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
LeBron James or Michael Jordan? Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain? Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant? Old school or new school? These debates rage on endlessly in every corner of NBA fandom, and our experts have done their best to answer them, ranking the greatest players in the league's 74-year history. ESPN's NBA expert panel voted on thousands of head-to-head matchups, taking into consideration both total career value and peak performance. It is always nice to be nominated, but there can be only a select few who make the cut. Our list begins with Nos. 74 through 41.
LeBron James or Michael Jordan? Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain? Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant? Old school or new school?
These debates rage on endlessly in every corner of NBA fandom, and our experts have done their best to answer them, ranking the greatest players in the league's 74-year history.
ESPN's NBA expert panel voted on thousands of head-to-head matchups, taking into consideration both total career value and peak performance.
It is always nice to be nominated, but there can be only a select few who make the cut. Our list begins with Nos. 74 through 41.
BBC
Gregory McMichael and his son Travis, who are white, are facing murder and assault charges over the shooting. The case sparked national outrage when video of the death emerged last week. Mr Arbery's supporters have been using the hashtag #IRunWithMaud, sharing photos and running 2.23 miles (3.6km) for the day he died, 23 February. Some held protest rallies outside courthouses in Georgia and neighbouring Florida. Questions have been raised about why the police failed to charge the McMichaels for more than two months. The pair were detained on Thursday by the state bureau of investigation (GBI), two days after the video came to light. Gregory, 64, and Travis, 34, are in the custody of the Glynn County Sheriff's Department, officials said on Friday.
Gregory McMichael and his son Travis, who are white, are facing murder and assault charges over the shooting.
The case sparked national outrage when video of the death emerged last week.
Mr Arbery's supporters have been using the hashtag #IRunWithMaud, sharing photos and running 2.23 miles (3.6km) for the day he died, 23 February.
Some held protest rallies outside courthouses in Georgia and neighbouring Florida.
Questions have been raised about why the police failed to charge the McMichaels for more than two months. The pair were detained on Thursday by the state bureau of investigation (GBI), two days after the video came to light.
Gregory, 64, and Travis, 34, are in the custody of the Glynn County Sheriff's Department, officials said on Friday.
Sioux tribes in the US state of South Dakota are refusing to remove coronavirus checkpoints they set up on roads which pass through their land. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem wrote to several tribal leaders last week saying the checkpoints were illegal. But the Sioux say they are the only way of making sure the virus does not enter their reservations. Their limited healthcare facilities would not be able to cope with an outbreak, they say. At present, people are only allowed to enter the reservations for essential business if they have not travelled from a Covid-19 hotspot. They must also complete a health questionnaire before doing so.
Sioux tribes in the US state of South Dakota are refusing to remove coronavirus checkpoints they set up on roads which pass through their land.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem wrote to several tribal leaders last week saying the checkpoints were illegal.
But the Sioux say they are the only way of making sure the virus does not enter their reservations.
Their limited healthcare facilities would not be able to cope with an outbreak, they say.
At present, people are only allowed to enter the reservations for essential business if they have not travelled from a Covid-19 hotspot.
They must also complete a health questionnaire before doing so.
NPR
Twitter is now labeling misleading, disputed or unverified tweets about the coronavirus. It is even removing content it believes could lead to harm, the company announced Monday. The labels warn users about the problematic tweets and steer them to authoritative sources, including public health agencies and credible news outlets. Yoel Roth, Twitter's head of site integrity, said on a call with reporters that the mission is not to "fact-check the entire Internet," but rather to limit the spread of potentially harmful tweets. Only those messages that "directly pose a risk to someone's health or well-being" will be pulled off Twitter, he said. Tweets that, for example, falsely claim that wearing masks can lead to sickness or encourage people to ignore social distancing guidelines would likely be removed.
Twitter is now labeling misleading, disputed or unverified tweets about the coronavirus. It is even removing content it believes could lead to harm, the company announced Monday.
The labels warn users about the problematic tweets and steer them to authoritative sources, including public health agencies and credible news outlets.
Yoel Roth, Twitter's head of site integrity, said on a call with reporters that the mission is not to "fact-check the entire Internet," but rather to limit the spread of potentially harmful tweets.
Only those messages that "directly pose a risk to someone's health or well-being" will be pulled off Twitter, he said.
Tweets that, for example, falsely claim that wearing masks can lead to sickness or encourage people to ignore social distancing guidelines would likely be removed.
In early February, China's ruling Communist Party was facing one of its biggest political crises in more than three decades. A rapidly spreading outbreak of the new coronavirus was a "massive risk and challenge" to social stability, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned top party officials in an internal speech that was later published publicly. But with new domestic infections near zero, China has claimed victory over a virus that much of the world is still struggling to curtail. Newly confident and sensitive to criticisms that it initially covered up the outbreak, China's leadership is now seeking to recast the pandemic as a political win by arguing that its centralized, top-down governance system made it uniquely well suited for containing and managing the virus; according to official figures, the virus has claimed fewer than 5,000 Chinese lives." The way the Chinese handled the coronavirus is coupled with technology, with culture and with very effective government coordination," said Wang Huiyao, president of the Beijing-based think tank Center for China and Globalization. "That's something unthinkable in Western countries."
In early February, China's ruling Communist Party was facing one of its biggest political crises in more than three decades. A rapidly spreading outbreak of the new coronavirus was a "massive risk and challenge" to social stability, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned top party officials in an internal speech that was later published publicly.
But with new domestic infections near zero, China has claimed victory over a virus that much of the world is still struggling to curtail. Newly confident and sensitive to criticisms that it initially covered up the outbreak, China's leadership is now seeking to recast the pandemic as a political win by arguing that its centralized, top-down governance system made it uniquely well suited for containing and managing the virus; according to official figures, the virus has claimed fewer than 5,000 Chinese lives."
The way the Chinese handled the coronavirus is coupled with technology, with culture and with very effective government coordination," said Wang Huiyao, president of the Beijing-based think tank Center for China and Globalization. "That's something unthinkable in Western countries."
USA Today
PORTLAND, Ore. – On a long, winding drive home one night in March, Geoff Latham realized his life, and his business, could not go on as planned. “We’re gonna have to lay off so many people,” he choked out to his wife, Melody, tears in his eyes. “It’s gonna be horrible.” He had built up his small meat processing plant selling quality products to fancy restaurants. Now those restaurants were closing as customers and waitstaff were confined to their homes in the midst of a deadly pandemic. For Latham, shutting down wasn’t an option. Not only would his business fail to survive such a drastic move, but as the country plunged into the biggest crisis in nearly a century, he felt certain his work was essential to keeping Americans fed. As the coronavirus sweeps the nation, Americans are worried: Will there be enough food for everyone? Will more workers get sick to provide the rest of us with steaks, chicken quarters and pork chops?
PORTLAND, Ore. – On a long, winding drive home one night in March, Geoff Latham realized his life, and his business, could not go on as planned.
“We’re gonna have to lay off so many people,” he choked out to his wife, Melody, tears in his eyes. “It’s gonna be horrible.”
He had built up his small meat processing plant selling quality products to fancy restaurants. Now those restaurants were closing as customers and waitstaff were confined to their homes in the midst of a deadly pandemic.
For Latham, shutting down wasn’t an option. Not only would his business fail to survive such a drastic move, but as the country plunged into the biggest crisis in nearly a century, he felt certain his work was essential to keeping Americans fed.
As the coronavirus sweeps the nation, Americans are worried: Will there be enough food for everyone? Will more workers get sick to provide the rest of us with steaks, chicken quarters and pork chops?
A photo of a crowded flight posted on Twitter by a cardiologist returning from the New York City area may hint at the difficulties of social distancing as air travel picks up again. Dr. Ethan Weiss tweeted a photo Saturday showing what appears to be a full United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco. Though passengers are wearing masks, he said the crowded cabin runs counter to United's assurances that it would leave middle seats empty in order to promote social distancing to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. "I guess @united is relaxing their social distancing policy these days? Every seat full on this 737," tweeted Weiss along with the photo. He is both a physician and a scientist at the University of California San Francisco who had been in New York working to aid with the coronavirus crisis.
A photo of a crowded flight posted on Twitter by a cardiologist returning from the New York City area may hint at the difficulties of social distancing as air travel picks up again.
Dr. Ethan Weiss tweeted a photo Saturday showing what appears to be a full United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco. Though passengers are wearing masks, he said the crowded cabin runs counter to United's assurances that it would leave middle seats empty in order to promote social distancing to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
"I guess @united is relaxing their social distancing policy these days? Every seat full on this 737," tweeted Weiss along with the photo. He is both a physician and a scientist at the University of California San Francisco who had been in New York working to aid with the coronavirus crisis.
AFP
As US President Donald Trump moves to reopen the coronavirus-battered country, the White House is battling infections within its own ranks. And stemming an outbreak of the highly-contagious virus is not an easy task in the famed West Wing. Though it may appear spacious in movies and TV shows, the West Wing, where the president works out of the Oval Office, is actually rather cramped, making social distancing difficult. In the past few days, a personal valet to Trump and the press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence, head of the White House's coronavirus task force, have tested positive for the virus. Three members of the task force have gone into quarantine -- infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Stephen Hahn, head of the Food and Drug Administration.
As US President Donald Trump moves to reopen the coronavirus-battered country, the White House is battling infections within its own ranks.
And stemming an outbreak of the highly-contagious virus is not an easy task in the famed West Wing.
Though it may appear spacious in movies and TV shows, the West Wing, where the president works out of the Oval Office, is actually rather cramped, making social distancing difficult.
In the past few days, a personal valet to Trump and the press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence, head of the White House's coronavirus task force, have tested positive for the virus.
Three members of the task force have gone into quarantine -- infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Stephen Hahn, head of the Food and Drug Administration.
Stock markets slid Monday as fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections took their toll in volatile trading. Key eurozone markets were down at the close, having given up early gains, while London managed to edge into positive territory in the final minutes of trading as the pound weakened. On Wall Street the Dow Jones index was about 150 points lower by the late New York morning. "Fears of a second wave are already emerging in South Korea, China and maybe even Germany which should be a lesson to those countries preparing for looser restrictions," said Craig Erlam, an analyst at OANDA.
Stock markets slid Monday as fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections took their toll in volatile trading.
Key eurozone markets were down at the close, having given up early gains, while London managed to edge into positive territory in the final minutes of trading as the pound weakened.
On Wall Street the Dow Jones index was about 150 points lower by the late New York morning.
"Fears of a second wave are already emerging in South Korea, China and maybe even Germany which should be a lesson to those countries preparing for looser restrictions," said Craig Erlam, an analyst at OANDA.
DW News
I”m standing outside a run-down, two-story brick building in the village of Rosendahl, in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. One of the residents, a man of around 50, tells me the home has been placed under quarantine "because of coronavirus." His grasp of English and German is limited, and he wants to remain anonymous, but he tells me he's from the Romanian city of Sibiu. The man doesn't seem to understand that having his house under quarantine requires him to stay inside. He's wearing a paper mask, but it dangles loosely around his neck. The man works at the Westfleisch slaughterhouse in nearby Coesfeld, along with a number of other Romanians, Bulgarians and Polish people. Authorities have temporarily closed the slaughterhouse after news broke that an unknown number of workers at the site had become infected with the coronavirus. As of Monday afternoon, at least 249 people had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease — many of them foreign workers.
I”m standing outside a run-down, two-story brick building in the village of Rosendahl, in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. One of the residents, a man of around 50, tells me the home has been placed under quarantine "because of coronavirus."
His grasp of English and German is limited, and he wants to remain anonymous, but he tells me he's from the Romanian city of Sibiu.
The man doesn't seem to understand that having his house under quarantine requires him to stay inside. He's wearing a paper mask, but it dangles loosely around his neck. The man works at the Westfleisch slaughterhouse in nearby Coesfeld, along with a number of other Romanians, Bulgarians and Polish people.
Authorities have temporarily closed the slaughterhouse after news broke that an unknown number of workers at the site had become infected with the coronavirus. As of Monday afternoon, at least 249 people had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease — many of them foreign workers.
German lawmakers from across the political spectrum on Monday warned that the growing wave of anti-lockdown protests could provide fertile ground for radicalization, including from the far-right. Over the weekend, thousands of people gathered in cities across Germany to demand an end to restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. "Looking away and silence do not help," said Saskia Eskens, leader of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the junior coalition partners to Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU). 'Resist conspiracy theorists' Speaking with the Funke Mediengruppe newspaper consortium, Eskens said now was the time to actively resist conspiracy theorists and extremist groups trying to capitalize on lockdown cabin fever. "We have to show ourselves to be pugnacious democrats," she said. The CDU also spoke out about the possibility radical ideologies were being promoted through the demonstrations.
German lawmakers from across the political spectrum on Monday warned that the growing wave of anti-lockdown protests could provide fertile ground for radicalization, including from the far-right. Over the weekend, thousands of people gathered in cities across Germany to demand an end to restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Looking away and silence do not help," said Saskia Eskens, leader of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the junior coalition partners to Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU).
'Resist conspiracy theorists'
Speaking with the Funke Mediengruppe newspaper consortium, Eskens said now was the time to actively resist conspiracy theorists and extremist groups trying to capitalize on lockdown cabin fever. "We have to show ourselves to be pugnacious democrats," she said.
The CDU also spoke out about the possibility radical ideologies were being promoted through the demonstrations.
Al Jazeera
The level of a key enzyme used by the new coronavirus to infect cells is higher in men's blood than women's, a new study has found. In most countries, the number of deaths from the new coronavirus among men is higher than women. The discrepancy was first noted in China where the death rates showed that 2.8 percent of men who caught the virus had died, compared with 1.7 percent of women. Italian women died at a death rate of 4.1 percent compared with 7.2 percent for men. In South Korea, about 54 percent of the reported deaths were among men.
The level of a key enzyme used by the new coronavirus to infect cells is higher in men's blood than women's, a new study has found.
In most countries, the number of deaths from the new coronavirus among men is higher than women.
The discrepancy was first noted in China where the death rates showed that 2.8 percent of men who caught the virus had died, compared with 1.7 percent of women.
Italian women died at a death rate of 4.1 percent compared with 7.2 percent for men.
In South Korea, about 54 percent of the reported deaths were among men.
Saudi Arabia will triple its value added tax rate and suspend a cost-of-living allowance for state employees, the kingdom's finance minister said on Monday, seeking to shore up finances hit hard by low oil prices and a coronavirus-driven slowdown. "The cost of living allowance will be suspended as of June 1, and the value added tax will be increased to 15 percent from 5 percent as of July 1," Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said in the statement reported by the state news agency.
Saudi Arabia will triple its value added tax rate and suspend a cost-of-living allowance for state employees, the kingdom's finance minister said on Monday, seeking to shore up finances hit hard by low oil prices and a coronavirus-driven slowdown.
"The cost of living allowance will be suspended as of June 1, and the value added tax will be increased to 15 percent from 5 percent as of July 1," Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said in the statement reported by the state news agency.
The Guardian
The Trump administration is diligently weakening US environment protections even amid a global pandemic, continuing its rollback as the November election approaches. During the Covid-19 lockdown, US federal agencies have eased fuel-efficiency standards for new cars; frozen rules for soot air pollution; proposed to drop review requirements for liquefied natural gas terminals; continued to lease public property to oil and gas companies; sought to speed up permitting for offshore fish farms; and advanced a proposal on mercury pollution from power plants that could make it easier for the government to conclude regulations are too costly to justify their benefits. The government has also relaxed reporting rules for polluters during the pandemic. Trump’s ambitions reach even to the moon, which he has announced he wants the US to mine.
The Trump administration is diligently weakening US environment protections even amid a global pandemic, continuing its rollback as the November election approaches.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, US federal agencies have eased fuel-efficiency standards for new cars; frozen rules for soot air pollution; proposed to drop review requirements for liquefied natural gas terminals; continued to lease public property to oil and gas companies; sought to speed up permitting for offshore fish farms; and advanced a proposal on mercury pollution from power plants that could make it easier for the government to conclude regulations are too costly to justify their benefits.
The government has also relaxed reporting rules for polluters during the pandemic.
Trump’s ambitions reach even to the moon, which he has announced he wants the US to mine.
Some happy news for a change.
The closure of schools in Brazil due to the coronavirus pandemic gave 11-year-old prodigy Gui Khury plenty of time to perfect his skateboarding skills as he became the first person to land a 1080-degree turn on a vertical ramp. More than two decades after Tony Hawk completed the first 900-degree turn, Khury shattered a long-standing record by flying off the top of a ramp and completing three full spins in the air before landing cleanly and skating off. The manoeuvre has long been one of the holy grails of skateboarding. “The isolation for the coronavirus helped because he had a life that was about school and he didn’t have a lot of time to train, when he got home from school he was tired,” the skater’s father Ricardo Khury Filho told Reuters. “So now he is at home more, he eats better and he has more time to train and can focus more on the training so that has helped. He has an opportunity to train here, if he didn’t have [the skate facilities] ... he would be stuck at home like everyone else and unable to do sport. So the isolation helped him focus.“
The closure of schools in Brazil due to the coronavirus pandemic gave 11-year-old prodigy Gui Khury plenty of time to perfect his skateboarding skills as he became the first person to land a 1080-degree turn on a vertical ramp.
More than two decades after Tony Hawk completed the first 900-degree turn, Khury shattered a long-standing record by flying off the top of a ramp and completing three full spins in the air before landing cleanly and skating off. The manoeuvre has long been one of the holy grails of skateboarding.
“The isolation for the coronavirus helped because he had a life that was about school and he didn’t have a lot of time to train, when he got home from school he was tired,” the skater’s father Ricardo Khury Filho told Reuters.
“So now he is at home more, he eats better and he has more time to train and can focus more on the training so that has helped. He has an opportunity to train here, if he didn’t have [the skate facilities] ... he would be stuck at home like everyone else and unable to do sport. So the isolation helped him focus.“
Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge in Montana on Monday upheld his ruling last month that canceled an environmental permit for the long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline and threatened other oil and natural gas pipeline projects with delays. Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Morris denied a request by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to narrow his April 15 ruling that canceled the so-called Nationwide Permit 12. The permit allows dredging work on pipelines across water bodies. Morris said that the Army Corps did not adequately consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on risks to endangered species and habitat when it renewed the permit in 2017. To allow the agency to continue authorizing new oil and gas pipeline construction “could seriously injure projected species and critical habitat,” Morris said in the decision.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge in Montana on Monday upheld his ruling last month that canceled an environmental permit for the long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline and threatened other oil and natural gas pipeline projects with delays.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Morris denied a request by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to narrow his April 15 ruling that canceled the so-called Nationwide Permit 12. The permit allows dredging work on pipelines across water bodies.
Morris said that the Army Corps did not adequately consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on risks to endangered species and habitat when it renewed the permit in 2017. To allow the agency to continue authorizing new oil and gas pipeline construction “could seriously injure projected species and critical habitat,” Morris said in the decision.
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia’s second-most populous state will resume face-to-face teaching from May 27, weeks earlier than expected, after a school shutdown to halt the spread of the new coronavirus, Premier Daniel Andrews said on Tuesday. The state including the city of Melbourne would take a staggered approach with teenagers in classrooms first, followed by younger pupils from June 9, Andrew said. The Labor premier has been criticised by his political opponents for being too slow to reopen schools, a step seen as key to restoring the national economy which is heading for its first recession in 30 years.
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia’s second-most populous state will resume face-to-face teaching from May 27, weeks earlier than expected, after a school shutdown to halt the spread of the new coronavirus, Premier Daniel Andrews said on Tuesday.
The state including the city of Melbourne would take a staggered approach with teenagers in classrooms first, followed by younger pupils from June 9, Andrew said.
The Labor premier has been criticised by his political opponents for being too slow to reopen schools, a step seen as key to restoring the national economy which is heading for its first recession in 30 years.