ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

October 17, 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.

• S&P: Shutdown cost U.S. economy at least $24 billion (The Hill)
• Lawmakers launch budget talks as government restarts (Reuters)
• Business groups stand by Boehner, plot against Tea Party (Washington Post)
• Shutdown deal averts catastrophe but leaves economy in peril (Washington Post)
• US adults score below average on worldwide test (AP)

Global

• Palestinian shot dead in base attack (BBC)
• Nobel laureates urge Putin to free Greenpeace activists (BBC)
• Pregnant indigenous Mexican women face hospital discrimination (LA Times)
• For Now, No War Crimes Charges Against Syrian Regime (NPR)
• North Korea Has Restarted Nuclear Reactor, South Korea Says (NPR)

For excerpts and links to full stories, scroll down.

U.S.

S&P: Shutdown cost U.S. economy at least $24 billion (The Hill)

The government shutdown cost the nation's economy at least $24 billion and shaved 0.6 percent off the nation's economic growth, according to new analysis from Standard & Poor's.

Lawmakers launch budget talks as government restarts (Reuters)

U.S. lawmakers launched an effort to resolve budget differences in a less confrontational fashion on Thursday as Washington picked up the pieces from a political crisis that has slowed the economy and undermined the country's international standing.

Business groups stand by Boehner, plot against Tea Party (Washington Post)

Chamber of Commerce to take sides against Tea Party candidates in Republican primaries following government shut down and threats to default on nation’s debts

Shutdown deal averts catastrophe but leaves economy in peril (Washington Post)

The deal reached by Congress on Wednesday to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling averts a financial catastrophe but leaves the weakened U.S. economy facing new threats.

US adults score below average on worldwide test (AP)

 It's long been known that America's school kids haven't measured well compared with international peers. Now, there's a new twist: Adults don't either. / In math, reading and problem-solving using technology... American adults scored below the international average on a global test, according to results released Tuesday.....

Global

Palestinian shot dead in base attack (BBC)

A Palestinian man who used a tractor to break into an Israeli army base in the West Bank has been shot and killed by soldiers, according to a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces.

Nobel laureates urge Putin to free Greenpeace activists (BBC)

The 30, who come from 18 nations, were held last month during a protest against oil drilling in the Arctic. The signatories - including Archbishop Desmond Tutu - described the charges of piracy as "excessive".

Pregnant indigenous Mexican women face hospital discrimination (LA Times)

Irma Lopez, a Mazatec Indian, waited to receive attention at a medical clinic in Oaxaca, but her labor pains became overwhelming. Spurned by the nurses, she retreated outdoors — and abruptly gave birth to a baby boy on the hospital lawn. A few days later, it was revealed that two other pregnant indigenous women had also been turned away from Oaxaca hospitals, one of whom also delivered on the lawn, and that a fourth woman had been forced to have her baby on the reception floor at a hospital in Puebla.

For Now, No War Crimes Charges Against Syrian Regime (NPR)

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon says Bashar Assad has committed crimes against humanity, given his attacks on civilians. The U.S., Britain and France say a U.N. report on the use of chemical weapons that killed more than a thousand people proves that Assad's regime was responsible. So far, though, only a few voices are calling for war crimes tribunals.

North Korea Has Restarted Nuclear Reactor, South Korea Says (NPR)

South Korean officials say they have confirmed that North Korea has restarted a nuclear reactor that had been shut down in 2007. In April, North Korea said it would restart the reactor to supply its nuclear weapons program.