ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

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East County News Service

February 22, 2017 (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.

WORLD

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

U.S.

Millions targeted for possible deportation under Trump rules (AP)

Millions of people living in the United States illegally could be targeted for deportation — including people simply arrested for traffic violations — under a sweeping rewrite of immigration enforcement policies announced Tuesday by the Trump administration. Any immigrant who is in the country illegally and is charged or convicted of any offense, or even suspected of a crime, will now be an enforcement priority…That could include people arrested for shoplifting or minor offenses — or simply having crossed the border illegally.

Trump to spare U.S. ‘dreamers’ immigrants from crackdown (Reuters)

President Donald Trump's administration plans to consider almost all illegal immigrants subject to deportation, but will leave protections in place for immigrants known as "dreamers" who entered the United States illegally as children, according to official guidelines released on Tuesday.

Trump administration seeks to prevent ‘panic’ over new immigration enforcement policies (Washington Post)

The Trump administration sought to allay fears in immigrant communities Tuesday as it publicly released wide-ranging new guidelines that allow federal authorities to take stronger enforcement actions against illegal immigrants, saying the directives are not intended to produce mass deportations…Kelly’s memos, first disclosed in media reports over the weekend, establish new policies at the Department of Homeland Security to hire thousands of additional enforcement agents, expand the pool of immigrants who are prioritized for removal, speed up deportation hearings and enlist local law enforcement to help make arrests.

Trump calls recent anti-Semitic incidents ‘horrible’ (CNN)

President Donald Trump said Tuesday the recent spate of threats targeting the Jewish community in the US are "horrible" and "painful" as he faced a growing chorus of calls from Democrats and Jewish leaders urging him to speak out… “The anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish community and community centers are horrible and are painful and a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil," Trump said.

Trump administration rolls back transgender student restroom protections (USA Today)

…A letter jointly issued Wednesday by the Department of Justice and the Department of Education announced that the agencies are "withdrawing the statements of policy and guidance" issued last year by the Obama administration that allowed students to use restrooms of their chosen gender.

Bipartisan Group Wants Congressional War Votes on ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Yemen (Reason)

In a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan... a group of 19 members of Congress from both parties... urged an immediate vote on authorizations for the use of military force (AUMFs) against the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda, as well as a separate one for participation in Yemen's civil war.

Supreme Court divided over U.S.-Mexico border case (USA Today)

A closely divided Supreme Court struggled Tuesday with what one justice called the "very sympathetic case" of a Mexican teenager shot and killed from across the border by a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

General known for sharp questions will be Trump’s new security advisor (Reuters)

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday named Lieutenant General Herbert Raymond McMaster as his new national security adviser, choosing a military officer known for speaking his mind and challenging his superiors. McMaster is a highly regarded military tactician and strategic thinker, but his selection surprised some observers who wondered how the officer, whose Army career stalled at times for his questioning of authority, would deal with a White House that has not welcomed criticism.

Trump memo proposes deploying 100,000 National Guard troops to round up immigrants  (Dallas Morning News)

he Trump administration is considering a proposal to mobilize as many as 100,000 National Guard troops to round up unauthorized immigrants, including millions living nowhere near the Mexico border, according to a draft memo obtained by The Associated Press…Governors in the 11 states would have a choice whether to have their guard troops participate, according to the memo, written by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general.

Internet regulating FCC commissioner to resign (Free Beacon)

A Democratic Federal Election Commission official who pushed to regulate the internet and has been absent from public meetings for months is resigning, according to an announcement.

Firebrand Milo quits Breitbart news after child sex remark (Reuters)

Provocative far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos resigned on Tuesday as an editor of the Breitbart News website after he was vilified and lost a book deal over old comments that condoned at least some intimate relations between men and young teenage boys.

Americans eat out less as higher menu prices take a bite from restaurant visits: Reuters/Ipsos poll (Reuters)

A third of U.S. adults are eating out less frequently than three months ago, mostly because of cost, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos survey…Recent minimum wage increases have prompted some U.S. restaurant operators to raise menu prices while less labor-intensive grocery stores have been able to pass lower food costs on to shoppers. / The gap between grocery food prices and restaurant prices is at an historic high. The consumer price index for food away from home was up 2.4 percent year over year at the end of January compared to a 1.9 percent drop for food at home.

Local Police Departments Invest in Cell Phone Spy Tools (NPR)

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to City Lab reporter George Joseph about the spread of tools that let police collect cell phone data

WORLD

Canada PM: Will not halt illegal border crossing despite opposition (Reuters)

Canada will continue to accept asylum seekers crossing illegally from the United States but will ensure security measures are taken to keep Canadians safe, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday. The number of would-be refugees crossing into Canada at isolated and unguarded border crossings has increased in recent weeks amid fears U.S. President Donald Trump will crack down on illegal immigrants, and photos of smiling Canadian police greeting the migrants have gone viral.

Man-made’ food crisis threatens 100,000 people after war and a collapsing economy devastate agriculture in the country (The Guardian)

Famine has been declared in parts of South Sudan, where UN agencies warned on Monday that war and a collapsing economy have left 100,000 people facing starvation.

Mexico homicides jump by a third amid cartel infighting  (Reuters)

Homicides in Mexico jumped by more than a third in January, new figures showed, fueled by violence in states hit by an internal split in the Sinaloa drug cartel.

Mexico Braces for Flood of Returnees as Trump Cracks Down On Immigration (NPR)

The Mexican government does little to welcome home deportees from the U.S., but it will now pay U.S. lawyers millions to help its citizens fight deportation. Mass repatriation would cost much more.

Canada increases immigration to build its workforce (Marketplace)

Two years ago, Canada passed a troubling milestone. The number of people age 65 and over surpassed those age 14 and under.  To bolster its workforce, the country is increasingly relying on immigrants and has brought in more than 800,000 over the past five years. But with a twist. More than half of those immigrants came in through a system that awards points for things like age, education and language fluency.

Kim Jong-nam’s death: Latest test of tense China-North Korea relations (CS Monitor)

On Saturday, Beijing said it wouldn't accept any coal shipments from North Korea in 2017. Despite being North Korea's closest ally, China has seen its alliance with the regime repeatedly tested in recent years.

Islamic State linked group expands foothold in southern Syria near Israel (Reuters)

Islamic State-linked Syrian militant groups on Monday launched a surprise attack on moderate rebels in southwestern Syria near the Golan Heights near where the Jordanian and Israeli borders converge, seizing several villages and a large town, rebels and witnesses said.

ISIS in Sinai: the Libyan connection (Jerusalem Post)

In the chaos of Libya’s civil war, the huge army arsenal was up for grabs.

 


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