Top News Stories for Today – Dec 26, 2018
Top News Stories for Today – Dec 26, 2018
US shut down moves no closer to resolution
The partial shutdown of the US government has moved no closer to a resolution, with President Donald Trump asserting on Tuesday the shutdown will continue until his demand for funds to construct a US-Mexico border wall are met. Trump said “I can’t tell you when the government is going to be open. I can tell you it’s not going to be open until we have a wall, a fence, whatever they’d like to call it,”.
Trump claimed the hundreds of thousands of federal workers who are furloughed due to the shutdown also want the wall, despite a lack of evidence supporting the contention. On Monday, Trump asserted Democrats “must end” the standoff while Democratic leaders in Congress blamed Trump for “plunging the country into chaos.” VOA
Tsunami death toll rises above 400 in Indonesia
At least 429 people are dead, 154 missing and more than 1,400 injured after a tsunami struck the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra on Saturday evening. The wall of water, up to 16 feet high, swept in without warning and is thought to have been caused by undetected sea floor landslides from an eruption of the Krakatoa volcano, located in the strait between the islands.
On Wednesday, Indonesian authorities warned people to stay away from the coast due to “extreme weather and high waves,” adding that the rough weather could make the volcano’s crater more fragile. Indonesia does not have a tsunami warning system, but the country’s meteorology agency said Tuesday it had developed an early warning system based on volcanic tremors. The Week
Second immigrant child dies in US custody
Another Guatemalan child has died while in the custody of US border patrol agents. Felipe Gomez Alonzo, an 8-year-old boy, passed away just after midnight Christmas Day — the same day a 7-year-old girl was laid to rest in her impoverished Guatemalan village.
The US Customs and Border Patrol service says while the boy and his father, Agustin Gomez, were in its custody Monday, agents noticed the child was showing signs of “potential illness.” Doctors at a hospital in Alamogordo, New Mexico, diagnosed Felipe with a cold and fever and released him with prescriptions. The child became nauseous and started vomiting Monday night. He was returned to the hospital where he died shortly after midnight. VOA
Podiatrist may have helped Trump avoid Vietnam war
President Trump avoided serving in the Vietnam War largely due to a 1968 diagnosis of bone spurs, two years after he had been declared fit for military service and after four education deferments. Now, the daughters of a podiatrist in Queens tell The New York Times that their late father, Dr. Larry Braunstein, often spoke of helping Trump avoid Vietnam as a favor to Trump’s father, Fred Trump, the podiatrist’s landlord.
Braunstein died in 2007 and no paper records have been found to support the claims that he diagnosed Donald Trump with nonexistent bone spurs, but his role in helping Trump avoid Vietnam “was family lore,” said daughter Dr. Elysa Braunstein, 56. “I know it was a favor.” Trump has never provided a clear explanation for his deferment. The Week
Japan to restart commercial whale hunts
Japan says it is to restart commercial whaling in July in a move that is likely to draw international criticism. It said it would withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the body tasked with whale conservation. Commercial whaling was banned by the IWC in 1986 after some species were driven almost to extinction.
Officials in Japan, an IWC member since 1951, say eating whales is part of the country’s culture. For many years Japan has hunted whales for what it calls “scientific research” and to sell the meat, a program widely criticized by conservationists. Wednesday’s announcement had been expected, but conservation groups warn the move will have serious consequences. It means Japan will be able to freely hunt species currently protected by the IWC, like minke whales. BBC