ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

East County News Service

December 20, 2016 (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.

• Donald Trump Secures Electoral College Win, With Few Surprises (NPR)
• The thousands of U.S. locales where lead poisoning is worse than in Flint (Reuters)
• Bill that protects online reviews becomes law (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Trump picks Dow Chemical chief to head American Manufacturing Council (Eco Watch)
• Congress just quietly handed drug companies a dangerous victory (New Republic)
• IBM promises to hire Americans as tech executives set to meet Trump (Reuters)
• Fed inches up key interest rate for first time in a year, projects three more hikes in 2017 (San Diego Union-Tribune)

WORLD

• Russian Ambassador to Turkey Shot Dead—Gunman Reportedly Yelled ‘Revenge, Aleppo!’ (Reason)
• Thousands evacuated from Aleppo after deal over besieged villages (Reuters)
• Truck rams German Christmas market, killing at least 9 (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Vanishing: The extinction crisis is far worse than you think (CNN)
• U.S. urges Taiwan to increase defense spending given China threat  (Reuters)
• Philippines’ deadly drug war praised by Donald Trump, says Rodrigo Duterte (Guardian)
• IMF chief Christine Lagarde found guilty of negligence (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• U.S. to halt some arms sales to Saudi, citing civilian deaths in Yemen campaign (Reuters)
• 11 arrested in France over Nice massacre (France 24)

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

U.S.

Donald Trump Secures Electoral College Win, With Few Surprises (NPR)

The Electoral College gathered in 50 states to formalize results of last month's election amid increased scrutiny. Despite pressure on Trump electors, more defected from Clinton than the Republican.

The thousands of U.S. locales where lead poisoning is worse than in Flint (Reuters)

Flint is no aberration. In fact, it doesn’t even rank among the most dangerous lead hotspots in America.  In all, Reuters found nearly 3,000 areas with recently recorded lead poisoning rates at least double those in Flint during the peak of that city’s contamination crisis. And more than 1,100 of these communities had a rate of elevated blood tests at least four times higher. 

Bill that protects online reviews becomes law (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A bill that makes it easier for people to leave reviews on websites like Yelp and TripAdvisor without fear of being sued by businesses for sharing their opinion has become law. The Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016 makes it illegal for companies to include “gag clauses” in their contracts that penalize or prohibit people from leaving reviews on websites and other forums.

Trump picks Dow Chemical chief to head American Manufacturing Council (Eco Watch)

In the midst of three pending mega-mergers between agrichemical corporations, Donald Trump's recent pick of Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris to head the American Manufacturing Council signals yet more serious potential conflicts of interest in top government posts that could damage American farmers, the health of the public and the environment. The council serves as a liaison between the U.S. manufacturing industry and the federal government.

Congress just quietly handed drug companies a dangerous victory (New Republic)

The 21st Century Cures Act has been lauded as a bipartisan success. It's actually the result of a long war on drug regulation.

IBM promises to hire Americans as tech executives set to meet Trump (Reuters)

 IBM Chief Executive Ginni Rometty pledged to hire and train workers in the United States as she and other technology executives prepared to meet on Wednesday with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Fed inches up key interest rate for first time in a year, projects three more hikes in 2017 (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Federal Reserve officials on Wednesday inched up a key short-term interest rate for the first time in a year and projected three more small hikes in 2017 as improving economic conditions combined with anticipation of stimulative policies from the incoming Trump administration that could fuel inflation.

WORLD

Russian Ambassador to Turkey Shot Dead—Gunman Reportedly Yelled ‘Revenge, Aleppo!’ (Reason)

The Russian ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, was shot and killed at an art exhibition in Ankara. The unidentified gunman reportedly shouted "revenge, Aleppo!" and "allahu Akhbar" while shooting Karlov nine times before being killed by police.

Thousands evacuated from Aleppo after deal over besieged villages (Reuters)

Thousands of people were evacuated from the last rebel-held enclave of Aleppo on Monday in return for insurgents allowing people to leave two besieged pro-government villages in nearby Idlib province.

Truck rams German Christmas market, killing at least 9 (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A truck rammed into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin on Monday evening, killing at least nine people and injuring around 50 as it tore through tables and wooden stands.

Vanishing: The extinction crisis is far worse than you think (CNN)

In all of earth’s history, there have been five mass extinctions. Now we’re on the verge of a sixth extinction. And three-quarters of all species on earth could vanish.

U.S. urges Taiwan to increase defense spending given China threat  (Reuters)

 Defense spending in Taiwan has not kept pace with the threat posed by China and should be increased, a senior U.S. defense official said on Tuesday, days after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump touched off a storm by questioning American policy over the island.

Philippines’ deadly drug war praised by Donald Trump, says Rodrigo Duterte (Guardian)

Philippines leader says US president-elect felt drug war which has killed thousands was being fought ‘the right way’

IMF chief Christine Lagarde found guilty of negligence (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A French court on Dec. 19 found Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, guilty of negligence with public funds. (Dec.19, 2016)

U.S. to halt some arms sales to Saudi, citing civilian deaths in Yemen campaign (Reuters)

 The United States has decided to limit military support to Saudi Arabia's campaign in Yemen because of concerns over widespread civilian casualties and will halt a planned arms sale to the kingdom, U.S. officials told Reuters.

11 arrested in France over Nice massacre (France 24)

French police on Monday arrested 11 people suspected of helping to arm the Islamist radical who crushed 86 people to death with a truck in Nice, sources close to the investigation said…. The arrests come five months after Tunisian extremist Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel ploughed a 19-tonne truck into a crowd on the Nice seafront… The victims from 19 different countries were watching a fireworks display on the Bastille Day public holiday. Over 400 people were injured.