ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

November 9, 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 a  variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Over 60,000 U.S. troops have been killed or injured in post-911 wars (Daily Beast)
• Sessions forced out, raising questions about Russia probe; Attorney general’s chief of staff replaces him on an acting basis (Washington Post)
• Sinema takes slim lead in too-close-to-call Arizona Senate race (Politico)
• Midterm elections: Democrats flip House as GOP expands Senate majority (Washington Post)
• Gubernatorial races: Democrats oust Walker in Wisconsin and Kobach I Kansas, but fall short in Florida and Ohio (New York Times)
• Judge halts Keystone XL  oil pipeline in blow to Trump, Trudeau (Reuters)
• Justice Department charges 5, announces plan to combat Chinese trade theft (Politico)
• Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized after fall in her office (USA Today)

WORLD

• Far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro wins presidential election in Brazil (CNN)
• PM May dives into diplomacy in bid to clinch Brexit deal (Reuters)
• Over 100 arrested after French youth attempt 'purge' against police (Jerusalem Post)

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

U.S.

Over 60,000 U.S. troops have been killed or injured in post-911 wars (Daily Beast)

More than 60,000 U.S. soldiers and sailors have been killed or injured in post-9/11 wars, according to a Thursday report from Brown University’s Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs. That tally only includes casualties that occurred during wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan—and does not include indirect deaths like starvation or lack of medicine—meaning that the true total is likely much higher. Overall, the report notes, wars in those three countries have caused between 480,000 and 507,000 deaths on all sides of the conflicts, about half of which occurred in Iraq alone.

Sessions forced out, raising questions about Russia probe; Attorney general’s chief of staff replaces him on an acting basis (Washington Post)

Jeff Sessions’s relationship with President Trump was ruined when Sessions recused himself from the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. The appointment of Matthew G. Whitaker sparked fears that Trump might be trying to exert control over the probe.

Sinema takes slim lead in too-close-to-call Arizona Senate race (Politico)

Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema took a narrow 9,610-vote lead over GOP Rep. Martha McSally Thursday evening as Arizona’s election authorities counted more ballots in the state’s uncalled Senate race….Arizona is one of three remaining Senate races without a declared winner. In Florida, Republican Gov. Rick Scott is ahead of Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson by two-tenths of a percentage point, but the race is headed for a recount. And in Mississippi, Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Mike Espy will face off in a late November special-election runoff. Republicans have already secured 51 Senate seats to 46 for Democrats, after three Democratic incumbents and one GOP senator lost on Tuesday night.

Midterm elections: Democrats flip House as GOP expands Senate majority (Washington Post)

Democrats seized control of the House while Republicans held the Senate on Tuesday in a national referendum on President Trump that drew record numbers of voters to the polls and opened the door to tougher oversight of the White House over the next two years.

Gubernatorial races: Democrats oust Walker in Wisconsin and Kobach I Kansas, but fall short in Florida and Ohio (New York Times)

Democrats wrested control of governorships from Republicans in seven states on Tuesday including Wisconsin, where they ousted Scott Walker after eight tumultuous years as the state’s chief executive, and Kansas, a surprise victory in a longtime Republican stronghold. But Republicans fended off strong Democratic challenges to hold on to the governorships of Florida, Ohio and Iowa, maintaining their control of three states likely to be crucial in the 2020 presidential elections.

Judge halts Keystone XL  oil pipeline in blow to Trump, Trudeau (Reuters)

A U.S. judge in Montana has halted construction of the Keystone XL pipeline designed to carry heavy crude oil from Canada to the United States, drawing a sharp rebuke on Friday from President Donald Trump.

 Justice Department charges 5, announces plan to combat Chinese trade theft (Politico)

In what Sessions called a “brazen scheme,” the defendants are accused of conspiring to steal technology secrets from Micron

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized after fall in her office (USA Today)

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized Thursday morning after falling in her office Wednesday night, the court announced. Ginsburg, 85, went home after the fall but continued to experience "discomfort overnight" and went to George Washington University Hospital early Thursday. Tests revealed she fractured three ribs

WORLD

Far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro wins presidential election in Brazil (CNN)

Jubilant supporters of Brazil's president-elect Jair Bolsonaro took the streets of Rio de Janeiro on Sunday after the far-right congressman was declared the winner of the country's presidential election by a wide margin.

PM May dives into diplomacy in bid to clinch Brexit deal (Reuters)

Prime Minister Theresa May steps up attempts to court European support for a Brexit deal on Thursday as negotiations on securing a smooth British divorce from the world’s biggest trading bloc enter their final stages.

Over 100 arrested after French youth attempt 'purge' against police (Jerusalem Post)

French police arrested more than 100 people after gangs of masked youths stormed through Paris suburbs and the center of Lyon on Halloween night, authorities said on Thursday, following a message on social media calling for a "purge" against police.