Welcome to
Overnight News Digest, where the usual crew, consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors maggiejean, wader, Man Oh Man, side pocket, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir, Bentliberal, Oke, Interceptor7, jlms qkw, and ScottyUrb, guest editors annetteboardman and Doctor RJ, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains you with tonight's news.
OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00AM Eastern Time.
From The Atlantic: Obama Takes a Victory Lap
Early in his State of the Union speech Tuesday, President Obama declared, “Tonight, we turn the page.”
Easier said than done. The economy is finally starting to look up for more than just the top earners, and American confidence is on the rise. But while the president’s ratings have gained some buoyancy too, he still doesn’t get as much credit for that as he’d like. And despite a few good political weeks, his agenda faces long odds in a Republican Congress. Turning the page, in other words, will require more than just a flick of the fingers, and the president needs Americans to remember the previous chapters well. Turning the page too quickly could sweep his old achievements out of mind.
That gave Obama’s sixth State of the Union a strange cast. While asking Americans to look forward to an agenda he knows won’t be enacted, he also took care to remind them of what has already been accomplished: an economic recovery, fiscal reform, and a revolution in energy.
From the
New York Times:
U.S. Not Expected to Fault Officer in Ferguson Case
Protesters in Ferguson on Monday. A federal civil rights investigation of the mostly white police department, serving a mainly black community, is underway.
Justice Department lawyers will recommend that no civil rights charges be brought against the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Mo., after an F.B.I. investigation found no evidence to support charges, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and his civil rights chief, Vanita Gupta, will have the final say on whether the Justice Department will close the case against the officer, Darren Wilson. But it would be unusual for them to overrule the prosecutors on the case, who are still working on a legal memo explaining their recommendation.
A decision by the Justice Department would bring an end to the politically charged investigation of Mr. Wilson in the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. The Missouri authorities concluded their investigation into Mr. Brown’s death in November and also recommended against charges.
But a broader Justice Department civil rights investigation into allegations of discriminatory traffic stops and excessive force by the Ferguson Police Department remains open. That investigation could lead to significant changes at the department, which is overwhelmingly white despite serving a city that is mostly black.
From
National Journal:
GOP Leaders Pull Abortion Bill After Revolt by Women, Moderates
Bowing to the wishes of several moderates and women members, House Republican leaders pulled a controversial antiabortion bill from consideration late Wednesday night, a move sure to enrage antiabortion activists, who will descend on Capitol Hill Thursday for their annual March for Life.
The bill will be replaced by the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, a bipartisan bill that passed the House last year and will get another vote on Thursday, the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. The change came after House Republican women and moderates battled against their leaders on the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, exhibiting the deepening rift between centrists and conservatives who are at cross-purposes on which issues the party should be highlighting.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Republican leaders were insistent they would move ahead with legislation banning abortions after 20 weeks, but the Rules Committee announced an emergency meeting Wednesday night and sources said the bill would be pulled in favor of the less controversial alternative. Some Republicans worried that the 20-week abortion measure might alienate millennials and female voters. But many female lawmakers were also furious over its clause stating that women can be exempt from the ban in cases of rape only if they reported the rape to authorities.
From the
Boston Globe:
NFL finds that Patriots used underinflated footballs
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has a ball tossed to him as he warms up before the AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in Foxborough, Mass.
The Patriots used underinflated footballs on Sunday night.
The next question is how did it happen?
According to a National Football League letter about the investigation into the controversy that was shared with the Globe, the Patriots were informed that the league’s initial findings indicated that the game balls did not meet specifications. The league inspected each of the Patriots’ 12 game balls twice at halftime, using different pressure gauges, and found footballs that were not properly inflated.
According to ESPN, 11 of the 12 game balls were found to be underinflated by about 2 pounds each. The NFL specifications say they must be inflated to 12½ to 13½ pounds.
The investigation is still ongoing.
From the
San Francisco Chronicle:
Disneyland measles outbreak spreads to Bay Area
A large outbreak of measles that started at two adjacent Disney theme parks in December has now sickened people all over California, including a handful of Bay Area residents, and is prompting public health authorities to urge everyone to get vaccinated if they aren’t already.
California has reported 59 cases of measles since mid-December, the bulk of them in people who either visited or had close contact with someone who had been to Disneyland or California Adventure Park in Anaheim, public health officials said in a media conference call Wednesday. Seven measles cases have been reported in the Bay Area: in Alameda, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
Most of the people who have become infected were unvaccinated. Because of the threat of infection, public health officials said people who aren’t vaccinated — either because they can’t get the vaccine or they choose not to — should avoid public places where large groups of people, especially international travelers who may carry measles, congregate.
“We can expect to see many more cases of this vaccine-preventable disease unless people take precautionary measures,” said Dr. Gil Chavez, deputy director of the Center for Infectious Diseases with the California Department of Public Health. “I am asking unvaccinated Californians to consider getting immunized to protect themselves and family and community at large.”
From
CNN:
Yemen chaos threatens White House anti-terror campaign
A pillar of President Barack Obama's global anti-terrorism strategy is in peril as sectarian chaos consumes Yemen, a vital U.S. ally where chronic instability allows the deadliest surviving al Qaeda franchise to flourish.
Iran-backed rebels of the Shiite Houthi sect sparked alarm in Washington after seizing a presidential palace in the volatile Sunni-majority nation, in what officials called a coup.
There are now signs that the rebels -- which have been resistant to American anti-terror efforts despite a common antipathy to al Qaeda -- and the U.S.-backed government of President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi have agreed a deal to end the crisis. But the situation remains volatile and a reminder of how the intricate, shifting and treacherous tribal and sectarian divides of the Middle East often confound U.S. efforts to frame coherent anti-terror policy.
From
BBC News:
Windows 10 to be free and get 'holographic' headset
Microsoft has revealed that Windows 10 will bring its voice-controlled assistant Cortana to PCs.
It also unveiled a headset that it said would one day project the operating system over views of the real world. In addition, the firm announced that the OS upgrade would be offered free of charge for devices running Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Phone. The offer, which is limited to the Windows 10's first year of release, may aid its adoption.
It marks a change in strategy from Microsoft's previous policy of charging for major updates, and could help avoid a repeat of the relatively slow uptake of Windows 8.
From
The Hill:
Senate votes that climate change is real
The Senate on Wednesday voted that “climate change is real and is not a hoax” as Democrats used the Keystone XL pipeline debate to force votes on the politically charged issue ahead of the 2016 elections. The “hoax” amendment to the pipeline bill from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) passed 98-1, with only Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the chairman of the Senate Republican campaign arm, voting “no.”
In a surprise, the Senate’s leading skeptic of climate science, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), voted in favor of the amendment — but made clear he doesn’t believe humans are the primary driver of climate change.
The GOP “yes” votes also included three of the GOP’s leading contenders for the White House: Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas), Rand Paul (Ky.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.).
Republicans backed Inhofe’s stance in a second vote, rejecting an amendment from Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) that stated, “climate change is real and human activity significantly contributes to climate change.” The “significantly” in the provision is what many Republicans pointed to as a point of contention as they blocked the amendment in a 50-49 vote, short of the 60 that was needed for approval.
From
NBC News:
U.S. and Cuba Sit Down For Historic Talks on Restoring Ties
The highest-ranking U.S. diplomat to travel to Cuba in nearly 40 years boarded a commercial flight Wednesday morning from Miami — ahead of negotiations to re-establish diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Roberta Jacobson, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, is leading the delegation in Havana and will be focusing on President Barack Obama's initiative to open respective embassies in both capitals. In addition, the talks through Friday would set the stage in the next few months for a trip by Secretary of State John Kerry.
The agreements would ultimately lift trade and economic sanctions after decades of Cold War-era hostilities between the U.S. and Cuba. Both countries are envisioning regularly scheduled commercial flights, banking and credit, mail service and expanded travel, officials have said. The White House also hopes that Cuba will permit Internet companies to create service accessible across the island.
From
The Guardian:
Anti-Islamization leader steps down amid uproar over Hitler selfie
Pegida leader Lutz Bachmann deleted his Facebook profile after this picture of him styled as Adolf Hitler was unearthed.
The head of the German anti-Islamisation movement Pegida has stepped down after a picture of him posing as Adolf Hitler went viral. Lutz Bachmann, 41, a butcher’s son from Dresden and co-founder of the organisation, was seen as Pegida’s figurehead and his resignation throws the future of the group into doubt.
The picture of Bachmann posing as Hitler after a session at his hairdresser, complete with a Hitler hairstyle dyed black and parted on the right and a toothbrush moustache, went viral on Wednesday after it was published by , a local newspaper, the Dresden Morgenpost.
Pegida’s popularity has led to widespread fears that Germany is in the grip of a new breed of far-right ideologues, and the picture raised questions about the group’s allegiance to the far-right scene. The image, which had appeared on Bachmann’s Facebook page, was accompanied by the line: “He’s Back,” after Timur Vermes’ best-selling 2012 satirical novel of the same name about Hitler.
From
CNN Money:
Oil's influence on stocks is 'not normal'
Oil and stocks have lately been in a sort of seduction dance, moving closer and closer. Last week, it got so heated that oil and stocks were moving almost in sync. "This is not normal. This is not fundamentals," says Michael Block of Rhino Trading. All you had to do was look to see if oil is falling. If so, stocks would likely start sliding too.
It hasn't always been this way.
In fact, in the past few years the correlation between stocks and oil prices was a mere 20% or so, Block says. In other words, the two didn't move together very often.
From the
San Jose Mercury News:
eBay to shed 2,400 jobs, may split into three companies
In developments that raise intriguing questions about the future of eBay as it prepares to spin off PayPal, the e-commerce behemoth announced Wednesday that its breakup will mean 2,400 layoffs, or 7 percent of its workforce, and that it may calve a third company in the process.
The announcements came on the same day the company announced quarterly earnings that met Wall Street's expectations, but its forecasts for the current quarter missed what analysts who follow the company had been anticipating. After investors took in all the day's news they goosed eBay shares up 2.6 percent in after-hours trading.
On top of that, CEO John Donahoe spent a lot of time during a call with analysts talking about how much the company had struggled to bounce back from a cyberattack in May that forced all users to reset their passwords. The core auction site that eBay runs has not recovered, Donahoe said, adding that the company has also been hammered by changes in search engines that have led fewer shoppers to eBay.
"eBay's loyal customers are back," Donohoe said, "but our more occasional customers have not returned."
From
NPR:
California Prisons Aim To Keep Sex Between Inmates Safe, If Illegal
There's an inconspicuous metal box mounted on the wall of the gym at San Francisco County Jail No. 4.
When Kate Monico Klein turns a knob, the machine releases a condom in a small cardboard packet. Machines like this one — dispensing free condoms — are installed in all of the county's male jails.
"We set [the machine] off to the side, so that people would have a minor amount of privacy," explains Monico Klein, director of HIV services for Jail Health, a division of the county's health department.
San Francisco has been distributing condoms to inmates in county jails for decades, but a new California law requires condoms to be made available to all state prisoners. California is the second state after Vermont to do so, even though sex between prisoners is unlawful here.
From
ABC News:
Dramatic 911 Call Tells How Mom Found Stabbing Victim
The harrowing 911 call recording has been released detailing the dramatic moments in which the mother of a teenage girl grapples with the discovery that her daughter's boyfriend allegedly stabbed another boy.
The South Carolina mother is heard frantically telling a 911 dispatcher how she is trying to reassure the bloodied victim, identified by police as Lucas Cavanaugh, while she still fears that the attacker is in her house.
"He's in the house, he's somewhere. He's my daughter's boyfriend," the woman says on the recording, released by authorities on Tuesday. She identified herself to police and gave the dispatcher the address of her home, outside of which the stabbing allegedly happened. ABC News is choosing not to release that information.
"He's got a pulse and he is breathing but he's completely unconscious," the woman says. "He has been stabbed right in his stomach."
From
CBS News:
Newtown to tear down home of Sandy Hook shooter
Officials in Newtown voted Wednesday night to tear down the home where Adam Lanza lived before he carried out the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The vote by the Newtown Legislative Council approved a proposal by the board of selectmen to raze the 3,100-square-foot home and keep the land as open space.
First Selectwoman Pat Llodra said she expects the Lanza house will be razed once winter is over. The 2-acre property was given to the town in December by a bank that acquired it from the Lanza family.
Neighbors had been pleading with town officials to tear down the house of the mass murderer, with one resident saying it's "a constant reminder of the evil that resided there."
From
CNN International:
With time ticking on hostages, Japan wants to communicate with ISIS
Japanese officials want to talk to ISIS. But can they get in touch with the militant group? And if they do, can they do anything to save the lives of two Japanese men being held hostage?
Time is running out: ISIS put out a video Tuesday giving the Japanese government 72 hours to pay $200 million, or else Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa -- like other ISIS captives before them -- will be killed. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday that his government estimates the deadline will come at 2:50 p.m. Friday, Tokyo time (12:50 a.m. ET).
Until then, he said, Japanese officials are trying to save them. Suga said his government will do its utmost to communicate with ISIS on the fate of Goto and Yukawa through a third party, such as another nation's government or a local tribe. He didn't say whether Japan would be willing to pay any ransom.
Absent such a private back-and-forth, the Japanese official voiced his government's stance publicly, including its defense of a proposed aid package, also tabbed at $200 million, to help those who are "contending" with ISIS, according to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe has defended the aid package as needed to build up "human capacities, infrastructure and so on," yet ISIS denounced it anyway in its recent video.
From
Deadline:
State Of The Union Viewership Falls To 31.7M
More viewers turned to CBS to hear President Obama’s State of the Union Address than any other TV network. CBS’ crowd of 7.57 million viewers beat Fox News Channel (3.47 million) and CNN (2.56 mil) combined.
A total crowd of 31.7 million watched Obama’s speech across 13 networks – about 1.6 million shy of last year’s address. Nielsen says this year’s network tally includes ABC, Al Jazeera America, Azteca, CBS, CNN, Fox, Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel, Galavision, MSNBC, MundoFox and NBC live, and Univision on tape delay.
Following CBS, NBC logged a second-best average of 6.25 million viewers for the speech, followed by ABC’s 5.59 million. Fox News Channel fell in line behind ABC, with Fox broadcast network not far behind at 2.92 million. CNN followed, ahead of MSNBC’s 1.99 mil.
From
Zap2it:
Who wore it better: Michelle Obama or 'The Good Wife's' Alicia Florrick?
Did Michelle Obama's State of the Union dress look familiar? That's because Juliana Margulies wore the same exact Michael Kors dress on "The Good Wife."
Many fashion bloggers picked up on the similar look, but most surprised was maybe "The Good Wife" costume designer Daniel Lawson. "I thought it was exciting and it was nice that Michelle Obama was wearing a suit that I had identified as putting across a feminine but strong powerful business woman feel, so it was kind of great to see that," Lawson says to Entertainment Tonight. "You can't help but look at the face with that suit so I thought it was very clever styling on [her styling team's] part."
Lawson goes on to say that he doesn't know for sure if the First Lady actually checks "The Good Wife" for fashion ideas. It would make a lot of sense if she did though. Michelle Obama and Alicia have a lot in common. They're both professional business women, juggling mother roles and import political positions -- and they're both from Chicago.
From
Billboard:
Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars Top Hot 100, Maroon 5 Debuts at No. 8
Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk!," featuring Bruno Mars, leads the Billboard Hot 100 for a third week. Meanwhile, Taylor Swift's newest fan -- in blue -- sparks a resurgence for "Shake It Off" and Maroon 5 blasts in at No. 8 with its new single "Sugar" following the premiere of its video.
As we do each Wednesday, let's look at the key numbers throughout the top 10 on the sales/airplay/streaming-based Hot 100.
"Funk!," released on RCA Records, spends a fourth week atop Digital Songs with 400,000 downloads sold (up 17 percent) in the week ending Jan. 18, according to Nielsen Music, and nets the Hot 100's top Digital Gainer award. It also leads the subscription services-based On-Demand Songs chart for a second week with 5.3 million U.S. streams (up 14 percent). "Funk" retreats 1-2 on Streaming Songs despite a 28 percent gain to 14.9 million, while on Radio Songs, it flies 6-2 with a 31 percent burst to 135 million in all-format audience, good for top Airplay Gainer honors on the Hot 100, as well.
From
/Film:
See New Footage From ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 5, Which Returns February 8
Fans are eagerly awaiting the return of The Walking Dead on February 8 and AMC is happy to give them a little taste of the upcoming season. The channel has revealed a new Walking Dead “trailer,” which is really just a 30 second TV spot, teasing some of the violence and action fans have come to expect from the hit show. There are some cool images here and, as you’d expect, not a lot of hope for Rick, Daryl, Glenn, Carol and the rest of the group.
From
Deadline:
Simon Pegg Co-Writing ‘Star Trek 3′ With Doug Jung
Simon Pegg has been set to co-write Star Trek 3, the film that just got Fast & Furious director Justin Lin aboard after Roberto Orci exited the helmer chair. He will co-write the script with Doug Jung, creator of the TNT series Dark Blue. Pegg’s already a pivotal player in the JJ Abrams-produced Paramount/Skydance pic; he also will reprise his role as Scotty, the engineering wiz originated by James Doohan in the original 1960s Gene Roddenberry series. Don’t be surprised if Scotty beams up further on the call sheet. Jung also wrote for Bad Robot and Paramount a film called Diamond, which is how he got the gig. They are just getting underway.
Pegg certainly has the writing credits to back him up for such a job. With Edgar Wright, he’s scripted the Wright-directed Cornetto trilogy consisting of Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End, as well as Run Fatboy Run.
From
The Hollywood Reporter:
Jennifer Aniston Reveals Struggles With Dyslexia, Anger; Shrugs Off Oscar Snub
Just last week, all around Hollywood the words "Jennifer Aniston" and "Oscar nomination" were being mentioned in the same breath. The Friends star had made a stunning switch to serious drama with Cake, a roughly $7 million indie release that opens Jan. 23; the movie had debuted at the Toronto Film Festival to terrific reviews for the actress, if not for the film itself; she had Harvey Weinstein's former awards consultant, Lisa Taback, on the case; and a nomination looked teed up and ready to go.
Then on Thursday, Jan. 15, at 5:40 a.m., the rug was pulled out from under the movie. Hours after Aniston's triumphant appearance at Cake's Los Angeles premiere, with a nomination from every other major voting body in Hollywood under her belt, a swirl of "SNUBBED!" headlines emerged when the best actress nominations were announced and they didn't include the star. After Selma (which landed just two noms, for picture and song), the Aniston rebuke was the dominant entertainment story du jour.
"I know a lot of people were sorry," she says, speaking the day after the nominations. "I feel I've gotten such wonderful love — I had almost more phone calls and flowers than I did for any other nomination [in the past]."
From
Cinema Blend:
How George Lucas' Star Wars 7 Ideas Were Used By Disney
The short answer: they weren’t…at all. Now, here’s the long version.
It was revealed in a recent interview that George Lucas, the father of the Star Wars movies, had originally planned to make Star Wars: Episode 7 before Disney purchased Lucasfilm. He even began developing some ideas for the next installment, which he passed along to Disney. As it turns out, though, the Mouse House and J.J. Abrams didn’t use Lucas’ treatment ideas for the current script.
I had the chance to speak with Lucas for his upcoming film, an animated musical called Strange Magic, and asked about any details he could offer on the ideas he was tossing around. In response, he revealed this tidbit:
The ones that I sold to Disney, they came up to the decision that they didn't really want to do those. So they made up their own. So it's not the ones that I originally wrote [on screen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens]
From
USA Today:
David Duchovny is onboard for 'X-Files' reboot
David Duchovny says he's ready to slip back into character as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder for a reprisal of The X-Files in a limited run.
Duchovny tells USA TODAY he's "more than happy and excited to bring it back and do it again with (co-star) Gillian (Anderson) and (series creator) Chris (Carter)."
Fox officials just confirmed to TV critics in California that the network wants to reboot the cult supernatural series.
Fox Television Group Chairmen-CEOs Dana Walden and Gary Newman said they were in early talks with Carter. On Tuesday, Duchovny, 54, said, "I'm assuming that it will happen sooner rather than later now. We'll see what form, how many (episodes). Certainly I can't nor would I be interested in doing a full season. It will be in some kind of limited form. We're all old, we don't have the energy for a full season," he said with a laugh.
From
Cosmo:
The #1 Reason No One Wants to be a Bridesmaid
You've seen enough rom-coms to know that being a bridesmaid mostly sucks. Elite Daily figured out why by actually adding up the expenses of being a participant in someone else's big day. They included the figures for a groomsman too but of course, if you're a guy, it's less costly. But still! Ah!
On average, bridesmaids will spend up to $1,800 on a friend's wedding. Yes, $1,800! Groomsmen will spend closer to $1,000 ... The cost of dealing with a bachelorette party alone is vom-inducing, let alone the price of accessories and makeup. In fact, in 2013, around 10 percent of bridesmaids actually went into debt after participating in wedding festivities. Just last year, Daily Mail reported that 11 percent of women weren't even friends anymore after one of them was a bridesmaid for the other. The fallouts were due to wedding costs.