Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, Interceptor7, Magnifico, annetteboardman and Besame. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Man Oh Man, wader, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw.
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 12:00 AM Eastern Time.
Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
Mother Jones: Republican Candidate Wins Open Arizona Congressional Seat by Margaret Kadifa
With the backing of President Trump, former Republican state senator Debbie Lesko won a special election Tuesday to fill a House seat vacated by Rep. Trent Franks, who resigned last year amid accusations of sexual misconduct.
Lesko beat political novice Hiral Tipirneni with 53 percent of the votes in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, an area that covers Phoenix’s northwest suburbs and traditionally skews conservative—Trump won the district by 21 percentage points in 2016.
Tipirneni got 47 percent of votes.
“This is so awesome,” Lesko said, shortly after unofficial results were announced. “It’s overwhelming.”
On Tuesday, Trump tweeted his support of Lesko.
Chicago Tribune: Restaurant in McDonald’s new Chicago headquarters will feature food from its menus around the world by Greg Trotter
Globe-trotting fans of the Golden Arches may find some of their favorites in the new McDonald’s opening Wednesday in Chicago’s booming Fulton Market district.
McSpicy Chicken Sandwich from Hong Kong, anyone? The new location will feature a rotating menu of food served in McDonald’s restaurants around the world. The 6,000-square-foot restaurant is on the ground floor of the global fast food chain’s new nine-story corporate headquarters, still under construction. Spokesman Robert Gibbs said the company would begin moving its 2,000 or so workers from its longtime Oak Brook campus over the next few weeks.
The Fulton Market McDonald’s is one of the company’s modernized “experience of the future” locations with ordering kiosks, table service and curbside pickup. What it lacks: a drive-through or much parking to speak of in the rapidly changing business district.
But McDonald’s enthusiasts and curious passers-by likely will visit the location anyway, drawn by the global offerings not sold in any other U.S. locations. The first menu rotation will include the Mighty Angus Burger from Canada, the McSpicy Chicken Sandwich from Hong Kong, Cheese & Bacon Loaded Fries from Australia, two varieties of salads served in France and the McFlurry Prestigio dessert served in Brazil.
As long as the menu at this new McDonald’s doesn’t feature underage girls for men like Robert Kelly, I suppose this will be OK.
Seattle Times: Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee to Bill Maher: ‘We’ve got the best weed’ by Sean Quinton
We all know Washington has the best apples, finest coffee and tastiest salmon in all the land. So can we add marijuana to that list?
Washington state has been a leader in legalizing the use of marijuana, both medicinally and recreationally. But Gov. Jay Inslee would like you to know the Upper Left also is a leader in quality bud.
As a guest on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Inslee proudly boasted about Washington state’s cannabis. “I can honestly say, we’ve got the best weed in the United States of America,” he said on the Friday show. “It’s a growing industry, and well-regulated.”
Inslee also commented on President Trump’s
recent promise to Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner (R) that his administration would support congressional efforts to protect states that have legalized marijuana.
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the first time Donald Trump said something that was actually true — if he said he would leave us alone on our marijuana decriminalization?” Inslee said. “And I hope that that will occur.”
San Diego Union-Tribune: Proposed rule change would make all settlements involving judges public by Greg Moran
Legal settlements involving state court judges and justices that are now kept secret would become public under a proposed rule change from the state court administrative agency.
The change comes just two weeks after state Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye called for immediate changes in court rules that have kept information about settlements for sexual harassment, discrimination and other actions confidential. Cantil-Sakauye said both the public’s right to know and judicial accountability required the changes to the court system’s internal rules.
A working group of judges and attorneys drawn from the council fashioned the proposed new rule over the past two weeks. It will be debated by a Judicial Council committee Thursday and, if approved, would be available for public comment until May 1.
It would then come before the full council at a meeting on May 24.
Under current court system rules governing public access to administrative records of the system, information involving settlements is specifically exempt from disclosure.The proposed rule adds language saying the exemption does not apply to settlements from Jan. 1, 2010 on, and specifically says names of judges and judicial officials can’t be redacted.
Austin American-Statesman: Abbott calls June 30 special election to replace disgraced congressman by Asher Price
Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday ordered an emergency special election for June 30 to elect a U.S. representative for a congressional district that stretches from Corpus Christi to Bastrop and Caldwell counties.
The winner will serve out the remaining months of the two-year term of U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, who resigned in early April amid sexual harassment allegations.
The candidate filing deadline is Friday.
Abbott has said he wants residents of the 27th Congressional District to have a voice in Washington as the area works to recover from Hurricane Harvey.
Minneapolis Star-Tribune: DFL Rep. Erin Maye Quade stages sit-in on House floor over gun proposals by Erin Golden
A DFL lawmaker frustrated with the Minnesota Legislature’s inaction on gun control proposals began a 24-hour sit-in on the floor of the state House on Tuesday.
Rep. Erin Maye Quade of Apple Valley was joined Tuesday afternoon by a handful of other DFLers and one Republican, Rep. Dario Anselmo of Edina, as she shared the stories of people affected by gun violence — and called for her fellow lawmakers to pass measures requiring background checks on gun purchases and the reporting of lost or stolen firearms.
Maye Quade said she came up with the idea for the sit-in on Monday evening, as she considered the ongoing wave of student activism prompted by the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, last week’s anniversary of the 1999 school shooting in Columbine, Colorado, and a recent Star Tribune poll that found that a large majority of Minnesotans support background checks and mandatory reporting of stolen guns.
She said her round-the-clock presence in the House chamber is a way to show students and other activists that their lawmakers are listening to their concerns.
Baltimore Sun: Scientists: Record abundance of underwater grasses shows Chesapeake Bay initiatives are working by Scott Dance
MorGov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday ordered an emergency special election for June 30 to elect a U.S. representative for a congressional district that stretches from Corpus Christi to Bastrop and Caldwell countiesThe winner will serve out the remaining months of the two-year term of U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, who resigned in early April amid sexual harassment allegations.
Underwater grasses that provide vital places for fish and crabs to live and hide from predators covered more than 100,000 acres of the Chesapeake Bay in 2017 — the most ever recorded in a 34-year-old aerial survey, scientists said Tuesday.
The Virginia Institute of Marine Science found 104,843 acres of grasses across the estuary, the first time since it began its survey in 1984 that vegetative coverage surpassed the 100,000-acre threshold.
It was a third straight year that grass acreage grew, gaining by 5 percent from 2016 to 2017.
The Patapsco River was among the areas with the strongest grass growth. Acreage jumped more than three times, from 3 acres in 2016 to 14 acres in 2017.
Buzzfeed: Travis Reinking Is On Suicide Watch And In Solitary Confinement by Brianna Sacks
The man accused of shooting and killing four people and wounding two others at a Tennessee Waffle House early Sunday is facing additional charges of attempted murder and unlawfully possessing a gun, authorities said Tuesday night.
The suspect, 29-year-old Travis Reinking, was captured Monday in the woods near his apartment complex and charged with four counts of murder, ending a frantic 34-hour manhunt across the Nashville area.
On Tuesday evening, Nashville Metro Police tweeted that they added four counts of attempted murder and one count of having a firearm while committing a dangerous felony. One of the people Reinking is accused of trying to kill is James Shaw Jr., a Waffle House diner who heroically wrestled away the suspect's AR-15-style rifle as he paused to reload his weapon inside the restaurant.
If only LEO’s had been as concerned about a black man suspected of breaking a damn car window that that man was living and on a suicide watch...but the Nashville Metro Police’s concern is duly noted.
I used to read Karen Ocamb when she would post periodically at Pam’s House Blend...here’s a link to an interesting take on the Muslim ban being argued tomorrow in SCOTUS.
Los Angeles Blade: Queer and trans Muslim realities in America by Almas Haidar
There should be a name for the particular depression of living as a queer trans Muslim of color in America. A specific PTSD of walking the streets in constant fear of being racialized as Muslim and have your gender and sexual orientation questioned. The pleasure of not just having one day a year, September 11th, to expect extra harassment, but surprise holidays like “Punish a Muslim Day.” The joy of calling your mother and father, asking them their plans for the day, and telling them to “be mindful, keep your phone charged, and go home and call me if you don’t feel safe outside today.” Because to be a queer trans Muslim of color in America means to live in a state of anticipation of what hate violence we can expect next.
In the past two years since Trump’s campaign and subsequent election, there has been a surge in anti-immigrant legislation and hate violence. According to a study conducted by South Asians Americans Leading Together (SAALT), from Election Day 2016 to Election Day 2017 there have been “302 incidents of hate violence and xenophobic political rhetoric aimed at South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Middle Eastern, and Arab communities in the United States.” 82% of these incidents were motivated by anti-Muslim sentiment, a “45% increase from the year leading up to the 2016 election cycle, levels not seen since the year after September 11th.” [SAALT].
This rapidly escalating level of hate violence was not created in a vacuum. This cycle of violence is directly tied to the racist and xenophobic legislation and systems of the United States. The latest manifestation of this has been the Muslim Travel Ban which will be heard by the Supreme Court on April 25th. The executive order, “bans citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days, suspends the entry of all refugees for at least 120 days, and bars Syrian refugees indefinitely,” creating yet another form of institutionalized Islamophobia in the U.S. [ACLU].
Washington Post: How Ronny L. Jackson found his VA nomination rapidly imperiled by Amy Gardner, Seung Min Kim, and Lisa Rein
When allegations of professional misconduct by White House physician Ronny L. Jackson started trickling during the past week to the Senate committee considering his nomination to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, its chairman, Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), called the White House twice seeking information.
The answers did not appear to satisfy him.
The information void plunged Jackson’s nomination into peril faster than any other in a series of controversial Cabinet choices that have marked the Trump presidency. It also prompted a new round of criticism of how President Trump has been filling top administration posts — often without first conducting the kind of vetting that uncovers problems before they explode in public.
In Jackson’s case, his nomination was already facing scrutiny from veterans groups and lawmakers who questioned his management experience, his views on outsourcing VA services and his glowing description of Trump’s health during a January news briefing.
New York Times: Trump Signals Openness to a ‘New Deal’ to Constrain Iran by Peter Baker and Julie Hirschfeld Davis
WASHINGTON — President Trump signaled on Tuesday that he was open to a new arrangement with European allies that would preserve the Iran nuclear agreement by expanding and extending its terms to constrain Tehran’s development of missiles and other destabilizing activities in the Middle East.
Hosting President Emmanuel Macron of France at the White House, Mr. Trump again assailed the agreement made by the Obama administration as “insane” and “ridiculous,” but said he could agree to “a new deal” negotiated by American and European officials if it was strong enough. He made no commitment, however, leaving it unclear whether he will pull out of the agreement by a May 12 deadline he has set to either “fix” the Iran agreement or walk away from it.
At the same time, Mr. Trump signaled more optimism about brokering a nuclear accord with North Korea as he prepares for a summit meeting with its leader, Kim Jong-un, in May or early June. Dispensing with harsh criticism of the past, Mr. Trump even praised Mr. Kim in strikingly positive terms, calling the head of one of the world’s most authoritarian governments “very open and very honorable.”
Guardian: Toronto police officer hailed as hero for arresting suspect without firing shot by Ashifa Kassam
A Canadian police officer is being hailed for the restraint and professionalism he showed in arresting the suspect in the Toronto van attack without firing a single shot.
On Monday afternoon, a white van ploughed into pedestrians along one of Toronto’s busiest streets, killing 10 people and injuring more than a dozen others in what one official described as “pure carnage”.
Soon after, the alleged driver of the van was arrested by a lone police officer in a confrontation lasting less than a minute and caught on video by bystanders.
“Get down,” the officer, identified by sources as Ken Lam, shouts repeatedly.
“Kill me,” the man responds. “I have a gun in my pocket.”
Lam’s voice remains calm as he again orders the man to get down, warning that he will shoot if the man does not cooperate. “Shoot me in the head,” the suspect replies.
The officer then begins advancing towards the suspect. The suspect steps backwards, dropping what he was holding and raising his hands in the air. Lam proceeds to single-handedly arrest the suspect.
The arrest came as police forces across North America – including in Toronto – have been criticised for using excessive force to subdue mentally ill or unarmed suspects.
AFP: Armenian opposition leader says 'ready to lead' country
Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday said he was ready to lead the country after the shock resignation of Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian following eleven days of protests against his rule.
"Yes of course we are ready to lead our country," Pashinyan said at a news conference in Yerevan, after being asked whether he was willing to steer the government of the ex-Soviet South Caucasus country.
"If people will bestow on me this responsibility, I'll assume the responsibility," Pashinyan said.
Sarkisian stunned the country on Monday by standing down from his new post as prime minister.
He had previously spent a decade in power as president and was accused of a blatant power grab by the opposition, who staged days of rallies in protest.
BBC: 'Bin Laden bodyguard' on German welfare
A Tunisian man who once allegedly protected Osama Bin Laden has lived in Germany since 1997 and gets €1,168 (£1,022) a month in welfare payments.
The figure was revealed by a regional government, after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) asked about the man, known as Sami A.
German media have not reported the man's full name for privacy reasons.
He denies jihadist links. Deportation to Tunisia was ruled out because of fears that he could be tortured there.
Bin Laden ran the al-Qaeda jihadist network and approved the devastating 9/11 terror attacks on the US in 2001. He was shot dead by US special forces in Pakistan in 2011.
At least three of the 9/11 suicide pilots were members of an al-Qaeda cell based in Hamburg, northern Germany.
Atlas Obscura: Istanbul Closes the Books on Its Public Scribes by Joshua Allen
ON A SIDE STREET NEAR Istanbul’s Çağlayan Courthouse, an electric sign reading “Petition Writer” points to the open door of 67-year-old Hayrettin Talih’s tiny, one-room office. A casual passerby might think it a typical Turkish workplace, unadorned except for the obligatory photograph of Turkey’s first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and a framed verse of the Quran.
While those pillars of Turkish society never change, it appears that little else changes in the office either: Talih sits in front of a manual typewriter, in the same pose as a black-and-white photograph of himself, from 40 years earlier, which is tacked on the wall beside him.
Occupying the chairs opposite his desk are a couple of older citizens who are explaining a property dispute with a relative. Talih listens, demands clarification where necessary, and finally applies his fingers to the chattering typewriter, producing an affídavit that the couple will use to start proceedings at the courthouse, and hopefully get their rightful dues.
Vulture: Avengers: Infinity War Will Dazzle, Stagger, and Rile You Up by David Edelstein
Well, that was a night out. It’s after midnight on 4/24/18, and I’m sitting across from my 15-year-old daughter, who claims not to like movies much but is an exuberant Marvel fan, and who rocked and laughed and gasped throughout the long running time of Avengers: Infinity War. Before the film, she couldn’t believe she was seeing it days ahead of the rest of the world, which made me feel like Super Dad. Now, I feel extra puny. She is curled up in a chair, repeating, “What the f— just happened?” over and over. Her eyes are still red from crying. She begs me to do the movie justice.
“How do I do that?”
“I don’t know.”
“I can’t say anything about what happens, really.”
“You can’t say anything. People would hate you forever. I mean, people who don’t already.”
“So what would you have me tell readers?”
“Tell them, ‘Don’t know anything going in. Don’t assume anything. Close your laptop. Don’t look at any article.’”
Don’t forget that Hunter is hosting an open thread for night owls tonight.
Everyone have a great evening!