Top Stories Today – July 16, 2019
Top Stories Today – July 16, 2019
4 Congress women slam Trump’s remarks
Defiant in the face of widespread censure, President Donald Trump escalated his demand for four Democratic congresswomen of color to leave the US “right now,” stoking the discord that helped send him to the White House and claiming “many people agree with me.” At the Capitol, the four lawmakers fired back, condemning what they called “xenophobic bigoted remarks” and renewing calls for Democrats to begin impeachment proceedings.
Trump had called on the four to “go back” to their “broken and crime-infested” countries in tweets that have been widely denounced as racist . His remarks were directed at Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. All are American citizens, and three of the four were born in the US. The Associated Press
EU slaps sanctions on Turkey
European Union foreign ministers on Monday turned up the pressure on Turkey after approving an initial batch of sanctions against the country over its drilling for gas in waters where EU member Cyprus has exclusive economic rights. The ministers said in a statement that in light of Turkey’s “continued and new illegal drilling activities,” they were suspending talks on an air transport agreement and would call on the European Investment Bank to “review” it’s lending to the country. They also backed a proposal by the EU’s executive branch to reduce financial assistance to Turkey for next year. The ministers warned that additional “targeted measures” were being worked on to penalize Turkey, which started negotiations to join the EU in 2005.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu issued his own warning last week that his country would step up drilling activities off Cyprus if the EU moved ahead with sanctions. Two Turkish vessels escorted by warships are drilling for gas on either end of ethnically divided Cyprus. Turkey doesn’t recognize Cyprus as a state and claims 44% of Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone as its own, according to Cyprus government officials. Turkish Cypriots in the east Mediterranean island nation’s breakaway north claim another 25%. The Voice of America
What polls show race relations in Trump era
In Pew’s poll, fully 84% of Democrats said Trump has worsened race relations, while only about 2 in 10 Republicans agreed. About a third of Republicans said Trump has made progress toward improving race relations, while a quarter said he has tried but failed. Majorities of Americans who are black, Hispanic and Asian said Trump has made race relations worse, compared with about half of white Americans. Among white Americans, views diverged by education — 64% of whites with a college degree think Trump has worsened race relations, compared with 41% of those without.
Eighty-two percent of Republicans feel that too many people are easily offended over language today, according to a poll conducted in May by Pew Research Center , compared with about half as many Democrats who said the same. A majority of Democrats said people need to be more careful with their language. Since Trump’s election, most Americans think it has become more common for people to express racist views, and 45% said it has become more acceptable as well, according to Pew’s February poll. Majorities of Democrats said it has become both more common and more acceptable. Among Republicans, 42% said it has become more common and 22% said it has become more acceptable. Throughout his presidency, Trump has stoked racial and ethnic division building on his campaign promise to secure the border and country. The Associated Press
Facebook’s new currency plan under scrutiny
Facebook’s ambitious plan to create a financial eco-system based on a digital currency faces questions from lawmakers, as it’s shadowed by negative comments from President Donald Trump, his treasury secretary and the head of the Federal Reserve. Congress begins two days of hearings Tuesday on the currency planned by Facebook, to be called Libra, starting with the Senate Banking Committee. Meanwhile, a House Judiciary subcommittee will extend its bipartisan investigation of the market power of Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple.
Trump tweeted last week that the new currency, Libra, “will have little standing or dependability.” Both Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Fed Chair Jerome Powell have expressed serious concerns recently that Libra could be used for illicit activity. The Associated Press
Philippines threatens to cut ties with Iceland
President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines is considering cutting diplomatic ties with Iceland for leading a push to have the United Nations Human Rights Council investigate his brutal anti-drug crackdown. The measure, approved last Thursday by a vote of 18-14, cites extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and disappearances at the hands of police since Duterte launched his campaign in 2016. Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters in Manila late Monday that the resolution showed “how the western powers are scornful of our sovereign exercise of protecting our people.”
Duterte has reacted angrily at any criticism from the international community of his bloody anti-drug crackdown. He withdrew the Philippines from the International Criminal Court earlier this year after prosecutors at the Hague-based tribunal announced last year that it had opened a preliminary examination of crimes against humanity in connection with the campaign. Duterte’s administration says about 6,600 people have been killed by police in shootouts with drug dealers. But local activists have claimed some 27,000 people have been killed as police terrorize poor communities, using cursory drug “watch lists” to identify users or dealers. The Voice of America
Floods in South Asia killed more than 100
More than 100 people have been killed and millions more affected by devastating floods and landslides across parts of south Asia. Heavy monsoon rains over the past week have left many dead in Nepal and Bangladesh, and submerged vast areas of north-east India.
About 4.3 million people in Assam have been affected by flooding, while 83,000 have been forced to seek shelter in relief camps on higher ground. Television footage in India showed people wading waist-high through flooded roads and elderly people being carried to safety by rescue teams. In Bihar, east India, a further 2.56 million people were hit by flash floods, with many homes quickly submerged in brown water. The Guardian
Trump administration enforcing new abortion restrictions
The Trump administration on Monday said taxpayer-funded family planning clinics can no longer refer women for abortions. The Health and Human Services Department also told clinics that they must maintain separate finances from facilities that provide abortions. Every year, about four million low-income women are able to receive family planning and preventative health services through the Title X program, which provides $260 million worth of grants to independent clinics.
Under federal law, taxpayer funds cannot be used to pay for abortions. Many of these clinics are operated by Planned Parenthood, and President Leana Wen said the organization is hoping to get the regulations overturned in federal court. The Associated Press via The Week