Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, Interceptor7, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame and jck. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Man Oh Man, wader, Neon Vincent, 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.
ESPN
The NBA has suspended its season due to the spread of the coronavirus, and commissioner Adam Silver has stated the hiatus will last at least 30 days. On Sunday night, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported owners and executives are bracing for the possibility of mid-to-late June as a best-case scenario for a return.
As the league discusses its next steps, including if and when the 2019-20 season can resume, what could the suspension mean for each franchise?Our NBA experts are breaking down where each team stood as the league pressed the pause button, and what an extended layoff could mean -- starting with the Western Conference. On Tuesday, we will examine the impact on East teams.
BBC
Canada will be closing its borders to anyone who is not a citizen or a permanent resident, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced.
The new measure to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus in Canada does not include US citizens.
Additionally, air operators will be "formally mandated' to prevent symptomatic travellers from boarding flights to Canada, Mr Trudeau said.
The prime minister said he has informed G7 partners of the new rules.
Only four Canadian airports - in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver - will be accepting international flights beginning Wednesday.
Canada had at least 324 confirmed cases of Covid-19 across all 10 provinces as of Monday morning. There are an additional 17 presumptive cases. One death has been linked to the disease.
BBC
The US army is pulling out of al-Qaim and two other key military bases in Iraq in the coming weeks.
The decision to leave three of its eight bases in Iraq is a sign the US is looking to dramatically reduce its footprint in the country.
It comes amid heightened tensions with the Iraqi government and Iran.
A ceremony will take place this week at al-Qaim, where the US will formally hand over equipment to the Iraqi army to help it ensure security in the area.
It will end any US presence along the Iraqi side of the border with Syria.
The base is built on the ruins of one the Iraq's oldest train stations, near a tiny town of the same name along the Euphrates river.
The area was the first place in Iraq to fall into the hands of the Islamic State group (IS) in 2014 and one of the last taken back by Iraqi forces in November 2017.
NPR
How long can the new coronavirus live on a surface, like say, a door handle, after someone infected touches it with dirty fingers? A study out this week finds that the virus can survive on hard surfaces such as plastic and stainless steel for up to 72 hours and on cardboard for up to 24 hours.
"This virus has the capability for remaining viable for days," says study author, James Lloyd-Smith, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Los Angeles, who researches how pathogens emerge.
Although the World Health Organization had previously estimated the survival time on surfaces to be a "few hours to a few days" based on research on other coronaviruses, this is the first study by scientists at a federal laboratory to test the actual virus causing the current pandemic, SARS-CoV-2.
The study is out in preprint form and expected to be published.
Interestingly, some surfaces are less hospitable to SARS-CoV-2. For instance, the virus remained viable on copper for only about four hours.
NPR
As Simone Biles celebrated her 23rd birthday on Saturday, she made it clear that she will not stop asking for accountability and answers surrounding the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal.
Among the many people who wished the gymnast happy birthday was the official USA Gymnastics Twitter account.
Accompanied by a video one of Biles' performance at the 2019 U.S. Gymnastics Championships, the organization said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the most decorated gymnast of all time, @simonebiles! We know you will only continue to amaze us and make history!"
Biles took the opportunity to respond with her birthday wish for the organization saying, "how about you amaze me and do the right thing... have an independent investigation."
AFP
The first human trial to evaluate a candidate vaccine against the new coronavirus has begun in Seattle, US health officials said Monday, raising hopes in the global fight against the disease.
But it may be another year to 18 months before it becomes available, once it has passed more trial phases to prove it works and is safe.
The vaccine is called mRNA-1273 and was developed by US National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists and collaborators at biotechnology company Moderna, which is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
"The open-label trial will enroll 45 healthy adult volunteers ages 18 to 55 years over approximately 6 weeks," the NIH said. "The first participant received the investigational vaccine today."
AFP
Israel's ex-military chief Benny Gantz was nominated Monday to try to form a government but further talks were expected with his bitter rival, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on an emergency alliance to fight coronavirus.
Gantz, who heads the centrist Blue and White party, called for "unity" and urged Netanyahu to join him as Israel seeks to end a crippling political stalemate after three inconclusive elections in less than a year.
"We must not have a fourth election," Gantz said, after he was formally nominated by President Reuven Rivlin to attempt to form an administration.
"I'll do everything to form in as few days as possible a national, patriotic and broad government."
Gantz won recommendations on Sunday from 61 lawmakers, a razor thin majority in the 120-member parliament, the Knesset.
DW News
A London-based German scientist is studying the spread and severity of COVID-19. In an interview with DW, Stefan Flasche explains the way he's using math and computers to help to predict how the disease may evolve.
DW: You work at the intersection of mathematics and epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and you have modeled the virus for a few months now. What you have learned about COVID-19?
Stefan Flasche: We are looking at the spread and attributes of the virus, which includes the severity. The outbreak on the cruise ship in Yokohama in Japan helped us understand the disease in a confined setting where you have the ability to test everyone. This leads us to believe that the infection-to-fatality ratio overall across age groups is in the ballpark of 1% percent which is really age dependent. The risk is much lower in younger age groups and increases drastically for older individuals. It gradually increases from 50 and the cut off is 60 plus where the risk is really high when you catch it.
DW News
The changes to Russia's constitution, spearheaded by President Vladimir Putin, have been approved by the country's Constitutional Court. The reform would allow Putin to "reset" his terms and run for president again.
Just days after the idea of "resetting" Vladimir Putin's term count was publicly floated in parliament, Russia's Constitutional Court has ruled that such a move is lawful.
On Monday, the courtapproved the changes which are part of a wide-reaching reform package that could allow the 67-year-old strongman to stay in power until 2036. The reform would still need to be approved by voters in a nationwide referendum, which has been set for April 22.
The Monday ruling was final and effective immediately, the court said on their website.
No room for Kremlin critics
Putin has ruled Russia since 2020, switching to the prime ministerial office in 2008 to circumvent term limits and returning to the presidency in 2012, after a reform that prolonged the length of a presidential term from four to six years. He won his most recent presidential term in 2018, which would allow him to legally stay in power by 2024.
Al Jazeera
Glasgow, Scotland - The dark spectre of the Lockerbie bombing resurfaced again last week, after more than three decades of enduring controversy.
The Pam Am flight 103 disaster in the Scottish town of Lockerbie in December 1988 saw all 259 passengers and crew on board, as well as 11 people on the ground, die as the plane crashed following a mid-air bombing, turning a sleepy rural setting, just 20 miles (32km) north of the border with England, into "hell on earth".
But on March 11, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) stirred the ghosts of a painful past when it announced that the conviction of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi for the bombing might have constituted a miscarriage of justice.
Al Jazeera
Five people including a police officer and a gunman have died in a shooting at a petrol station in the United States state of Missouri after the attacker went inside and opened fire, police said on Monday.
The dead also includes three citizens, Police Chief Paul Williams announced on Monday. An officer was injured along with another citizen.
Williams said police received reports of "multiple shooting calls throughout the city" late on Sunday. As officers responded, witnesses reported a vehicle crashed into a Kum & Go petrol station and convenience store, and the armed attacker ran inside and began shooting at customers and employees, Williams said. The first two officers who arrived were shot.
Other officers pulled the injured officers from the store and then went inside, where they found three citizens dead. The gunman was also found dead, apparently as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot, Williams said.
The Guardian
Actor Idris Elba has announced that he has tested positive for Covid-19.
The star of Luther and The Wire said on Twitter “I feel okay”, and does not have any symptoms.
Elba, 47, said he has been isolated since finding out he was exposed to the virus. “Stay home people and be pragmatic,” he said. “I will keep you updated on how I’m doing. No panic.”
Elba, who posted a video also featuring his wife Sabrina Dhowre, said she has not been tested and is “doing okay”.
Elba said he got tested after finding out on Friday that he had been in contact with someone who had the virus. “This is serious,” he said. “Now is the time to really think about social distancing, washing your hands.”