ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

March 15, 2018 (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 news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views.  Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• U.S. accuses Russia of ongoing attack to hack energy grid (Associated Press)
• Despite Mueller’s push, House Republicans declare no evidence of collusion (New York Times)
• House Intelligence Committee Democrats release their own report on Russia investigation (The Week)
• Connor Lamb wins Pennsylvania House seat, giving Democrats a map for Trump country (New York Times)
• Toys R Us to close all 800 U.S. stores, affecting 33,000 jobs (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• USDA withdraws animal welfare rule (The Hill)
• Senator blasts United after dog dies in overhead bin, another sent to Japan (CBS)
• Seattle judge rules a homeless man’s truck was his ‘home,’ and that has city officials worried (Los Angeles Times)
• U.S. court upholds most of Texas law to punish 'sanctuary cities' (Reuters)
• Journalist charts the bizarre twists and turns of the Trump Russia dossier (NPR)

 WORLD

• Stephen Hawking, who examined the universe and explained black holes, dies at 76 (New York Times)
• China’s Xi allowed to remain ‘president for life’ as term limits removed (BBC)
• Britain and Russia brace for showdown as deadline expires for nerve attack explanation (Reuters)
• Russia Behind 14 'Natural' Deaths? UK Secret Service Looks Again at Mysterious suicides after Novichok Attack (Newsweek)
• Palestinian PM Hamdallah survives Gaza roadside bomb attack (Reuters)
• Syrian Observatory says war has killed more than half a million (Jerusalem Post)
• Germany on alert for possible attacks on Turkish sites (Reuters)
• Kenya's president and opposition leader promise to unite country (CS Monitor)

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

U.S.

U.S. accuses Russia of ongoing attack to hack energy grid (Associated Press)

The Trump administration accused Russia on Thursday of a concerted, ongoing operation to hack and spy on the U.S. energy grid and other critical infrastructure, and separately imposed sanctions on Russian officials for alleged high-tech interference in the 2016 American presidential election.

Despite Mueller’s push, House Republicans declare no evidence of collusion (New York Times)

Even as the special counsel expands his inquiry and pursues criminal charges against at least four Trump associates, House Intelligence Committee Republicans said on Monday that their investigation had found no evidence of collusion between Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia to sway the 2016 election.  Representative K. Michael Conaway, the Texas Republican who is leading the investigation, said committee Republicans agreed with the conclusions of American intelligence agencies that Russia had interfered with the election, but they broke with the agencies on one crucial point: that the Russians had favored Mr. Trump’s candidacy…

House Intelligence Committee Democrats release their own report on Russia investigation (The Week)

Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee released a status report on the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election Tuesday evening, one day after the Republicans on the committee abruptly ended the probe. The report lists more than 30 key witnesses who were not interviewed, investigative threads Democrats say they were prevented from pursuing, and outstanding lines of inquiry. …. Adam Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the committee, told The Washington Post "there's no way for them to reach the conclusions that they want to start with unless they ignore or mischaracterize what we've been able to learn." Read the entire Democratic status report here.

Connor Lamb wins Pennsylvania House seat, giving Democrats a map for Trump country (New York Times)

Conor Lamb, a Democrat, narrowly won a House special election in a Pennsylvania district that President Trump won by 20 percentage points in 2016.

 Toys R Us to close all 800 U.S. stores, affecting 33,000 jobs (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Toys R Us is headed toward shuttering its U.S. operations, jeopardizing the jobs of some 30,000 employees while spelling the end for a chain known to generations of children and parents for its sprawling stores and Geoffrey the giraffe mascot.

USDA withdraws animal welfare rule (The Hill)

The Trump administration has decided to withdraw an Obama-era rule that would have set new standards for the way animals should be treated if their meat is going to be sold as “certified organic.”… The Obama rule stipulated, for example, that poultry must be housed in spaces that are big enough for the birds to move freely, stretch their wings, stand normally and engage in natural behaviors. Livestock, meanwhile, must be provided access to an outdoor space year round.

Senator blasts United after dog dies in overhead bin, another sent to Japan (CBS)

A 10-year-old German shepherd Irgo was supposed to be on a flight from Oregon to Kansas City, but when owner Kara Swindle arrived in Missouri, United Airlines gave her a Great Dane instead. The dogs got switched, and Irgo was sent to Japan….On a Monday night flight from Houston to New York, a flight attendant ordered Catalina Robledo and her 11-year-old daughter Sophia to put a bag in the overhead bin. Inside was their 10-month-old French bulldog, Kokito…Kokito died.

Seattle judge rules a homeless man’s truck was his ‘home,’ and that has city officials worried (Los Angeles Times)

Steven Long, 57, has been calling his 2000 GMC Sierra pickup "home" for the last few years. Now he's got a judge agreeing with him and the court papers to prove it. Then again, if the judge's recent ruling stands, say its critics, Seattle could become one of America's most crowded, and socially lenient, places to live and sleep in your vehicle.

U.S. court upholds most of Texas law to punish 'sanctuary cities' (Reuters)

 A U.S. appeals court panel on Tuesday upheld most of a Republican-backed Texas law to punish "sanctuary cities," allowing it to remain in effect while the case is being fought in a lower court.

Journalist charts the bizarre twists and turns of the Trump Russia dossier (NPR)

As the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election continues, more and more attention has focused on the infamous Russia dossier on Donald Trump compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele.

WORLD

Stephen Hawking, who examined the universe and explained black holes, dies at 76 (New York Times)

Stephen W. Hawking, the Cambridge University physicist and best-selling author who roamed the cosmos from a wheelchair, pondering the nature of gravity and the origin of the universe and becoming an emblem of human determination and curiosity, died early Wednesday at his home in Cambridge, England.

China’s Xi allowed to remain ‘president for life’ as term limits removed (BBC)

China has approved the removal of term limits for its leader, in a move that effectively allows Xi Jinping to remain as president for life…US President Donald Trump was criticised by some commentators for seeming to approve of Mr Xi's unlimited rule, saying on Monday: "President for life... I think it's great. Maybe we'll have to give that a shot some day."

Britain and Russia brace for showdown as deadline expires for nerve attack explanation (Reuters)

Britain braced for a showdown with Russia on Wednesday after a midnight deadline set by Prime Minister Theresa May expired without an explanation from Moscow about how a Soviet-era nerve toxin was used to strike down a former Russian double agent.

Russia Behind 14 'Natural' Deaths? UK Secret Service Looks Again at Mysterious suicides after Novichok Attack (Newsweek)

 U.K. police and the British secret service MI5 are reexamining the sudden deaths of 14 people with connections to Russia that were previously dismissed by authorities as natural, despite warnings from the U.S. intelligence community that they may be Kremlin assassinations.

Palestinian PM Hamdallah survives Gaza roadside bomb attack (Reuters)

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah survived an assassination attempt in Gaza on Tuesday, the Palestinian Authority said after an apparent roadside bomb targeted his motorcade.

Syrian Observatory says war has killed more than half a million (Jerusalem Post)

About 85 percent of the dead were civilians killed by the forces of the Syrian government and its allies.

Germany on alert for possible attacks on Turkish sites (Reuters)

(Reuters) - German security agencies are on alert for signs of violence against Turkish facilities in Berlin, Stuttgart and other cities, the Interior Ministry said, after fires damaged several Turkish-run mosques over the weekend.

Kenya's president and opposition leader promise to unite country (CS Monitor)

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga pledged on Friday to bring Kenya together after elections last year turned violent. 'We have a responsibility as leaders to find solutions. Elections come and go but Kenya remains,' Mr. Kenyatta said.