ECM WORLD WATCH: GLOBAL AND NATIONAL NEWS

December 18, 2014 (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.

• North Korea did it: U.S. set to blame North Korea for Sony hack; Sony pulls “The Interview” release (CNJ)
• Obama to start normalizing relations with Cuba (CBS News)
• Judge declares Obama immigration action unconstitutional (Reuters)
• 300 Obama staffers urge Elizabeth Warren to run for president (Weekly Standard)
• Defense bill passes, giving sacred Native American site to foreign mining company (Huffington Post)
• Wind energy firm sues to block bird death data release (PBS)

WORLD

• Lima call for climate action falls short of what science urges and people demand (Huffington Post)
• Taliban Militants in Pakistan Kill 132 Children, 9 Staffers, in Assault on Army Public School  (Reason)
• Transforming lion killers into lion guardians (CNN)
• Spanish news to vanish from Google globally (My Way News)
• Russia's Rate Increase Fails To Stop Currency's Steep Decline (NPR)
• UN Security Council condemns gun-attack on Israel's embassy in Athens (JPost)

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

U.S.

North Korea did it: U.S. set to blame North Korea for Sony hack; Sony pulls “The Interview” release (CNJ)

…North Korea experts say the country has spent its scarce resources on building up a unit called "Bureau 121" to carry out cyber attacks. Earlier Wednesday, Sony pulled the film, which depicts the assassination of North Korea's leader, following a threat that people should avoid going to theaters where "The Interview" is playing.

Obama to start normalizing relations with Cuba (CBS News)

President Obama announced Wednesday that the United States is taking steps to restore full diplomacy with Cuba, a historic move that will end 50 years of frozen relations with the communist nation.

Judge declares Obama immigration action unconstitutional (Reuters)

President Barack Obama's new plan to ease the threat of deportation for 4.7 million undocumented immigrants violates the U.S. Constitution, a federal judge found on Tuesday, handing down the first legal ruling against the plan.

300 Obama staffers urge Elizabeth Warren to run for president (Weekly Standard)

 A group of more than 300 hundred former Obama staffers have written an open letter urging Elizabeth Warren to run for president of the United States. "We helped elect Barack Obama — now we’re calling on Elizabeth Warren to run in 2016," the letter is titled.

Defense bill passes, giving sacred Native American site to foreign mining company (Huffington Post)

The U.S. Senate passed a measure authorizing the nation’s defense programs Friday, and along with it managed to give lands sacred to Native Americans to a foreign company that owns a uranium mine with Iran

Wind energy firm sues to block bird death data release (PBS)

A company that operates at least 13 wind-energy facilities across three states is suing in federal court to block the U.S. government from releasing information to The Associated Press about how many birds are found dead at its facilities.

WORLD

Lima call for climate action falls short of what science urges and people demand (Huffington Post)

The UN climate conference in Lima, Peru (COP 20) finally came to a close early Sunday morning. Negotiators haggled around the clock well past the formal Friday deadline, but still could only come up with a weak agreement called the "Lima Call for Climate Action."The agreement falls short of actions needed to avoid the catastrophic consequences of a warmer world.

 Taliban Militants in Pakistan Kill 132 Children, 9 Staffers, in Assault on Army Public School  (Reason)

Militants from the Pakistani Taliban stormed an Army Public School in Peshawar today that served mostly officers' children aged 10 to 18, killing 132 of them and injuring as many.

Transforming lion killers into lion guardians (CNN)

Leela Hazzah's nonprofit turns Maasai warriors -- who have a tradition of killing lions -- into lion protectors. Their ultimate goal is to reduce lion killings.

Spanish news to vanish from Google globally (My Way News)

Google announced Thursday it will close Google News in Spain and block reports from Spanish publishers from more than 70 Google News international editions due to a new Spanish law requiring aggregators to pay to link content — a decision that will reverberate around the globe.

Russia's Rate Increase Fails To Stop Currency's Steep Decline (NPR)

The ruble plunged to a record low against the dollar today despite efforts by the Russian central bank to stabilize it.

UN Security Council condemns gun-attack on Israel's embassy in Athens (JPost)

Greek police have said a far-left group was likely responsible for the attack.