Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, Magnifico, annetteboardman, jck, and Besame. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Man Oh Man, wader, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), Interceptor7, 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.
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It’s very difficult to find non-coronavirus related news.
Miami Herald: Florida nears 8,000 coronavirus cases, as state reports more than 1,000 in a single day by Michelle Marchante ad Devoun Cetoute
Florida saw a second day of more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases confirmed by the state’s Department of Health.
As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, 1,032 more confirmed cases have been reported, upping the state total to at least 7,773 positive cases, according to the latest report from Florida health officials. Florida ranks fifth in the nation in confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to the New York Times national database.
The Wednesday morning report showed the state’s confirmed cases jumping by 214 from the previous night. By Wednesday evening, the cases rose by another 819 cases.
Another 16 people have died since Tuesday night, raising the state’s death total to 101 Wednesday evening. The 16 deaths were in Broward, Dade, Lee, Manatee and Palm Beach counties, the health department said.
Of the 7,773 confirmed cases in the state, 7,495 are Florida residents and 278 are non-Florida residents who were diagnosed or isolated in Florida, according to the health department’s dashboard. Health officials say 990 people are hospitalized in the state because of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
New York Daily News: FDNY to enact ‘doomsday scenario’ for medically-trained firefighters to assist EMS with coronavirus 911 calls: union head by Ginger Adams Otis and Thomas Tracy
Firefighters trained as paramedics and EMTs will assist the FDNY’s overloaded medical services bureau as part of a “doomsday scenario” to deal with the surging coronavirus pandemic, the Daily News has learned.
Roughly 209 FDNY firefighters with emergency medical technician licenses have been ordered to man rapid response vehicles, according to a six-minute video released Tuesday night by United Firefighters’ Association head Gerard Fitzgerald.
They’re being asked to respond to some of the estimated 6,000 calls flooding the department’s Emergency Medical Service crews each day and evaluate patients for possible coronavirus infection or other medical problems, Fitzgerald said.
An additional 63 firefighters with paramedic certifications are also on tap to assist EMS on medical calls, the union leader said.
Fitzgerald acknowledged that firefighters might not like being assigned to a job outside their normal job responsibilities — but he said the city’s need outweighs such objections.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett says it's 'dangerous' to go to the polls Tuesday in the midst of coronavirus by Alison Durr
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett on Wednesday said he thinks it's dangerous for voters to gather at the polls next week in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
On a call with reporters, he reiterated that Wisconsin’s April 7 election could be the largest event in the country in April.
“I don’t think that it’s good public policy, I think it’s dangerous during a pandemic,” he said. “And I hope that people do not go to the polls on Tuesday. As much as I want them to vote, I do not want them to put their lives in jeopardy, I don’t want them to put the health and safety of our poll workers in jeopardy.”
In a subsequent interview, Barrett said he wanted people to vote absentee and did not want anyone to get the impression that he was trying to limit turnout.
"I want as many people as possible to get an absentee ballot and return an absentee ballot," he said.
Washington Post: Anthony Fauci’s security is stepped up as doctor and face of U.S. coronavirus response receives threats by Issac Stanley-Becker, Yasmeen Abutaleb and Devlin Barrett
Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-diseases expert and the face of the U.S. response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, is facing growing threats to his personal safety, prompting the government to step up his security, according to people familiar with the matter.
The concerns include threats as well as unwelcome communications from fervent admirers, according to people with knowledge of deliberations inside the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice.
Fauci, 79, is the most outspoken member of the administration in favor of sweeping public health guidelines and is among the few officials willing to correct President Trump’s misstatements. Along with Deborah Birx, the coordinator for the White House’s task force, Fauci has encouraged the president to extend the timeline for social-distancing guidelines, presenting him with grim models about the possible toll of the pandemic.
Buzzfeed: Zoom Calls Are Being Overwhelmed With Racist Slurs In "Zoombombing" Events by Salvador Hernandez
When she founded WOC Space, Tiara Moore envisioned a virtual place where professional women of color could meet, socialize, and offer support in a safe setting.
Then when stay-at-home orders began to be issued across the country, Moore believed the group's weekly meetings were more important than ever. They offered moral support, tips, and relief to the isolation of working from home by being able to connect people via Zoom.
So on Monday, she logged onto the video conferencing app and continued working on her computer, waiting for the handful of members to join her.
"I wasn't even looking at my screen and I hear a girl and she's like, 'I saw this on Twitter," Moore told BuzzFeed News. "I said, 'Oh, hey girl!' and she said, 'Yeah, but you should be careful because you can get hacked.'"
The virtual room instantly filled with what seemed like 100 people, Moore said, with multiple people yelling racist slurs at the same time. It was chaos — but the n-word, being repeatedly yelled in the middle of it, could be heard distinctly.
New York Times: Alarm, Denial, Blame: The Pro-Trump Media’s Coronavirus Distortion by Jeremy W. Peters
On Feb. 27, two days after the first reported case of the coronavirus spreading inside a community in the United States, Candace Owens was underwhelmed. “Now we’re all going to die from Coronavirus,” she wrote sarcastically to her two million Twitter followers, blaming a “doomsday cult” of liberal paranoia for the growing anxiety over the outbreak.
One month later, on the day the United States reached the grim milestone of having more documented coronavirus cases than anywhere in the world, Ms. Owens — a conservative commentator whom President Trump has called “a real star” — was back at it, offering what she said was “a little perspective” on the 1,000 American deaths so far. “The 2009 swine flu infected 1.4 Billion people around the world, and killed 575,000 people,” she wrote. “There was no media panic, and societies did not shut down.”
In the weeks leading up to the escalation of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, tens of millions of Americans who get their information from media personalities like Ms. Owens heard that this once-in-a-lifetime global health crisis was actually downright ordinary.
The president’s backers sometimes seemed to take their cues from him. On Feb. 26, the day before Ms. Owens was a guest at the White House for an African-American History Month reception, Mr. Trump denied it would spread further. “I don’t think it’s inevitable,” he said.
Hollywood Reporter (c/o Associated Press): Ellis Marsalis, New Orleans Jazz Patriarch, Dies at 85
Ellis Marsalis, jazz pianist, teacher and patriarch of a New Orleans musical family that includes famed musician sons Wynton and Branford, has died. He was 85.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Campbell announced Marsalis’ death in a news release Wednesday night. She did not specify a cause of death. He had continued to perform regularly in New Orleans until December.
Because Marsalis opted to stay in New Orleans for most of his career, his reputation was limited until his sons became famous and brought him the spotlight, along with new recording contracts and headliner performances on television and on tour.
Four of his six sons are musicians: Wynton, the trumpeter, is America’s most prominent jazz spokesman as artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York. Branford, the saxophonist, led the Tonight Show band and toured with Sting. Trombonist Delfeayo is a prominent recording producer and performer. And Jason, the drummer, has made a name for himself with his own band and as an accompanist. Ellis III, who decided music was not his gig, is a photographer-poet in Baltimore.
Guardian: Viktor Orbán ditches mayor plan amid claims of coronavirus power grab by Shaun Walker
Hungary’s nationalist government announced measures to strip the country’s mayors of political autonomy, before appearing to ditch them hours later, the latest episode in a political drama in which the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has been accused of using the coronavirus to mount a power grab.
On Monday, Hungary’s parliament passed a law that gives Orbán the right to rule by decree for an indefinite period and also criminalises intentionally spreading false information about coronavirus with up to five years in prison. The move was roundly criticised by Orbán’s domestic and international critics.
It was followed up by a bill of further measures published late on Tuesday evening that would target municipal authorities and mayors, many of whom are from opposition parties. During the state of emergency, mayors can take on the decision-making abilities of local councils, but the new regulation would submit these decisions to a review that could take up to five days.
The move was immediately criticised as inefficient and unworkable, and later on Wednesday Gergely Gulyás, the chief of Orbán’s cabinet, said the government would not follow through on the measure.
AlJazeera: Lebanon to investigate Ghanaian domestic worker's death by Timour Azhari
Beirut, Lebanon - Lebanon's labour ministry is investigating the death of Ghanaian domestic worker after an Al Jazeera investigation revealed she feared for her life because of alleged abuse by her employers.
Faustina Tay was found dead in the early hours of March 14 in a car park under her employer's fourth-floor home in Beirut's southern suburbs.
According to a forensic report, the cause of death was determined to be a fall from a high place.
In the week leading up to her death, the 23-year-old sent dozens of desperate text messages and more than 40 minutes of voice notes to activists and her brother in Ghana.
She said she was beaten up on at least four occasions by her employer Hussein Dia and Ali Kamal, the owner of domestic workers recruitment agency Al Kamal Trading and Services which brought her to Lebanon.
Tay said Kamal assaulted her alongside an employee named Hussein. All three denied the allegations when contacted by Al Jazeera.
DW: Afghanistan: Deadly bombing mars Taliban prisoner-swap talks
A roadside bombing in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province killed at least seven civilians, including six children, on Wednesday. An additional two people were injured.
All the victims were thought to be from the same family, the police said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and the "Islamic State" militants are active in the province.
The bombing happened one day after a three-person Taliban delegation had arrived in Kabul to meet with Afghan officials, despite a nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus. The arrival of the Taliban negotiators on Tuesday marked the first official visit to the capital city since the Taliban regime was toppled in 2001.
The delegation will oversee a prisoner exchange process, which is part of a peace agreement reached between the Taliban and the United States in Doha, Qatar, at the end of February. It is seen as a key step toward intra-Afghan talks aimed at ending decades of war in Afghanistan.
South China Morning Post: Blaming China for the coronavirus will come back to haunt the West by Chow Chung-yan (columnist)
The game of politics, according to the philosopher Bertrand Russell, is the process by which people choose the man who will get the blame. And we have been seeing some masterful play lately.
Downing Street is “furious”. Senior members of Boris Johnson’s cabinet – the virus-stricken prime minister is probably too short of breath to raise his own voice – told British media that China would face a “reckoning” for its mishandling of the coronavirus outbreak.
Beijing lied, covered up and shanghaied us into believing that this nature’s scourge is nothing but a common flu, some kind of snowflake that will melt away once spring is upon us. Because of their treachery, tens of thousands of Brits are now lying in hospitals and fighting for their lives. Who should pay for this?
In this day and age where originality is less sacred but more scarce than toilet paper, the Eton boys are hardly the first ones coming to this startling realisation. For weeks, their senior cousins in the White House have already decided who should be held responsible for the biggest cock-up of our times.
Guardian: Rihanna makes history: 'Did I ever imagine that I would see a durag on the cover of Vogue? by Priya Elan
Rihanna has made history, becoming the first woman to appear on the cover of British Vogue wearing a durag.
The garment, which is used to help the development of braids, waves and dreadlocks, has had a storied history in the black community. From being worn by slaves through to members of the Black power movement, it is a potent sartorial symbol of African-Caribbean survival and celebration.
After a period of criminalisation (it was banned by some high schools in the US), it has been reclaimed. As Observer beauty columnist Funmi Fetto wrote in Vogue: “The tainted fabric has been reclaimed as a symbol of black beauty, a signifier of style worn on the streets, the catwalk, the red carpet ... And now, in a powerful mic-drop moment, the durag is making its first appearance on the May 2020 cover of British Vogue.”
Don’t forget that Meteor Blades is hosting a Wedensday night owls thread tonight.
Everyone have a good evening!