ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

November 17, 2023 (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.

• Biden signs funding bill, averting a government shutdown (NBC)
• US forces under fire in Middle East as America slides towards brink (Reuters)
• Under fire, US Supreme Court unveils ethics code for justices (Reuters)
• Conservatives aim to restructure U.S. government and replace it with Trump’s vision (Associated Press)
• IRS releases updated 2024 income tax brackets (Scripps News)
• Jim Biden's last name has helped open doors. It also has made him a target of House Republicans  (AP)
• Joe Manchin won't seek reelection in 2024, dealing blow to Dems' Senate map (Politico)
• Trump family takes the stand: Angry outbursts, memory lapses and ‘gotcha’ moments from the civil fraud trial (NBC)
• Dems all agree, Tuesday’s elections were a romp. They disagree about why.(Politico)

WORLD

• UN says starvation imminent in Gaza, no let-up in Israeli assault (Reuters)
• Under pressure from Biden, Israel agrees to implement humanitarian ‘pauses’ (Politico)
• White House says intelligence shows Hamas using al-Shifa hospital for command node, storing weapons(CNN)
• Israel rebuffs calls for ceasefire; Lebanon strike angers Hezbollah(Reuters)
• Russia loads missile with nuclear-capable glide vehicle into launch silo(Reuters)
• Putin ally warns 'enemy' Poland: you risk losing your statehood(Reuters)
• Russia formally withdraws from key post-Cold War European armed forces treaty (Reuters)
• A pod of orcas sinks a yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar   (NPR)

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

U.S.

Biden signs funding bill, averting a government shutdown (NBC)

President Joe Biden signed the bill, which will fund the government through early next year to buy time for spending negotiations... New House Speaker Mike Johnson’s staggered, or "laddered," CR would fund part of the government — including the Agriculture, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs departments — through Jan. 19 and fund the Defense Department and remaining parts of the government through Feb. 2.

US forces under fire in Middle East as America slides towards brink (Reuters)

…at least 40 separate drone and rocket attacks that have been launched at U.S. forces by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria over the past three weeks in response to American support for Israel in the Gaza war, according to Pentagon data and the two U.S. officials.

Under fire, US Supreme Court unveils ethics code for justices (Reuters)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday announced its first formal code of conduct governing the ethical behavior of its nine justices, bowing to months of outside pressure over revelations of undisclosed luxury trips and hobnobbing with wealthy benefactors.  The new code drew mixed reviews, with some critics noting the apparent absence of any enforcement mechanism

Conservatives aim to restructure U.S. government and replace it with Trump’s vision (Associated Press)

With more than a year to go before the 2024 election, a constellation of conservative organizations is preparing for a possible second White House term for Donald Trump, recruiting thousands of Americans to come to Washington on a mission to dismantle the federal government and replace it with a vision closer to his own.

IRS releases updated 2024 income tax brackets (Scripps News)

The IRS said on Thursday the agency would be increasing federal income tax brackets and standard deductions for 2024. The income threshold for each bracket was bumped up, to start things off with new ranges for the next tax season. 

Jim Biden's last name has helped open doors. It also has made him a target of House Republicans  (AP)

Republicans have not uncovered evidence directly tying the president to any wrongdoing. But his brother and son make attractive twin targets, having been close for decades and facing accusations of leveraging their last name into corporate paydays. House Republicans subpoenaed them on Wednesday as part of their investigation into a complicated web of transactions and relationships within the Biden family.

Joe Manchin won't seek reelection in 2024, dealing blow to Dems' Senate map (Politico)

The West Virginia centrist indicated that he may not be leaving the political scene entirely. He has repeatedly declined to rule out a third-party run for president.

Trump family takes the stand: Angry outbursts, memory lapses and ‘gotcha’ moments from the civil fraud trial (NBC)

Four members of the family, including former President Donald Trump, testified in a New York court case that could break apart their real estate empire.

Dems all agree, Tuesday’s elections were a romp. They disagree about why.(Politico)

... Democrats scored a number of breakthroughs Tuesday, from Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear holding on in a ruby-red state, to abortion rights prevailing in Ohio, to the party racking up victories in Virginia’s legislative races.

WORLD

UN says starvation imminent in Gaza, no let-up in Israeli assault (Reuters)

U.N. aid deliveries to Gaza were suspended on Friday due to shortages of fuel and a communications shut down, deepening the misery of thousands of hungry and homeless Palestinians as Israeli troops battled Hamas militants in the enclave. The United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) said civilians faced the "immediate possibility of starvation" due to the lack of food supplies.

Under pressure from Biden, Israel agrees to implement humanitarian ‘pauses’ (Politico)

 After days of talks with top Biden administration officials, Israel will begin to implement short humanitarian “pauses” in the fighting in northern Gaza each day, the White House announced.... the four-hour “pauses” in operations in Gaza will allow humanitarian aid to flow into the area and civilians to get out of harm’s way, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. The news comes after top administration officials, including President Joe Biden himself, ramped up efforts to pressure their Israeli counterparts to pause the fighting for humanitarian purposes.

White House says intelligence shows Hamas using al-Shifa hospital for command node, storing weapons(CNN)

The White House said Tuesday that Hamas is storing weapons and operating a command node from the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, revealing publicly what US intelligence has shown is underneath the medical facility.

Israel rebuffs calls for ceasefire; Lebanon strike angers Hezbollah(Reuters)

Israel on Sunday rebuffed growing international pressure for a ceasefire and said its forces had encircled Gaza City as the top U.S. diplomat scrambled to contain a crisis that threatened to cause further escalation in neighbouring Lebanon.

Russia loads missile with nuclear-capable glide vehicle into launch silo(Reuters)

Russia's rocket forces loaded an intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with the nuclear-capable "Avangard" hypersonic glide vehicle into a launch silo in southern Russia, according to a defence ministry TV channel broadcast on Thursday. 

Putin ally warns 'enemy' Poland: you risk losing your statehood(Reuters)

A top ally of President Vladimir Putin warned Poland on Thursday that the NATO member state was now considered a "dangerous enemy" by Russia and could end up losing its statehood if it continued on its current course.  Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, made the comments in an 8,000-word article on Russian-Polish relations, saying Moscow now had a "dangerous enemy" in Poland.

Russia formally withdraws from key post-Cold War European armed forces treaty (Reuters)

Russia on Tuesday formally withdrew from a landmark security treaty which limited key categories of conventional armed forces… The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), signed a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, placed verifiable limits on categories of conventional military equipment that NATO and the then-Warsaw Pact could deploy.

A pod of orcas sinks a yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar   (NPR)

For 45 minutes, the crew of the Grazie Mamma felt like they were under attack from below. A pod of orcas had zeroed in on the yacht's rudder as it made its way through the Strait of Gibraltar last week, and rammed it repeatedly, "causing major damage and leakage," according to the company that operated the boat. Rescuers were able to save the crew…. Their vessel, though, sank into the sea.