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.
BBC
Nantes cathedral fire: Volunteer admits starting blaze, says lawyer
A church volunteer has admitted starting a fire that devastated the cathedral in the French city of Nantes last week, his lawyer has said.
The Rwandan refugee, who worked as a warden at the cathedral, was rearrested on Saturday night.
No motive for the fire, which destroyed the cathedral's 17th Century organ as well as historic stained-glass windows, has been given.
His lawyer told reporters his client felt "relief" after confessing.
"It's someone who is scared, who is somehow overwhelmed," his lawyer, Quentin Chabert, was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
The 39-year-old volunteer, who has not been named, was initially detained for questioning after the blaze but then released without charge.
He had been in charge of locking up the Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul cathedral the day before the blaze on 18 July.
BBC Amazing!
North Korea on alert over 'first suspected coronavirus case’
North Korea has reported what it describes as the country's first suspected case of coronavirus.
State media said a person who defected to South Korea three years ago last week returned across the demarcation line with Covid-19 symptoms.
Leader Kim Jong-un held an emergency meeting with top officials, imposing a lockdown in the border city of Kaesong.
North Korea, a secretive state, had previously not reported any virus cases - but analysts said this was unlikely.
"An emergency event happened in Kaesong city where a runaway who went to the south three years ago - a person who is suspected to have been infected with the vicious virus - returned on 19 July after illegally crossing the demarcation line," news agency KCNA said. At Saturday's politburo meeting, Mr Kim was said to have ordered a "maximum emergency system" to contain the virus.
Reuters
Florida records 9,300 new coronavirus cases, blows past New York
(Reuters) - Florida on Sunday became the second state after California to overtake New York, the worst-hit state at the start of the U.S. novel coronavirus outbreak, according to a Reuters tally.
Total COVID-19 cases in the Sunshine State rose by 9,300 to 423,855 on Sunday, just one place behind California, which now leads the country with 448,497 cases. New York is in third place with 415,827 cases.
Still, New York has recorded the most deaths of any U.S. state at more than 32,000 with Florida in eighth place with nearly 6,000 deaths.
On average, Florida has added more than 10,000 cases a day in July while California has been adding 8,300 cases a day and New York has been adding 700 cases.
The Guardian
One million Cambodians under threat from development of vital wetlands – report
The destruction of critically-important wetlands by politically-connected developers in Cambodia threatens to flood more than one million Phnom Penh residents, ruin the city’s wastewater system, force hundreds of families from their homes, and trigger environmental devastation, a new report has warned.
The sprawling Tompoun/Cheung Ek wetlands, just south of Phnom Penh, play a vital role in sustaining the Cambodian capital, acting as a natural store of 70% of its rain and wastewater and providing livelihoods for the more than 1,000 families who live, farm and fish in the area.
But a new report says that in 2004 developers, acting with government backing, began to gradually destroy the 1,500-hectare wetlands, filling them with sand dredged from the Mekong and Bassac rivers to prepare for the construction of a vast 2,500 hectare satellite city, dubbed “ING City”, the largest development in Cambodia.
NPR
As Texas Reels From Hurricane Damage, Hawaii Braces For Impact
As Texas contends with the ongoing aftermath of one hurricane on Sunday, Hawaii is bracing for the impact of another.
Hurricane Hanna slammed into South Texas on Saturday, making landfall twice as a Category 1 storm. While it was downgraded to tropical storm status early Sunday morning, its relentless rainfall continues to pose a threat.
"Heavy rainfall from Hanna has already produced numerous reports of flash flooding across south Texas," the National Hurricane Center reported Sunday. "Additional heavy rainfall will continue to cause life-threatening flash flooding over south Texas and northern Mexico, and isolated minor to moderate river flooding in south Texas."
By early Sunday afternoon, Tropical Storm Hanna was centered near Monterrey, Mexico and was moving west-southwest at roughly 9 miles per hour, with maximum sustained winds of about 40 mph. It is expected to continue to weaken to a tropical depression as its center moves farther inland over northeastern Mexico through Sunday night, and dissipate by Monday night.
Christian Science Monitor
They’ve faced brutal cops abroad. Now they’re advising US protesters.
As cities across the United States erupted with protesters demonstrating against the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd and demanding an end to police brutality, on the internet, Twitter was erupting, too: with advice.
“Tips, if not wearing a gas mask … rubbing a pinch of salt around eyes, helps combat the impact of the smoke. ... Take care, stay safe & keep reporting. Love from Kashmir.”
“In Palestine, first thing we do under fire is identify the type of weapons israeli cops/soldiers are holding. This defines your strategy for resisting + trying to be safe.”
“israeli soldiers sometimes use stun grenades to thin out a crowd & then go in & arrest people. They know that people with experience won’t run from stun grenades. Keep that in mind because israel trains US police & they may be using same strategies.”
From the identification of weapons to protecting one’s self when shot at, users from the Palestinian territories, Kashmir, Chile, and Hong Kong, gave advice on each and every aspect of demonstrating against brutal police states and keeping safe when in the midst of chaos.
Washington Post
Sen. Hawley lays down new antiabortion marker for Supreme Court nominees
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Sunday that he would not support any nominee for the Supreme Court unless they had publicly stated before their nomination that Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established federal protection for abortion, was “wrongly decided.”
“I will vote only for those Supreme Court nominees who have explicitly acknowledged that Roe v. Wade is wrongly decided,” Hawley said in an interview with The Washington Post. “By explicitly acknowledged, I mean on the record and before they were nominated.”
Hawley added: “I don’t want private assurances from candidates. I don’t want to hear about their personal views, one way or another. I’m not looking for forecasts about how they may vote in the future or predications. I don’t want any of that. I want to see on the record, as part of their record, that they have acknowledged in some forum that Roe v. Wade, as a legal matter, is wrongly decided.”
S F Chronicle
Klamath water arrives, saving 50,000 ducklings from certain death
TULELAKE, Siskiyou County — More than 50,000 ducklings and other newborn waterfowl and shorebirds were saved from certain deaths this week after an emergency delivery of water to the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“A week ago, we were worried the birds wouldn’t make it,” said John Vradenburg, supervisory biologist for the refuge.
The water will keep large areas of the refuge from drying up, he said. Baby ducks cannot fly for the first 50 days of their life, so they must have water where they are hatched in order to survive.
In a drought year for the Klamath Basin that has imperiled farmers, salmon and waterfowl, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt visited the region two weeks ago to meet with farmers in a nationally publicized visit. What is lesser known is that he also met privately with leadership of the California Waterfowl Association, who asked Bernhardt to deliver water to the refuge to help birds and wildlife survive, including waterfowl, bald eagles and white pelicans.
.Deutsche Welle
Norwegian smashes world record for singing Elvis Presley
A Norwegian man on Saturday set the new world record for singing Elvis Presley songs for 50 hours, 50 minutes and 50 seconds straight in an online competition.
Impersonator Kjell Henning Bjornstad, also known by his stage name "Kjell Elvis," completed the marathon at a pub in central Oslo.
"I'll never do this again," said the 52-year-old after he broke the record recognised by the Guinness World Record. His performance was streamed by Oslo tabloid VG, among others.
Bjornstad began singing on Thursday morning and switched between sitting and walking around on stage. When he completed the full Elvis catalogue he started singing all over again.
A nutritionist and a physician monitored Bjornstad, who was regularly served hot water with honey and lemon. The singer was told to take it easy on the coffee and instead rely on smoothies, fruit and energy bars to sustain his voice.
Bjornstad could take a five minute break every hour. He was also allowed to save up the breaks for a longer pause.