Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 23 September 2017
Econintersect: Here are some of the headlines we found to help you start your day. For more headlines see our afternoon feature for GEI members, What We Read Today, which has many more headlines and a number of article discussions to keep you abreast of what we have found interesting.
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U.S.
- McCain to Oppose Obamacare Repeal, Possibly Dooming GOP Effort (Bloomberg) One more Republican not voting for the latest Obamacare will doom the measure. Senator John McCain said Friday he’ll vote against the GOP-only Obamacare repeal proposal, becoming the second Republican to oppose the measure. McCain of Arizona said in a statement.:
“I cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham-Cassidy proposal. I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried.”
- Behind New Obamacare Repeal Vote: ‘Furious’ G.O.P. Donors (The New York Times) GOP senators are more concerned about their donors than their constituents.
As more than 40 subdued Republican senators lunched on Chick-fil-A at a closed-door session last week, Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado painted a dire picture for his colleagues. Campaign fund-raising was drying up, he said, because of widespread disappointment among donors over the inability of the Republican Senate to repeal the Affordable Care Act or do much of anything else.
- Trump blasts NFL anthem protesters: ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field’ (The Guardian) Donald Trump launched a sensational attack on NFL players who have kneeled in protest of the national anthem during a speech in Alabama on Friday night, challenging the league’s owners to release anyone who engages in the movement started last year by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The president spoke at a rally at Huntsville’s Von Braun Center in support of Republican senator Luther Strange, who is running in a special GOP primary election next week to remain in the Senate seat vacated by attorney general Jeff Sessions:
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!’ You know, some owner is going to do that. He’s going to say, ‘That guy that disrespects our flag, he’s fired.’ And that owner, they don’t know it [but] they’ll be the most popular person in this country.”
- Trump Weighs Replacing His Travel Ban With Tailored Restrictions (Bloomberg) President Donald Trump is weighing replacing his ban on travelers entering the U.S. from six predominantly Muslim nations with a set of more specific and tailored restrictions based, in part, on how much information countries share with the U.S.
The Department of Homeland Security has sent Trump recommendations for entry restrictions and additional visa requirements based on shortcomings in the information each country shares with the U.S. and an assessment of the risk of terrorist infiltration the nation poses, administration officials told reporters on Friday. The changes could be put in place as soon as this weekend, with a new proclamation from Trump, officials said.
Germany
- Germany’s Vote Could Impact EU Reforms (Twitter)
- Opinion Polling for German Elections (Twitter)
China
- China’s Central Bank Tells Banks to Stop Doing Business with North Korea: Sources (The Epoch Times) China‘s central bank has told banks to strictly implement United Nations sanctions against North Korea, four sources told Reuters, amid U.S. concerns that Beijing has not been tough enough over Pyongyang’s repeated nuclear tests.
Tensions between the United States and North Korea have ratcheted up after the sixth and most powerful nuclear test conducted by Pyongyang on Sept. 3 prompted the United Nations Security Council to impose further sanctions last week.
- Plastic Film Covering 12% of China’s Farmland Pollutes Soil (Bloomberg) Polyethylene sheets, used as mulch over 12% of China’s farmland, are growing in popularity because they trap moisture and heat, and prevent weeds and pests. Those features can bolster cotton, maize and wheat yields, while enabling crops to be grown across a wider area. The downside is that polypropylene film isn’t biodegradable and often not recycled. Potentially cancer-causing toxins can be released into the soil from the plastic residue, known locally as “white pollution“.
Canada
- Why Canadians shouldn’t worry about inflation – yet (McCleans) As a hot Canadian economy still shows signs of vulnerability, don’t expect interest rates to rise in the near future in spite of hints of possible inflation “if you stare hard enough at Canada’s latest price figures“.
Mexico
- Mexico City teams rush to save woman trapped in rubble days after quake (The Guardian) Rescuers tunneled through the rubble of a collapsed apartment complex, trying to reach a woman believed to be still alive in the ruins 72 hours after an earthquake rocked Mexico City. Misinformation and rumours are rife amid the destruction. In the capital city, at least 52 buildings were wrecked, while many more were deemed uninhabitable.
- Frida the rescue dog emerges as hero of Mexican earthquake (Reuters) In her career, Frida has located 12 people alive beneath the rubble plus more than 40 others dead, more than any other Mexican rescue dog, the Navy said. She has put her nose to work in disasters such as an earthquake in Ecuador last year, another one in southern Mexico two weeks ago, a landslide in Guatemala in 2015 and a Mexico City gas explosion in 2013. Frida is pictured below in her “work gear”.
