ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

East County News Service

February 1, 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.

• President Trump announces Neil Gorsuch as his nominee for Supreme Court (Los Angeles Times)
• Bannon seizes a security role from generals (NY Times)
• Behind closed doors, Republican lawmakers fret about how to repeal Obamacare (Washington Post)
• Rex Tillerson sworn in as Secretary of State (CBS)
• U.S. Senate support for Trump education secretary nominee weakens (Reuters)
• ‘Breathtaking violation of rights’: L.A. City Attorney barred from seeing detainees at LAX (Los Angeles Times)
• FBI request for Twitter account data may have overstepped legal guidelines (Reuters)
• Donald Trump is already trying to muzzle leaders—but government employees have broad free speech rights (Salon)
• All of the State Department’s senior management officials just resigned (The Week)
• Mob lawyer mentored Trump Labor Secretary pick (Politico)
• After meeting with pharma lobbyists, Trump drops promise to negotiate drug prices (Vox)
• Trump administration official signals that some temporary bans on entry into the U.S. could become permanent (Los Angeles Times)
• Four more journalists get felony charges after covering inauguration unrest (Guardian)

WORLD

• 6 killed, 8 wounded by gunmen who invaded Quebec mosque (Washington Post)
• Angry mob confronts Baja California governor outside state offices in Mexicali (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• What The Stat About The 8 Richest Men Doesn't Tell Us About Inequality (NPR)
• Islamic State extending attacks beyond Sinai to Egyptian heartland (Reuters)
• North Korea appears to have restarted plutonium reactor: think tank Reuters)
• 'A Nightmare Without an End': Wildfires Burn Out of Control in Chile (NPR)
• High-profile defector: Discontent with North Korean government is growing (CS Monitor)
• U.N. office in Saudi Arabia hit by Yemen rockets: Al-Arabiya TV (Reuters)

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

U.S.

President Trump announces Neil Gorsuch as his nominee for Supreme Court (Los Angeles Times)

Neil Gorsuch could fall somewhere between his hero, Justice Scalia and former boss, centrist Justice Kennedy.

Bannon seizes a security role from generals (NY Times)

Stephen Bannon — whose Breitbart website was a magnet for white nationalists, antiglobalists and conspiracy theorists — now has a full seat on the principals’ committee of the National Security Council.

Behind closed doors, Republican lawmakers fret about how to repeal Obamacare (Washington Post)

Republican lawmakers aired sharp concerns about their party’s quick push to repeal the Affordable Care Act at a closed-door meeting Thursday, according to a recording of the session obtained by The Washington Post.

Rex Tillerson sworn in as Secretary of State (CBS)

Tillerson was approved in a 56-43 vote with all 52 Republicans, as well as four Democrats, voting in favor. The remaining 43 Democrats opposed Tillerson. One senator, Chris Coons (D-Delaware), did not vote.

U.S. Senate support for Trump education secretary nominee weakens (Reuters)

Public refusals on Wednesday by two U.S. Senate Republicans to support Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump's pick for education secretary, raised the possibility of a rare congressional rejection of a Cabinet nominee. In an ominous sign for Trump, Republican senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski said they would not vote for DeVos, a billionaire philanthropist and charter-school advocate.

‘Breathtaking violation of rights’: L.A. City Attorney barred from seeing detainees at LAX (Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer said he spent several hours at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday night into Sunday morning, but was repeatedly denied access to federal detainees or an attorney who could discuss the situation with him..Feuer said he was concerned that federal officials were not complying with an emergency stay granted by a federal judge on Saturday night that was meant to block detainees from being deported under President Trump's executive order.

FBI request for Twitter account data may have overstepped legal guidelines (Reuters)

 The FBI appeared to go beyond the scope of existing legal guidance in seeking certain kinds of internet records from Twitter as recently as last year, legal experts said, citing two warrantless surveillance orders the social media company published on Friday.

Donald Trump is already trying to muzzle leaders—but government employees have broad free speech rights (Salon)

Federal employees have broad rights to tell the public what they know, which is bad news for President Trump.

All of the State Department’s senior management officials just resigned (The Week)

"It's the single biggest simultaneous departure of institutional memory that anyone can remember," David Wade, the State Department's former chief of staff under John Kerry, told the Post. "That's incredibly difficult to replicate."

Mob lawyer mentored Trump Labor Secretary pick (Politico)

Labor secretary nominee Andrew Puzder began his career fighting the agency he may now lead on behalf of one of the most notorious mob lawyers in the country. Today, Puzder is CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns the burger chains Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. But long before that, Puzder made his bones working at the St. Louis firm of Morris A. Shenker, the lead lawyer for Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa and the target of frequent investigations by the FBI, Nevada Gaming Commission and others.

After meeting with pharma lobbyists, Trump drops promise to negotiate drug prices (Vox)

… Instead of getting tough, Trump’s new plan is that he’s “going to be lowering taxes” and “getting rid of regulations.”

Trump administration official signals that some temporary bans on entry into the U.S. could become permanent (Los Angeles Times)

he Trump administration doubled down Tuesday on its commitment to transforming the nation’s border law enforcement, signaling that some of the temporary bans on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries are likely to be made permanent and elevating a deportations official to run the top immigration enforcement agency.

Four more journalists get felony charges after covering inauguration unrest (Guardian)

Four more journalists have been charged with felonies after being arrested while covering the unrest around Donald Trump’s inauguration, meaning that at least six media workers are facing up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine if convicted.

WORLD

6 killed, 8 wounded by gunmen who invaded Quebec mosque (Washington Post)

Quebec police confirmed in a news briefing that six people had been killed and eight injured, some seriously, in a mass shooting Sunday night at a mosque in suburban Quebec City as worshipers were finishing their prayers. Government officials called the attack an act of terrorism.

Angry mob confronts Baja California governor outside state offices in Mexicali (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A day after Baja California Gov. Francisco “Kiko” Vega de la Madrid and other top officials were forced to flee an angry mob outside state offices in Mexicali, protesters continued on Sunday to block access to the government building in the city’s Civic Center. A video of Saturday’s incident showed...

What The Stat About The 8 Richest Men Doesn't Tell Us About Inequality (NPR)

It's a shocking statistic about global inequality that's made worldwide headlines. But some economists don't think it tells the whole story.

Islamic State extending attacks beyond Sinai to Egyptian heartland (Reuters

 "Wanted" was emblazoned across photographs posted online by Islamic State. Files bearing Islamic State logo showed faces of Egyptian military and police officers, alongside names, addresses, and ranks, urging followers to hunt them down and kill them....

North Korea appears to have restarted plutonium reactor: think tank Reuters)

 New commercial satellite imagery indicates North Korea has resumed operation of a reactor at its main nuclear site used to produce plutonium for its nuclear weapons program, a U.S. think tank said on Friday.

'A Nightmare Without an End': Wildfires Burn Out of Control in Chile (NPR)

Hundreds of thousands of acres have been destroyed and at least 10 people have died, including several firefighters. The Chilean government says the blazes are the worst in the country's history.

High-profile defector: Discontent with North Korean government is growing (CS Monitor)

In his first news conference with foreign media since defecting in August, former North Korean diplomat Thae Yong Ho described the country as being 'on a slippery slope.'

U.N. office in Saudi Arabia hit by Yemen rockets: Al-Arabiya TV  (Reuters)

Rockets fired by Yemeni rebels into Saudi Arabia on Monday damaged a United Nations office in the kingdom's southern Asir region, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV reported.