ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

January 23, 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.

General news

• Dow closes above 38,000 for 1st time, setting record high (ABC News)
• Americans are feeling optimistic about the economy again, with some exceptions(NBC)
• The FAA is tightening oversight of Boeing and will audit production of the 737 Max 9 (NPR)
• Rising bird flu outbreaks threaten national poultry, egg supply again (10 News)
• Harvard sued by Jewish students over antisemitism on campus (Reuters)

Politics

• Trump notches a commanding win in the Iowa caucuses as DeSantis edges Haley for second place (Associated Press)
• Nikki Haley questions Trump's mental fitness after he appears to confuse her for Nancy Pelosi  (AP)
• Trump's lawyer argues that a president can order SEAL Team Six to assassinate his political rival if Congress is cool with it  (Business Insider)
• Ron DeSantis drops out of 2024 Republican presidential race ahead of the New Hampshire primary (CBS)
• Biden campaign puts reproductive rights front and center as it plans to tie Trump to abortion bans (CNN)
• Biden announces fresh wave of early student debt cancellation for some borrowers (NBC)
• Trump received millions of dollars from foreign governments while president, House Democrats allege (USA Today)
• Biden travels to Allentown to highlight towns ‘making a comeback’ (The Hilli)
• Here’s The Tape of Roger Stone Discussing Assassination of Democrats — Which He Denied Ever Doing (Mediaite)
• Judge orders Trump to pay nearly $400,000 for New York Times' legal fees (CBS)

WORLD

• Pakistani retaliatory strikes in Iran kill at least 9, raising tensions along border(AP)
• Who Are Yemen's Houthi Rebels? (Time)
• Two Dozen Russian Helicopters Downed in One Day with 'Secret Weapon'—Kyiv (Newsweek)
• Israel rejects genocide charges, tells World Court it must defend itself (Reuters)
• Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon down by 50% to five-year low in 2023 (Reuters)
• Gunmen in Ecuador storm TV studio in wave of violence (Reuters)
• .Denmark’s King Frederik X takes throne after Margrethe abdicates  (Guardian)  
• Taiwanese pack election rallies, China vows to 'smash independence plots' (Reuters)

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

U.S.

General news

Dow closes above 38,000 for 1st time, setting record high (ABC News)

The S&P 500 also reached a record high on Monday... The recent surge follows a stellar showing for markets in 2023, driven in large part by optimism about the prospects for a "soft landing," in which inflation comes down to normal levels while the economy avoids a recession...The market rally in recent days could owe in part to expectations among some investors of interest rate cuts at the Federal Reserve as soon as March.

Americans are feeling optimistic about the economy again, with some exceptions(NBC)

... Driving the upward trend in sentiment has been the ongoing strength in the labor market alongside easing concerns about inflation. The Department of Labor reported Thursday that weekly initial unemployment claims had fallen to 187,000 — the lowest level since September 2022. The unemployment rate, at 3.7%, is at pre-pandemic levels. The New York Fed's survey showed the strength is likely to continue.

The FAA is tightening oversight of Boeing and will audit production of the 737 Max 9 (NPR)

The Federal Aviation Administration says it will increase its oversight of Boeing and its suppliers, and will re-examine the longstanding practice of allowing company employees to perform some safety analysis of its planes.  Regulators at the FAA say they will begin auditing the production of Boeing's 737 Max 9 planes after a panel blew off an Alaska Airline flight in midair last week.

Rising bird flu outbreaks threaten national poultry, egg supply again (10 News)

Since 2022, over 79 million birds have been impacted, with a notable increase to 11.4 million in December, up from 1.3 million in October.

Harvard sued by Jewish students over antisemitism on campus (Reuters)

In a complaint filed on Wednesday night, students accused Harvard of "selectively" enforcing its anti-discrimination policies to avoid protecting Jewish students from harassment, ignoring their pleas for protection, and hiring professors who support anti-Jewish violence and spread antisemitic propaganda...They also said Harvard's bias extends to admissions, including an alleged 60% decline in the number of Jewish students/

Politics

Trump notches a commanding win in the Iowa caucuses as DeSantis edges Haley for second place (Associated Press)

Former President Donald Trump scored a record-setting win in the Iowa caucuses on Monday with his rivals languishing far behind, a victory that affirmed his grip on the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Nikki Haley questions Trump's mental fitness after he appears to confuse her for Nancy Pelosi  (AP)

As she campaigned in Keene, New Hampshire, Haley referenced Trump’s speech the night before, in which he mistakenly asserted that Haley was in charge of Capitol security on January 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the building seeking to stop the certification of his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.  

Trump's lawyer argues that a president can order SEAL Team Six to assassinate his political rival if Congress is cool with it  (Business Insider)

Former President Donald Trump's attorney on Tuesday argued that a president could order the assassination of his political rival and couldn't be prosecuted for it — unless Congress impeached and convicted that commander in chief first... Trump's legal team has repeatedly argued that the ex-president has "absolute immunity" from criminal prosecution related to his acts while in office (a claim many legal experts reject).

Ron DeSantis drops out of 2024 Republican presidential race ahead of the New Hampshire primary (CBS)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his presidential campaign on Sunday, posting a video on X saying he could not ask his campaign staffers to give their time "without a clear path to victory." 

Biden campaign puts reproductive rights front and center as it plans to tie Trump to abortion bans (CNN)

The Biden campaign will hit the airwaves in battleground states with its first abortion-focused ad of the year, featuring stark, emotional testimony from a woman personally affected by a state abortion ban who lays the blame directly on former President Donald Trump. ...The push marks the campaign’s first organized effort to emphasize the issue, seeking to further galvanize voters around reproductive rights in the first presidential election after the Supreme Court ended the federal constitutional right to an abortion.

Biden announces fresh wave of early student debt cancellation for some borrowers (NBC)

The announcement applies to borrowers enrolled in a new income-driven repayment plan who took out less than $12,000 in loans and have been in repayment for 10 years.

Trump received millions of dollars from foreign governments while president, House Democrats allege (USA Today)

 ...Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a 156-page report Thursday morning accusing Trump of exploiting the presidency to financially benefit himself and members of his family. Trump’s businesses, according to the report, received at least $7.8 million from corrupt and authoritarian governments including China, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Biden travels to Allentown to highlight towns ‘making a comeback’ (The Hilli)

...The president will tout on his trip that Allentown has added 32,000 jobs and the unemployment rate has dropped from 6.4 to 3.9 percent since he took office, senior administration officials said. He is expected to meet with “several” small-business owners and have “direct conversations” in Allentown, officials added... Biden will also tout in Allentown that Americans have filed nearly 16 million new business applications during his first three years in office.

Here’s The Tape of Roger Stone Discussing Assassination of Democrats — Which He Denied Ever Doing (Mediaite)

The conversation...was between Stone and his associate Sal Greco, who at the time served as both an NYPD officer and security for the longtime political operative and confidant to Donald Trump. During the discussion, Stone speaks with Greco about assassinating two prominent House Democrats, Jerry Nadler and Eric Swalwell.

Judge orders Trump to pay nearly $400,000 for New York Times' legal fees (CBS)

A judge in New York has ordered former President Donald Trump to pay nearly $400,000 to cover The New York Times' legal fees from a now-dismissed lawsuit he brought against the paper, three of its reporters and his niece. Trump sued the New York Times in 2021, accusing the paper of conspiring with his estranged niece, Mary Trump, to obtain and publish his tax records.

WORLD

Pakistani retaliatory strikes in Iran kill at least 9, raising tensions along border(AP)

Pakistan launched airstrikes against alleged militant hideouts inside Iran on Thursday, killing at least nine people as it retaliated for a similar attack by Iran two days earlier and raising tensions between the neighbors at a time of escalating conflict in the region.

Who Are Yemen's Houthi Rebels? (Time)

The U.S. and U.K. launched strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen, in retaliation to the group's Red Sea attacks.

Two Dozen Russian Helicopters Downed in One Day with 'Secret Weapon'—Kyiv (Newsweek)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed a mystery defense system it had been supplied had destroyed 26 helicopters in a day.

Israel rejects genocide charges, tells World Court it must defend itself (Reuters)

Israel on Friday rejected as false and "grossly distorted" accusations brought by South Africa at the U.N.'s top court that its military operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide campaign against Palestinians.

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon down by 50% to five-year low in 2023 (Reuters)

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest in 2023 halved from the previous year to its lowest level since 2018, government data showed on Friday, a major win for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in his first year in office.  Lula has staked his international reputation on reducing deforestation in the South American country, with pledges to end illegal clearing by 2030. 

Gunmen in Ecuador storm TV studio in wave of violence (Reuters)

Gunmen with explosives stormed a TV station on-air in Ecuador on Tuesday during a wave of violence around the nation that prompted President Daniel Noboa to name 22 gangs as terrorist organizations to be hunted by the military…. Peru declared an emergency along its border with Ecuador, while other alarmed South American nations Brazil, Colombia and Chile all expressed support for Noboa's government. China, a major investor in Ecuador, closed its embassy and consulates until further notice.

.Denmark’s King Frederik X takes throne after Margrethe abdicates  (Guardian)

Denmark’s prime minister has proclaimed Frederik X king on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, after Queen Margrethe II formally signed her abdication, ending her 52-year reign as the country’s longest-serving monarch.  

Taiwanese pack election rallies, China vows to 'smash independence plots' (Reuters)

Hundreds of thousands of people attended final pre-election rallies in Taiwan on Friday ahead of critical presidential and parliamentary polls, as China's defence ministry warned it would "smash any Taiwan independence plots".