ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

September 23, 2015 (San Diego's East County)-- East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Pope Francis arrives in U.S. for historic visit (CNN)
• Wisconsin health hazard ruling could shock wind industry (Greenwire)
• 87 deceased NFL players test positive for brain disease (KPBS)U.S. in agreement to provide Indian tribes $940 million for unmet service payments (Reuters)
• GM To Pay $900 Million To Settle Criminal Case Over Faulty Ignition Switches (NPR)
• 64,000 people fled Puerto Rico last year amid economic crisis (CS Monitor)
• Donald Trump sends cease and desist letter to Club for Growth (Politcio)
• Fiorina's Feminism Strategy (Reason)
• Carly Fiorina stood up to Trump, but she isn’t standing up for women’s issues (Huffington Post)
• General Motors To Settle Criminal Case Over Deadly Defective Ignition Switches NPR
• Survey Finds Poverty, Income Numbers Remain Unchanged  (NPR)

WORLD

• U.S. indifference to Afghan child sex abuse led boy to kill 3 marines, lawsuit claims (Washington Times)
• More than 2,000 enslaved fishermen rescued in 6 months ( AP)
• Russian helicopters spotted at Syria airfield: U.S. officials (Reuters)
• Britain offers warship to tackle people smugglers in Mediterranean  (Reuters)
• At least 10 killed, over 1 million evacuate as strong earthquake rocks Chile (+video)  (CS Monitor)
• UN nuclear conference votes down anti-Israel resolution (AP)
• The Nobel Peace Prize: A prestigious award or a political tool? (CS Monitor)
• Number of children displaced by Boko Haram hits 1.4 million: UNICEF (Reuters)
•  Venezuelan soldiers entered Colombia, fired weapons: Colombian army (Reuters)
• Israeli aircraft strike Gaza after rocket fire  (Reuters)

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

U.S.

Pope Francis arrives in U.S. for historic visit (CNN)

Pope Francis landed on U.S. soil for the first time just before 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, launching a six-day visit that will highlight his love for the poor and his willingness to tackle the nation's most significant political, social and economic controversies.

Wisconsin health hazard ruling could shock wind industry (Greenwire)

A Wisconsin town of fewer than 1,200 stands on the verge of sending shock waves through the wind energy industry.

87 deceased NFL players test positive for brain disease (KPBS)

A total of 87 out of 91 former NFL players have tested positive for the brain disease at the center of the debate over concussions in football, according to new figures from the nation’s largest brain bank focused on the study of traumatic head injury.

U.S. in agreement to provide Indian tribes $940 million for unmet service payments (Reuters)

 The U.S. government has reached a proposed agreement to provide $940 million to hundreds of American Indian tribes to cover unpaid costs for tribal management of federal services such as law enforcement and housing, officials said on Thursday.

GM To Pay $900 Million To Settle Criminal Case Over Faulty Ignition Switches (NPR)

General Motors has agreed to pay $900 million to settle criminal charges related to an ignition switch defect, which was tied to the deaths of at least 124 people. No GM executives were charged.

64,000 people fled Puerto Rico last year amid economic crisis (CS Monitor)

The exodus represents a 31 percent increase from 2013, when some 49,000 people left. It comes as the US territory struggles with nearly a decade of economic troubles.

Donald Trump sends cease and desist letter to Club for Growth (Politcio)

The Club for Growth fires back: "Stop whining."

Fiorina's Feminism Strategy (Reason)

Early female interlopers into male-dominated arenas tend to stake their claim on the territory in one of two ways: by making femaleness central to their self-marketing and appeal (i.e., "Token Conservative Chick") or by trying hard to avoid drawing any attention to it at all. The tipping point for gender progress may be said to come when women in that industry are allowed to acknowledge their XX-chromosomes without being totally defined by them

Carly Fiorina stood up to Trump, but she isn’t standing up for women’s issues (Huffington Post)

…The businesswoman has described equal pay bills, like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act, as nothing more than "tokens" and "gestures" …She opposes changing federal law to require companies to provide paid maternity leave, a position that is at odds with the policies of virtually every developed country on Earth. …

General Motors To Settle Criminal Case Over Deadly Defective Ignition Switches NPR

General Motors will pay a reported $900 million and sign an agreement to end an investigation into defective ignition switches linked to 124 deaths.

Survey Finds Poverty, Income Numbers Remain Unchanged  (NPR)

According to new figures from the Census Bureau Wednesday, poverty in the U.S. was unchanged last year and the median income did not increase, although the economy created more jobs.

WORLD

U.S. indifference to Afghan child sex abuse led boy to kill 3 marines, lawsuit claims (Washington Times)

A lawsuit charges that the U.S. military’s indifference to the crime of Afghanistan officials sexually abusing boys led to the killings of three Marines in 2012 by the youthful companion of a corrupt Afghan police chief.

More than 2,000 enslaved fishermen rescued in 6 months ( AP)

More than 2,000 fishermen have been rescued this year from brutal conditions at sea, their freedom prompted by an Associated Press investigation into seafood brought to the U.S. from a slave island in eastern Indonesia.

Russian helicopters spotted at Syria airfield: U.S. officials (Reuters)

The United States has identified a small number of Russian helicopters at a Syrian airfield, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, the latest addition to what Washington believes is a significant Russian military buildup in the country.

Britain offers warship to tackle people smugglers in Mediterranean  (Reuters)

A British warship could be used to target people traffickers in the Mediterranean as part of European Union efforts to tackle a growing migrant crisis, the Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday.

At least 10 killed, over 1 million evacuate as strong earthquake rocks Chile (+video)  (CS Monitor)

The magnitude-8.3 quake lasted for three minutes, causing buildings to sway in the capital, Santiago, and prompting authorities to issue a tsunami warning for the Andean nation's entire Pacific coast.

UN nuclear conference votes down anti-Israel resolution (AP)

An Arab-led attempt to censure Israel over its "nuclear capabilities" failed Thursday, with states backing the Jewish state at the U.N atomic agency's annual meeting voting down a resolution critical of the Jewish state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the result as a "great victory."

The Nobel Peace Prize: A prestigious award or a political tool? (CS Monitor)

The former secretary of the Nobel committee has written that he regrets giving President Obama the award in 2009.

Number of children displaced by Boko Haram hits 1.4 million: UNICEF (Reuters)

 The number of children forced to flee Boko Haram's insurgency in Nigeria and neighboring countries has reached 1.4 million, the U.N. children agency UNICEF said on Friday.

Venezuelan soldiers entered Colombia, fired weapons: Colombian army (Reuters)

Members of Venezuela's national guard crossed into Colombia on Friday, firing their weapons and setting a motorcycle on fire, the Colombian army said, amid an on-going diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

Israeli aircraft strike Gaza after rocket fire  (Reuters)

 Israel carried out air strikes in the Gaza Strip on Saturday after Palestinian militants there fired rockets into southern Israel.