ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

January 7, 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.

• Iran Fires at U.S. Military Base in Western Iraq  (New York Times)
• Americans increasingly critical of Trump's record on Iran, most expect war: Reuters/Ipsos poll  (Reuters)
• Iraq calls for an end to foreign troops after U.S. killing of Iranian commander (Reuters)
• U.S. Kills Top Iran General (Time)
• Multiple victims reportedly stabbed at Rabbi’s New York Home (NBC)
• Poverty Grew In One-Third Of U.S. Counties Despite Strong National Economy (Huffington Post)
• Democrat Julián Castro drops out of 2020 presidential race (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Trump administration shuts down pollution-tracking map (The Hill)
• 'It's killing us': midwestern workers savaged by Trump's trade wars (Guardian)
• Trump blasts evangelical magazine after it calls him 'profoundly immoral,' seeks his removal (NBC)

WORLD

• Nearly 500 million animals killed in Australian brush fires, experts fear (UK Standard)
• Southern California Marines first to respond to Baghdad embassy attack (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• U.N. peacekeepers fathered, then abandoned, hundreds of children in Haiti, report says
• Saudi Arabia sentences five to death over Khashoggi murder, U.N. official decries 'mockery' (Reuters)
• Gunman attacks Russian security service HQ in Moscow, kills employee (Reuters)

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

U.S.

Iran Fires at U.S. Military Base in Western Iraq  (New York Times)

Iran said the strike on an American base in western Iraq was retaliation for the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani. The White House said in a statement that it was “aware” of attacks on American facilities in Iraq.

Americans increasingly critical of Trump's record on Iran, most expect war: Reuters/Ipsos poll  (Reuters)

The American public is increasingly critical of President Donald Trump’s handling of Iran after he ordered the U.S. military to kill a powerful Iranian military commander, and a majority of U.S. adults now expect the countries to be at war in the near future, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling released on Tuesday.

Iraq calls for an end to foreign troops after U.S. killing of Iranian commander (Reuters)

 Iraq’s parliament called on Sunday for U.S. and other foreign military forces to leave amid a growing backlash against the U.S. killing of a top Iranian military commander that has heightened fears of a wider Middle East conflict.

U.S. Kills Top Iran General (Time)

The U.S. military has killed Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, at the direction of President Donald Trump. An airstrike killed Soleimani, architect of Iran's regional security apparatus, an attack that's expected to draw severe Iranian retaliation

Multiple victims reportedly stabbed at Rabbi’s New York Home (NBC)

The violence comes after at least eight attacks this month on Jewish people in New York City.

Poverty Grew In One-Third Of U.S. Counties Despite Strong National Economy (Huffington Post)

Most of the biggest increases were in areas both rural and Southern.

Democrat Julián Castro drops out of 2020 presidential race (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The only Latino candidate in the 2020 Democratic presidential race is ending his bid

Trump administration shuts down pollution-tracking map (The Hill)

A federal database tracking pollution in the United States was retired earlier this month, drawing criticism from environmental advocates. TOXMAP, an interactive map hosted by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and accessible to the public, allowed users to track pollution-producing factories and other environmental concerns such as superfund cleanup sites.

'It's killing us': midwestern workers savaged by Trump's trade wars (Guardian)

Layoffs are common, shifts have been cut – and workers in America’s manufacturing and farming heartlands are losing hope.

Trump blasts evangelical magazine after it calls him 'profoundly immoral,' seeks his removal (NBC)

The president was reacting to a scathing editorial in Christianity Today (founded by Billy Graham).

WORLD

Nearly 500 million animals killed in Australian brush fires, experts fear (UK Standard)

Around 480 million animals are feared to have died in the bushfires sweeping Australia, including nearly a third of the koalas in New South Wales's main habitat.

Southern California Marines first to respond to Baghdad embassy attack (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Marines forward-deployed to Kuwait as part of special purpose crisis response team

U.N. peacekeepers fathered, then abandoned, hundreds of children in Haiti, report says

Some Haitians who were surveyed alluded to sexual violence, but more described a “common pattern” where women received money or food in exchange for sex.

Saudi Arabia sentences five to death over Khashoggi murder, U.N. official decries 'mockery' (Reuters)

 Saudi Arabia on Monday sentenced five people to death and three to jail over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but a U.N. investigator accused it of making a “mockery” of justice by allowing the masterminds of last year’s killing to go free.

Gunman attacks Russian security service HQ in Moscow, kills employee (Reuters)

A gunman opened fire on the headquarters of Russia’s FSB security service in central Moscow on Thursday evening in a rare shooting incident that the FSB said had left at least one of its employees dead.