OND is a 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.
The OND concept was borne under the keen keyboard of Magnifico - proper respect is due.
Current Contributers are ScottyUrb, Bentliberal, wader,Oke, rfall, JML9999 and Neon Vincent.
Editorial Note: This was an Ugly day and no apparent "Human interest" stories
BBC:Norway police: 'Eighty killed' in island shooting
Norway police: 'Eighty killed' in island shooting
At least 80 people died when a gunman opened fire at an island youth camp in Norway, hours after a bomb attack on the capital, Oslo, police say.
Police in Norway are questioning a 32- year-old Norwegian man in connection with both attacks.
The man was arrested on the tiny Utoeya island where police say he opened fire on teenagers.
The attacks are the worst Norway has seen since World War II.
BBC:Greece aid package boosts stock markets
Greece aid package boosts stock markets
Shares have risen following the eurozone's agreement designed to resolve the Greek debt crisis.
UK and French markets gained more than 1% in morning trading, before slipping slightly, with the FTSE 100 index ending up 0.6% and the Cac 0.7% higher.
Eurozone leaders agreed a new package worth 109bn euros ($155bn, £96.3bn).
Private lenders will also be asked to contribute and, as a result, the Fitch ratings agency said it would consider Greece in "restricted default".
BBC:Large Hadron Collider results excite scientists
Large Hadron Collider results excite scientists
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has picked up tantalising fluctuations which might - or might not - be hints of the sought-after Higgs boson particle.
But scientists stress caution over these "excess events", because similar wrinkles have been detected before only to disappear after further analysis.
Either way, if the sub-atomic particle exists it is running out of places to hide, says the head of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Cern), which runs the LHC.
He told BBC News the collider had now ruled out more of the "mass range" where the Higgs might be.
BBC:Somali Islamists maintain aid ban and deny famine
Somali Islamists maintain aid ban and deny famine
Somalia's al-Shabab Islamists have denied lifting their ban on some Western aid agencies and say UN reports of famine are "sheer propaganda".
The UN on Wednesday said that parts of Somalia were suffering a famine after the worst drought in 60 years.
A spokesman for al-Shabab, which has ties to al-Qaeda and controls much of the country, accused the banned groups of being political.
But the UN insists famine exists and it will continue its aid efforts.
BBC:Spain jails Basque Eta leader for 377 years
Spain jails Basque Eta leader for 377 years
A court in the Spanish capital Madrid has jailed Garikoitz Aspiazu, a former military leader of the Basque separatist group Eta, for 377 years.
Aspiazu, arrested in France in 2008 and moved to Spain in May, was convicted of a role in the attempted assassination of a mayor in 2002.
At the time of his arrest, the man who went by the alias "Txeroki" (Cherokee), was the most wanted Eta fugitive.
More than 820 deaths have been blamed on Eta over 40 years.
BBC:Venezuela's Chavez undergoes chemotherapy in Cuba
Venezuela's Chavez undergoes chemotherapy in Cuba
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says he has completed the first course of chemotherapy in Cuba.
Mr Chavez said he was now preparing for the second of various phases of the treatment.
He was previously in Cuba in June, where he had a tumour removed.
Before returning to the island for the chemotherapy on Saturday, he delegated some of his presidential powers to his ministers.
BBC:US contractor Alan Gross appeals for release in Cuba
US contractor Alan Gross appeals for release in Cuba
US contractor Alan Gross, imprisoned in Cuba for illegally distributing communications equipment, has appealed to the island's Supreme Court.
He was sentenced to 15 years in March after he was accused of setting up illegal internet connections in Cuba.
Gross, 62, says he was only trying to help Cuba's small Jewish community.
He has asked for his sentence to be dismissed. Cuba's official news agency said the court would "issue a final sentence" in the coming days.
Reuters:Leon Panetta says no "blank check" for Pentagon spending
Leon Panetta says no "blank check" for Pentagon spending
(Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta pledged on Friday the Pentagon "will not break faith" with men and women in uniform as it deals with the challenge of cutting hundreds of billions of dollars in military spending.
Acknowledging a multitude of security threats -- from cyber attackers and nuclear proliferation to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq -- Panetta told an audience at his formal swearing-in ceremony "we do not have a blank check from the American people" in dealing with the challenges.
"I really believe that we do not have to make a choice between fiscal discipline and national security," said Panetta, the former CIA director. "By setting priorities based on sound strategy, based on good policy, we can focus ... those resources we need at those threats of today and tomorrow."
With President Barack Obama and lawmakers on Capitol Hill locked in talks aimed at bringing Washington's trillion-dollar deficits under control, officials at the Pentagon are bracing for huge cuts in defense spending over the next decade.
Reuters:NATO kills 50 fighters, clears Afghan training camp
NATO kills 50 fighters, clears Afghan training camp
(Reuters) - Foreign troops and Afghan special forces killed more than 50 insurgents during an operation in the east of Afghanistan to clear a training camp the Haqqani network used for foreign fighters, NATO said on Friday.
The Haqqani network, considered one of the most dangerous militant groups fighting in Afghanistan, was responsible for several high-profile attacks, including the deadly raid on Kabul's Intercontinental hotel in June, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.
Disenfranchised insurgents told security forces where the Haqqani network camp was located in eastern Paktika province and the operation began late Wednesday and ended early Friday, the coalition said.
"The encampment site was a staging area for Haqqani and foreign fighters. These fighters were moved into the country by Haqqani insurgents who planned to use them for attacks throughout Afghanistan," ISAF said.
Reuters:With space shuttle era over, U.S. robot set for Mars
With space shuttle era over, U.S. robot set for Mars
(Reuters) - NASA moved on to a new chapter in space exploration on Friday, a day after the end of its shuttle program, by announcing details of plans to determine if Mars has or ever had the ingredients for life.
Managers at the U.S. space agency said a robotic science laboratory, being prepared for a November 25 launch, will land in August 2012 near a mountain in a crater on the planet most like Earth in the solar system.
The announcement came after the final curtain fell on NASA's 30-year-old space shuttle program with Thursday's landing of shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center.
A detailed blueprint of NASA's follow-on space exploration strategy is still pending and many Americans fear the demise of the shuttle program means the United States is relinquishing its leadership in space.
Reuters:Judge rejects Oracle damages estimate versus Google
Judge rejects Oracle damages estimate versus Google
(Reuters) - A U.S. judge rejected Oracle Corp's claim for billions of dollars in damages from Google Inc for infringing on Java patents, a day after warning both sides they had taken unreasonable positions in a patent battle over the Android mobile system.
But the judge on Friday gave Oracle a chance to come up with new figures, after saying in a testy hearing the day before that both technology giants were "asking for the moon."
Oracle sued Google last year, claiming the Internet search company's Android software infringed on Java patents that it inherited through an acquisition of Sun Microsystems in 2010.
The case is part of a wider web of litigation among phone makers and software firms over who owns the patents used in smartphones and tablets: the fastest-growing but most heavily competitive segment of technology hardware, one that Apple jump-started with the iPhone and iPad.
Reuters:U.S. delays final report on BP oil spill probe
U.S. delays final report on BP oil spill probe
(Reuters) - A U.S. team probing the causes of last year's massive BP oil spill has delayed the release of its final report in order to more fully weigh the evidence, investigators said on Friday.
The government's findings on the spill that killed 11 workers and ravaged the Gulf coast last summer has been widely anticipated by investors for clues on possible legal ramifications BP and its partners may face from the disaster.
The U.S. Coast Guard and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management was expected to release the results of their joint investigation next Wednesday, but the team said they need more time to "ensure that all evidence is properly weighed and considered."
"The team is in the final stages of completing its report and expects to release it in the near future," the investigative team said in a statement.
Reuters:Feeling the heat on debt, earnings
Feeling the heat on debt, earnings
(Reuters) - New York City may be frying in near record temperatures but Wall Street has been feeling the heat for months. Wrangling over the debt ceiling and questions marks over corporate earnings mean markets are unlikely to get a break any time soon.
Wall Street is set to close its worst three months in a year as July draws to a close next week after a roller coaster ride for markets. Whacked out fund managers hitting the beach in August may find themselves fiddling with their BlackBerrys more than the little umbrella in their cocktails.
"I need a vacation, man. After all the stuff that's happened in the last three months I'm pretty much shot, I'm getting weird, even my six-year-old looks at me," said one New Jersey-based fund manager, who was packing his bags for a destination in the Caribbean as temperatures topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit in New York City.
With euro zone leaders having reached a deal for yet another bailout for debt-laden Greece, investors will be free to chew over the rancor in Washington with even more attention.