The Overnight News Digest is a nightly series dedicated to chronicling the eschaton. Please add news or other items in the comments.
The Washington Post
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Trump imposes tariffs on steel and aluminum, but offers relief to allies
Trump “imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum but offered relief to some U.S. allies, a move that marks his administration’s most protectionist step yet but stops short of the global tariffs his GOP allies begged him to avoid. The tariffs, set to take effect in 15 days, do not apply to imports from Canada and Mexico so that U.S. officials can assess progress as they renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.”
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Even if a Russian hit on British soil is confirmed, what can London do about it?
“British police announced… that former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter had been ‘targeted specifically’ with a nerve agent in an apparent attempt on their lives. Skripal, 66, and 33-year-old Yulia are in a hospital… British Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Thursday… that Britain ‘would respond in a robust and appropriate manner’… But if a Russian state link is confirmed, that may be easier said than done.”
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Premiums for ACA health insurance plans could jump 90 percent in three years
“Insurance premiums for Affordable Care Act health plans are likely to jump by 35 to 94 percent around the country within the next three years, according to a… nationwide analysis [that] finds wide variations state to state, with a broad swath of the South and parts of the Midwest in danger of what the report calls ‘catastrophic’ average rate increases by 2021… Contributing to the escalating rates are the Trump administration’s decisions…”
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Paul Manafort pleads not guilty to tax and fraud charges in federal court in Virginia
”Trump’s former campaign manager pleaded not guilty to tax and fraud charges in federal court in Virginia on Thursday as he appeared before a judge in the second criminal case brought against him by the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election… U.S. District Court… Judge T.S. Ellis III put Paul J. Manafort on home confinement, requiring him to wear a GPS monitoring device, and set a trial for July 10. Jurors will hear from 20 to 25 witnesses during a trial that will last eight to 10 days, prosecutors said.”
Politico
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Charles Koch blasts Trump's steel and aluminum tariff plan
“Billionaire conservative megadonor Charles Koch slammed President Donald Trump’s announced plans to impose fresh tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in a Washington Post op-ed, arguing that such policies would do far more harm than good for the U.S., both economically and culturally.”
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Trump officials tell Idaho it can’t dump Obamacare
“The Trump administration today threw cold water on Idaho's plan to ignore key Obamacare requirements, telling the red state that it must follow the health care law… The decision comes after newly installed Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar faced pressure for weeks from patient groups and other insurers to reject the Idaho plan.”
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The other winner in the Texas primary? Kirsten Gillibrand
“Kirsten Gillibrand, the junior senator from New York, had a great night Tuesday — in Texas. The Democrat went out on a limb in a state far from home — she endorsed or contributed to seven female candidates in contested congressional primaries from El Paso to Houston — and came out with an unblemished record.”
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Kamala Harris keeps 'em guessing
“One year into her stint in the Senate, the Democratic Party's newest rising star — and one of its most buzzed-about potential 2020 hopefuls — has cut a profile that offers few clues about her political aspirations.”
The Guardian
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Australian scientists move closer to world-beating quantum computer“Australian scientists, led by… Michelle Simmons, have made a significant step in creating a world-beating, single-atom quantum computer. Simmons and her Australian team announced… they had built quantum bits, known as qubits, from single phosphorus atoms in silicon, that could communicate and correlate with each other… While classic bits can have a value of only 0 or 1, quantum bits can exist in multiple states at once.”
- Vancouver declares 5% of homes empty and liable for new tax
“Thousands of homes in Vancouver have been declared unused and liable for a new empty homes tax as part of a government attempt to tackle skyrocketing home prices and soaring rents… Properties deemed empty will be subjected to a tax of 1% of their assessed value. Vancouver has rolled out a raft of measures to cool prices and improve housing affordability in the country’s most expensive real estate market.”
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Climate change tightens grip on US west coast despite progressive aspirations
“San Francisco faces a far worse threat from rising seas than previously thought, while [California’s] agricultural heart... will increasingly struggle to support crops such as peaches, walnuts and apricots as temperatures climb… Not only is the western flank of the US experiencing the escalating consequences of climate change, but widespread Democratic dominance at state level has failed to enact ambitious policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
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Republican-led committee says Russia funded 'useful idiot' environmentalists
”US congressional committee has alleged that Russia financed major environmental organizations and used social media to support opponents of the Dakota Access pipeline, fracking and fossil fuels… A close reading of the report, however, reveals that many of the committee’s claims rely on meager evidence...”
Los Angeles Times
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On Twitter, fake news spreads faster and further than real news — bots not to blame
”Twitter is an excellent platform for spreading actual news, [but] it's even better at spreading fake news. Compared to tweets about claims that were verifiably true, tweets about claims that were undeniably false were 70% more likely to be retweeted in the Twitterverse. And false claims about politics spread further than any other category of news included in” the MIT analysis.
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Corey Lewandowski testifies in House Russia investigation
”Trump’s former campaign manager… [refused] to answer some questions from the House Intelligence Committee… Rep. Adam B. Schiff… said Lewandowski wouldn’t talk about several key episodes, including Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James B. Comey in May 2017 and his reported discussions about firing special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.”
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Some of the California 'sanctuary' laws targeted by feds could be vulnerable
“Law professors who read the lawsuit filed by Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions generally described it as a credible challenge that presents complex legal questions that might wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court… The supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution says federal law takes precedence over state laws, and Sessions' suit accuses California's new regulations of violating that provision.”
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Senators revise financial deregulation bill to try to blunt criticisms and assure passage
“Senators pushing legislation to roll back [Dodd-Frank] proposing changes to try to blunt liberal criticisms — and adding provisions for conservatives to assure House passage… The bill also could offer a regulatory break for giant foreign banks… because their U.S. affiliates have less than $250 billion in assets, even though they are part of global operations that are well above that threshold. ‘This legislation weakens oversight of foreign banks operating in the United States, many of which have a track record of breaking U.S. laws,’ said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).”
Reuters
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Asia-Pacific nations sign sweeping trade deal without U.S.
“Eleven countries including Japan and Canada signed a landmark Asia-Pacific trade agreement without the United States on Thursday in what one minister called a powerful signal against protectionism and trade wars… The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will reduce tariffs in countries that together amount to more than 13 percent of the global economy - a total of $10 trillion in gross domestic product.”
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Syrian government forces poised to slice eastern Ghouta in two: commander
“Syria’s army is poised to slice rebel-held eastern Ghouta in two as forces advancing from the east link up with troops at its western edge, a pro-Damascus commander said on Thursday… Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says [the fighting] has killed more than 1,000 people.”
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U.S. not coordinating against Russian cyber threat: top general
“The top U.S. general in Europe said on Thursday that the U.S. government did not have an effective unified approach to deal with Russia’s cyber threat. ‘I don’t believe there is an effective unification across the interagency, with the energy and the focus that we could attain,’ U.S. Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, who is also NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.”
Deutsche Welle
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Clocks in Europe are running late because of the Kosovo conflict
”Clock radios and timers on microwaves and stoves have gotten out of sync in Europe in recent weeks… Since mid January power companies in Kosovo and Serbia have failed to mutually balance their electricity grids in the case of irregularities… There are 36 member states in ENTSO-E with interconnected power grids, ranging from Spain to Norway and from Turkey to the British Isles. The recent reductions of the frequencies have affected 25 of the member-states.”
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Poland marks 50 years since 1968 anti-Semitic purge
“In 1968, the Polish Communist party declared thousands of Jews enemies of the state and forced them to leave Poland. Fifty years later, historians and witnesses warn of a revival of Polish anti-Semitism.”
- The tiny village leading France's anti-nuclear movement
“Since the government announced plans to bury nuclear waste in Bure, the village has been at the epicenter of France's anti-nuclear movement — and the scene of recent clashes between activists and police… Nuclear waste is a pressing problem in France, which gets 70 percent of its electricity from 58 nuclear plants.”
Sydney Morning Herald
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Trump to meet Kim Jong-un by May after North Korea's invitation
”South Korea's national security adviser has announced North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is committed to denuclearisation and has invited Donald Trump to a meeting, which Trump said would happen by May. At the White House on Thursday evening, Chung Eui-yong also announced a commitment by Kim to stop North Korea's nuclear and missile testing.”
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Turnbull family in damage control over Malaysia allegations
“Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is no doubt hoping claims his son was sidelined by Goldman Sachs for blowing the whistle on controversial Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB will not distract from the upcoming summit of South East Asian leaders… Alex Turnbull would not comment on an article... saying he was ‘b-tracked’ by Goldman Sachs for raising concerns about 1MDB and claimed ‘whistleblowing is a shit business’.”
The Denver Post
Agence France-Presse
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Spanish women stage unprecedented strike for rights
“Spain marked International Women's Day Thursday with an unprecedented strike in defence of their rights that saw hundreds of trains cancelled and massive protests held in Madrid and Barcelona. Called by 10 unions to demand gender equality, particularly where salaries are concerned, the 24-hour strike dominated headlines with famous female presenters noticeably absent from radio or television shows.”
Tennessean
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Phil Bredesen's Senate campaign fears it was hacked
“Former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen's campaign for U.S. Senate told the FBI Thursday about a recent effort by someone who tried to trick it into wiring money. In a letter addressed to Michael Gavin, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Memphis division, campaign lawyer Robert E. Cooper Jr. says someone pretending to be the campaign's media buyer asked for money to be wired to an international account.”
- Can an atheist win public office in Tennessee?
“Gayle Jordan, a Democrat running for state senate in Trump country, will soon find out if an openly atheist candidate can win public office in Tennessee. Jordan does not believe in God. It is a fact she shares, but not a focus of her campaign for the vacant District 14 seat that will be decided Tuesday in a special election.”
The Lewiston Tribune
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At least five types of apples thought to be extinct have been rediscovered
”David Benscoter, who located the trees, worked with apple experts at the Temperate Orchard Conservancy in Oregon and Fedco Seeds in Maine to get positive identifications on the fruit. The apples were compared to written descriptions from old books and antique watercolor paintings. The previously thought-to-be-extinct apples, at least one of which was grown before the 1800s, include the Shackleford, Saxon Priest, Kittageskee, Ewalt and McAfee - found growing near Steptoe Butte…. Benscoter also thinks he has found seven other apples that have not yet been confirmed or are extremely rare.”
Bloomberg
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Teenagers Defeat Trump’s Move to Kill Climate Change Lawsuit
“A group of 21 youths who accuse the U.S. government of failing for decades to properly address climate change defeated the Trump administration’s attempt to keep the dispute out of court. The U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled Wednesday that a novel and sweeping case... can proceed toward a trial. Trump’s Justice Department is expected to ask the Supreme Court to shut it down. The group of mostly teenagers in Oregon alleged in a 2015 complaint that government policies have exacerbated global warming in violation of their rights -- and those of future generations -- under the U.S. Constitution.”
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China’s War on Pollution Will Change the World
“China is cracking down on pollution like never before, with new green policies so hard-hitting and extensive they can be felt across the world, transforming everything from electric vehicle demand to commodities markets… China sees high-tech industries like electric cars and solar panels as its chance to lead the world, setting standards and cornering markets as they begin to build momentum.”
Ars Technica
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The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy returns—with the original cast
“Forty years to the day of its first broadcast, there’s a new BBC radio series… Exactly 40 years to the day from that first broadcast—it made its return home with the start of Hexagonal Phase, a radio dramatization of the sixth and final book of an increasingly misnamed trilogy… Although Adams died suddenly and unexpectedly in 2001, the universe he gave birth to lived on. Beginning in 2004, the original radio cast was reunited to dramatize the third, fourth, and fifth books… In 2009 came a final novel in the "trilogy," And Another Thing..., written by the novelist Eoin Colfer. It's this story that the BBC is now dramatizing...”
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Science in a bottle: 132-year-old experiment washed ashore in Australia
“A 132-year-old message in a bottle turned up on an Australian beach earlier this year, but it’s not a love note or a treasure map: it’s a science experiment… Researchers say the bottle probably washed ashore within a year of hitting the water, but ended up buried in damp sand until a storm uncovered it. If the bottle hadn’t been buried, the note might not have been preserved at all.”
- Wanna limit global warming to 1.5°C? Get cracking
“One surprise in the international Paris Agreement on greenhouse gas emissions was the addition of the aspirational goal of limiting global warming to just 1.5 degrees Celsius… Global emissions would have to peak within the next few years and then drop like a rock—reaching zero around the 2060s. At our current rate of emissions, we would probably emit the maximum allowable total of greenhouse gas in less than a decade. To avoid that, the use of coal to generate electricity would have to disappear before 2050, with the use of oil ending soon after.”