ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

July 3, 2014 (San Diego's East County)-- ECM 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.

• 5 things women need to know about the Hobby Lobby ruling (Time)
• U.S. increases security at overseas airports amid bomb concerns

• East Coast Braces for Damage (Time)

• Teen describes brutal journey into U.S. (ABC News)
• Obama to seek $2 billion to stem surge of  Central American immigrants (Chicago Tribune)
• Surprise! Red and blue districts often agree on government policy.
• Democrats: No bluff, Obama will go it alone on immigration (The Hill)
• Mitt Romney isn’t running. So who will GOP turn to?  (Washington Post)
• Warren, Booker are Dems secret weapons (The Hill)
• Land of the free? Not so much. Americans' sense of freedom drops, poll finds. (CS Monitor)
• Stepping Into The Fire: Veteran Advocates & Pols Sound Off On Obama's Choice To Lead Scandal-Plagued VA (Reno Blogspot by Jamie Reno)

WORLD

• ISIS declares creation of Middle Eastern caliphate (CBS News)
• U.S. sends 300 more troops to Iraq over security concerns (Reuters)
• U.K. Loses Big Vote On The Future Of Europe — Now What?
• Bodies of three kidnapped Israeli teens found in West Bank (JPost)
• Volley of Gaza mortar shells fired toward southern Israel (JPost)
• Huge Crowds Turn Out for Hong Kong Pro-Democracy March (NY Times)
• European Court of Human Rights upholds French law banning veil (Reuters)
• Norway Does A Ctrl+Alt+Delete On E-Voting Experiment (NPR)

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

U.S.

5 things women need to know about the Hobby Lobby ruling (Time)

What the Supreme Court's ruling on contraception means for women.

U.S. increases security at overseas airports amid bomb concerns

(Reuters) - The United States said on Wednesday it would increase security at overseas airports with nonstop flights to the country and U.S. officials cited concerns al Qaeda operatives in Syria and Yemen were developing bombs that could be smuggled onto planes.

East Coast Braces for Damage (Time)

Tropical Storm Arthur, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, caused a mandatory evacuation off of the South Carolina coast Wednesday and threatens to drench much of the Eastern Seaboard for the holiday weekend

Teen describes brutal journey into U.S. (ABC News)

A 17-year-old Honduran girl migrates to U.S. alone, facing threats from deadly gangs. CNN's Alina Machado reports.

Obama to seek $2 billion to stem surge of  Central American immigrants (Chicago Tribune)

President Obama will send a letter to Congress on Monday requesting more than $2 billion to pay for tighter border enforcement and humanitarian assistance to respond to the swell of children from Central America illegally crossing the border without their parents, a White House official said Sunday. Obama will also request that Congress change a law that requires ‎unaccompanied children from non-contiguous countries be allowed to fight their deportations in immigration court before being sent out of the country. The change would make it easier for the U.S. to quickly return such children to their home countries, mirroring a similar law currently in place for children from Mexico.

Surprise! Red and blue districts often agree on government policy. (CS Monitor)

A new study suggests that Americans in both red or blue areas mostly agree about what government should do -- eveno n issues like immigration and Social Security. 'Gridlock in Congress is not driven by the people,' one expert says.

Democrats: No bluff, Obama will go it alone on immigration (The Hill)

The Obama administration is "not bluffing" in its intent to take executive action on immigration policy if House Republicans don't act soon, top Democratic leaders warned Thursday.

Mitt Romney isn’t running. So who will GOP turn to?  (Washington Post)

… the 10 men (no women!) with the best chance of winding up as the Republican presidential nominee in 2016.

Warren, Booker are Dems secret weapons (The Hill)

Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Cory Booker (N.J.) have become the Democratic Party’s secret weapons in some of its toughest states this cycle.

Land of the free? Not so much. Americans' sense of freedom drops, poll finds. (CS Monitor)

According to a new international poll, Americans have become significantly "less satisfied with the freedom to choose what they want to do with their lives."  Seventy-nine percent of US residents are satisfied with their level of freedom, down from 91 percent in 2006, according to the Gallup survey, released Tuesday

Stepping Into The Fire: Veteran Advocates & Pols Sound Off On Obama's Choice To Lead Scandal-Plagued VA (Reno Blogspot by Jamie Reno)

Is Robert McDonald the right man to clean up this mess? A 61-year-old West Point graduate and Army captain, McDonald reportedly worked his way from entry-level employee to CEO at Proctor & Gamble over the course of three decades. While he's a surprise pick, some observers believe his combined military leadership/corporate management background make him uniquely qualified to lead the agency. But some veteran advocates are skeptical....

WORLD

ISIS declares creation of Middle Eastern caliphate (CBS News)

The al Qaeda breakaway group that has seized much of northern Syria and huge tracks of neighboring Iraq formally declared the creation of an Islamic state on Sunday in the territory under its control.

U.S. sends 300 more troops to Iraq over security concerns (Reuters)

The United States is ramping up its military presence in Iraq, deploying around 300 additional troops as well as helicopters and drone aircraft in response security concerns in Baghdad, officials said on Monday.

U.K. Loses Big Vote On The Future Of Europe — Now What?

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron was furious when EU leaders voted to nominate Jean-Claude Juncker as head of the European Commission. It raises questions about the U.K.'s future in the EU.

Bodies of three kidnapped Israeli teens found in West Bank (JPost)

After more than two weeks of agonizing, intensive searches in the West Bank, the military operation launched to locate teenagers Gil-Ad Shaer, Naftali Fraenkel, and Eyal Yifrah reached a tragic end Monday afternoon when security forces discovered their bodies buried in a field northwest of Hebron, no more than a 10-15-minute drive from where they were abducted....

Volley of Gaza mortar shells fired toward southern Israel (JPost)

 Five mortar shells were fired from the Gaza Strip toward southern Israel on Tuesday night, with two landing in the Eshkol Regional Council.  The Code Red siren was sounded in southern communities, warning of the attack that came as the funeral was culminating in Modi'in for three slain Israeli teenagers.

Huge Crowds Turn Out for Hong Kong Pro-Democracy March (NY Times)

 Huge crowds of people held one of the largest marches in Hong Kong’s history on Tuesday to demand greater democracy, defying intermittent tropical downpours and Beijing’s dwindling tolerance for challenges to its control.

European Court of Human Rights upholds French law banning veil (Reuters)

The European Court of Human Rights upheld France's 2010 ban on full-face veils in public on Tuesday but acknowledged the law could appear excessive and feed stereotypes. / Judges at the Strasbourg-based court, by 15 to 2, said the ban did not violate religious freedom and aimed to ensure "respect for the minimum set of values of an open democratic society" which included openness to social interaction

Norway Does A Ctrl+Alt+Delete On E-Voting Experiment (NPR)

After trying out online balloting in elections in 2011 and 2013, Oslo has concluded that it didn't improve turnout and might undermine the democratic process