News from the note…
A round up of the day’s news that might be of interest to you.
This is an OPEN THREAD, folks. Chat about any of the stories listed, share links to stories that caught your eye today, and generally have a good time discussing whatever you want.
Macron says Europe can’t rely on US for security
French President Emmanuel Macron told France’s overseas ambassadors gathered in Paris on Monday that Europe can “no longer rely” upon the US for its security.
“It is up to us today to take our responsibilities and guarantee our own security, and thus have European sovereignty,” Macron said.
Since his election in 2016, US President Donald Trump has been distancing himself from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, challenging a post-World War Two consensus on peace and security in Europe.
Macron said he wanted to see a complete rethink of how Europe defends itself in the future.
“I want us to launch an exhaustive review of our security with all Europe’s partners, which includes Russia,” he added.
CNN
Poll: Cruz leads O’Rourke by 1 point in Texas Senate race
Sen. Ted Cruz (R) leads his Democratic challenger, Rep. Beto O’Rourke, by just 1 point in their Texas Senate race, well within the margin of error of a new poll from Emerson College.
The survey, which was released on Monday, found that Cruz leads O’Rourke 38 to 37 percent. Four percent of voters favor a different candidate and 21 percent remain undecided.
The survey comes as O’Rourke continues to gain momentum in his quest to unseat Cruz.
While Texas has not elected a Democrat to the Senate in three decades, polls continue to show that the race between O’Rourke and Cruz will be tight. Just last week, a new NBC News–Marist survey found that Cruz led O’Rourke by 4 points. In addition, the Cook Political Report shifted the race from its “likely Republican” column to “lean Republican” earlier this month.
The Hill
Judge blocks online plans for printing untraceable 3D guns
A U.S. judge in Seattle blocked the Trump administration Monday from allowing a Texas company to post online plans for making untraceable 3D guns, agreeing with 19 states and the District of Columbia that such access to the plastic guns would pose a security risk.
The states sued to stop an agreement that the government had reached with Austin, Texas-based Defense Distributed, saying guidelines on how to print undetectable plastic guns could be acquired by felons or terrorists.
U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik extended a temporary restraining order, and his new decision will last until the case is resolved. He said Cody Wilson, owner of Defense Distributed, wanted to post the plans online so that citizens can arm themselves without having to deal with licenses, serial numbers and registrations.
AP
North Korea accuses US of ‘hatching a criminal plot to unleash a war’
North Korea’s state newspaper accused the US of “hatching a criminal plot to unleash a war against the DPRK” while “having a dialogue with a smile on its face” Sunday following a report on South Korean radio that American forces in Japan were running drills aimed at invading Pyongyang.
“We can not but take a serious note of the double-dealing attitudes of the US as it is busy staging secret drills involving man-killing special units while having a dialogue with a smile on its face,” the commentary from North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun said, citing South Korean reports that US special units had been flown to the Philippines as part of an invasion drill.
“The US would be sadly mistaken if it thinks that it can browbeat someone through trite ‘gunboat diplomacy’ which it used to employ as an almighty weapon in the past and attain its sinister intention,” it added.
CNN
US Forces Japan (USFJ) told CNN on Monday it was “not aware of the drills” mentioned in North and South Korean media reports.
Tibbetts’ father: Hispanic locals ‘Iowans with better food’
The killing of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts has prompted criticism of the U.S. immigration system because the man charged in her death is a Mexican farmworker. But the victim’s father told mourners he’s been embraced by the local Hispanic community.
Speaking Sunday afternoon to more than 1,000 people at a ceremony at his daughter’s former high school, Rob Tibbetts didn’t directly respond to comments by President Donald Trump and others who quickly seized upon the suspect’s citizenship to argue for changes in immigration laws.
However, The Des Moines Register reports that Tibbetts said he encountered Hispanics at Mexican restaurants and elsewhere who were sensitive and kind during the weeks he spent in the central Iowa community of Brooklyn to help search for his daughter.
“The Hispanic community are Iowans. They have the same values as Iowans,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, they’re Iowans with better food.”
AP
In farewell statement, McCain takes one last swing at Trump
Sen. John McCain managed one final jab at President Donald Trump on Monday, issuing a farewell statement, via a longtime aide, that offered a full-throated defense of his vision of American values alongside an implicit criticism of Trump’s.
The six-term senator from Arizona, who died Saturday, said in the statement that the U.S. is weakened by hiding “behind walls rather than [tearing] them down.” The statement was read at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix by Rick Davis, McCain’s longtime friend and adviser, who teared up as he spoke and paused multiple times to collect himself.
“We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe,” McCain said in his statement. “We weaken it when we hide behind walls rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.”
Politico
