ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

May 3, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) - East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen on important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Is the Bill Cosby guilty verdict the first big victory for the Me Too movement? (USA Today)
• Russian from Trump Tower meeting: ‘I am a lawyer, and I am an informant’ (The Hill)
• 10 bipartisan senators push back on Medicaid work requirements for Native Americans (The Hill)
• ICE held an American man in custody for 1,273 days He’s not the only one who had to prove his citizenship. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Judge tosses Manafort lawsuit challenging Mueller’s authority (The Hill)
• Judge puts Stormy Daniels case on hold, citing likelihood Michael Cohen will be indicted (Washington Post)
• Texas teenager charged with plotting IS-inspired shooting at mall (Reuters)
• Seattle Sued Over Law Banning Landlords From Conducting Criminal Background Checks (Reason)

 World

• North and South Korea agree to end Korean War in historic accord (CNN)
• Suicide attackers storm HQ of Libya's election commission, 12 dead (Reuters)
•  Paris attacks suspect jailed for 20 years for Belgian attempted murder (Reuters)
• Brickbat: You Can't Change Your Mind (Reason)
• Two arrests after attempted ramming attack in Jerusalem  (JPost)

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

U.S.

Is the Bill Cosby guilty verdict the first big victory for the Me Too movement? (USA Today)

Bill Cosby was found guilty on all three counts of aggravated indecent assault on Thursday. One victim Cosby said the conviction is a "victory for womanhood and sexual assault survivors.

Russian from Trump Tower meeting: ‘I am a lawyer, and I am an informant’ (The Hill)

“I am a lawyer, and I am an informant,” she says in the NBC interview. “Since 2013, I have been actively communicating with the office of the Russian prosecutor general.” The admission also comes despite testimony Veselnitskaya submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee in November, in which she claimed no connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin's government.

10 bipartisan senators push back on Medicaid work requirements for Native Americans (The Hill)

A bipartisan group of senators is pushing for the Trump administration to grant exemptions to Native Americans from states' plans to implement work requirements for Medicaid… The Trump administration has failed “to recognize the unique legal status of Indian tribes and their members under federal law, the U.S. Constitution, treaties, and the federal trust relationship,” the letter reads.

ICE held an American man in custody for 1,273 days He’s not the only one who had to prove his citizenship. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Immigration officers in the United States operate under a cardinal rule: Keep your hands off Americans. But Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents repeatedly target U.S. citizens for deportation by mistake, making wrongful arrests based on incomplete government records, bad data and lax investigations, according to a Times review of federal lawsuits, internal ICE documents and interviews.

Judge tosses Manafort lawsuit challenging Mueller’s authority (The Hill)

A federal judge on Friday tossed out former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort lawsuit challenging the scope of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

Judge puts Stormy Daniels case on hold, citing likelihood Michael Cohen will be indicted (Washington Post)

A federal judge granted the request for a 90-day stay in a lawsuit brought against President Trump's personal attorney by porn star Stormy Daniels. The judge said the issues in the civil dispute with Daniels overlap with the criminal probe.

Texas teenager charged with plotting IS-inspired shooting at mall (Reuters)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and police said high-school student Matin Azizi-Yarand had planned the attack for mid-May and had sought to recruit others for the shooting. Authorities also said he had drafted a “Message to America” justifying his planned attack.  The FBI and local authorities in Collin County, Texas, said that at the time of his arrest, Azizi-Yarand had sent “more than $1,400 to others” to buy weapons and tactical gear.

Seattle Sued Over Law Banning Landlords From Conducting Criminal Background Checks (Reason)

Violators are required to take classes to reduce racial bias. ….Interestingly, the Seattle Housing Authority—which manages housing projects in the city—still requires criminal background checks of its tenants, as required by HUD guidelines for recipients of federal housing assistance.

World

North and South Korea agree to end Korean War in historic accord (CNN)

The leaders of North and South Korea have committed themselves to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and pledged to bring a formal end to the Korean War, 65 years after hostilities ceased…. The pledge to end the Korean war faces major hurdles -- any final peace deal must also involve China and the US, both of whom were participants in the original conflict that began in 1950 when the North Korean People's Army invaded the South. Although an armistice was signed in 1953, no formal peace treaty was ever concluded, and technically, the peninsula remains at war.

Suicide attackers storm HQ of Libya's election commission, 12 dead (Reuters)

 Suicide bombers stormed the head offices of Libya’s electoral commission in Tripoli on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people and setting fire to the building in an attack claimed by the Islamic State militant group.

Paris attacks suspect jailed for 20 years for Belgian attempted murder (Reuters)

A Belgian court sentenced Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam and a co-accused to 20 years in prison on Monday for trying to kill police during a shootout in Brussels in 2016.

Brickbat: You Can't Change Your Mind (Reason)

The government of the Indian state of Uttarakhand has passed a law that would impose a sentence of up to two years in prison for anyone who helps someone convert to another religion. The law is aimed at preventing Hindus from converting to Christianity, and it would cover not only outright evangelism but faith-based social work and offering to pray for someone. Uttarakhand is the eighth state in the country to pass such a law.

Two arrests after attempted ramming attack in Jerusalem  (JPost)

Police arrested a driver and passenger of a car suspected of trying to ram into a group of Israeli policemen in Jerusalem on Wednesday morning.