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.
Another workweek is over.
Model Aircraft Pilots Angry Over Drone Laws
People who fly model aircraft are angry that proposed drone rules could damage their much-loved hobby. They argue they should not be classed as drone pilots. The new laws are intended to make airspace safer amid increasing drone use. The British Model Flying Association (BMFA) met the Aviation Minister Baroness Vere this week to discuss its concerns. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is currently consulting on proposals for a drone registration scheme that is due to become law in November. It has received 6,000 responses from BMFA members. David Phipps, chief executive of BMFA, said the proposed rules, which would see all pilots of unmanned aerial vehicles required to register, pay for a license and take competency tests every three years are "disproportionate" for model-aircraft flyers.
"We have established an excellent safety record that surpasses commercial aviation over a century of flying. European laws grant special recognition to model flying, saying it should be treated differently but the UK has not done this." He acknowledged that while "some" would regard the proposed registration fee of 16.50 pounds as "not a lot of money", it still represented "a barrier to entry" especially for young people getting involved in the hobby. He added that plans for a safety test "which will be answering a few questions on the CAA's website" were far less rigorous than his organization's own safety tests. He worried that many of his members would simply ignore the new rules and "go under the radar."
"It is becoming more and more obvious that we as aero modelers are being targeted because of the commercial value of the airspace that we occupy," said Cliff Evans, a model aircraft hobbyist who's unhappy with the new proposals. "I and all other modelers that I know find this offensive and unnecessary."
Congress Scraps Provision To Restrict IRS From Competing With TurboTax
Congressional leaders are planning to scrap a provision of an IRS reform bill making permanent the Free File deal between the government and private tax filing companies, torpedoing a long-sought goal by industry giant Intuit, the maker of TurboTax. The development, first reported by Politico Pro and confirmed to ProPublica by a House Republican staffer, comes two months after an outcry sparked by our story on the Free File provision in a bill called the Taxpayer First Act.
The bill, which has bipartisan support and contains a range of provisions including restrictions on the private debt collection of unpaid taxes, passed the House in April but stalled in the Senate. Under the Free File program, the industry promises to offer a no-fee option to most Americans and in return the IRS pledges not to develop its own free, online filing service. Such an IRS program would threaten the industry's profits. Only a small percentage of eligible Americans use the Free File options, and many are instead steered to paid products by the industry. The new bill, without the Free File provision, could be introduced today and voted on in the House as soon as next week, according to Politico. The Free File program will continue as before and will not be codified into law.
"The current deal expires in 2021," reports ProPublica. "The IRS said in May that it was launching an internal review of the program, following our stories on how Intuit, H&R Block and other companies deliberately hid their Free File editions from search engines, making it harder for taxpayers to find them."
An “air yacht,” he calls it:
Google's Co-Founder Is Building a Gargantuan $150 Million Blimp
We first learned that Google co-founder Sergey Brin was secretly building a "massive airship" inside of Hangar 2 at the NASA Ames Research Center back in 2017, but few details on the project have emerged since. Now, according to a report from the Telegraph, progress on the project appears to be picking up as Brin is currently soliciting aerospace engineers to work on his blimp from a hangar in Mountain View, California.
From a report: At 656 feet in length, the massive craft is expected to be the largest of its kind in the world upon completion, and it's reportedly costing Brin upwards of $150 million to construct. Some of that money will presumably go toward paying the $28 per hour salary and pension benefits Brin is offering entry level engineers to work on the project, according to the Telegraph piece, which notes that the job listing also requires that applicants be "comfortable working outdoors."
As for why Brin wants to build this massive blimp, sources with knowledge of the project told The Guardian in 2017 that the Google billionaire plans to use craft as an intercontinental "air yacht," ferrying his friends and family around the globe in style. The blimp will also find use on the other end of the privilege spectrum, according to those sources, who told the newspaper that Brin envisions using it to deliver supplies and food to remote locations on humanitarian missions.
Maybe nobody was driving:
Russian sailors appeared to be sunbathing shirtless while their destroyer took a run at a US Navy warship
A Russian destroyer and a US Navy cruiser nearly collided at sea on Friday. Videos released by the Navy appear to show Russian sailors sunbathing shirtless on the back of their warship during this close encounter.
The Russians accused the American vessel of acting improperly, arguing that the USS Chancellorsville abruptly changed course and cut across the path of the destroyer.
Amid the back and forth over who is to blame for the latest US-Russia confrontation, eagle-eyed observers took note of something peculiar in the videos released by the Navy — what appears to be Russian sailors sunbathing shirtless, if not naked, as one appears to be, on the helicopter pad.
How politics, miscommunication, and 'betrayal' of Nissan crashed Fiat Chrysler's deal with Renault
Fiat Chrysler's proposed merger with Renault promised to create the world's third-largest car company. Within two weeks of the deal's announcement, it collapsed due to politics, miscommunication, and perceived betrayal.
The French government and Japanese automaker Nissan, both of whom hold 15% stakes in Renault, played key roles in the deal's demise this week.
Executives at Nissan, which co-buys components with Renault and shares technology and factory space with the French carmaker, were blindsided by the prospective merger and "fumed over what they perceived as a betrayal," according to the Wall Street Journal.
Venezuela's 'staggering' exodus reaches 4 million, UN refugee agency says
More than 4 million Venezuelans have now fled economic and humanitarian chaos in what the UN’s refugee agency called a “staggering” exodus that has swelled by 1 million people since last November alone.
The number of Venezuelan migrants and refugees stood at about 695,000 at the end of 2015, the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced on Friday.
Three and a half years later – with Venezuela immersed in a seemingly intractable social and political crisis – that number has “skyrocketed” to more than 4 million, the groups said.
About half of that total have sought shelter in two South American countries – Colombia and Peru – which host about 1.3 million and 768,000 respectively. Many others have made for Chile (288,000), Ecuador (263,000), Brazil (168,000) and Argentina (130,000).
The humanitarian groups said “significant” numbers were also heading to the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico. Venezuelan activists and officials in Mexico estimate the exile community there has grown to about 40,000 in recent years.
Horrible:
Teenagers held over homophobic attack on two women on London bus
A homophobic assault on two women on a bus that left them needing hospital treatment has been labelled a “disgusting, misogynistic attack” by the London mayor, Sadiq Khan.
The attack happened in the early hours of 30 May when Melania Geymonat, 28, boarded a bus with her girlfriend, Chris.
The couple said they were attacked after refusing to kiss at the request of a group of young men on the bus.
In a Facebook post, Geymonat said they were subjected to homophobic abuse while being beaten up: “They started behaving like hooligans, demanding that we kissed so they could enjoy watching, calling us ‘lesbians’ and describing sexual positions … The next thing I know is that Chris is in the middle of the bus fighting with them.”
New York man plotted killing police, attacking Times Square: prosecutors
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York man who prosecutors say plotted an attack on Times Square, spoke about killing police officers and praised Islamic militants appeared in court on firearms charges on Friday and was denied bail.
Ashiqul Alam, 22, from Jackson Heights in the city’s Queens borough, was charged with illegally acquiring firearms as part of the attack plan, federal officials said.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Pollak ordered Alam detained without bail after a brief court hearing in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn on Friday.
Alam’s lawyer, James Darrow, had asked for his client to be released on $200,000 bond, under home confinement and with an ankle monitor. He said Alam lived with his parents, who were both in the courtroom and prepared to sign the bond.
Greed is a helluva drug:
Wells Fargo will pay customers $386 million over unwanted auto insurance
(Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co will pay customers at least $386 million to settle class-action claims that the bank signed them up for auto insurance they did not want or need when they took out car loans.
The proposed settlement was disclosed in filings on Thursday with the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California, and requires a judge’s approval.
National General Insurance Co, an underwriter, will pay an additional $7.5 million, making the total customer payout at least $393.5 million, according to the filings.
Wells Fargo denied wrongdoing but said it settled to avoid the risks, cost and distraction of litigation, and has set aside enough money for the payout. The defendants will also pay up to $36.5 million for the customers’ legal costs, court papers showed.
I suppose this means my rates will go up:
Dish open to merging satellite TV business with AT&T's DirecTV: report
(Reuters) - Dish Network Corp is open to merging its satellite television business with AT&T Inc’s pay TV service DirecTV but the two companies have no active deal talks going on, according to a Bloomberg report seen by Reuters.
Shares of Dish rose as much as 6.3% after the report on Friday, while AT&T’s stock edged 1.9% higher.
Both Dish and DirecTV have been losing subscribers as viewers continue to shift to cheaper online streaming services such as Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc’s Prime service.
Prosecutor: More than 60 deaths now linked to serial killer
DALLAS (AP) — A Texas prosecutor said Friday that investigators have linked more than 60 killings in at least 14 states to a 79-year-old California inmate who may be the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history.
Ector County District Attorney Bobby Bland said Samuel Little continues to cooperate with investigators from around the country who interrogate him in prison about cold case killings dating back to the 1970s. In February, he put the number of killings that had been linked to Little at 50.
Little was convicted of killing three Los Angeles-area women and pleaded guilty to killing a Texas woman, and he’s serving life sentences in California. Little, who lived a nomadic lifestyle, claims to have killed 93 women as he crisscrossed the country over the years.
Cop who shot 911 caller gets 12½ years; apologizes in court
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed an unarmed woman who had called 911 said Friday he “knew in an instant I was wrong” and apologized to her family, just moments before a judge brushed off a defense request for leniency and ordered him to prison for 12½ years.
Mohamed Noor was convicted in April of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the July 2017 death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a 40-year-old dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia. Noor shot Damond when she approached his squad car in the alley behind her home.
Noor’s lawyers had argued for a light sentence, saying sending him to prison would only compound the tragedy and keep him from doing service to make amends.
Allegations against top priest under review after AP report
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Catholic Church in Texas says it is reviewing allegations that a top monsignor continued to hear a married woman’s confessions after luring her into a sexual relationship, a potentially serious crime under church law.
The announcement was issued by the Galveston-Houston Archdiocese led by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, after the woman broke years of silence to denounce his handling of her case in an Associated Press investigation this week. The archdiocese has defended DiNardo’s handling of the case as swift and just. But it said Friday that the issue of confession was a “new development” presented by Laura Pontikes in the AP report and would be “thoroughly reviewed in accordance with canon law.”
Pontikes has accused Monsignor Frank Rossi, DiNardo’s former deputy, of exploiting her emotional dependency on him to manipulate her into a sexual relationship, even as he heard her confessions, counseled her husband on their strained marriage and solicited hundreds of thousands of dollars from them in donations for the church. The archdiocese removed Rossi from the Houston parish, but allowed him to return to ministry in another diocese after he completed a treatment program.
Pontikes protested to the archdiocese and went to police in August. After AP inquiries last week, Rossi’s new bishop placed him on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
No, he won’t:
Mitt Romney says he may skip 2020 presidential endorsement
PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Mitt Romney says he’s not sure if he will endorse President Donald Trump for a second term and that he may not support anyone during the 2020 campaign.
The Republican Utah senator and former presidential contender spoke to reporters Friday during an annual gathering of political leaders, wealthy donors and powerful businesspeople in the Utah ski-resort town of Park City.
Romney says he doesn’t think endorsements are “worth a thimble of spit” and wouldn’t be surprised if he skips them altogether.
Romney also says he’s against Trump’s proposal to impose tariffs on Mexico to force the country to stem the flow of migrants into the U.S.
Good:
Publisher drops Central Park Five prosecutor Linda Fairstein
NEW YORK (AP) — Linda Fairstein has been dropped by her publisher as fallout continues for the former Central Park Five prosecutor over the wrongful conviction of five teens for the 1989 rape and beating of a female jogger.
On Friday, Dutton spokeswoman Amanda Walker confirmed a statement that the publisher’s customer service line has been giving to inquiring callers, saying that it had “terminated its relationship” with the best-selling crime novelist. The publicist declined further comment.
Fairstein’s most recent book, “Blood Oath,” came out in March. Her other books, many featuring the sex crimes prosecutor Alex Cooper, include “Deadfall,” ″Killer Look” and “Devil’s Bridge.”
In a statement issued through Laura Rossi Public Relations, Fairstein said Friday that she and Dutton had “decided to terminate their relationship.” The statement also says that “Fairstein is the author of 24 books, including 16 New York Times bestselling crime novels, as well as a nonfiction work that was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.”
Reached on her cell phone Friday, Fairstein declined further comment.
I guess the drones will do it now:
FedEx will stop air shipments of packages for Amazon
FedEx is dropping a contract for air shipment of packages for Amazon within the United States, reducing its ties with an online retail giant that is expanding its own delivery business.
FedEx said Friday that it will not renew the contract for domestic FedEx Express handling of Amazon shipments when the deal expires June 30.
Spokeswoman Katie Wassmer says the move will let FedEx focus on thousands of other retailers including Target, Walgreens and Walmart.
The move doesn’t affect FedEx ground shipments inside the U.S. for Amazon.
The end of an error:
Undone by Brexit, May steps down as Conservative leader
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May’s time as Conservative Party leader ended Friday, not with a bang but a whimper.
May, who announced her departure two weeks ago after her career was undone by the Brexit mess, formally stepped down in a private exchange of letters with the party, leaving almost a dozen Conservative contenders fighting to replace her and resume the stalled quest to lead Britain out of the European Union.
The second female prime minister in British history spent the day quietly in her home constituency west of London, rather than the prime minister’s residence at 10 Downing St.
May will remain as acting leader and prime minister for a few weeks while the party picks a successor, who will become the next prime minister.
The eaters get eaten:
Barnes & Noble, with sales falling, is sold to hedge fund
Barnes & Noble is being acquired by a hedge fund for $476 million and will be taken private.
The national chain that many blamed for the demise of independent bookstores has been ravaged by Amazon.com and other online sellers, but remains a critical outlet for publishers.
On Friday, it was acquired by Elliott Management and, in a twist, will likely become a national chain with a business model more akin to that of a local bookstore.
Elliott bought Waterstones one year ago, a national U.K. book chain that has successfully navigated through the online/e-reader revolution by returning a lot of autonomy to the managers of its nearly 300 stores, who can select books that they believe local readers want.
Cool:
Spike Lee calls for Hollywood to ‘shut it down’ in Georgia
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Director Spike Lee is calling for Hollywood production companies to leave Georgia over a law that would ban abortions as early as six weeks, upon detection of a fetal heartbeat.
Most studios that have commented have said they’re waiting to see if the so-called “heartbeat” law actually takes effect next year, or if the courts will block it. But at the arrivals line for Denzel Washington’s American Film Institute lifetime achievement tribute Thursday, Lee said now is the time for Georgia-based productions to “shut it down” and boycott the state’s booming film industry to drive change.
Lee acknowledged that a mass exodus could dent livelihoods, but cited black bus drivers affected by the Civil Rights Movement-era boycott in Montgomery.
“I know it’s going to affect people’s livelihood. But that’s how things change,” Lee said.
“You’ve got to be on the right side of history, and the state of Georgia and those other states, they’re wrong,” he added.
Georgia’s economy currently gets a $9.5 billion annual boost from the industry.
A really bad idea:
Serial cyberstalker could avoid prison again under plea deal
DENVER (AP) — Only hours before women marched through many U.S. cities in January, Christopher Cleary set off a manhunt when he posted a Facebook message threatening to kill “as many girls as I see” in retaliation for years of romantic rejection.
Cleary, 27, called himself a virgin who never had a girlfriend, stoking fears of another deadly rampage by a man blaming women for his problems. When police tracked his cellphone and arrested the Colorado resident at a McDonald’s restaurant in Provo, Utah, Cleary said he had been upset and wasn’t thinking clearly.
The frightening Facebook post fit a pattern of behavior for a troubled man with a history of terrorizing women he met over the internet.
From the Sports Desk:
Ex-Oklahoma State basketball coach gets 3 months in prison
NEW YORK (AP) — A former assistant basketball coach at Oklahoma State and the University of South Carolina was sentenced to three months in prison Friday for accepting bribes to link top players with bribe-paying managers and financial advisers.
U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos said actions by Lamont Evans were “perhaps more egregious” than those of two other ex-assistant basketball coaches he sentenced earlier in the week. He also ordered him to forfeit $22,000 and work 100 hours of community service.
Evidence against Evans contained recordings, including one in which he promised that athletes he recruited would sign with managers and financial advisers that he recommended.
“Anybody else that come along. ... I’m going to bury them,” he was heard promising on one recorded call that was played at a recent trial of co-defendants.
Cubbies needed a closer:
Kimbrel on Cubs: ‘I’m happy where I am’
CHICAGO (AP) — After missing more than one-third of a season while waiting for the right offer, Craig Kimbrel found a home with the Chicago Cubs.
“Am I disappointed at where I am? No. not all at all. I’m very happy where I am,” Kimbrel said Friday after the Cubs finalized a three-year contract that guarantees the closer $43 million.
Kimbrel helped Boston win the World Series, then turned down a $17.9 million qualifying offer from the Red Sox in November and waited.
And waited.
“I don’t think waiting around trying to find out who I’m going work for the next year has really been the hardest thing I’ve been through,” he said. “If anything, there’s blessings as well. Good to be home, spend time with family.”
Rising from the ashes:
‘End where we began’: Paradise teens graduate after wildfire
PARADISE, Calif. (AP) — Paradise these days is surrounded by piles of crumpled garage doors and melted ovens. The roads teem with dump trucks, and most street corners are clogged with signs advertising debris removal services or pleas to identify unclaimed pets.
But Thursday night — six months after a wildfire destroyed most of the California town and killed 85 people — the lights came on again at Paradise High School’s football stadium. A class of 220 seniors looking to build a new future received their diplomas amid the rubble of their past lives.
Of the 980 students at the school, about 900 lost their homes, Principal Loren Lighthall said.
“We’re able to end where we began,” said 18-year-old Lilly Rickards, who lost her house in the fire and has been sharing a bed with her 26-year-old sister in a small apartment about 15 miles (24 kilometers) away in Chico.
Fire danger warnings have already begun for us here:
Spark from hammer, metal stake caused Ranch fire in 2018, California’s largest wildfire
California’s largest wildfire was ignited by a scattered spark or hot metal fragment formed when a Potter Valley rancher used a metal hammer last summer to drive a large metal stake into a yellow jacket nest on a dry, grassy slope on his Highway 20 ranch, Cal Fire said Thursday.
The result was the Ranch fire — a conflagration that consumed more than 641 square miles of landscape as it stormed into Lake County and the vast Mendocino National Forest, eventually reaching into Colusa and Glenn counties.
A Utah firefighter, Draper Fire Department Battalion Chief Matthew Burchett, lost his life fighting the blaze, which started July 27 and raged through remote countryside for a month. The rampaging fire destroyed or damaged 280 structures mostly north of Clear Lake, including 138 single-family homes and one multifamily residence, Cal Fire said.
Together with the 49,000-acre River fire, which began about an hour later near Hopland, the 410,203-acre inferno became known as the Mendocino Complex fire, one of several dozen incidents that would make 2018 the deadliest and most devastating wildfire season the state of California and the nation have ever seen.
At the same time in the same state:
Rare 10-mile-long lake forms in Death Valley after heavy rains and flooding
It's not a sight you expect to see in the driest spot in the country.
A massive lake formed in Death Valley National Park near Salt Creek last week after a storm packed with tropical moisture drenched Southern California, triggering flooding on several park roads.
Photographer Elliott McGucken was in Death Valley to photograph the storm and its aftermath; on March 7, he took images of the temporary, nameless lake.
McGucken was hoping to photograph Badwater Basin where he thought water might have also collected, but he couldn't access the area due to flooding and stumbled upon the lake.
For Dr. John, from a great album he made with Art Blakey and Fathead Newman: