ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version Share this

 

July 18, 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 story, click “read more” and scroll down.

U.S.

Trump’s defense of Russia prompts outrage from some Republicans (Washington Post)

President Trump’s remarks at an extraordinary joint news conference with Russian President Vladi­mir Putin on Monday prompted sharp rebukes from several Republican lawmakers — many of whom are retiring. Ailing Sen. John McCain delivered the strongest broadside, describing it as “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.” At the news conference, which took place after the first formal one-on-one summit between the two leaders, Trump refused to back the conclusion of U.S. intelligence of Russian interference in the 2016 election and attacked the probe being led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III as “a disaster for our country.” Trump’s doubts about the U.S. intelligence community while on foreign soil — as well as his insistence on accepting Putin’s denial of Russian interference — did not sit well with several Republicans.

Former CIA Director John Brennan said Trump's press conference with Putin was 'treasonous' — here's what legal experts say (Business Insider)

After a joint press conference on Monday in which US President Donald Trump, standing next to Russian President Vladimir Putin, refused to endorse the US intelligence community's consensus that Russia interfered in the US 2016 election, former CIA Director John Brennan accused Trump of treason.  "Donald Trump's press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of 'high crimes & misdemeanors,'" Brennan tweeted. "It was nothing short of treasonous."  #Traitor became a trending hashtag on Twitter, with thousands of people expressing outrage at Trump's comments and also accusing Trump of treason.

White House attempts to clarify Trump’s response to whether Russia is still targeting U.S. elections (Washington Post)

For the third straight day, President Trump cast doubt on whether he views Russia as a threat, despite warnings from his own government that Moscow continues to target the United States with hostile actions. Trump triggered a new uproar Wednesday morning when he appeared to suggest that Russia is no longer seeking to interfere in U.S. elections — prompting the White House to assert hours later that his words had been misconstrued.

U.S. accuses Russian spies of 2016 election hacking (Reuters)

A federal grand jury on Friday charged 12 Russian intelligence officers with hacking Democratic computer networks in 2016, in the most detailed U.S. accusation yet that Moscow meddled in the presidential election to help Republican Donald Trump.

Mueller indicts 12 Russians in 2016 DNC hack (The Hill)

Special counsel Robert Mueller has indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers in the 2016 hacking of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the long-awaited indictment Friday at a press conference in Washington, D.C. "The indictment charges 12 Russian military officers by name for conspiring to interfere with the 2016 presidential election," Rosenstein said. 

Top Voting Machine Vendor Admits It Installed Remote-Access Software on Systems Sold to States (Vice)

Remote-access software and modems on election equipment 'is the worst decision for security short of leaving ballot boxes on a Moscow street corner.'

As migrant families are reunited, some children don’t recognize their mothers (NY Times)

One mother had waited four months to wrap her arms around her little boy. Another had waited three months to see her little girl again. When the reunions finally happened Tuesday in Phoenix, the mothers were met with cries of rejection from their children. “He didn’t recognize me,” said Mirce Alba Lopez, 31, of her 3-year-old son, Ederson, her eyes welling up with tears.

Flying lava hits Hawaii tour boat (BBC)

Twenty-three people were injured and are being treated in hospital after flying lava struck a tour boat. Will Bryan described the terrifying moment when the vessel was hit.

Trump administration outlines plan to reunify remaining 2,500 separated children (San Diego Union-Tribune)

The Trump administration, under order to quickly reunify families that have been separated at the border, is moving ahead — somewhat reluctantly — with a new, streamlined plan to bring together the roughly 2,500 remaining children and their parents in order to meet the court-imposed deadline. The plan…aims to process about 200 children age 5 and older per day, with a rollout this weekend. The logistics include moving parents currently detained in immigration custody to one of six to eight facilities, where they will be further vetted for parentage, undergo a criminal background check and be interviewed by an investigator.

WORLD

In Fiery Interview with British Tabloid, Trump Criticizes Prime Minister, London Mayor (NPR)

President Trump, in a wide-ranging interview with The Sun, said British Prime Minister Theresa May ignored his advice on Brexit, a move he said threatens to scuttle a trade deal with the U.S. Fresh from a contentious meeting with NATO leaders in Brussels in which he demanded member nations contribute more for their collective defense… the president also lashed out at the mayor of London, saying he had done "a terrible job." Trump also said that immigrants were destroying European culture and that he planned to maintain good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite nerve agent attacks on U.K. soil that have been blamed on the Kremlin.

Exclusive: PayPal closes French BDS media account (JPost)

French BDS organizations have faced a series of financial setbacks since 2016. In 2018 alone, PayPal terminated the accounts of four BDS organizations prior to the closure of Agence Media Palestine.  The BDS entities were, according to legal experts, in violation of France's anti-discrimination. Lellouche Law, which bans discrimination based on national origin. BDS targets Israelis based on their national origin.

In Ireland, Drought and a Drone Revealed the Outline of an Ancient Henge (NPR)

A drone flight and a lingering dry spell have exposed a previously unknown monument in Ireland's Boyne Valley, forgotten for thousands of years and long covered by crops — which, struggling to cope with a lengthy drought, finally revealed the ancient footprint.

Mass protests sweep Iraq, target pro-Iran militias and parties (JPost)

[Bagdad’s] Najaf airport has been sacked. The border with Kuwait has been occupied by protesters and roads to major oil fields blocked in southern Iraq. The base of a Kata’ib Hezbollah pro-Iranian militia was set on fire. In response Baghdad has cut off access to Internet and social media apps, and sent elite counter-terrorism units, as well as the army, to quell the spreading protests.

Three wounded as 200 projectiles fired at Israel from Gaza Strip (JPost)

Close to 200 projectiles were launched from the Gaza Strip toward the South since late Friday with at least 30 of them intercepted by the Iron Dome.

 


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.