The Overnight News Digest is a nightly series dedicated to chronicling the eschaton. Please add news or other items in the comments.
NBC News
Mattis can now order lethal force at border, MPs training with riot gear
WASHINGTON — Secretary of Defense James Mattis now has the authority to direct active duty military at the border to protect Customs and Border Protection officials with lethal force, and military police deployed to the border are training with riot gear, according to two military officials.
NBC News obtained a copy of a memo from White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, dated Tuesday, which describes the need for "Department of Defense military personnel" to temporarily protect CBP "by protecting their performance of Federal functions."
"To carry out that mission," the memo says, "these deployed Department of Defense military personnel may perform those military protective activities that the Secretary of Defense determines are reasonably necessary to ensure the protection of Federal personnel, including a show or use of force (including lethal force, where necessary), crowd control, temporary detention, and cursory search."
The Daily Beast
DHS Wouldn’t Take Mattis’ No for an Answer on Lethal Force
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis last month objected to using military force to protect border agents on the southwest border, a knowledgeable current U.S. official and a former Defense Department official told The Daily Beast.
But Mattis didn’t object on principle. When the Department of Homeland Security requested the so-called force protection mission from the Pentagon, Mattis declined because he thought he lacked the authority to do so, the current official said.
Mattis’ objection, as of late October, was the genesis of a highly controversial White House memorandum issued late Tuesday explicitly authorizing the potential use of lethal force against the unarmed civilians of the migrant caravan.
DHS wouldn’t take no for an answer, The Daily Beast has learned. Homeland Security went above Mattis’ head in order to get Donald Trump’s chief of staff to secure for them the potentially lethal military force for which immigration hardliners in the administration had clamored.
CIA Heard Audio of Saudi Crown Prince Giving Order to ‘Silence’ Jamal Khashoggi: Report
According to Turkish newspaper Hürriyet Daily News, the CIA has a recording in which Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman can be heard giving the order to “silence Jamal Khashoggi as soon as possible.” The claim has not yet been independently verified. Hürriyet columnist Abdulkadir Selvi, who broke the news of the first recording capturing Khashoggi’s death inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, reports that the CIA was listening in on the call between the crown prince and his brother, Khaled bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S.
“The crown prince gave an instruction to silence Jamal Khashoggi as soon as possible and this instruction was captured during (a) CIA wiretapping,” the newspaper columnist claims. Selvi has also reported that CIA Director Gina Haspel “signaled” the existence of the tape during her trip to Ankara last month. Saudi Arabia has denied any involvement on the part of the crown prince, instead claiming Khashoggi’s killing was the result of a rogue operation.
Los Angeles Times
Trump contradicts CIA assessment that Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi killing
Trump on Thursday contradicted the CIA's assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, insisting that the agency "had feelings" but did not firmly place blame for the death.
Trump, in defiant remarks to reporters from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, defended his continued support for Mohammed in the face of a CIA assessment that the crown prince had ordered the killing.
"He denies it vehemently," Trump said. He said his own conclusion was that "maybe he did, maybe he didn't."
Camp fire death toll increases to 83, while 563 still missing
The remains of two more people were recovered in the Camp fire burn zone Wednesday, raising the death toll in the blaze to 83.
One person was found in a structure in Paradise, while the other was located in a structure in Magalia, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told reporters at a news conference.
“We’re working diligently to identify those individuals so we can contact their next of kin and notify them,” Honea said, adding that investigators have tentatively identified 58 of the dead. […]
About 830 searchers will work on Thanksgiving to look for victims of the blaze, though the search could be suspended if rain triggers mudflows in the area.
Immigrants facing deportation, drug offenders and a former state lawmaker receive pardons from Gov. Jerry Brown
No governor in California history has given more former offenders a chance at redemption through a pardon or commuted sentence than Gov. Jerry Brown, who on Wednesday granted clemency to a group that included onetime drug offenders, immigrants facing deportation and a former state senator.
Brown issued 38 pardons for people convicted of felonies who had completed their sentences and commuted the existing sentences of 70 more.
Pardons given to three men may allow them to avoid deportation by federal immigration agents. As the Trump administration has ramped up its enforcement of immigration laws, Brown has increasingly turned his attention to the cases of immigrants at risk of deportation. On Wednesday, he granted clemency to three men facing federal removal orders from the country.
Mashable
Facebook quietly admits hiring group to smear billionaire George Soros
Facebook is carefully walking back statements it made about hiring a Republican opposition-research group to investigate billionaire George Soros.
In a blog post published late Wednesday, right before many Americans left work to begin the Thanksgiving holiday, Facebook admitted to asking an opposition-research company to investigate billionaire George Soros over his public criticism of the social network.
Elliot Schrage, Facebook's outgoing head of communications and policy, explained the company's decision to hire Definers Public Affairs and essentially took the blame for the decision.
Amazon doesn't have much to say about its customer data leak
Amazon thinks it's already said more than enough, thank you very much.
Starting on Nov. 20, the Seattle-based behemoth began notifying an unknown number of customers via email that, well, something had happened to their data. Specifically, that those customers' names and email addresses had been "disclosed." But anything beyond that? Haha wouldn't you like to know…
What Amazon did tell customers isn't very helpful at getting to the bottom of this data leak mystery.
"We're contacting you to let you know that our website inadvertently disclosed your email address due to a technical glitch," read one such notification posted to Twitter. The Register confirmed that the contents of the email are genuine.
The Washington Post
Trump plan would force asylum seekers to wait in Mexico as cases are processed, a major break with current policy
Central Americans who arrive at U.S. border crossings seeking asylum in the United States will have to wait in Mexico while their claims are processed under sweeping new measures the Trump administration is preparing to implement, according to internal planning documents and three Department of Homeland Security officials familiar with the initiative.
According to DHS memos obtained by The Washington Post on Wednesday, Central American asylum seekers who cannot establish a “reasonable fear” of persecution in Mexico will not be allowed to enter the United States and would be turned around at the border.
The plan, called “Remain in Mexico,” amounts to a major break with current screening procedures, which generally allow those who establish a fear of return to their home countries to avoid immediate deportation and remain in the United States until they can get a hearing with an immigration judge. Trump despises this system, which he calls “catch and release,” and has vowed to end it.
First full Pentagon financial audit details bureaucratic noncompliance, but no fraud
The Pentagon has released the results of its first full financial audit, and it received a failing grade. Only a handful of the Pentagon’s numerous agencies received a passing grade from auditors, and most of them were asked to fix various financial irregularities.
But the auditors’ report mainly drew attention to the sheer scale of the U.S. military’s massive bureaucracy and its sprawling collection of military assets, an arsenal the audit valued at $2.7 trillion. Just counting those assets employed an army of 1,200 accountants who visited more than 600 locations, the Defense Department disclosed last week.
Judge rules that federal law banning female genital mutilation is unconstitutional
A federal judge dismissed criminal charges against two doctors in a landmark female genital mutilation case and ruled that Congress “overstepped its bounds” by passing a law banning the procedure. […]
While female genital mutilation has been a federal crime in the United States for more than two decades, the Michigan doctors were the first to be charged under the law. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement touted the indictments at the time, saying the charges “will hopefully deal a critical blow to stamping out this inhumane practice.”
But on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman found the federal ban unconstitutional, ruling that, among other reasons, female genital mutilation is a “local criminal activity” that must be regulated by the states, not Congress.
Ben Franklin didn’t champion turkeys. In fact, they never survived encounters with him.
It’s a myth that Franklin lobbied to make the turkey our national symbol. The truth is more complicated.
Benjamin Franklin, the most colorful of America’s Founding Fathers, had a misunderstood, electric and ultimately homicidal relationship with turkeys. […]
According to a Harvard University project that debunks myths concerning the Declaration of Independence, the Franklin-Turkey connection is just one giant misunderstanding that stemmed from Franklin being misquoted a very long time ago.
The Guardian
Steve Bannon's far-right Europe operation undermined by election laws
Steve Bannon’s political operation to help rightwing populists triumph in next year’s European parliamentary elections is in disarray after he conceded that his campaign efforts could be illegal in most of the countries in which he planned to intervene.
The former chief strategist to Donald Trump has spent months trying to recruit European parties to his Brussels-based group, the Movement, which he promised would operate as kind of a political consultancy for like-minded parties campaigning in the bloc-wide vote in May 2019.
But the Guardian has established that Bannon would be barred or prevented from doing any meaningful work in nine of the 13 countries in which he is seeking to campaign, according to national electoral bodies and relevant ministries. Confronted with the findings, Bannon acknowledged he was taking legal advice on the matter.
Trump insists daughter Ivanka's private email use for work was 'very innocent'
Donald Trump has doubled down on his claim that his daughter Ivanka’s use of private email in her government role was “very innocent”. Speaking to reporters in Florida on Thursday, the president also employed his routine response to criticism, calling the controversy “fake news”. […]
Asked by a reporter at Mar-a-Lago if he had spoken to his daughter about her email use, Trump said he had. His position, that she had done no wrong, was in keeping with his prior remarks on the issue.
Trump said Ivanka’s private email use had been “very innocent”, over a “short period of time, very early on”.
Brexit: May plans Brussels dash to finalise deal on eve of summit
Theresa May is to make an emergency dash to Brussels on Saturday to complete the Brexit negotiations after the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, threatened to pull the plug on the Sunday leaders’ summit.
As she emerged from talks in Brussels lasting nearly two hours with the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, the British prime minister admitted that there were some major issues to resolve.
Merkel had let it be known through her diplomats in Brussels that she was unwilling to negotiate with May on Sunday at the extraordinary Brexit summit. She had demanded a finalised agreement to emerge in good time before the leaders’ meeting.
California wildfires: smoke spreads to New York, 3,000 miles away
The US east coast has been provided a firsthand reminder of the deadly California wildfires after smoke swept across the country and caused a haze to envelop the eastern seaboard, including Washington DC and New York City.
Hazy skies were reported in several places on the east coast from smoke wafting from 3,000 miles further west, where wildfires in California have killed more than 80 people and razed more than 15,000 homes and other structures.
An unusually dense fug shrouded the top of New York City skyscrapers and the sunset was particularly intense due to the smoke particles in the air. “Wow. I knew tonight’s sunset over New York City seemed different, and I should’ve realized,” tweeted Kathryn Prociv, a meteorologist on the Today Show. “Wildfire smoke is in the air, all the way from California.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
People warned to stay inside as dust storm engulfs Sydney
Air quality across parts of NSW has reached hazardous levels and people have been warned to take care outdoors, as a large dust storm engulfs the coast.
Five NSW regions including Sydney's north-west, the Central Coast and the upper and lower Hunter regions recorded hazardous air quality levels - and the storm is forecast to get worse before it gets better.
'Mind-blowing': Hazards to multiply and accumulate with climate change
Humanity is already enduring cumulative effects from climate change and damages will continue to mount along with carbon emissions, a new study has found. Tropical coastal regions will be the most exposed to multiple hazards.
The research – which involved analysis of 3280 research papers and was published on Tuesday by Nature Climate Change – identified 467 pathways that populations were already being hit by a warmer climate. Those impacts will likely increase and intensify unless aggressive efforts are taken to curb greenhouse gas pollution.
"We never stopped being surprised by how many impacts had already happened to us," said Camilo Mora, an associate professor at the University of Hawaii and lead author of the paper. (An interactive can be seen here.)
Deutsche Welle
China's economy not opening up despite Beijing's assurances
Threatened by a trade spat with the US, Beijing has once again promised to open up its economy. The reality, however, is that foreign firms are finding it harder than ever to compete against China's state-owned giants.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang declared again this week that Beijing would allow more foreign participation in its $13.5 trillion (€11.86 trillion) state-led economy. He recited an often-made assurance that the country is opening up to international investment. But while the US loses patience over what it calls an uneven playing field for multinationals operating in China, those remarks increasingly ring hollow.
The Khashoggi case: Arab media omit uncomfortable facts
On Wednesday morning the Saudi newspaper Al Watan was able to announce to its readership some good news: … Donald Trump would continue to stand steadfastly by Saudi Arabia.
That's exactly how he said it in his eagerly awaited statement; the kingdom remains an important ally of the US. In the matter of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, Trump said, it would be difficult to learn all the facts.
The newspaper fulfilled its primary duty: it reported what Trump had to say. However, it was selective. Because Trump also said in his statement that he didn't know whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, MbS for short, was actually aware of the plot. Perhaps he was, perhaps not, Trump said.
Bloomberg
Suspicion of Putin Is Making Poland Some Useful Friends
[…] Lithuania leads the three tiny Baltic nations on NATO’s eastern frontier in deepening ties with Poland, where the governing nationalist party run by Kaczynski’s twin brother has been tightening its grip. The blossoming relationship reflects a new reality for the former Soviet states. With Trump in the White House and German Chancellor Angela Merkel preparing to step down as Europe’s go-to leader, it’s time to seek more allegiances to counter the threat of Putin’s Russia.
Poland’s governing Law & Justice party has been in open conflict with the European Union over its power grab of the courts and public media, but it’s a loyal NATO member that won backing from the Trump administration. While other ex-communist states such as Hungary and Romania prefer to balance their interests between east and west, Poland makes no secret of its deep suspicion of Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Iran Says U.S. Bases in Region Within Reach of Improved Missiles
U.S. military bases in the Middle East and its aircraft carriers are within reach of Iran’s improved missiles and could be targeted if the Islamic Republic is threatened, a Revolutionary Guards commander said, as tension with the Trump administration mounts over renewed sanctions.
“If they make a move, we will target them,” Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ aerospace division, was quoted as saying late on Wednesday by the state-run Tasnim news agency. He singled out the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and Al Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates.
Reuters
Head of Russian spy agency accused of British poison attack dies
The head of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency that the West has blamed for a string of brazen attacks died on Wednesday after “a serious and long illness,” the Russian defense ministry said.
State news agency TASS cited the ministry as saying Igor Korobov, 62, who ran the spy agency since 2016, had been made a Hero of Russia for his service in the post, the highest state award.
Britain has accused the GRU of attempting to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter with a nerve agent in the city of Salisbury, the Netherlands has accused it of trying to hack the global chemical weapons watchdog, and U.S. intelligence agencies say it tried to hack the 2016 presidential election.
U.S. weighs sanctions on Cuban officials over role in Venezuela crackdown
The Trump administration is considering imposing sanctions on Cuban military and intelligence officials who it says are helping Venezuela’s socialist government crackdown on dissent, according to a source with knowledge of the deliberations.
Such sanctions would be the first time Washington has targeted a bloc of foreign officials allied with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. OPEC member Venezuela is in the grips of a prolonged recession, its economy dogged by hyperinflation and food shortages.
CNN
Hillary Clinton says Europe needs to curb migration to counter nationalism
Hillary Clinton says Europe must deal more decisively with the issue of immigration, or face an ever-stronger right-wing populist movement.
In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, the former US Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate commended European leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel for their kindness toward migrants. But she said they need to send out a stronger message that they won't be always able to "provide refuge and support."
Clinton's words contrast with her criticism of President Donald Trump for his rhetoric toward immigrants and his attempts to halt refugees and asylum seekers. They are likely to find support amongst right-wing leaders such as Hungary's Viktor Orbán who have tightened their grip on power on the back of anti-immigrant sentiment.
"I think Europe needs to get a handle on migration because that is what lit the flame," Clinton said, referring to the rise of populists like Trump and movements like Brexit. If Europe doesn't properly deal with the migration issue, "it will continue to roil the body politic," she said in the interview, which was conducted just before the US midterm elections but published on Thursday.
Donald Trump 'ill-informed' about land issue, says South African President
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa criticized Donald Trump's views on South Africa's land debate and blamed -- in part -- "fringe groups" lobbying in the US.
"They are finding people who get some resonance with what they are saying, and these people are ill-informed about what is happening here. Just as President Trump was ill-informed about the messages that they are beaming out," said Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa's comments come as CNN released an investigation proving ties between US and South African far-right groups and a growing belief in the myth of a white genocide of South African farmers.
World's second human case of rat hepatitis discovered
A second case of rat hepatitis E has been reported in a human in Hong Kong, making it also the second recorded globally.
A 70-year-old woman from the Wong Tai Sin district of Hong Kong was diagnosed with the disease this month, according to Hong Kong's Department of Health. She does not recall having direct contact with rodents or their excreta (feces and bodily fluids) and didn't notice any rodents in her residence, the Department of Health said in a statement.
The woman was admitted to a public hospital on May 4, 2017, for headache, anorexia, malaise, abdominal pain and palpitations, which she had developed since May 1, 2017.
Ars Technica
Amazon trying to buy 22 cable TV sports channels, including Yankees network
Amazon is trying to buy 22 regional sports TV networks (RSNs) from the Walt Disney Company, according to a CNBC report today.
In June, Disney received Department of Justice approval to buy 21st Century Fox properties on the condition that it divest Fox-owned regional sports networks (RSNs). Together, these networks have programming rights for 44 Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, and National Hockey League teams.
Globe and Mail
Home to the head office of one of Canada’s largest cannabis companies sees a real estate boom
[…] There are approximately 750 employees at Canopy’s Smiths Falls headquarters, and with a sudden increase of people coming (or returning) to the little town there have been – for the first time – bidding wars on homes.
“When homes come up for sale, more often than not they are having multiple offers in a short period of time and selling above the asking price,” Smiths Falls Mayor Shawn Pankow says. “It’s something we’ve just never experienced before.”
According to the Ottawa Real Estate Board, the number of homes sold in the Smiths Falls area is up more than 20 per cent from 2017 to 2018. The average price has risen by more than 13 per cent.
AP
Rising sea levels threatening historic lighthouses
Rising seas and erosion are threatening lighthouses around the U.S. and the world. Volunteers and cash-strapped governments are doing what they can, but the level of concern, like the water, is rising.
New Jersey’s East Point Lighthouse has been lighting up Delaware Bay for the better part of two centuries. But those same waters that the lighthouse helped illuminate might bring about its demise.
With even a moderate-term fix likely to cost $3 million or more, New Jersey officials are considering what to do to save the lighthouse. Nancy Patterson, president of the Maurice River Historical Society, says something needs to be done now.
Republicans exploring reasons for gender disparity in new Congress
For congressional Republicans, this month’s elections ushered in the year of the woman — literally.
West Virginia’s Carol Miller will be the only Republican woman entering the 435-member House as a newcomer in January. She’ll join what may be the chamber’s smallest group of female GOP lawmakers since the early 1990s — as few as 13 of at least 199 Republicans. Democrats will have at least 89.
Numbers like those have Republicans searching for answers to the glaring gender disparity in their ranks — and fast. The concern is that Democrats’ lopsided edge among female voters could carry over to 2020, when President Donald Trump will be seeking a second term and House and Senate control will be in play. If the current trend continues, Republicans risk being branded the party of men.
The Hindu
Railways puts renovated heritage steam loco Azad WP 7200 into service
Bringing alive the magic of steam-hauled trains, the Indian Railways put into service its renovated heritage steam loco Azad WP 7200 for hauling the iconic tourist train, the Palace on Wheels, on a trip from Delhi Safdarjung station to Patel Nagar station on the Ring Railway circuit Wednesday. Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani flagged off the steam-hauled luxury tourist train in the presence of senior officials of the board and the Northern Railways.
WP 7200, also called Azad, was built in 1947 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, USA.
The pride of the steam loco fleet, the bullet-nosed WP locomotives were the mainstay of broad gauge passenger train operations of the Indian Railways for a long time till 1995 when they were finally retired.