ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

May 8, 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.

• Trump exerts executive privilege over full Mueller report (New York Times)
• House Judiciary votes to hold Barr in contempt for defying Mueller report subpoena (CBS)
• A Constitutional Showdown Between the White House and Congress Just Got Closer (Politico)
• Senate Intelligence Committee subpoenas Donald Trump, Jr. (CNN)
• ACT test: The number of perfect scores is soaring everywhere, as expensive test prep booms (USA Today)
• Decade in the red: Trump taxes reveal $1 billion in business losses (New York Times)
• The White House revoked my press pass. It’s not just me — it’s curtailing access for all journalists. (Washington Post)
• Again in the age of 'run, hide, fight,' student heroes thwart a school shooter (CNN)

WORLD

• US deploying carrier and bomber task force in response to 'troubling' Iran actions (CNN)
• Japan’s Emperor Abdicates Throne for First Time in 200 Years (US News)
• After Weekend Of Deadly Violence, Reports Of A Truce In Gaza (NPR)
• Kim oversees missile firing drills, tells North Korean troops to be alert (Politico)
• As Saudi Arabia Builds A Nuclear Reactor, Some Worry About Its Motives (NPR)

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

U.S.

Trump exerts executive privilege over full Mueller report (New York Times)

President Trump asserted executive privilege on Wednesday in an effort to shield hidden portions of Robert S. Mueller III’s unredacted report and the evidence he collected from Congress. The assertion, Mr. Trump’s first use of the secrecy powers as president, came as the House Judiciary Committee is expected to vote Wednesday morning to recommend the House of Representatives hold Attorney General William P. Barr in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena for the same material.

House Judiciary votes to hold Barr in contempt for defying Mueller report subpoena (CBS)

After negotiations with the Department of Justice fell apart, House Democrats on the Judiciary Committee voted to find Attorney General William Barr in contempt for not complying with the panel's subpoenas to provide documents related to special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia report. 

A Constitutional Showdown Between the White House and Congress Just Got Closer (Politico)

Barr’s stall tactics are speeding up an inevitable court fight. Here’s how Democrats are already laying the groundwork.

Senate Intelligence Committee subpoenas Donald Trump, Jr. (CNN)

The Senate Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed Donald Trump Jr. for him to return and testify again, and the committee is now at a standoff with President Donald Trump's eldest son, according to sources familiar with the matter.

ACT test: The number of perfect scores is soaring everywhere, as expensive test prep booms (USA Today)

The number of perfect ACT scores is six times higher today, compared to just eight years ago, and that may be in part due to the test prep industry.

Decade in the red: Trump taxes reveal $1 billion in business losses (New York Times)

Newly obtained tax information reveals that from 1985 to 1994, Donald J. Trump’s businesses were in far bleaker condition than was previously known. By the time his master-of-the-universe memoir “Trump: The Art of the Deal” hit bookstores in 1987, Donald J. Trump was already in deep financial distress.

The White House revoked my press pass. It’s not just me — it’s curtailing access for all journalists. (Washington Post)

For the past 21 years, I have had the high privilege of holding a White House press pass, a magical ticket that gives the bearer a front-row seat to history. I was in the White House the night Bill Clinton admitted his affair with Monica Lewinsky, and the day he was impeached. I was there on Sept. 11, 2001, and the fearful days thereafter, when we were trained to use escape hoods. I watched George W. Bush make the case for the Iraq War and Barack Obama pitch his remedies for the market crash. There, too, I have witnessed the carnival-like briefings and high histrionics of Donald Trump’s presidency. But no more.

Again in the age of 'run, hide, fight,' student heroes thwart a school shooter (CNN)

When the shooter opened fire at STEM School Highlands Ranch in suburban Denver, 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo charged him, getting shot himself in the process but giving his classmates time to take cover or bolt.  Nui Giasolli had British literature class with one of the shooters who killed a student and wounded eight others Tuesday at the school, and she shared with CNN the story of terror and heroism that unfolded once bullets began to fly.

WORLD

US deploying carrier and bomber task force in response to 'troubling' Iran actions (CNN)

The US is deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the US Central Command region in the Middle East in response to "troubling" warnings from Iran, the White House announced Sunday. A US official with direct knowledge of the situation tells CNN the threats were against both US maritime and land-based forces in the Middle East. The deployments are aimed specifically at deterring any Iranian military actions, the official added.

Japan’s Emperor Abdicates Throne for First Time in 200 Years (US News)

Japan’s Emperor Akihito formally abdicated on Tuesday, becoming the country's first monarch to step down from the Chrysanthemum Throne in more than 200 years.  Crown Prince Naruhito, the emperor's 59-year-old son, will be inaugurated as the 126th emperor on Wednesday. 

After Weekend Of Deadly Violence, Reports Of A Truce In Gaza (NPR)

In Gaza, 23 people were killed in the fighting, including militants and civilians. Israel says four of its civilians were killed…. The Israeli military said that 690 rockets had been fired from Gaza at Israeli civilians, 240 of them intercepted by Israel's aerial defense system, known as the Iron Dome. Israel's Defense Forces says it conducted targeted airstrikes on hundreds of militant sites, including rocket launch areas, military compounds and weapon facilities.

Kim oversees missile firing drills, tells North Korean troops to be alert (Politico)

North Korean state media on Sunday showed leader Kim Jong Un observing live-fire drills of long-range multiple rocket launchers and what appeared to be a new short-range ballistic missile, a day after South Korea expressed concern that the launches were a violation of an inter-Korean agreement to cease all hostile acts.

As Saudi Arabia Builds A Nuclear Reactor, Some Worry About Its Motives (NPR)

 Saudi Arabia is building a small civilian nuclear reactor, the nation's first. Nuclear power is an important part of its energy plans. Arms control experts ask if its intention is entirely peaceful…. / "Most countries were walking away from nuclear, but they decided, 'Look, this is our long-term plan,'" she says.