Thank you Eddie C for the photo of the Imagine tribute to John Lennon.
Welcome to the Overnight News Digest, aka OND. The Overnight News Digest crew consists of founder Magnifico, regular editors jlms qkw, Bentliberal, wader, Oke, rfall, and JML9999 and Neon Vincent. Alumni editors are palantir and ScottyUrb and guest editors are maggiejean and annetteboardman. The editor-in-chief, aka head honcho or main cat herder, is Neon Vincent.
US NEWS
Petaluma welcomes Little Leaguers home
Santa Rosa Press Democrat
A wildly cheering crowd estimated at 1,500 welcomed the Petaluma National Little League team back home Monday afternoon after an amazing 27-day run that took them to the Little League World Series.
Five Petaluma police motorcycles with lights flashing led the procession to the Petaluma fairgrounds, where the players and coaches exited a 32-foot-long white Hummer limousine.
The boys, wearing their green and yellow jerseys and caps, walked down a red carpet at the fairgrounds flanked by the adoring crowd of youngsters, parents and grandparents.
“You guys are the bomb,” player Danny Marzo yelled into the microphone after the team was introduced on stage.
California earthquake swarms leave residents on edge
LA Times
Residents in the Imperial County town of Brawley were continuing to assess damage caused by an "earthquake storm" still rumbling underneath the region that has forced school closures and displaced several residents.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, after a series of milder quakes, a magnitude 3.8 temblor hit at 10:02 a.m. Sunday about three miles northwest of Brawley, a 25,000-person city nestled between the San Andreas and Imperial faults. More than 400 quakes have followed, stretching into Monday morning.
The vast majority of the quakes measured under 3.0, but two topped 5.0, according to USGS data. A 5.3-magnitude temblor hit about 12:30 p.m. Sunday; a 5.5 quake followed about 90 minutes later.
Los Angeles bus and train crash injures dozens
BBC
A Los Angeles public transit bus hit a street-level Metro train at about 07:00 (14:00 GMT), and then crashed into light poles, officials said.
Video footage showed several people being carried to ambulances, but officials said none of the injuries were considered life-threatening.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Tropical Storm Isaac: New warning for Louisiana
BBC
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that at 14:00 EST (18:00 GMT) on Monday, Isaac was centred about 280 miles (450km) south-east of the mouth of the Mississippi river, with wind speeds of 65 mph (100km/h). It could reach hurricane force in the following 24 hours, the NHC said.
Fed by the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, it is expected to strengthen to a category one hurricane with winds of 74 mph (119km/h), and make landfall on Tuesday or early Wednesday, somewhere between Florida and Louisiana.
Wednesday is the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans as a category three storm after quickly strengthening in the Gulf to a category five.
Pennsylvania GOP Senate Candidate: Getting Pregnant From Rape Is ‘Similar’ To Having A Baby Out Of Wedlock
Think Progress
Tom Smith, the Republican challenging Sen. Bob Casey’s (D-PA) seat, suggested that having a child out of wedlock was analogous to rape during an interview with a reporter at a press club this afternoon, claiming that it would have a “similar” effect on a father:
Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron to run Oscar show
BBC
Chicago producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are to mastermind the 2013 Oscars ceremony, organisers have announced.
The pair were executive producers on the 2002 hit musical, which picked up six Oscars including best picture.
They were also producers of 2007 films Hairspray and The Bucket List and are currently the executive producers of US TV series Smash.
Academy president Hawk Koch described them as "forward thinkers who bring a unique perspective to the Oscar show".
"Their enormous collective talent, coupled with their love of film, serves our show perfectly," he said.
Maryland High School Shooting: Police don't believe shooter targeted victim
CBS News
Ba(CBS/WJZ/AP) PERRY HALL, Md. - A 15-year-old student opened fire on the first day of classes Monday at a Baltimore County high school, getting off two shots and wounding a classmate before being subdued by teachers, authorities said.
ltimore County Police Chief James Johnson said at a news conference that officers do not believe the victim, a 17-year-old male, was targeted by the shooter, a 15-year-old who is also a student at Perry Hall High School.
A male suspect was taken into custody after the shooting, and police have the weapon, although police would not say what kind of gun it was.
Military Terror Plot: Murder Case Uncovers Terror Plot By 'Militia' Within U.S. Military
Huffington Post
LUDOWICI, Ga. — Four Army soldiers based in southeast Georgia killed a former comrade and his girlfriend to protect an anarchist militia group they formed that stockpiled assault weapons and plotted a range of anti-government attacks, prosecutors told a judge Monday.
Prosecutors in rural Long County, near the sprawling Army post Fort Stewart, said the militia group of active and former U.S. military members spent at least $87,000 buying guns and bomb components. They allege the group was serious enough to kill two people – former soldier Michael Roark and his 17-year-old girlfriend, Tiffany York – by shooting them in the woods last December in order to keep its plans secret.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Haitian migrant boat runs aground off the Bahamas
BBC
The boat grounded on Saturday near Mangrove Cay, Andros Island, in heavy seas caused by Tropical Storm Isaac.
Officials have ordered a search of the nearby waters as they fear more migrants may have been on board and could have drowned.
In June, 11 Haitians died when their boat capsized off the Bahamas.
The survivors told officials at least 170 people had been aboard the boat.
They said they had left Cap-Haitien, in Haiti, on 18 August.
Doctors said the migrants were in good health, except for some who showed signs of dehydration.
It is not clear whether they were heading to the Bahamans or if their final destination was the United States.
South Africa's Marikana mine closed by 'intimidation'
BBC
Miners are being intimidated into staying away from work at the South African mine where 34 people were recently shot dead by police, the owners say.
Lonmin says just 13% of workers have reported for duty on Monday and says miners have been threatened.
Hundreds of miners have reportedly gathered outside the mine, amid a heavy police presence.
Leaders of the ruling ANC are expected to discuss the deaths.
The ANC has been criticised for the way the matter was handled, and President Jacob Zuma is expected to face tough questions at the closed-door meeting.
Forest fires continue to rage across Balkans
AlJazeera English
Fires continued to rage in parts of Serbia, neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Macedonia, sweeping through forest and farmland dried to a crisp by temperatures that have soared above 40 degrees Celcius.
The Balkans region is experiencing a 15-day heat wave with extremely high temperatures and the worst drought in 50 years.
Al Jazeera's Marin Versic, reporting from Rujiste, just outside Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said the landmines in the area, left over from the fighting of the 1990s, were "posing considerable problems for firefighters".
"The firefighters have great problems reaching the fire. The only solution for this kind of situation is to fight the fire from the air," he said on Monday.
Locals were doing their best to help the army, but strong southeastern winds were fanning the flames.
The situation was particularly critical in the area around the coastal town of Split in Croatia, where the fire was approaching residential areas, our correspondent said.
India PM rejects coal scandal accusations
AlJazeera English
Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister, has dismissed accusations that his country lost vast amounts of money in a coal scandal, calling the charges baseless in a Twitter message.
Singh, who was in charge of the coal ministry from 2004 to 2009, defended himself on Monday after earlier being shouted down by opposition politicians in parliament.
Parliament has been virtually paralysed since the national auditor released a report two weeks ago saying the sale of coal blocks without competitive bidding was expected to net private companies windfall profits of up to $34bn.
The main opposition has demanded Singh's resignation.
"The prime minister must resign" members of the Bharatiya Janata Party shouted, drowning out Singh who had stood up in parliament to make a statement defending his government.
Singh's office instead posted his defence on his official handle on Twitter, the microblogging site.
"I wish to say that any allegations of impropriety are without basis and unsupported by the facts," Singh's office tweeted, adding that the auditor's observations were "clearly disputable".
Speaking outside parliament, Singh told reporters: "Let the country judge where the truth lies."
Cholera: West Africa's recurring nightmare
AlJazeera English
West Africa is facing its worst cholera outbreak in years. The water-borne disease, which causes severe vomiting and diarrhoea, is spreading through coastal slums with more than 20,000 cases this year.
"It [cholera] is a disease of poverty. Whenever you get overcrowding and unhygienic conditions there's going to be the risk of cholera, and that's what we're seeing in Sierra Leone."
- Huw Taylor, a professor of microbial ecology
Guinea and Ghana are among the affected countries, where up to 300 people have died. In Guinea, cholera has infected more than 2,700 people, with 5,600 more infected in Ghana.
But the worst affected is Sierra Leone. UNICEF says there are more than 11,000 cases, most of them in the capital city Freetown, where poor sanitation and dirty water in slum areas has contributed to the spread of the disease.
The death toll continues to rise and aid agencies are scrambling to treat thousands of patients, fearing the worst is yet to come.
The World Health Organisation estimates that the number of cases in the country could reach 32,000.
"We and the ministry of health and all the other actors are doing their very best but I have to say that the needs are large, not just in Freetown but outside of Freetown as well. And the needs are very big and we do need more support," says Anne Maithe, the Medicins Sans Frontieres coordinator in charge of the cholera operations in Sierra Leone.
The Sierra Leone government has declared the cholera outbreak a national emergency.
TECH NEWS
Twitter renews privacy fight in Occupy Wall Street case
CNET
Twitter today renewed its privacy defense of a user accused of disorderly conduct during an Occupy Wall Street protest last October, telling a New York appeals court that police failed to comply with the U.S. Constitution's safeguards when trying to access his account.
A lower court's ruling in June that user "tweets are unprotected by the Federal and New York Constitutions is still erroneous," Twitter said in a brief (PDF) filed this morning.
Prosecutors want Twitter to turn over "any and all user information, including e-mail address, as well as any and all tweets" -- that's language from two subpoenas sent by the district attorney's office -- posted by an activist named Malcolm Harris.
How to load up on apps for back-to-school season
CNET
The new school year can be hectic enough.
So I figured that I would round up some useful smartphone apps for students trying to survive their first few days back at school. While I assume this column will be read by college students starting a new semester or quarter, I can only imagine younger kids and parents can find some use in this as well.
Given the increase in smartphone use across all ages, I wouldn't be surprised. Fortunately, much of the advice applies to everyone.
Some of these may be obvious, but hopefully not all of them are.
The first one, however, is fairly obvious. If you don't have Evernote, you should download it now. The app is a fantastic tool for anyone who buries their head in one electronic gadget or another.
Get a $500 Mac software bundle for $50.00
CNET
My take: there's a lot of worthwhile stuff here. Data Recovery Guru alone might be worth the price of admission if you have lost files you need to recover, either now or in the future. And iTaskX is widely regarded as a top project-management tool, offering Microsoft Project compatibility for businesses large and small.
For a mere $50, you're saving big on either of those programs -- and getting a wealth of additional apps out of the deal.
The Mac Hype Bundle will be available for the next nine days. Cult of Mac doesn't specify compatibility for each of the apps, so it's up to you to make sure they'll work with your installed version of Mac OS. Also, the bundle is sold as-is, without a refund option, so do your homework before buying.
That said, this looks like a pretty killer deal, especially for Mac users frustrated by a lack of good software deals. This works out to about $4.50 per program, a price that won't break anybody's bank.
ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS
New Genitalia-Headed Fish Is Evolutionary Mystery
National Geographic Daily News
How's this for a head turner? A tiny new species of fish from Vietnam sports its genitalia on its noggin.
Phallostethus cuulong is only the 22nd known species of its family, Phallostethidae, all of which bear their copulatory organs just behind their mouths.
As with all Phallostethus—"penis chest" in Greek—species, the male uses its bony "priapium" to clasp a female while he inserts sperm into her urogenital opening, also located on the head, said Lynne Parenti, curator of fishes at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
Parenti remembers seeing another species of priapiumfish mate at a lab in Singapore. Attached at the head and together forming a v, the fish "looked like a little pair of scissors, darting around the tank together," she said.
For many fish, such as guppies, mating is almost instantaneous, but priapiumfish "actually couple, staying together for a remarkable period of time," she noted.
One of three curbs on environmental review goes to Gov. Jerry Brown
LA Times
Two proposals for sweeping changes to California's environmental-protection laws stalled in the Legislature last week, but a third measure, much more narrowly crafted, was approved and sent to Gov. Jerry Brown.
Lawmakers approved AB 2245, which would exempt hundreds of miles of proposed bikeways from the California Environmental Quality Act.
The bill was introduced to help the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which plans to add 832 miles of new bike lanes in the coming years and would benefit from streamlining the environmental-review process.
Record drought sends cattle hoofin’ East
grist
Lifelong Wyoming rancher Neil Forgey is hoping the grass is greener in Winner, S.D. This year’s drought has forced a terrible choice on ranchers in affected states: sell, or haul. Neil’s usually verdant land in Douglas, Wyo. — home for decades — is “drier than it’s ever been,” he said. Every county in that state is a declared disaster area, eligible for federal money. Neil’s property was also threatened by the Arapaho Fire, which destroyed nearly 99,000 acres, the worst in Wyoming this year. “It was selling them, or South Dakota,” he said.
Neil found greener pastures seven hours and 330 miles east, in Winner, on an expansive prairie owned by a family friend. There, at risky expense, 120 head of cattle will graze until September in the hope next year will bring rain.
Cuts to food stamps will hit red state residents hardest
grist
While cutting food stamps remains atop the Republican agenda, a new Gallup poll reminds us that hunger continues to run rampant in America. The GOP (along with a pliant media) has spent a lot of time trying to connect the increase in food stamp spending to expanded eligibility, to wit: the slumming 20-something hipster who uses the benefit to bolster his shopping list.
But Gallup demonstrates that hunger is everywhere in the U.S. right now. According to the poll, over 18 percent of Americans “say there have been times when they could not afford the food they needed” during the last year. In 15 states, that figure jumps to one in five Americans.
There’s an odd political angle to this poll. The top-10 list for states with the highest hunger rates includes the GOP strongholds of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Louisiana. More than half of those states are as red as they come, i.e. even in a landslide these states wouldn’t back Obama.
A switch to nature-based catalyst raises efficiency, reduces waste.
Environmental Health News
A multistep process to produce intermediary chemicals for manufacturing can be done in one step with only three ingredients and little to no waste, report French chemists. Their method combines a starter catalyst with a small amount of copper and oxygen from the air to transform base compounds – called amines – into other chemical middlemen – known as imines. Manufacturers use imines extensively to produce products and drugs.
In comparison to current methods, the novel process is more efficient. It uses fewer chemicals, relies on safer chemicals, creates less waste and works under normal temperature and pressure. Additional studies will need to repeat and optimize the methods before they can be used on an industrial scale.
A major direction in the field of green chemistry is to develop ways to turn one chemical into another with no leftover atoms – and therefore little to no waste. This increases chemical efficiency. Calculating the number of atoms that go into the process and comparing them to what comes out in the end product is a way to measure chemical efficiency. These reactions – dubbed atom economy – strive to have the two equal each other.
In keeping with BentLiberal's practice of linking to and highlighting
First Nations News and Views I would like to add:
Auction Canceled But the Selling of Pe' Sla Continues
While the public auction of land sacred to the Sioux in the Black Hills of South Dakota has been canceled, a quiet sale of the land is going on privately.
We reported in FNN&V last week that Pe' Sla, a site sacred to the various Sioux tribes, was to be auctioned Saturday. To guarantee access, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (Sicangu Oyate Lakota) initiated a campaign to raise money to buy as many of the five tracts of the 1942-acre total as possible. At a potential high bid around $5000 an acre, everybody knew it would be an uphill battle, $10 million is no small matter regardless of who is raising the money and the Sioux are among the most impoverished citizens in our nation.
The outpouring of support was tremendous. As of today, $288,000 has been raised. The Rosebud Sioux have pledged another $1.3 million and some the other Sioux tribes plan to provide money of their own in this effort.
However, the fund-raising campaign turned into a double-edged sword. The publicity apparently spurred the property-owners to cancel the auction, and take the sale behind closed doors. Brock Auction Co., which was handling the sale of the land—divided into five tracts—made the announcement Thursday. The family gave no explanation.
If you read yesterdays installment of the series you will note that canceling the auction does not necessarily present good news.
Also related to First Nations News and Views is an informative post by Land of Enchantment.
Mr. Rogers Custer-Lovin' Neighborhood
There's been much talk about New Mexico RNC member Pat Rogers this past week. He has garnered a flurry of negative attention over his bizarre email correspondence, vilifying NM Governor Susana Martinez, a fellow Republican, for meeting with Native American tribal leaders. For some unknowable reason, he argues such meetings are disloyal to - of all people - George Armstrong Custer.
This is wrong in so many ways, it's hard to know where to begin. For starters, Custer's untimely end on the Northern Plains had exactly nothing to do with the native peoples of New Mexico: Navajos, Apaches, Comanches, and the various Pueblo tribes. Then, too, tribal casinos are a significant revenue stream for the state, under compacts mostly negotiated with another Republican New Mexico Governor, Gary Johnson.
The Custer-related aspects of this story have been thoroughly explored by Meteor Blades and others, so I'm going to focus on additional background on Rogers. Put the story in a broader context than it's received for the most part.