ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

September 13, 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.

• Congress sends Trump bill denouncing Charlottesville violence, white Supremacy (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• With an eye on tax reform, President courts Democrats (Christian Science Monitor)
• Nearly 25 Percent of Homes Destroyed in Florida Keys After Hurricane Irma (NPR)
• Florida's Farmers Look at Irma's Damage: 'Probably the Worst We've Seen' (NPR)
• All five living former presidents launch joint Harvey relief effort (The Hill)
• Welcome to the new world of wildfires (Truthout)
• The 48 most revealing lines of Bannon’s 60 Minutes interview (CNN)
• Rand Paul Stages Senatorial Sit-In for Debate on Sunsetting Authorization for Endless War (Reason)
• Sanders will introduce universal healthcare bill, backed by 15 Democrats (Washington Post)
• Fire torches historic national park chalet in Montana (Washington Post)
• American households finally earn more than they did in 1999 (SD Union-Tribune)

WORLD

• Before and After: Satellite Images Show Irma's Caribbean Destruction (NPR)
• Russians flock to Trump properties to give birth to U.S. babies (Daily Beast)
• Israel hits Syrian site said to be linked to chemical weapons (Reuters)
• Death toll from southern Mexico's big earthquake rises to 96 (ABC)
• Apparent 'Ethnic Cleansing' Is Now Unfolding in Myanmar, U.N. Says (NPR)

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

U.S.

Congress sends Trump bill denouncing Charlottesville violence, white Supremacy (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Congress sent a resolution to the White House on Tuesday condemning the violence at the white nationalist rally in Virginia last month and urging President Donald Trump to speak out against racist hate groups. The legislation, which passed by unanimous consent in the Senate on Monday and in the House on Tuesday …also calls on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to "investigate thoroughly all acts of violence, intimidation, and domestic terrorism by white supremacists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, and associated groups" and to "improve the reporting of hate crimes" to the FBI  A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening on whether Trump intends to sign the resolution.

With an eye on tax reform, President courts Democrats (Christian Science Monitor)

President Trump’s top priority is now tax reform, and he is intent on making sure that this effort does not go the way of health-care reform: a failure to secure enough votes from members of his own party. So he’s wooing Democrats.

Nearly 25 Percent of Homes Destroyed In Florida Keys After Hurricane Irma (NPR)

On Tuesday, some residents of the Florida Keys were allowed to return home to assess damage from Hurricane Irma. The storm destroyed about 25 percent of the homes in the Florida Keys, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Florida's Farmers Look At Irma's Damage: 'Probably the Worst We've Seen' (NPR)

Hurricane Irma smashed through one of the country's top areas of fruit and vegetable production. The storm destroyed half of the citrus crop in some areas, as well as housing for seasonal workers.

All five living former presidents launch joint Harvey relief effort (The Hill)



Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama announced their “One America Appeal” to help victims of Hurricane Harvey. A video advertisement starring each of the former presidents is slated to air during the first game of the 2017-18 NFL season …A statement announcing the campaign said it will also plan to help victims of Hurricane Irma, ahead of its projected landfall in Florida.

Welcome to the new world of wildfires (Truthout)

A study published earlier this year showed that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions have increased the likelihood of extreme heat events across more than 80 percent of the planet.… According to Inside Climate News: "Nine of the 10 worst fire seasons in the past 50 years have all happened since 2000, and 2015 was the worst fire season in U.S. history, surpassing 10 million acres for the first time on record. So far this year, wildfires in the US have burned 7.8 million acres, but the fire season is far from over. The average fire season is 78 days longer than it was in the 1970s and now lasts nearly seven months …

The 48 most revealing lines of Bannon’s 60 Minutes interview (CNN)

Former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon sat down with "60 Minutes" for his first major interview since leaving 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Known for his rhetorical bomb-throwing and willingness to poke the political establishment in the eye, Bannon did not disappoint in his conversation with Charlie Rose.

Rand Paul Stages Senatorial Sit-In for Debate on Sunsetting Authorization for Endless War (Reason)

Paul announces that his move won four hours of floor debate in Senate over ending the 16-year-old Authorization for the Use of Military Force that launched modern war on terror.

Sanders will introduce universal healthcare bill, backed by 15 Democrats (Washington Post)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will introduce legislation on Wednesday that would expand Medicare into a universal health insurance program with the backing of at least 15 Democratic senators — a record level of support for an idea that had been relegated to the fringes during the last Democratic presidency….Sanders’s bill, the Medicare for All Act of 2017, has no chance of passage in a Republican-run Congress. But after months of behind-the-scenes meetings and a public pressure campaign, the bill is already backed by most of the senators seen as likely 2020 Democratic candidates …

Fire torches historic national park chalet in Montana (Washington Post)

The main building of an historic, backcountry chalet in Glacier National Park in northern Montana burned in a wildfire Thursday evening. The two-story Sperry Chalet was lost despite efforts by firefighters to protect it and save it, fire officials said.

American households finally earn more than they did in 1999 (San Diego Union-Tribune)

After a long period of plodding economic growth, significant earnings gains over the last two years have finally enabled the average American household to surpass the peak income level it reached in 1999.  The median household income in the U.S. climbed to $59,039 last year, up 3.2% from 2015…  The median household income in California rose 3.4% last year to $66,637, surpassing the earlier high of $65,852 in 2006.

WORLD

Before And After: Satellite Images Show Irma's Caribbean Destruction (NPR)

The images tell a tale of widespread and deadly hurricane damage that's nearly impossible to comprehend fully from the ground level.

Russians flock to Trump properties to give birth to U.S. babies (Daily Beast)

While the president rails against children of undocumented immigrants, wealthy Russians rent his condos—at huge costs—so they can have American kids.

Israel hits Syrian site said to be linked to chemical weapons (Reuters)

Israel attacked a military site in Syria’s Hama province early on Thursday, the Syrian army said… The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war, said the attack was on a facility of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre, an agency which the United States describes as Syria’s chemical weapons manufacturer.

Death toll from southern Mexico's big earthquake rises to 96 (ABC)

The death toll from Mexico's 8.1 magnitude earthquake rose to 96 on Monday as more victims were confirmed in the hard-hit southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas and residents worked to repair shattered homes and small businesses.

Apparent 'Ethnic Cleansing' Is Now Unfolding In Myanmar, U.N. Says (NPR)

Operations against the Rohingya look like a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing," the U.N. human rights chief says. But Myanmar's civilian leader, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, denies the allegations.