ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

July 25, 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 backs two-year budget deal that boosts spending, suspends debt limit (Washington Post)
• Judge blocks asylum policy at U.S.-Mexico border (Washington Post)
• Mueller says that Trump could be charged with obstruction after he leaves office (Axios)
• Trump uses veto power to unblock $8 billion weapons sale to Saudi Arabia (BBC)
• These are the women who have accused President Trump of sexual misconduct (Time)
• Trump administration to expand its power to deport undocumented immigrants (Washington Post)
• Lineup for July Democratic presidential debates in Detroit revealed (CBS)
• A Russian Oligarch Bought Maryland’s Election Vendor. Now These Senators Are Questioning the Rules (RollCall)

WORLD

• Red-hot planet: All-time heat records have been set all over the world during the past week (Washington Post)
• Iran says it arrested 17 CIA spies and sentenced some to death (BBC)
• Thousands protest in Moscow after opposition barred from city vote (Reuters)
• Tainted alcohol kills 19 in Costa Rica, ministry says (10 News)
• 90 Dead, 1 Million Displaced by Monsoon Flooding in India and Nepal  (Eco Watch)

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

U.S.

Trump backs two-year budget deal that boosts spending, suspends debt limit (Washington Post)

The bipartisan deal, which still must be passed through Congress, would clear a debt ceiling crisis later this year but would continue Washington’s borrowing binge for at least the next two years.

Judge blocks asylum policy at U.S.-Mexico border (Washington Post)

A federal judge in California has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing new asylum restrictions for people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border…The policy would prevent most migrants from seeking asylum in the U.S. if they passed through another country first.

Mueller says that Trump could be charged with obstruction after he leaves office (Axios)

Former special counsel Robert Mueller told Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) at the House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday that President Trump could be charged with obstruction of justice after he leaves office.

Trump uses veto power to unblock $8 billion weapons sale to Saudi Arabia (BBC)

The US president has vetoed resolutions in Congress to block the sale of $8.1bn (£6.5bn) worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

These are the women who have accused President Trump of sexual misconduct (Time)

Writer E. Jean Carroll says Donald Trump assaulted her in a dressing room in the late 1990s, making her at least the 19th woman to allege sexual misconduct by the president….These are the women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct on the record, in chronological order from when their accusations surfaced.

Trump administration to expand its power to deport undocumented immigrants (Washington Post)

The Trump administration on Tuesday will significantly expand its power to quickly deport undocumented immigrants who have illegally entered the United States within the past two years, using a fast-track deportation process that bypasses immigration judges… The stated targets of the change are people who sneaked into the United States and do not have an asylum case or immigration-court date pending.

Lineup for July Democratic presidential debates in Detroit revealed (CBS)

CNN has announced the lineup for two nights of the Democratic presidential debate being held on July 30 and 31. The lineup was revealed during a drawing of names Thursday night.  The announcement comes one day after the Democratic National Committee announced the 20 presidential candidates who qualified the second debate. 

A Russian Oligarch Bought Maryland’s Election Vendor. Now These Senators Are Questioning the Rules (RollCall)

Maryland’s Democratic senators want a Senate committee to require disclosures of foreign investments in U.S. election systems, an alarm bell set off by a Russian oligarch’s connection to their state’s voter registration system. 

WORLD

Red-hot planet: All-time heat records have been set all over the world during the past week (Washington Post)

From the normally mild summer climes of Ireland, Scotland and Canada to the scorching Middle East to Southern California, numerous locations in the Northern Hemisphere have witnessed their hottest weather ever recorded over the past week.

Iran says it arrested 17 CIA spies and sentenced some to death (BBC)

The intelligence ministry said the suspects had been collecting information in the nuclear, military and other sectors. US President Donald Trump has dismissed the Iranian allegations, saying they are "totally false".

Thousands protest in Moscow after opposition barred from city vote (Reuters)



More than 10,000 people took to the streets of Moscow on Saturday to protest against the exclusion of most opposition-minded candidates from an election for the Russian capital's legislature.

Tainted alcohol kills 19 in Costa Rica, ministry says (10 News)

Nineteen people have died from consuming alcohol tainted with toxic levels of methanol in Costa Rica, where the Ministry of Health issued a national alert.

90 Dead, 1 Million Displaced by Monsoon Flooding in India and Nepal  (Eco Watch)

Monsoon flooding in India, Nepal and the surrounding region has killed at least 90 and displaced more than one million.