Top Stories Today – July 15, 2019
Top Stories Today – July 15, 2019
Trump tweets to congresswomen called racist
Starkly injecting race into his criticism of liberal Democrats, President Donald Trump said four congresswomen of color should go back to the “broken and crime infested” countries they came from, ignoring the fact that all of the women are American citizens and three were born in the US His attack drew a searing condemnation from Democrats who labeled the remarks racist and breathtakingly divisive. Following a familiar script, Republicans remained largely silent after Trump’s Sunday morning broadsides against the four women. But the president’s nativist tweets caused Democrats to set aside their internal rifts to rise up in a united chorus against the president.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump wants to “make America white again.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, after jousting for days with Pelosi, said Trump “can’t conceive of an America that includes us.” Trump, who has a long history of making racist remarks, was almost certainly referring to Ocasio-Cortez and her House allies in what’s become known as “the squad.” The others are Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. Only Omar, from Somalia, is foreign-born. The Associated Press
China’s economic growth slow to lowest level
China’s economic growth sank to its lowest level in at least 26 years in the quarter ending in June, adding to pressure on Chinese leaders as they fight a tariff war with Washington. The world’s second-largest economy grew 6.2% over a year ago, down from the previous quarter’s 6.4%, government data showed Monday.
Forecasters expected China’s economy to rebound in late 2018 but pushed back that target after President Donald Trump hiked tariffs on Chinese imports to pressure Beijing over its technology development tactics. Now, economists say the slowdown might extend into next year. The Associated Press
Theresa May condemns Trump’s go home remark
British Prime Minister Theresa May has criticized US President Donald Trump for calling on several Democratic congresswomen of color to “go home”. The prime minister called Trump’s words “completely unacceptable”, according to her spokesperson. Trump has been accused of racism many times in connection with different incidents. For years, he made false claims that former President Barack Obama was not born in the US – propagating the racist “birther” conspiracy. He has also made numerous slurs against Central American migrants, calling them criminals and rapists. In 2018, he faced criticism from both Democrats and Republicans after reports said that during a meeting at the White House he called African nations “shitholes”.
When white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, resulting in the death of 32-year-old counter protester Heather Heyer, the president said there were “good people on both sides”. Trump and his father Fred Trump were sued by the Department of Justice in 1973 for discrimination against African Americans in their renting practices. They settled the case without admitting guilt in 1975 but were accused again by the justice department in 1978 of an “underlying pattern of discrimination” against black tenants. BBC
Zuma denies being king of corrupt people
South Africa’s ex-President Jacob Zuma told a judge-led inquiry that allegations of corruption against him were a “conspiracy” aimed at removing him from the political scene. He was appearing for the first time at the inquiry, which is investigating allegations that he oversaw a web of corruption during his term in office. His supporters cheered when he entered the building.
Zuma was forced to resign as president in February 2018. He was replaced by his then deputy Cyril Ramaphosa, who promised to tackle corruption in South Africa. Ramaphosa described Zuma’s nine years in office as “wasted”. BBC
ICE begins immigration raids across the US
The Trump administration’s long-promised immigration raids started slowly over the weekend, with officials confirming only a few people have been arrested, The New York Times reports. Immigration and Customs Enforcement wants to carry out deportation orders against 2,000 migrants, primarily targeting families who recently arrived from Central America.
Migrants fleeing poverty and violence in the region have been steadily arriving at the southern border, and President Trump believes these raids will deter more people from coming to the US Several current and former Department of Homeland Security officials told the Times the raids, originally scheduled for June but postponed due to Democratic pushback, were scaled back after immigrant communities were tipped off on what to expect. The New York Times via The Week
India aborts moon launch
India aborted the launch Monday of a spacecraft intended to land on the far side of the moon less than an hour before liftoff. The Chandrayaan-2 mission was called off when a “technical snag” was observed in the 640-ton, 14-story rocket launcher, Indian Space Research Organization spokesman B.R. Guruprasad said. The countdown abruptly stopped at T-56 minutes, 24 seconds, and Guruprasad said that the agency would announce a revised launch date soon.
Chandrayaan, the word for “moon craft” in Sanskrit, is designed for a soft landing on the lunar south pole and to send a rover to explore water deposits confirmed by a previous Indian space mission. With nuclear-armed India poised to become the world’s fifth-largest economy, the ardently nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is eager to show off the country’s prowess in security and technology. If India did manage the soft landing, it would be only the fourth to do so after the US, Russia and China. The Voice of America