ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

August 3, 2023 (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.

• 3 signs the US economy is set to zoom past growth expectations (Business Insider)
• U.S. economy will avoid a recession , CBO forecasts (Bloomberg)
• Trump pleads not guilty to federal charges in 2020 election probe  (CBS News)
• Trump charged with additional counts in Mar-a-Lago documents case   (NPR)
• Biden signs executive order to help sexual assault victims in military(10  News)
• DOJ sues Texas Gov. Abbott over Rio Grande buoy barrier (Axios)
• Agriculture appropriations bill in jeopardy amid GOP divisions (The Hill)
• Judge Puts Hunter Biden’s Plea Deal on Hold (New York Times)
• Devon Archer debate focuses on Hunter Biden ‘illusion of access (The Hill)
• States lose federal water funds as lawmakers redirect money to pet projects  (Washington Post)

WORLD

• The Middle East Is Becoming Literally Uninhabitable (Foreign Policy)
• Americans will need a visa to visit Europe starting in 2024. Here's what you should know. (Yahoo News)
• Trying to make the world starve’: Russian drones destroy grain warehouses at Ukraine ports (Guardian)
• Ukraine has recaptured 50% of the territory that Russia seized, Blinken says (Reuters)
• Insight: For migrants, the Darién Gap is hell; for adventure tourists, it's a magnet (Reuters)
  
  
  
  For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

U.S.

3 signs the US economy is set to zoom past growth expectations (Business Insider)

…Last week, Morgan Stanley made a "sizable upward revision" in its GDP forecasts, projecting 1.9% growth, after crediting President Joe Biden's economic growth initiatives with driving a surge in manufacturing and infrastructure. Plus, consumer confidence is up and inflation is slowing, while a surge in new business creation remains strong…..

U.S. economy will avoid a recession , CBO forecasts (Bloomberg)

The US economy will muster enough strength to avoid slipping into a recession even as higher interest rates and a pickup in unemployment weigh on consumers, fresh Congressional Budget Office estimates show. Gross domestic product is projected to rise at a 0.4% annual rate in the second half of this year, before steadily improving in 2024 and into the following year, according to the CBO. 

Trump pleads not guilty to federal charges in 2020 election probe  (CBS News)

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on federal charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith, the most serious allegations he faces.

Trump charged with additional counts in Mar-a-Lago documents case   (NPR)

…The superseding indictment charges Trump, De Oliveira and Nauta with two new obstruction counts based on allegations that they instructed an unnamed, fourth worker to delete surveillance video footage at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence last summer "to prevent the footage from being provided to a federal grand jury."

Biden signs executive order to help sexual assault victims in military(10  News)

The military saw 8,942 sexual assault reports filed from Oct. 1, 2021, to Sept. 30, 2022.

DOJ sues Texas Gov. Abbott over Rio Grande buoy barrier (Axios)

The Department of Justice sued Texas on Monday over a string of buoys deployed by the state on the Rio Grande River ….In addition to the floating barrier, Texas has set up miles of razor wire barriers along crossing points on the river near Eagle Pass. The state is currently investigating claims made by a state trooper that superiors had ordered officers to push migrants, including children and babies, back into the river and to deny them drinking water, according to the Houston Chronicle. The trooper also alleged that the razor wire has injured multiple people, including a woman who had a miscarriage while caught in the wire.

Agriculture appropriations bill in jeopardy amid GOP divisions (The Hill)

Plans to move an appropriations bill funding agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration to the House floor were brought to a halt amid internal GOP division over whether to further slash spending and a provision related to abortion.

Judge Puts Hunter Biden’s Plea Deal on Hold, Questioning Its Details (New York Times)

A federal judge on Wednesday put on hold a proposed plea deal between Hunter Biden and the Justice Department that would have settled tax and gun charges against the president’s son, stunning the courtroom and raising legal and constitutional questions about the agreement.

Devon Archer debate focuses on Hunter Biden ‘illusion of access (The Hill)

Democrats and Republicans are offering clashing interpretations of the significance of former Hunter Biden business associate Devon Archer’s closed-door testimony, which lawmakers said included assertions that Hunter Biden was selling the “illusion of access” to his father and that Hunter Biden sometimes put President Biden on speakerphone to talk to his business associates.

States lose federal water funds as lawmakers redirect money to pet projects  (Washington Post)

Democrats and Republicans alike increasingly have redirected money to their states and districts using a legislative tool known as earmarks — a practice that, combined with newly proposed GOP spending cuts, could decimate states

WORLD

The Middle East Is Becoming Literally Uninhabitable (Foreign Policy)

One of the regions hardest hit by climate change is also one least equipped to deal with it. This summer, several picturesque countries in the Middle East became tinderboxes. As extreme temperatures and severe droughts ravaged the region, forests burned, and cities became islands of unbearable heat. In June, Kuwait recorded a temperature of 53.2 degrees Celsius (127.76 degrees Fahrenheit), while Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia all recorded over 50 degrees (122 degrees). A month later, temperatures in Iraq spiked to 51.5 degrees (124.7 degrees), and Iran recorded a close 51 degrees (123.8 degrees).

Americans will need a visa to visit Europe starting in 2024. Here's what you should know. (Yahoo News)

The European Union has introduced new travel requirements for Americans wishing to travel to 30 countries.

Trying to make the world starve’: Russian drones destroy grain warehouses at Ukraine ports (Guardian)

Moscow accused of food terrorism after attacks at Danube River export hubs Reni and Izmail.

Ukraine has recaptured 50% of the territory that Russia seized, Blinken says (Reuters)



Ukraine has recaptured some villages in the south and territory around the ruined city of Bakhmut in the east, but has not had a major breakthrough against heavily defended Russian lines.

Insight: For migrants, the Darién Gap is hell; for adventure tourists, it's a magnet (Reuters)



The jungle has become a notorious humanitarian catastrophe as tens of thousands of people trek toward the U.S. border. It's also attracting thrill-seeking tourists and "content creators."