ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

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April 19, 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.

 WORLD

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

U.S.

 

U.S. launches missile strikes in Syria (Washington Post)

 

President Trump ordered a military attack against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday, joining allies Britain and France in launching missile strikes in retaliation for what Western nations said was the deliberate gassing of Syrian civilians.

 

“Mission accomplished.” But what is the mission in Syria? (New York Times analysis)

On the morning after, President Trump declared success. The surgical strike against chemical weapons facilities in Syria had been executed perfectly, he said on Saturday. “Mission Accomplished!” he wrote on Twitter…What exactly is the mission? For most of Mr. Trump’s presidency, it has been to defeat the Islamic State and then get out. But what Mr. Trump outlined in his televised speech to the nation on Friday night was something more complicated

Trump order targets wide swath of public assistance programs (The Hill)

The Trump administration is seeking to completely revamp the country’s social safety net, targeting recipients of Medicaid, food stamps and housing assistance. Trump is doing so through a sweeping executive order that was quietly issued earlier this week …It calls on the Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture and other agencies across the federal government to craft new rules requiring that beneficiaries of a host of programs work or lose their benefits.

Pulitzer prizes for coverage of Harvey Weinstein, Russian meddling, Roy Moore (CBS)

 

…The Pulitzers, American journalism's most prestigious awards, reflected a year of unrelenting news and unprecedented challenges for U.S. media, as Trump repeatedly branded reporting "fake news" and called journalists "the enemy of the people."

 

Trump administration abandons crackdown on legal marijuana (Los Angeles Times)

The Trump administration is abandoning a Justice Department threat to crack down on recreational marijuana in states where it is legal, a move that could enable cannabis businesses in California and other states that have legalized pot to operate without fear of federal raids and prosecution. President Trump personally directed the abrupt retreat, which came at the behest of Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado…Trump did not inform Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions in advance of the change in policy, an almost unheard of undermining of a Cabinet official.

Sandy Hook parents have just hit Alex Jones with a defamation lawsuit (MSN)

 Alex Jones has spent years claiming the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School ― where a shooter killed 20 small children and six adults ― was faked. He has claimed the parents of these dead children are liars and “crisis actors.” Now, those parents are coming after him.

The Trump administration has officially clipped the wings of the Migratory Birds Treaty Act (Washington Post)

The Trump administration made it clear this week that it is sapping the strength of a century-old law to protect birds, issuing guidance that the law would not be used as it has been to hold people or companies accountable for killing the animals.

Investigators focus on another Trump ally: The National Enquirer (New York Times)

President Trump has long had ties to the nation’s major media players. But his connections with the country’s largest tabloid publisher, American Media Inc., run deeper than most.

Trump grants pardon to former Bush official; some say he is using the law as a political tool (Washington Post)

In his decision Friday to pardon a former Bush administration official convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice, President Trump telegraphed his open hostility to the criminal justice system and his desire to use the power of the presidency as a personal political tool. As with his controversial pardon last year of a former Arizona county sheriff, Joe Arpaio, who had been held in contempt of court, Trump effectively thumbed his nose at the judiciary by pardoning I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby.

FCC shuts down request to investigate Sinclair over ‘distorted news’ claims (FierceCable)

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said no thanks to a request from 12 U.S. senators that the FCC investigate Sinclair Broadcast over “distorting news” and potentially take away its broadcast licenses.

More Than 600 Justice Department Alumni Sign Letter to Protect Mueller (GovExec)

Amid continuing speculation that President Trump might fire special counsel Robert Mueller, more than 600 former Justice Department employees have signed an online letter expressing dismay at “the attacks that have been levied against the good men and women of the department.”

Massachusetts top court declares stun gun ban unconstitutional  (Reuters)

The top court in Massachusetts on Tuesday struck down a state law that banned civilians from possessing stun guns, saying the law violated the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment, which protects Americans' right to bear arms.

Sandy Hook parents sue conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for defamation  (Reuters)

The parents of two children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre have sued conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for defamation, accusing him and his website InfoWars of engaging in a campaign of "false, cruel, and dangerous assertions."

WORLD

U.N. Security Council rejects Russian resolution condemning Syria strikes (New York Times)

 

After a heated two-hour debate, the United Nations Security Council rejected a Russian resolution on Saturday that would have condemned airstrikes carried out hours earlier by the United States, Britain and France against Syria.

 

Germany takes a run at online hate speech. Some cry censorship. (CS Monitor)

 

Around the world, governments and citizens are worried about how social media platforms have become a home for “fake news,” invasions of privacy, voter manipulation, and hate speech. To deal with an explosion of abusive and hateful content – including anti-Muslim rhetoric and violent speech against politicians – Germany is staking out an aggressive and far-reaching position. A new law, known as NetzDG in Germany, requires large social media companies to quickly remove illegal content from their sites or face heavy fines.

 

Under military rule, Venezuela oil workers quit in a stampede (Reuters)

Chauffeured around in a sleek black pick-up, the head of Venezuela's oil industry, Major General Manuel Quevedo, last month toured a joint venture with U.S. major Chevron.

Intelligence released proving Iranian military involvement in Syria (JPost)

Aerial photos of Iranian bases in Syria were released Tuesday morning showing the scope of the military relationship between the Islamic republic and the Assad regime.

South Korea's elderly boogie, find connection in daytime discos (CS Monitor)

Elderly South Koreans are putting on their dancing shoes and flocking to the country's nearly 1,000 daytime discos for 1960s music hits, probiotic yogurt, and relief from emotional and social difficulties. 

 


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