ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

January 3, 2019 (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 a  variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Democrats Unveil Changes To House Rules On Debt Ceiling, Ethics (NPR)
• House Votes to End Shutdown Amid Trump Veto Threat Over Wall (Bloomberg News)
•  Shutdown Leaves Food, Medicine and Pay in Doubt in Indian Country (New York Times)
• US: Active grand jury probe tied to Russian social media (Associated Press)
• Mitt Romney asserts his independence — and Trump’s GOP critics see an opening (Washington Post)

WORLD

• Seven global trends to watch in 2019 (Christian Science Monitor)
• Jair Bolsonaro, on Day 1, Undermines Indigenous Brazilians’ Rights (New York Times)
• Saudi Arabia seeks death penalty for five suspects in Khashoggi killing (New York Times)
• Russia has formally charged Paul Whelan, an American citizen, with espionage, Interfax news agency reports (Washington Post)
• U.S. warns Iran against space launches, ballistic missiles (Reuters)

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

U.S.

Democrats Unveil Changes To House Rules On Debt Ceiling, Ethics (NPR)

Top Democrats announced late Sunday a series of changes to House rules that could eliminate causes of major instability during the previous eight years of Republican rule in Congress.

House Votes to End Shutdown Amid Trump Veto Threat Over Wall (Bloomberg News)

The new House Democratic majority voted Thursday to end the partial government shutdown but brought Congress no closer to resolving the impasse over President Donald Trump’s demand to pay for a border wall. The president and Senate Republicans oppose the Democrats’ plan, and the next effort to reopen the closed agencies will come when leaders of both parties meet with Trump at the White House Friday morning.

 Shutdown Leaves Food, Medicine and Pay in Doubt in Indian Country (New York Times)

Native Americans, entitled to federal services under treaties, are bearing the brunt of the government shutdown and are worried about more pain to come.

US: Active grand jury probe tied to Russian social media (Associated Press)

The Justice Department says there’s an ongoing grand jury investigation related to a Russian social media troll farm accused of interfering in the 2016 presidential election.  That’s according to a court filing Thursday from prosecutors with special counsel Robert Mueller’s office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington.

Mitt Romney asserts his independence — and Trump’s GOP critics see an opening (Washington Post)

A scathing op-ed by the incoming senator and 2012 GOP presidential nominee is a thunderclap in the Republican Party.

WORLD

Seven global trends to watch in 2019 (Christian Science Monitor)

Sometimes social movement is global and makes headlines. Sometimes it begins almost unnoticed, and spreads. Seven writers took part in this survey, presented as 2019 dawns.

Jair Bolsonaro, on Day 1, Undermines Indigenous Brazilians’ Rights (New York Times)

President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, who has compared indigenous communities living in protected lands to animals in zoos, took a major step toward undermining the rights of indigenous people just hours after taking office on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia seeks death penalty for five suspects in Khashoggi killing (New York Times)

…Turkish officials and investigations by The New York Times have found that Mr. Khashoggi’s killing was the result of a complex operation that involved at least 15 agents who flew into Turkey specifically for the job, many of them closely connected to Prince Mohammed. They included intelligence agents who had traveled with the crown prince, a physician who specialized in autopsies and brought a bone saw, and a body double who donned Mr. Khashoggi’s clothes and walked around Istanbul seeking to leave a false trail of evidence…Saudi Arabia has insisted that despite the complexity of the operation, the decision to kill Mr. Khashoggi, 59, was made by the team on the ground and had not been ordered by their superiors in Riyadh.

Russia has formally charged Paul Whelan, an American citizen, with espionage, Interfax news agency reports (Washington Post)

Russian investigative agencies on Thursday indicted Whelan, a 48-year-old former U.S. Marine, on charges of spying, Interfax cited an informed source as saying.

U.S. warns Iran against space launches, ballistic missiles (Reuters)

The United States issued a pre-emptive warning to Iran on Thursday against pursuing three planned space rocket launches that it said would violate a U.N. Security Council resolution because they use ballistic missile technology.