ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

February 23, 2021  (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.

• The Texas grid got crushed because its operators didn’t see the need to prepare for cold weather  (Washington Post)
• Biden says US is securing 600 million vaccine doses by July (10 News)
• “I Don’t Trust the People Above Me”: Riot Squad Cops Open Up About Disastrous Response to Capitol Insurrection (Pro Publica)
• Migrant parents separated from children since 2018 are reunited at LAX (Los Angeles Times)
• Capitol Police Officer Who Led Rioters Away Gets Congressional Gold Medal
• Biden’s Civilian Climate Corps comes straight out of the New Deal (Grist)
• Montana senator says he'll 'block' Deb Haaland's Interior nomination (Indian Country Today)
• Someone tried to poison a Florida city’s water supply during hack (Tampa Bay)
• Biden says women dropping out of workforce, closed schools are "national emergency" (CBS)
• House votes to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from committee assignments (CNN)

WORLD

• U.S. officially rejoins the Paris climate accord (CNN)
• Israel reopens for business after half the nation has Covid jab – but you need ‘vaccine passport’ app to visit the gym (The Sun)
• Iran produces uranium metal, IAEA says, in latest breach of deal (Reuters)
• Sudan says Ethiopian forces crossed border, raising tensions
• European rights advocate asks Russia to explain police action over protests (Reuters)
  
   

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

U.S.

The Texas grid got crushed because its operators didn’t see the need to prepare for cold weather  (Washington Post)

The widespread power failures in Texas in the face of a winter cold snap shine a light on what some see as the derelict state of America’s electricity infrastructure, a mirror reflection of the chaos that struck California last summer.

Biden says US is securing 600 million vaccine doses by July (10 News)

President Joe Biden has visited some of the nation's leading scientists on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19 and announced that the U.S. will have enough supply of the vaccine by the end of the summer to inoculate 300 million Americans (nearly the entire U.S. population of 326 million people.)

“I Don’t Trust the People Above Me”: Riot Squad Cops Open Up About Disastrous Response to Capitol Insurrection (Pro Publica)

Interviews with 19 current and former officers show how failures of leadership and communication put hundreds of Capitol cops at risk and allowed rioters to get dangerously close to members of Congress.

Migrant parents separated from children since 2018 are reunited at LAX (Los Angeles Times)

Nine parents who were deported as the Trump administration separated thousands of migrant families landed back into the U.S. late Wednesday to reunite with children they had not seen in a year and a half.

Capitol Police Officer Who Led Rioters Away Gets Congressional Gold Medal

"In the weeks after the attacks on January 6, the world learned about the incredible, incredible bravery of Officer Goodman on that fateful day," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said shortly before the Senate awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to Officer Eugene Goodman.

Biden’s Civilian Climate Corps comes straight out of the New Deal (Grist)

… President Joe Biden recently signed an executive order to create a Civilian Climate Corps. The initiative, he wrote, will provide “good jobs” for young people and train them for environmentally friendly careers, putting them to work restoring public lands and waters, planting trees, improving access to parks, and of course, tackling climate change. It’s inspired by the original Civilian Conservation Corps, one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signature New Deal programs launched to take on the Great Depression.

Montana senator says he'll 'block' Deb Haaland's Interior nomination (Indian Country Today)

It’s often said that elections have consequences. In this case the Georgia Senate race last month could make all the difference if Rep. Deb Haaland is confirmed as the first Native American to be Secretary of the Interior.

Someone tried to poison a Florida city’s water supply during hack (Tampa Bay)

Local and federal authorities are investigating after an attempt Friday to poison the city of Oldsmar’s water supply Friday, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Monday. / Someone remotely accessed a computer for the city’s water treatment system and briefly increased the amount of sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, by a factor of more than 100, Gualtieri said.

Biden says women dropping out of workforce, closed schools are "national emergency" (CBS)

President Biden said the exodus of millions of women from the labor force and the closing of schools —along with the mental health issues for children that could arise — during the COVID-19 pandemic constitute a "national emergency."  

House votes to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from committee assignments (CNN)

The House voted Thursday evening to remove Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee assignments, a decisive step that comes in the wake of recently unearthed incendiary and violent past statements from the congresswoman that have triggered widespread backlash from Democrats and divided congressional Republicans.

WORLD

U.S. officially rejoins the Paris climate accord (CNN)

The United States officially rejoined the landmark international accord to limit global warming known as the Paris Agreement on Friday.  Hours after he was sworn-in on January 20, President Joe Biden signed an executive order beginning the 30-day process for the US to reenter the global pact. The US had officially exited the agreement late last year on former President Donald Trump's orders, becoming the first and only country to formally pull out of the deal since it was adopted in 2015.

Israel reopens for business after half the nation has Covid jab – but you need ‘vaccine passport’ app to visit the gym (The Sun)

Israel has begun reopening its economy thanks to its pioneering vaccine rollout that has seen half of the population receive doses.  Israelis enjoyed a sense of normality on Sunday as retail malls and shops with street access opened their doors. Gyms, synagogues, libraries and other cultural locations are also following suit - but only to those with a so-called 'Green Pass'.

Those who have received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine for over a week or have recovered from coronavirus and are assumed to have immunity will be granted the virtual vaccine passport.

Iran produces uranium metal, IAEA says, in latest breach of deal (Reuters)



Iran has carried out its plan to produce uranium metal, the U.N. atomic watchdog confirmed on Wednesday, despite Western powers having warned Iran that would breach their 2015 nuclear deal as uranium metal can be used to make the core of an atom bomb.

Sudan says Ethiopian forces crossed border, raising tensions

Ethiopian forces crossed into Sudanese territory in an act of "aggression", Sudan's foreign ministry said on Sunday, marking the latest flare-up in a long-standing border dispute.

European rights advocate asks Russia to explain police action over protests (Reuters)



A European human rights advocate has asked Russia to explain reports police used excessive force to disperse anti-Kremlin protests and committed rights abuses, and reminded Moscow of peoples' right to freedom of assembly.