ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

June 4, 2024 (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.

• Trump supporters call for riots and violent retribution after verdict (Reuters)
• The other 54 criminal counts Donald Trump faces (Washington Post)
• Deadly Tornadoes Strike Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas(Weather.com)
• Trump told donors he will crush pro-Palestinian protests, deport demonstrators (Washington Post)
• Biden, in Memorial Day speech, says Americans must continue upholding democracy  (ABC News)
• Biden and Trump’s contrasting approaches to military affairs on display this Memorial Day weekend (10 News)
• What are the criminal charges and likely defense in Hunter Biden's gun trial? (Reuters)
• Trump makes sweeping promises to donors on audacious fundraising tour (Washington Post)
• Trump, RFK Jr. face hostile reception at Libertarian convention amid efforts to sway voters (CBS)
• Trump pressures Republicans to pass a law to keep him out of jail forever (Rolling Stone)
• Hill GOP urges Trump to consider a running mate with center-right appeal — maybe even Haley (Politico)

WORLD

• Mexico elects Claudia Sheinbaum as its first female president (AP)
• Mexico City and millions of its residents could run out of water in weeks (Washington Post) 
• South Africa's ANC has to share power after election blow   (BBC)
• Israeli attack on Rafah tent camp kills 45, prompts international outcry  (Reuters)
• China lands on moon's far side in historic sample retrieval mission (Reuters)
• Optimistic About the War in Ukraine, Putin Unleashes a Purge at Home (New York Times)
• Russia Lost Half a Million Troops in Ukraine: Kyiv (Newsweek)
• Iran further increases its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, watchdog says  (AP)
• At least 2,000 feared dead in Papua New Guinea landslide. These are some challenges rescuers face (AP)
• Fourteen Hong Kong democrats found guilty in landmark subversion trial  (Reuters)
• Survivors say Russia is waging a war of sexual violence in occupied areas of Ukraine. Men are often the victims  (CNN)

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

U.S.

Trump supporters call for riots and violent retribution after verdict (Reuters)

Supporters of former President Donald Trump, enraged by his conviction on 34 felony counts by a New York jury, flooded pro-Trump websites with calls for riots, revolution and violent retribution... Some called for attacks on jurors, the execution of the judge, Justice Juan Merchan, or outright civil war and armed insurrection...On Gateway Pundit, one poster suggested shooting liberals after the verdict. “

The other 54 criminal counts Donald Trump faces (Washington Post)

A New York jury convicted Donald Trump on Thursday of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal money paid to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016, to prevent her from speaking publicly about a sexual encounter she claims they had years earlier. But that conviction is just one of the legal obstacles the former president faces. There are also 54 criminal charges spread across three other cases. Two cases are related to Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which he lost; and the third is about classified documents that Trump allegedly took after he left the White House. Trump has denied wrongdoing in each case, and it is unclear when those trials will be scheduled.

Deadly Tornadoes Strike Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas(Weather.com)

Multiple people are dead after tornadoes swept through parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas late Saturday night into early Sunday morning.  The storms ripped apart homes, flipped semis and left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity.

Trump told donors he will crush pro-Palestinian protests, deport demonstrators (Washington Post)

Trump has waffled on whether the Israel-Gaza war should end. But speaking to wealthy donors behind closed doors, he said that he supports Israel’s right to continue “its war on terror.”...Trump  promised to crush pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, telling a roomful of donors — a group that he joked included “98 percent of my Jewish friends” — that he would expel student demonstrators from the United States...

Biden, in Memorial Day speech, says Americans must continue upholding democracy  (ABC News)

President Joe Biden, in his Memorial Day message to the nation, said Americans have a "responsibility" to uphold democratic ideals for which so many service members and their families have sacrificed  In a speech at the amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery...Biden honored those who served in every major conflict since the Civil War. 

Biden and Trump’s contrasting approaches to military affairs on display this Memorial Day weekend (10 News)

The Biden campaign is ramping up efforts to woo veteran voters, who typically back Republicans

What are the criminal charges and likely defense in Hunter Biden's gun trial? (Reuters)

Hunter Biden, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden, is scheduled to go on trial on June 3 in Delaware on charges he violated federal gun laws in 2018 when he purchased a firearm.

Trump makes sweeping promises to donors on audacious fundraising tour (Washington Post)

By frequently tying the fundraising requests within seconds of promises of tax cuts, oil project infrastructure approvals and other favorable policies and asking for sums more than his campaign and the GOP can legally accept from an individual, Trump is also testing the boundaries of federal campaign finance laws, according to legal experts.

Trump, RFK Jr. face hostile reception at Libertarian convention amid efforts to sway voters (CBS)

Former President Donald Trump and independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr.'s attempts to appeal to the Libertarian Party fell on deaf ears this weekend, with the third-party crowd interrupting and mocking both at the party's convention in Washington, D.C.

Trump pressures Republicans to pass a law to keep him out of jail forever (Rolling Stone)

The former president is convinced state prosecutors will target him again after a second term, and wants the GOP to solve that problem for him

Hill GOP urges Trump to consider a running mate with center-right appeal — maybe even Haley (Politico)

Donald Trump is getting clear advice from a sizable number of Hill Republicans, even some MAGA loyalists: Pick a running mate who can attract more wary GOP voters on the center-right.

WORLD

Mexico elects Claudia Sheinbaum as its first female president (AP)

Mexico’s projected presidential winner Claudia Sheinbaum will become the first female president in the country’s 200-year history. Sheinbaum, the favored successor of outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, vowed to continue on the direction set by the populist leftist leader. But the cool-tempered climate scientist offers a sharp contrast in style — and a break with Mexico’s male-dominated political culture.

Mexico City and millions of its residents could run out of water in weeks (Washington Post)

The metropolitan area of 22 million gets about a quarter of its water from a system that is running dry. Some say it could be unable to provide water by June 26. 

South Africa's ANC has to share power after election blow   (BBC)

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa is under growing pressure after leading the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to its worst election result in 30 years, forcing it to share power. With almost all the votes in, the ANC is on 40% - down from 58% at the previous election.

Israeli attack on Rafah tent camp kills 45, prompts international outcry  (Reuters)

An Israeli airstrike triggered a fire that killed 45 people in a tent camp in the Gazan city of Rafah, officials said on Monday, prompting an outcry from global leaders who urged the implementation of a World Court order to halt Israel's assault.

China lands on moon's far side in historic sample retrieval mission (Reuters)



The landing elevates China's space-power status in a global rush to the moon, where countries are hoping to exploit lunar minerals to sustain long-term astronaut missions and moon bases.

Optimistic About the War in Ukraine, Putin Unleashes a Purge at Home (New York Times)

Despite years of criticism, President Vladimir V. Putin has only now changed his defense minister and allowed high-level corruption arrests.

Russia Lost Half a Million Troops in Ukraine: Kyiv (Newsweek)

Russia has lost more than half a million troops since the start of its full-scale invasion, according to Ukraine's latest figures, signaling the huge cost Vladimir Putin's war is having on his own personnel... Getting an accurate count on Russian losses is tricky, and Moscow has not updated its figure since September 2022...Ukraine's figures are broadly in line with other estimates by its allies, with French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné saying on May 3 that Paris believes Russian military losses stood "at 500,000, including 150,000 deaths."

Iran further increases its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, watchdog says  (AP)

Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, according to a confidential report on Monday by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the latest in Tehran’s attempts to steadily exert pressure on the international community. 

At least 2,000 feared dead in Papua New Guinea landslide. These are some challenges rescuers face (AP)

The Papua New Guinea government said more than 2,000 people are believed to have been buried alive in a landslide in the South Pacific island nation, after the side of a mountain came down in the early hours of Friday morning when the village of Yambali was asleep.  The settlement is located in a restive and remote area in the interior of the poor, rural nation off the northern coast of Australia, making search and rescue efforts complicated and hazardous.

Fourteen Hong Kong democrats found guilty in landmark subversion trial  (Reuters)

Fourteen Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were found guilty and two were acquitted on Thursday in a landmark subversion trial that critics say could deal another blow to the city's rule of law and its reputation as a global financial hub. The verdicts in Hong Kong's biggest trial against the democratic opposition come more than three years after police arrested 47 democrats in dawn raids at homes across the city.

Survivors say Russia is waging a war of sexual violence in occupied areas of Ukraine. Men are often the victims  (CNN)

Human rights monitors have long reported on the rampant use of sexual violence by Russian police and security forces against prisoners and detainees in Russia. Now it seems Russia is exporting the practice to occupied Ukraine…. / Taken together, their stories capture what prosecutors describe as Russia’s systematic and continuing use of sexual violence in occupied areas as part of its efforts to force the Ukrainian people into submission.