbollah more than 2,000 times (JPost)

The resolution also stated that no armed forces other than the UN Interim Force in Lebanon and the Lebanese army would be posted south of the Litani River.

Huge increase in European products passing through Israel to Arab states (JPost)

Last year some 13,000 trucks laden with products from Turkey and Bulgaria passed through Israel, an increase of more than 25%. ….because of the civil war in Syria, Israel has in recent years become the main land bridge between some European and Arab countries.

Missing radioactive material found dumped in south Iraq (Reuters)

 Radioactive material that went missing in Iraq has been found dumped near a petrol station in the southern town of Zubair, officials said on Sunday, ending speculation it could be acquired by Islamic State and used as a weapon.

To stay or go? UK to vote on membership in European Union. (CS Monitor)

After securing a deal from other EU leaders, British Prime Minister David Cameron set the date of a referendum on whether the UK will remain a part of the union.

Thousands pay respects to slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in solemn march (Social Media News)

Several thousand people on Saturday solemnly marched through Moscow in memory of Russian opposition leader and former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov to mark the first anniversary of his killing one year ago.