WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

May 3, 2017 (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.

• Congress reaches deal to keep government open through September (Washington Post)
• Babies and children listed in Homeland Security’s database of alleged criminals (Los Angeles Times)
• ICE data shows half of immigrants arrested in raids had traffic convictions or no arrests (Washington Post)
• Here are the national monuments at risk under Donald Trump (Buzzfeed)
• Access to Obama White House Brought Companies Better Stock Performance, Study Shows (Reason)
• Tornadoes, storms kill nine in U.S. south (Reuters)
• Trump administration kills Michelle Obama’s girls’ education program (CNN)
• U.S. Chief Justice alarmed at Trump administration immigration stance (Reuters)
• Afghans who helped U.S. forces get more visas under funding bill (Reuters)
• All 100 senators sign letter asking for equal treatment of Israel at the U.N. (Jewish World Review)
• The FBI translator who went rogue and married an ISIS terrorist (CNN)
• Passenger who was dragged off jetliner settles with United (KUSI)
• Sold for parts   (Pro Publica)

WORLD

• A week from presidential runoff, Macron summons shame of France’s wartime history (Toronto Star)
• North Korea launches missile after U.S. demands world pressure Pyongyang (CNN)
• Dozens of Yazidis enslaved by ISIS in Iraq are now free (BBC)
• U.S. led fight on ISIS has killed 352 civilians: Pentagon (Reuters)
• Slavery in the Amazon: Thousands forced to work on Brazil’s cattle ranches (CNN)
• In Mexico, ‘It’s Easy to Kill a Journalist’ (NY Times)
• Russian police detain gay rights activists at May Day march (Reuters)
• Jehovah's Witnesses as 'extremists': Court sharpens edges of Russia's religious space (CS Monitor)
• Palestinian Authority pulls the plug on Israeli electricity to Gaza (CS Monitor)
• Turkey blocks access to Wikipedia (Reuters)
• Does Saudi Arabia deserve a place on UN Women's Rights Commission? (SD Union-Tribune)
• Hezbollah Plays Up Efforts to Oppose Israel (NPR)

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

U.S.

Congress reaches deal to keep government open through September (Washington Post)

Congressional negotiators reached an agreement late Sunday on a broad spending package to fund the government through the end of September, alleviating fears of a government shutdown later this week, several congressional aides said.

Babies and children listed in Homeland Security’s database of alleged criminals (Los Angeles Times)

The Trump administration’s online database of immigrants in detention was supposed to help the public search for potential criminals. But when it launched Wednesday, an immigration attorney noticed something unusual: babies.  Turns out, the system mistakenly included children in immigration custody, some as young as a few months.

ICE data shows half of immigrants arrested in raids had traffic convictions or no arrests (Washington Post)

About half of the 675 immigrants picked up in roundups across the United States in the days after President Trump took office either had no criminal convictions or had committed traffic offenses... Of those taken into custody in the raids, 177 had no criminal convictions at all, though 66 had charges pending, largely immigration or traffic offenses.

Here are the national monuments at risk under Donald Trump (Buzzfeed)

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order asking the Department of the Interior to review all national monuments established since January 1996 — specifically those that are 100,000 acres or larger in size. In a statement following the order's signing, Trump described the action as focused on curbing the abuse of federal power and returning control to the American people. Here are the national monuments that fall within the review criteria:

Access to Obama White House Brought Companies Better Stock Performance, Study Shows (Reason)

Companies whose executives visited the White House during the Obama administration had their stock prices rise more than normal after the meetings, but underperformed after Donald Trump won the election, a new paper by researchers at the University of Illinois finds.

Tornadoes, storms kill nine in U.S. south (Reuters)

Tornadoes ripped through an East Texas county on Saturday evening, killing at least four people and injuring dozens of others, while high winds, falling trees and floods killed five others in neighboring states, according to news reports.

Trump administration kills Michelle Obama’s girls’ education program (CNN)

The Trump administration is discontinuing a signature girls’ education initiative championed by former first lady Michelle Obama, according to officials. The "Let Girls Learn" program, which she and President Barack Obama started in 2015 to facilitate educational opportunities for adolescent girls in developing countries, will cease operation immediately, according to an internal document obtained by CNN.

U.S. Chief Justice alarmed at Trump administration immigration stance (Reuters)

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts took issue on Wednesday with the Trump administration's stance in an immigration case, saying it could make it too easy for the government to strip people of citizenship for lying about minor infractions.

Afghans who helped U.S. forces get more visas under funding bill (Reuters)

 An extra 2,500 visas for Afghans who assisted American forces during the war in their country will be granted under the $1 trillion U.S. government funding deal reached on Sunday, preserving a program that had been at risk of shutting down.

All 100 senators sign letter asking for equal treatment of Israel at the U.N. (Jewish World Review)

All 100 U.S. senators signed a letter Thursday asking U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres to address what the lawmakers call entrenched bias against Israel at the world body…. "Through words and actions, we urge you to ensure that Israel is treated neither better nor worse than any other U.N. member in good standing," the letter said.

The FBI translator who went rogue and married an ISIS terrorist (CNN)

An FBI translator with a top-secret security clearance traveled to Syria in 2014 and married a key ISIS operative she had been assigned to investigate, CNN has learned.  The rogue employee, Daniela Greene, lied to the FBI about where she was going and warned her new husband he was under investigation, according to federal court records.

Passenger who was dragged off jetliner settles with United (KUSI)

The passenger who was dragged off a flight after refusing to give up his seat settled with United for an undisclosed sum Thursday in an apparent attempt by the airline to put the fiasco behind it as quickly as possible.

Sold for parts   (Pro Publica)

 One of the most dangerous companies in the U.S. took advantage of immigrant workers.  Then when they got hurt or fought back, it used America’s laws against them.

WORLD

A week from presidential runoff, Macron summons shame of France’s wartime history (Toronto Star)

Emmanuel Macron visited the Holocaust Memorial in Paris Sunday as he seeks to remind voters of the shame of France's Nazi collaboration — and especially of the anti-Semitic past of his rival Marine Le Pen's far-right National Front party.

North Korea launches missile after U.S. demands world pressure Pyongyang (CNN)

North Korea launched a missile Friday in a show of defiance after the US convened an international meeting to call for greater sustained pressure on the isolated country. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on the world community Friday to drastically increase pressure on North Korea, warning that failure to do so could be "catastrophic" and that the US is prepared to take military action against the rogue regime if necessary.

Dozens of Yazidis enslaved by ISIS in Iraq are now free (BBC)

Thirty-six members of the Yazidi religious minority are free after nearly three years in the hands of so-called Islamic State (IS), the UN says….It is unclear whether they escaped in Iraq or were freed, as the UN declined to give more information to avoid jeopardising future releases. IS killed and enslaved thousands of Yazidis after seizing the northern town of Sinjar in 2014.

U.S. led fight on ISIS has killed 352 civilians: Pentagon (Reuters)

At least 352 civilians have been killed in U.S.-led strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria since the operation began in 2014, the U.S. military said in a statement on Sunday.

Slavery in the Amazon: Thousands forced to work on Brazil’s cattle ranches (CNN)

. Marcelo Goncalves Campos, a veteran inspector for the Labor Ministry, shook his head as he took notes. "I've been an inspector for almost 20 years and this is really one of the worst cases I've seen," he said. "They are being treated, without any exaggeration, like animals.”

In Mexico, ‘It’s Easy to Kill a Journalist’ (NY Times)

Mexico is one of the worst countries in the world to be a journalist today. On the list of the world’s deadliest places to be a reporter, Mexico falls between the war-torn nation of Afghanistan and the failed state of Somalia….. March was the worst month on record for Mexico, ever

Russian police detain gay rights activists at May Day march (Reuters)

Russian police arrested about 20 gay-rights protesters demonstrating on Monday in St Petersburg against the treatment of homosexuals in the southern Chechnya republic, one of the detained activists told Reuters…. Last month, Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that up to 100 gay men were being held and tortured in "camps" in Chechnya. It said at least three of them had been killed.

Jehovah's Witnesses as 'extremists': Court sharpens edges of Russia's religious space (CS Monitor)

A Supreme Court ruling puts the Jehovah's Witnesses at risk of property seizure and prison over the sect's proselytization and 'radical' beliefs. Even members of the powerful Russian Orthodox Church say the decision goes too far.

Palestinian Authority pulls the plug on Israeli electricity to Gaza (CS Monitor)

The Palestinian Authority will no longer pay for the electricity Israel supplies to Gaza, Israeli officials said, a move that could lead to a complete power shutdown in the territory whose 2 million people already endure blackouts for much of the day. / Thursday's decision was another sign of a hardening of Palestinian Authority (PA) policy towards its Hamas rivals, who control the enclave.

Turkey blocks access to Wikipedia (Reuters)

 Turkey has blocked online encyclopedia Wikipedia, the telecommunications watchdog said on Saturday, citing a law allowing it to ban access to websites deemed obscene or a threat to national security.

Does Saudi Arabia deserve a place on the UN Women's Rights Commission? (San Diego Union-Tribune)

On Saturday, the United Nation’s Economic and Social Council elected 13 new members by secret ballot to join the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women in its mission to promote “gender equality and the empowerment of women” worldwide.

Hezbollah Plays Up Efforts to Oppose Israel (NPR)

Hezbollah's support of Syria's government has been controversial, so the Lebanese militant group is trying to remind people what made it popular before: fighting Israel.