ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

August 1, 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.

• Funds earmarked for defense can be used for border wall, Supreme Court rules (10 News)
• Trump says Guatemala signing deal to restrict asylum cases (KUSI)
• How a Fed rate cut will affect your credit card payment, home equity line, savings rates (USA Today)
• At debate, Warren and Sanders spar with centrists over party direction, how to beat Trump (Los Angeles Times)
• Biden fights back against attacks in Detroit presidential debate (2^nd night) (Detroit News)
• Science division of White House empty as last staffers depart (CBS News)
• Mitch McConnell Received Donations from Voting Machine Lobbyists Before Blocking Election Security Bills (Newsweek)
• Washington Post columnist accuses McConnell of doing Putin’s bidding (The Hill)
• Trump attacks another African American lawmaker, and calls Baltimore a 'disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess' CNN)
• Have we no decency? A response to President Trump (The National Cathedral)
• Juul Targeted Children at Schools and Online, U.S. House Panel Says (Bloomberg News)

WORLD

• It’s not just the Russians anymore: Iranians, others turn up disinformation efforts ahead of 2020 vote (Washington Post)
• Murders in Mexico surge to record in first half of 2019 (Reuters)
  
  South Korea fires hundreds of warning shots at Russian military plane (Reuters)
• Russia: Police arrest hundreds at Moscow election protest (BBC)
• Syrian Rebel Town Pounded, 11 Killed in Market Airstrike (New York Times)
• Death toll from India, Nepal, Bangladesh floods jumps to over 300 (Reuters)
• Missing Mekong waters rouse suspicions of China (Reuters)

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

U.S.

Funds earmarked for defense can be used for border wall, Supreme Court rules (10 News)

The ruling marks one of Trump's biggest legal wins.

Trump says Guatemala signing deal to restrict asylum cases (KUSI)

President Donald Trump announced Friday that Guatemala is signing an agreement to restrict asylum applications to the U.S. from Central America…The same conditions driving Salvadorans and Hondurans to flee their country — gang violence, poverty, joblessness, a prolonged drought that has severely hit crop yields — are also present in Guatemala. Guatemala also lacks resources to adequately house, educate or provide opportunity to potential asylum seekers, observers say. Advocacy groups condemned the move Friday…

How a Fed rate cut will affect your credit card payment, home equity line, savings rates (USA Today)

Borrowers have been taking it on the chin the past few years, with the Federal Reserve raising interest rates nine times since late 2015. Now, the Fed is aiming to soften that blow. An expected quarter-percentage-point rate cut by the Fed on Wednesday and the possibility of three more decreases within the next 12 months likely would trim rates and monthly payments on credit cards, home equity lines, adjustable-rate mortgages and auto loans.

At debate, Warren and Sanders spar with centrists over party direction, how to beat Trump (Los Angeles Times)

Democrats showed sharp differences over single-payer healthcare, immigration and climate policy Tuesday as a group of lesser-known candidates tried to use the second presidential primary debate to attack progressive standard-bearers Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. The debate highlighted the fundamental changes advocated by Sanders, a Vermont independent, and Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, who argue that defeating President Trump will require far-reaching plans.

Biden fights back against attacks in Detroit presidential debate (2^nd night) (Detroit News)

Former Vice President Joe Biden opened Wednesday night’s presidential debate by asking Kamala Harris to “go easy” on him, but spent the better part of the next two-plus hours fighting off criticism by her and the majority of his opponents. Ten Democrats took the stage on the second of back-to-back presidential debate nights…

Science division of White House empty as last staffers depart (CBS News)

The science division of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) was unstaffed as of Friday …

Mitch McConnell Received Donations from Voting Machine Lobbyists Before Blocking Election Security Bills (Newsweek)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell squashed two bills intended to ensure voting security on Thursday, just one day after former special counsel Robert Mueller warned that Russians were attempting to sabotage the 2020 presidential elections "as we sit here."

Washington Post columnist accuses McConnell of doing Putin’s bidding (The Hill)

Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank slammed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Friday after the GOP leader blocked two election security measures this week. In an op-ed published by The Post, Milbank accused McConnell of "doing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bidding" and labeled the GOP leader "a Russian asset."  

Trump attacks another African American lawmaker, and calls Baltimore a 'disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess' CNN)

President Donald Trump attacked another prominent African American lawmaker on Saturday, tweeting that his Baltimore district is a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess."  Trump's morning tirade against Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, is the latest verbal assault against a minority member of Congress who is a frequent critic of the President.

Have we no decency? A response to President Trump (National Cathedral in Washington D.C.)

The escalation of racialized rhetoric from the President of the United States has evoked responses from all sides of the political spectrum. On one side, African American leaders have led the way in rightfully expressing outrage. On the other, those aligned with the President seek to downplay the racial overtones of his attacks, or remain silent. As faith leaders who serve at Washington National Cathedral ¬– the sacred space where America gathers at moments of national significance – we feel compelled to ask: After two years of President Trump’s words and actions, when will Americans have enough?

Juul Targeted Children at Schools and Online, U.S. House Panel Says (Bloomberg News)

Juul Labs Inc., the dominant e-cigarette company in the U.S., spent more than $200,000 sponsoring programs in schools meant to “convey its messaging directly to teenage children,” and marketed to teens by recruiting online influencers, according to a report by a U.S. House subcommittee.

WORLD

It’s not just the Russians anymore: Iranians, others turn up disinformation efforts ahead of 2020 vote (Washington Post)

It's not just Russia. Election disnformation experts say Iran and several other nations have developed substantial capacity to wage Russian-style information operations in the United States ahead of next year’s election. That means American voters are likely to be targeted in the coming campaign season by more foreign disinformation than ever before.

 

Murders in Mexico surge to record in first half of 2019 (Reuters)



Murders in Mexico jumped in the first half of the year to the highest on record, according to official data, underscoring the vast challenges President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador faces in reducing violence in the cartel-ravaged country.

South Korea fires hundreds of warning shots at Russian military plane (Reuters)



South Korean warplanes fired hundreds of warning shots at a Russian military aircraft that entered South Korean airspace on Tuesday, defense officials said, while Russia denied violating any airspace and accused South Korean pilots of being reckless.

Russia: Police arrest hundreds at Moscow election protest (BBC)

Police in the Russian capital Moscow have detained some 300 people at an unauthorised protest against the exclusion of many opposition candidates from forthcoming local elections. Protesters were dragged away from the city hall while others were corralled into nearby streets. Some of the barred prospective candidates were detained earlier as police carried out searches.

Syrian Rebel Town Pounded, 11 Killed in Market Airstrike (New York Times)

A Syrian government airstrike hit a busy open-air market in the country's northwest on Saturday, killing at least 11 people, most of them children, according to activists. The town of Ariha has been particularly targeted over the last week as the government escalates its offensive against the country's last rebel stronghold.

Death toll from India, Nepal, Bangladesh floods jumps to over 300 (Reuters)



The death toll from severe flooding in parts of India, Nepal and Bangladesh rose to more than 300 on Monday, even as heavy rains are starting to ebb and water levels started to recede in some of the worst-affected areas.

Missing Mekong waters rouse suspicions of China (Reuters)



By this time of year, the Mekong River should have been rising steadily with the monsoon rains, bringing fishermen a bounty of fat fish.