Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 29 June 2018
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, published Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 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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​Global
- Asian shares rise on last trading day of the quarter as China rebounds (CNBC) Asian stocks rose on the last trading day of the quarter, with regional markets turning higher through the session as China recovered slightly from a recent slump amid worries over trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. The dollar’s index stood at 95.288, little changed. U.S. crude futures were lower by 0.39% percent at $73.16 per barrel after touching a three and a half year high overnight. Brent crude futures were off by 0.15% at $77.73. Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,248.64 an ounce, as of 0053 GMT. It touched its weakest since Dec. 13 at $1,245.32 on Thursday.
U.S.
- House passes measure demanding DOJ documents (The Hill) See also Live coverage: Tensions mount as Rosenstein grilled by GOP. The House on Thursday passed a resolution demanding the Department of Justice (DOJ) hand over sensitive documents, in the process delivering a final warning shot to senior officials before conservatives move ahead with more aggressive action against the department.
In a 226-183 vote, lawmakers approved the messaging measure, which calls on the DOJ to turn over all of the documents House Republicans have requested related to the FBI’s handling of investigations during the 2016 presidential election.
The party-line vote, with one Republican voting present, puts the entire conference on the record in the escalating feud between the DOJ and House Republicans, who have been fighting for months for access to a trove of highly sensitive documents.
- Five highlights from the tense Wray-Rosenstein hearing (The Hill) Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday faced a fierce grilling from House Republicans amid the escalating feud between the Justice Department and allies of President Trump on Capitol Hill. By the time Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) gaveled out, it was clear the GOP was still deeply unsatisfied by the department’s response to their demands. Here are the five biggest highlights from Wednesday’s hearing:
- Rosenstein stands his ground against conservative critics
- Gowdy demands an end to the Mueller probe
- House ramps up pressure on Justice over documents
- Wray, Rosenstein defend integrity of Mueller probe
- Rosenstein pushes back on surveillance warrant criticism
- CBS News interview with ICE whistleblower interrupted by surprise visit from government agents (CBS News) In his first television interview, former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson James Schwab has opened up about why he abruptly resigned in March. But his interview with CBS News’ Jamie Yuccas on Wednesday was unexpectedly interrupted by agents identifying themselves as agents from the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General’s Office. Before the surprise visit, Schwab told Yuccas that both the Obama and Trump White Houses asked him to “spin” information. But he said he felt compelled to resign after the current administration told him to lie about an incident that pitted the government against Oakland’s mayor. Schwab accused DHS of attempted intimidation after the visit.
- Midterm turnout surges for both parties (The Hill) A surge in voter enthusiasm has prompted millions more Democrats to cast ballots in primary elections this year, a turnout explosion ahead of midterms in which motivation to vote is key to the party’s chances of reclaiming control of the House. However, Republican voters also are showing up in higher numbers than in previous midterm cycles, a sign that the GOP’s fate will be sealed not by apathetic conservatives who sit out Election Day, but by voters open to persuasion from both parties.
- Suspect in Maryland newspaper shooting identified as Jarrod Ramos (CNBC)
- The suspect in Thursday’s shooting at a Maryland newspaper was identified as Jarrod Ramos, born Dec. 21, 1979, according to three senior law enforcement officials.
- At least five were killed and several others “gravely injured” during a shooting at the offices of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, law enforcement officials said Thursday.
- “We don’t have all the information yet, and we can’t give all the information yet, because this is an active crime scene and investigation,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said
- Trump says Justice Kennedy’s replacement will come from list of 25 (CBS News) President Trump said Wednesday that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s replacement will come from a list of 25 possible nominees that was released by the White House in November. Kennedy announced his retirement Wednesday, saying he will step down effective July 31. See Judicial adviser Leonard Leo on what Trump is looking for in a Supreme Court nominee.
- Derailed Train Spills 230,000 Gallons of Crude Into Flooded Iowa River (EcoWatch) A train derailment spilled 230,000 gallons of crude oil into an already-flooded Iowa river Friday, endangering downstream drinking water, the Des Moines Register reported Sunday. Thirty-two cars of a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) train derailed, 14 of which leaked crude oil into the Rock River in Doon, Iowa. The cause of the derailment is unknown, but officials including Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds attributed it to heavy rain Wednesday and Thursday which led to flooding. Workers so far have contained nearly half the spill – around 100,000 gallons – using booms, BNSF told Reuters.
- Ex-Clinton aide: 84 percent of Americans support turning undocumented immigrants over to authorities (The Hill) Public opinion does nor square with research: See next two articles. Prominent Democratic pollster Mark Penn said on Thursday that a vast majority of Americans don’t really support so-called sanctuary cities that shield immigrants in the country illegally from deportation. Penn told Hill.TV’s “Rising”:
“I asked them, ‘Do you think notifying ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] would in fact increase crime because it would inhibit people from reporting crimes or does it decrease crimes because it takes criminals off the street,’ and they overwhelming said ‘decrease‘.”
- Is Illegal Immigration Linked to More or Less Crime? (FactCheck.org) President Donald Trump said it’s “not true” that immigrants in the U.S. illegally are “safer than the people that live in the country,” providing several crime statistics he claimed represented the “toll of illegal immigration.” Sen. Bernie Sanders made the opposite claim, saying: “I understand that the crime rate among undocumented people is actually lower than the general population.”
There are not readily available nationwide statistics on all crimes committed by immigrants in the country illegally. Researchers have provided estimates through statistical modeling or by extrapolating from smaller samples. One such study backs the president’s claim, but several others support Sanders’ statement.
- Criminal Immigrants Their Numbers, Demographics, and Countries of Origin (Cato.org) Conclusion:
Legal and illegal immigrants are less likely to be incarcerated than natives. Our numbers do not represent the total number of immigrants who can be deported under current law or the complete number of convicted immigrant criminals who are in the United States, but merely those incarcerated. This report provides numbers and demographic characteristics to better inform the public policy debate over immigration and crime.
EU
- Future of EU hinges on solving migration issue, says Merkel (The Guardian) Angela Merkel warned on Thursday that the future of the European Union hinged on whether it could find answers to the “vital questions” posed by migration, as she received muted support from some of her fellow leaders arriving for a crucial summit likely to determine whether her fraying coalition government survives. Addressing the Bundestag before heading to Brussels, the German chancellor said European leaders should find a solution to asylum challenges “by allowing ourselves to be guided by values and rooting for multilateralism rather than unilateralism“. Failure to arrive at a solution in the Brussels meeting could constitute the final effort of Merkel as German Chancellor. See also EU migration row risks aiding authoritarians, says Donald Tusk.
- European Automakers Stocks Slammed (The Daily Shot, Twitter)
France
- Trump suggested to Macron that France should leave the EU: report (The Hill) President Trump reportedly asked French President Emmanuel Macron why he does not withdraw his country from the European Union (E.U.) and suggested that the U.S. could offer France a bilateral trade deal if he did so. According to a reported column published by The Washington Post on Thursday, Trump floated the idea of France’s withdrawal from the E.U. to Macron while the French president was visiting the White House in April. {Econintersect: (1) What is a “reported column”? Was it a secret document? – (2) What constitutes bribery? Just kidding. But this does seem a little unusual.}
Turkey
- How to read Turkey’s election results (Brookings) Sunday’s election in Turkey – which saw a remarkable 87% turnout – yielded a victory for strongman Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan. This, despite a surprisingly strong opposition challenge that he had not seen before. Unless ErdoÄŸan addresses Turkey’s mounting domestic and foreign policy problems, he and his party will be vulnerable at the local elections in March 2019. To truly sustain his victory, he will need to tone down his populistic rhetoric and cooperate with a parliament that is now much more diverse.
According to unofficial results as of writing, ErdoÄŸan received 52.5 percent of the vote – an outright victory, bucking opinion polls that predicted a run-off – with opposition candidate Muharrem Ä°nce receiving 30.6 percent. However, ErdoÄŸan’s AKP (Justice and Development Party) fell short of expectations with 42.5 percent of the vote, regressing by more than 7 points since November 2015. This translates to 295 seats for the AKP in the parliament, short of the 301 needed for a majority.
Russia
- EU leaders agree to extend economic sanctions on Russia (Reuters, CNBC) European Union leaders agreed on Friday to extend their economic sanctions against Russia for annexing Crimea from Kiev and backing rebels fighting government troops in east Ukraine, an EU official said. The decision, which will be formally confirmed in the coming days, will prolong EU’s curbs on doing business with Russian banking, financial and energy sectors for six months until the end of January.
Japan
- Japan Unemployment Rate Hits 26-Year Low (The Daily Shot, Twitter)
China
- China’s Belt and Road Initiative aims to build trade infrastructure and expand Beijing’s global influence.
- As the U.S. turns increasingly protectionist, disrupted supply chains could send countries moving closer to China.
- Still, China’s globe-spanning project has faced problems, including debt overload and political risks.
Canada
- Canada to announce final tariff list, aid package for steel and aluminum workers Friday (CTV News) The federal government is set to announce Canada’s final retaliatory tariff list as well as a financial aid package for the steel and aluminum industries on Friday.
The ministers are expected to reveal which U.S. goods will be slapped with a 10 per cent surtax come July 1. These tariffs are part of the overall $16.6 billion Canadian countermeasures on imports of steel, aluminum, and other products from the Unites States. They are in response to the U.S. imposing a 25 per cent steel tariff and 10 per cent tariff on aluminum from Canada.
