ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

August 3, 2022 (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.

• U.S. kills Al Qaeda chief in Afghan drone strike (International Business Times)
• Trump didn't act and didn't want to, plus 4 other takeaways from Jan. 6 hearing  (NPR)
• Kansas voters protect abortion rights in first major post-Roe test (The Hill)
• GOP Support Among Seniors, a Key Trump Base, Drops Dramatically: Poll (Newsweek)
• Justice Dept. investigating Trump’s actions as part of Jan. 6 criminal probe (Washington Post) 
• At least 37 dead in Kentucky flooding with hundreds unaccounted for  (CBS News)
•  Biden administration task force reunites 400 migrant families separated under Trump (NBC News)
• Election deniers are running to control voting. Here's how they've fared so far (NPR)
• First on CNN: Secret Service identified potential missing text messages on phones of 10 individuals (CNN)
• Half of G.O.P. Voters Ready to Leave Trump Behind, Poll Finds (New York Times)
• Steve Bannon found guilty of contempt of Congress (CNN)

WORLD

• Russia hits Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa in wake of grain deal  (NPR)
• Pope Francis: Pontiff says he is 'deeply sorry' to Canadian residential school survivors (BBC)
• The last 'Arab Spring' democracy is dangling by a thread (CNN)
• China hits Taiwan with trade restrictions after Pelosi visit (CNN)
• Putin Pulling Russia From International Space Station, Cutting One of Last Remaining Ties With U.S. (Newsweek)
• Iraq protests: Sadr's followers pledge an open-ended sit-in at Parliament  (NPR)
• Russian Troops Deserting Posts As Kyiv Makes Use of U.S. Weapons: Pentagon (Newsweek)

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

U.S.

U.S. kills Al Qaeda chief in Afghan drone strike (International Business Times)

A United States drone strike killed Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri at a hideout in Kabul, President Joe Biden said Monday, declaring "justice had been delivered" to the families of the 9/11 attacks. Zawahiri's assassination is the biggest blow to Al-Qaeda since US special forces killed Osama bin Laden in 2011, and calls into question the Taliban's promise not to harbour militant groups.

Trump didn't act and didn't want to, plus 4 other takeaways from Jan. 6 hearing  (NPR)

…The bottom line is Trump knew what was going on, and could have taken action, but chose not to, for hours. It was three hours and seven minutes from the end of his speech to when he finally put out the video telling the rioters to go home. And that had consequences — violence and damage to people and the building, but also to America's reputation around the world…"Every American must consider this," committee Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said, "can a president who is willing to make the choices Donald Trump made during the violence of Jan. 6 ever be trusted with any position of authority in our great nation again?"

Kansas voters protect abortion rights in first major post-Roe test (The Hill)

Kansas voters were projected to have rejected a ballot measure Tuesday that would give the state legislature the authority to ban abortion, in what was seen as the first major referendum on the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

GOP Support Among Seniors, a Key Trump Base, Drops Dramatically: Poll (Newsweek)

The Republican Party has suffered a heavy loss of support from senior voters in recent months, a key demographic for the party in November's midterms and for Donald Trump's presidential ambitions, according to polls.

Justice Dept. investigating Trump’s actions as part of Jan. 6 criminal probe (Washington Post)

Prosecutors are examining the former president’s actions and conversations with lawyers and other loyalists leading up to the attack on the Capitol, four people familiar with the probe said. 

At least 37 dead in Kentucky flooding with hundreds unaccounted for  (CBS News)

 The death toll in Kentucky climbed to 37 from last week's massive flooding, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Monday.  "Let us pray for these families and come together to wrap our arms around our fellow Kentuckians," Beshear tweeted.  During a briefing earlier Monday morning, the governor said hundreds of people were unaccounted for.

Biden administration task force reunites 400 migrant families separated under Trump (NBC News)

The Biden administration has reunited 400 children with their parents after they were separated as migrants crossing the southern border under the Trump administration, said Michelle Brané, the executive director of the Family Reunification Task Force. More than 5,000 families were separated under Trump’s 2018 “zero tolerance” policy and a 2017 pilot program and advocates estimate over 1,000 remain separated. Because the Trump administration did not keep records of which children were separated and where they were sent, the task force and lawyers working on behalf of separated families have had a difficult time identifying families to offer them the chance of reunification.

Election deniers are running to control voting. Here's how they've fared so far (NPR)

Election officials and democracy experts are sounding the alarm, as Republicans who deny the 2020 election results have now moved closer to overseeing the voting process in five different states.

First on CNN: Secret Service identified potential missing text messages on phones of 10 individuals (CNN)

Secret Service investigators were scrutinizing the phones of 10 Secret Service personnel that contained metadata showing text messages were sent and received around January 6, 2021, but were not retained, two sources told CNN. The scrutiny came after the Department of Homeland Security inspector general asked for the text records last year of 24 individuals at the Secret Service who were involved in January 6, but only one text had been produced. .

Half of G.O.P. Voters Ready to Leave Trump Behind, Poll Finds (New York Times)

Far from consolidating his support, the former president appears weakened in his party, especially with younger and college-educated Republicans. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is the most popular alternative.

Steve Bannon found guilty of contempt of Congress (CNN)

A federal jury has found former Trump adviser Steve Bannon guilty of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack.

WORLD

Russia hits Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa in wake of grain deal  (NPR)

Ukraine says Russia has attacked the Black Sea port city of Odesa less than 24 hours after the two countries agreed to a deal to resume shipments of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain and mitigate a global food crisis. 

Pope Francis: Pontiff says he is 'deeply sorry' to Canadian residential school survivors (BBC)

In his first public remarks in Canada, Pope Francis has asked indigenous residential school survivors for forgiveness. "I am deeply sorry," the Pope said on the grounds of a former residential school in Maskwacis, near Edmonton. He said his apology is a first step, and that a "serious investigation" into abuses must occur to foster healing.

The last 'Arab Spring' democracy is dangling by a thread (CNN)

Once regarded as the sole democracy to have emerged from the mass protests of the Arab Spring in 2011, Tunisia on Tuesday passed a newly minted constitution that analysts fear could be the final nail in the coffin of its democratic era.

China hits Taiwan with trade restrictions after Pelosi visit (CNN)

China has suspended some trade with Taiwan in apparent retribution for a visit by the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the self-governing island. The curbs include the suspension of some fruits and fish imports from Taiwan, and exports of natural sand to the island.

Putin Pulling Russia From International Space Station, Cutting One of Last Remaining Ties With U.S. (Newsweek)

Russia plans to construct its own orbiting station after over 20 years of cooperation with the U.S. in space.

Iraq protests: Sadr's followers pledge an open-ended sit-in at Parliament  (NPR)

With mattresses strewn about, food trucked in and protesters playacting as lawmakers, hundreds of followers of an influential Shiite cleric were camped out Sunday inside the Iraqi parliament after toppling security walls around the building and storming in the previous day.

Russian Troops Deserting Posts As Kyiv Makes Use of U.S. Weapons: Pentagon (Newsweek)

The Pentagon has said in a statement that Russian morale seems to be running low in the ongoing Ukraine war, amid reports of soldiers at all levels deserting their posts or refusing to fight. It also said Kyiv is making "excellent use" of American-built Phoenix Ghost unmanned aerial systems, as well as other weapons it has sent to the besieged country.