ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

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April 6, 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

Same-sex couples can now adopt children in all 50 states (Huffington Post)

A federal judge ruled Mississippi’s ban on same-sex adoption is unconstitutional.

Supreme Court reins in practice of seizing defendants' assets (CS Monitor)

In a 5-3 decision, the high court sided with a Miami woman accused of Medicare fraud who said federal prosecutors rendered her unable to hire a lawyer of her choice when they seized $40 million of her assets.

As PayPal cancels expansion, consequences of NC’s anti-LGTB law get real (Los Angeles Times)

… PayPal, the San Jose-based payment processing company, announced Tuesday that it's cancelling a planned expansion in Charlotte, the state's largest city. That means the loss of a $3.6-million investment this year alone and 400 jobs paying an average of $50,000. "As a company that is committed to the principle that everyone deserves to live without fear of discrimination simply for being who they are, becoming an employer in North Carolina, where members of our teams will not have equal rights under the law, is simply untenable," company CEO Dan Schulman said in the company's announcement.

Native Americans unite to ride against proposed North Dakota pipeline (Guardian, reposted on RawStory)

About 200 people rode on horseback to protest against pipeline that encroaches on tribal lands and could pollute Missouri river: ‘We’re looking out for all people’

Whether It Works Or Not, U.S. Anti-Radicalization Plan Can Benefit Communities (NPR)

One in four attempted American ISIS recruits is from Minnesota. Supporters of a federal program aimed stamping out ISIS recruitment in cities like Minneapolis say it could be a model for other cities.

Cities can learn from crises like Flint. Atlanta is proof. (CS Monitor)

Atlanta is dramatically expanding its emergency water supply. The decision came before problems in Flint, Mich., emerged, but was driven by similar crises elsewhere. Agency estimates that US taxpayers need to pony up $1 trillion to get the nation’s water infrastructure up to code. Currently the US public water system gets a “D” grade from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Plutonium from Japan to be disposed of underground in New Mexico (Japan Times)

U.S.-bound plutonium that has recently been shipped out of Japan will be disposed of at a nuclear waste repository in New Mexico after being processed at the Savannah River Site facility in South Carolina, according to an official of the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Women Farmers Band Together To Vent, Seek Support And Exchange Ideas  (NPR)

The agriculture industry is traditionally male-dominated. But that's changing: Over the past 15 years, the fraction of U.S. farms run by women has nearly tripled.

Merrick Garland, Extremist  (Reason)

Garland looks like a moderate because he tends to side with the government irrespective of who's in charge….on a government-vs.-liberty axis, he does not sit in the center— but on the extreme edge…when has Garland not sided with the government?

Security vulnerabilities found in U.S. visa database: ABC News (Reuters)

Cyber security experts have found vulnerabilities in a U.S. State Department system that could have allowed hackers to alter visa applications or steal data from the more than half-billion records on file, ABC News reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Maryland Court to Baltimore Police: Want to Track Phones? Get a Warrant. (Reason)

In what could potentially be a major (if limited to one state) privacy decision, Maryland's Court of Special Appeals has ruled that carrying around a cellphone with GPS features doesn't mean that the police can simply use it to track people's physical locations without a warrant or the protection of the Fourth Amendment. The court is referring to cell tower simulating devices we've come to know as "stingrays."

Taxing Predicament (Reason)

From Augusta to Honolulu, Olympia to Tallahassee, state lawmakers are facing huge budget deficits. And what is the universal solution? Cut spending? Lay off state employees? No. Everyone's raising taxes. This year will see a record $16 billion in new state taxes nationally.

Presidential primary

DC Madam’s attorney vows to release info that could rock 2016 presidential election (NBC)

Montgomery Sibley, one of the attorneys in the nearly decade-old "D.C. Madam" scandal that rocked the nation's capital, vowed to release records that could have a ripple effect on the 2016 presidential election…Sibley filed an application with the Supreme Court this week, asking to allow him to release records from the escort service that has names and phone numbers that have been tied up due to a restraining order. "Those records contain information relevant to the 2016 presidential election," Sibley said in an online video posted last month, adding the records include some 800 client names and 5,000 phone numbers.

Conservative women stand up to Trump (Washington Post)

Sixteen conservative women journalists, including Mary Katharine Ham, S.E. Cupp, Katie Pavlich and Mona Charen, have signed an open letter concerning Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who has been charged with battery in connection with an incident involving Michelle Fields, formerly a Breitbart reporter.

Donald Trump taps Duncan Hunter, Chris Collins to lead campaign outreach to Congress (Washington Times)

Although the front-runner for the Republican nomination, Mr. Trump has been endorsed by just seven members of the U.S. House, among them Mr. Hunter and Mr. Collins.

John Kasich to seniors who want to keep their Social Security: “Get over it.” (Daily News Bin)

Even as Ohio governor John Kasich has been quietly hanging around the five percent mark in republican primary polls, some observers have suggested he may be the last one standing due to the fact that he comes off like a reasonable moderate in the debates…But Kasich may have stepped in it this week when he told a concerned senior citizen that he planned to cut Social Security benefits and that seniors should simply “get over it.”

Delegates ready to flee Trump at contested convention (Politico)

If Trump fails to clinch 1,237 delegates outright, already more than a hundred are poised to break from him on a second ballot.

Trump sued in Kentucky by three who say he incited crowd to violence (Reuters)

Three people who claim they were assaulted at a Donald Trump rally in Louisville, Kentucky, last month have filed a lawsuit against the Republican presidential candidate, saying he "incited a riot."

Coca Cola dumps Trump and declines to sponsor Republican National Convention (Politics USA)

In February ColorOfChange sent letters to Coca-Cola, Google, Xerox, Adobe Systems, AT&T, and Cisco Systems asking them not to support the Republican National Convention if Donald Trump was the nominee. … Donald Trump has promised "riots" if he is not nominated. The New York Times reported that Coca-Cola has heard the complaints brought by ColorofChange and has already declined to sponsor the Republican National Convention to the same level of $600,000.00 as they did in 2012.

The Clinton Investigation Enters a Dangerous Phase (Reason)

We know that the acquisition and corroboration phase of the investigation has been completed because the prosecutors have begun to ask Clinton's top aides during her time as secretary of state to come in for interviews. This is a delicate and dangerous phase for the aides, all of whom have engaged counsel to represent them. Here are the dangers.   

WORLD

With Leak Of 'Panama Papers,' A Glimpse Of World's Fiscal Underbelly (NPR)

Over 11 million records have been leaked from a law firm based in Panama, shedding light on the flow of dark money in the global financial system. Reporter Jake Bernstein explains what was revealed.

To End Cycle Of Crime, Italian Judge Breaks Up Big-Time Mafia Families (NPR)

Roberto Di Bella puts kids of crime organization 'Ndrangheta into volunteer homes to keep them from entering the family business, where many have been implicated in drug-related crimes and homicides.

Moody's puts Mexico on 'negative' outlook, keeps A3 rating (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Moody's credit rating agency has changed the outlook for Mexico's debt rating to negative from stable, citing low oil prices and slow economic growth.

Mass grave found in Palmyra after recapture from Islamic State: military (Reuters)

Syrian troops have identified 45 bodies so far in a mass grave found in the city of Palmyra after it was recaptured from Islamic State, a military source told Reuters on Saturday.

Hundreds of thousands protest at French labor reforms (Reuters)

Hundreds of thousands of workers and high-school students joined protest marches across France on Wednesday to challenge plans to loosen the country's protective labor laws that unions say favor businesses.

Islamic State urges attacks on German chancellery, Bonn airport: SITE group (Reuters)

Islamic State posted pictures on the Internet calling on German Muslims to carry out Brussels-style attacks in Germany, singling out Chancellor Angela Merkel's offices and the Cologne-Bonn airport as targets, the SITE intelligence group reported.

Two killed, 15 injured in central Somalia mosque blast (Reuters)

 Two people were killed and 15 others wounded when an explosion ripped through a mosque in the central Somalia region of Hiiraan during evening prayers on Thursday, police said…."We believe it was grenade that was accidentally dropped by those who were praying," a senior police officer, who gave his name only as Ibrahim, told Reuters from a police station near the scene

Exclusive: U.N. audit identifies serious lapses linked to alleged bribery (Reuters)

The United Nations' internal investigations office has uncovered serious lapses and due-diligence failures in the world body's interaction with organizations tied to an alleged bribery scheme involving a former U.N. General Assembly president.

 


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