September 22, 2022 (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.
General national news
- Can anything stop blockbuster US job growth? Why it keeps rolling despite slowing economy, recession worries (USA Today)
- How Biden helped avert a rail strike – and another economic crisis (The Hill)
- Student loan borrowers in 7 states may be taxed on their debt cancellation (NPR) The founder of Patagonia is giving his company away (NPR)
- The Most Alarming Case On The Supreme Court’s Docket You Haven’t Heard Of (Talking Points)
- Students whose families make less than $100K will get free tuition at Princeton(NPR)
Trump and Jan. 6 controversies
- Appeals court allows DOJ to resume review of classified records in Trump case(The Hill)
- Material on foreign nation’s nuclear capabilities seized at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago (Washington Post)
- Two-thirds of independents say they don't want Trump to run for president(NPR)
- Biden warns Trump and his closest followers are trying to undermine American democracy in combative speech(CNN)
- Judge Unseats Official Who Trespassed at Capitol on Jan. 6 (New York Times)
- Newly obtained surveillance video shows fake Trump elector escorted operatives into Georgia county's elections office before voting machine breach (CNN)
- Judge dismisses Trump suit against Hillary Clinton(ABC News)
WORLD
- U.S. Watching for Warning Signs Putin Is Preparing Nuclear Attack (Newsweek)
- Queen Elizabeth II dead at 96 after 70 years on the throne (AP News)
- Amid Ukraine’s startling gains, liberated villages describe Russian troops dropping rifles and fleeing (Washington Post)
- For Russia's Putin, military and diplomatic pressures mount (AP)
- Ukraine's counteroffensive has some Russian officials calling for Putin to resign(NPR)
- UN nuclear watchdog calls for ‘security protection zone zone' around the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia power plant(NBC)
- U.S. unfreezes billions of Afghanistan's money aiming to stabilize its economy (NPR)
- China ambassador: U.N. report on Xinjiang has 'closed door of cooperation' (Reuters)
- Xi, Putin hold summit in Uzbekistan as the Ukraine war dominates (NPR)
- Hungary is no longer a full democracy, says European parliament (Guardian)
- Mass grave more than 440 bodies found in Izium, Ukraine (Reuters)
For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.
U.S.
General national news
Can anything stop blockbuster US job growth? Why it keeps rolling despite slowing economy, recession worries (USA Today)
President Joe Biden hailed the July jobs report Friday showing that U.S. employers added an astonishing 528,000 jobs last month…the “fastest job growth in history.”
How Biden helped avert a rail strike – and another economic crisis (The Hill)
The White House came close this week to facing yet another crisis, this time over a railroad dispute that could have taken a crowbar to the U.S. economy ahead of crucial midterm elections. But in the end, a tentative deal was struck, with both sides crediting the Biden administration with stepping in to help avert a strike that was set to begin on Friday — one that could have further disrupted the nation’s fragile supply chain.
Student loan borrowers in 7 states may be taxed on their debt cancellation (NPR)
When federal student loan borrowers take a breath from celebrating the cancelation of some or all of their federal student loans, millions of them could be in for a nasty surprise….
The founder of Patagonia is giving his company away (NPR)
Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, who has previously expressed his reluctance at amassing wealth, is giving away his company. The outdoor apparel company will now be in the hands of a trust and a nonprofit organization. All future profits will be donated to help fight climate change, the company announced Wednesday.
The Most Alarming Case On The Supreme Court’s Docket You Haven’t Heard Of (Talking Points)
There’s a sleeper case on the Supreme Court’s docket that could blow a gaping hole in the social safety net and give states leeway to neglect or end care for tens of millions of the most vulnerable Americans… And it’s not just Medicaid…this case could leave all of those who depend on federally funded, state-administered programs — think SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) or WIC, which helps low-income pregnant women and mothers with young children buy food — without any recourse, should states stop providing the benefits they’re required to give.
Students whose families make less than $100K will get free tuition at Princeton(NPR)
Undergraduate students whose household income is less than $100,000 will not have to pay anything to attend Princeton University…
Trump and Jan. 6 controversies
Appeals court allows DOJ to resume review of classified records in Trump case(The Hill)
A three-judge appeals court panel on Wednesday granted the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request to continue its review of classified documents seized in an FBI search as part of an investigation of former President Trump’s potential mishandling of the information. The judges, two of whom were appointed by Trump and one of whom was appointed by former President Obama, also indicated in their opinion that there appeared to be no evidence that Trump declassified the documents while he was still president and that his legal team “resisted” in providing any evidence that he did so using official channels.
Material on foreign nation’s nuclear capabilities seized at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago (Washington Post)
Some seized documents were so closely held, only the president, a Cabinet-level or near-Cabinet level official could authorize others to know.
Two-thirds of independents say they don't want Trump to run for president(NPR)
Former President Donald Trump continues to heavily suggest he will run for president in 2024, but a new poll out from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist shows voters in the middle overwhelmingly don't want him to give it another go. Sixty-seven percent of independents said they do not want Trump to run again, while just 28% said they do. In 2020, Trump lost independents and lost the election.
President Joe Biden delivered his sharpest rebuke yet of Republicans and their fealty to his predecessor in an evening speech in Philadelphia on Thursday, alleging they "thrive on chaos" and warning their attempts to undermine democracy could devolve into violence.
Judge Unseats Official Who Trespassed at Capitol on Jan. 6 (New York Times)
The ruling made Couy Griffin, a county commissioner in New Mexico, the first official in more than 100 years to be removed under the Constitution’s bar on insurrectionists holding office.
A Republican county official in Georgia escorted two operatives working with an attorney for former President Donald Trump into the county's election offices on the same day a voting system there was breached, newly obtained video shows… surveillance video and text messages in the civil lawsuit suggest the fake elector plot and the effort to breach voting machines in Georgia were part of a larger, coordinated plan to subvert the 2020 election. Some of the same Trump lawyers and allies who helped orchestrate the effort to seat fake electors in states Trump lost in 2020 were also involved in attempts to gain unauthorized access to voting machines in numerous counties in states around the country...
Judge dismisses Trump suit against Hillary Clinton(ABC News)
A federal judge in Florida has dismissed former President Donald Trump's lawsuit against his 2016 presidential challenger Hillary Clinton that accused her of "acting in concert" with top FBI leadership to invent what became known as the Russia investigation. The judge said the lawsuit was rife with "glaring problems," claims that were "not warranted under existing law," and legal theories that lacked factual support.
WORLD
U.S. Watching for Warning Signs Putin Is Preparing Nuclear Attack (Newsweek)
Russian President Vladimir Putin's thinly veiled nuclear threat has prompted new fears that a Kremlin attack could be on the horizon, but the U.S. is well-positioned to know when Putin plans to strike.
Queen Elizabeth II dead at 96 after 70 years on the throne (AP News)
Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and a symbol of stability in a turbulent era that saw the decline of the British empire and disarray in her own family, died Thursday after 70 years on the throne. She was 96.
Amid Ukraine’s startling gains, liberated villages describe Russian troops dropping rifles and fleeing (Washington Post)
In the end, the Russians fled any way they could on Friday, on stolen bicycles, disguised as locals. Hours after Ukrainian soldiers poured into the area, hundreds of Russian soldiers encamped in this village were gone, many after their units abandoned them, leaving behind stunned residents to face the ruins of 28 weeks of occupation.
For Russia's Putin, military and diplomatic pressures mount (AP)
Pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin mounted on the battlefield and in the halls of global power...
Ukraine's counteroffensive has some Russian officials calling for Putin to resign(NPR)
Ukraine's counteroffensive and the surprise gains that Greg just talked about have some of Vladimir Putin's loyal supporters questioning Russian military strategy and even Putin himself. A number of government officials are calling for his resignation; others say he should be charged with treason, even when speaking out puts them at risk.
There is an "urgent" need to establish a "security protection zone" at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine to prevent a nuclear catastrophe, the International Atomic Energy Agency declared Tuesday…
U.S. unfreezes billions of Afghanistan's money aiming to stabilize its economy (NPR)
The United States says Afghanistan can have some of its money back. The U.S. says it found a way to ensure that Afghans benefit from their central bank funds while the country's Taliban rulers do not.
China ambassador: U.N. report on Xinjiang has 'closed door of cooperation' (Reuters)
China's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said on Friday that Beijing would not cooperate with the U.N. human rights office following the release of a long-awaited report on alleged human rights abuses in the far western region of Xinjiang. The report, which China had sought to bury, stipulates that "serious human rights violations have been committed" in China and said the detention of Uyghurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang may constitute crimes against humanity. "
Xi, Putin hold summit in Uzbekistan as the Ukraine war dominates (NPR)
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russia's Vladimir Putin and leaders from India and Central Asian nations headed to Uzbekistan on Thursday for a summit of a security group formed by Beijing and Moscow as a counterweight to U.S. influence.
Hungary is no longer a full democracy, says European parliament (Guardian)
Hungary can no longer be considered a full democracy, the European parliament has said in a powerful symbolic vote against Viktor Orbán’s government. In a resolution backed by 81% of MEPs present to vote, the parliament stated that Hungary had become a “hybrid regime of electoral autocracy”, citing a breakdown in democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law.
Mass grave more than 440 bodies found in Izium, Ukraine (Reuters)
Ukrainian authorities have found a mass grave of more than 440 bodies in the eastern city of Izium that was recaptured from Russian forces, a regional police official said on Thursday, adding some of the people had been killed by shelling and air strikes.
