NBC via Yahoo News
Almost 72 million people across the country were under warnings of extreme heat Monday morning, the National Weather Service said.
With Thursday's seasonal solstice taking place amid a weeklong heat wave expected for the East Coast and the Midwest, the summer of 2024 is coming in hot.
Extreme heat warnings were in place for Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, New York City and Albany, New York.
A moderate heat risk warning means that people are at risk for any long periods of sun exposure; a major risk warning means heat-related health impacts are likely, while an extreme heat risk warning means the effects, such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke, could be fatal.
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BBC
Greece's main opposition party is demanding an investigation after a BBC reportwhich found the coastguard had caused dozens of migrant deaths over three years, according to witnesses.
Nine migrants were said to have been thrown into the water deliberately.
Syriza's immigration policy chief said: "We demand in-depth investigation, we demand answers, we demand accountability, and the reason we do it is this.
"We care about all human life, and we cannot get used to the loss of human life."
Giorgos Psychogios told the BBC his centre-left party had called for accountability over coastguard incidents for years, after many reports from international institutions and organisations.
He accused the government of calling his party "anti-Greek", "Erdogan agents" and "provocateurs" for asking those questions.
A government spokesperson insisted the BBC's claims had not been proven, but stressed that every complaint would be checked and conclusions drawn.
BBC
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved his six-member war cabinet, a widely expected decision that follows the departure of centrist opposition leader Benny Gantz and his ally Gadi Eisenkot.
A government spokesman said the pre-existing security cabinet and the larger full cabinet would make decisions about the war with Hamas in Gaza.
Since Mr Gantz quit eight days ago over what he said was the lack of strategy for the war, there have been calls from far-right ministers to take his place.
By dissolving the war cabinet, Mr Netanyahu avoids a tricky situation with his coalition partners and international allies.
A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that, as far as it was concerned, it would not affect the chain of command.
Al Jazeera
Cherokee, North Carolina – In a converted bingo hall deep in the Appalachian Mountains, Myrtle Driver led the charge to defy the state of North Carolina.
The spry 80-year-old, a venerated member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, handed a cashier a string of purple wampum beads, a traditional Indigenous currency. In return, she received packets of marijuana pre-rolls and edibles.
With that, Driver made the first purchase at the Great Smoky Cannabis Company superstore, the only seed-to-sale Indigenous weed operation in a part of the United States where marijuana is illegal.
Members of the tribe cheered and wiped away tears. Then, the store’s doors opened to the 800 customers lined up outside in the rain, each with a card certifying they were approved to buy medical marijuana.
Al Jazeera
Israeli forces battled with Palestinian groups in Rafah and elsewhere in southern Gaza despite the Israeli military’s announcement on Sunday of tactical pauses in operations to allow humanitarian aid to enter, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini has said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday criticised plans announced by the military to hold daily pauses in fighting along one of the main roads into the besieged Palestinian enclave that has been under relentless Israeli bombardment for more than eight months.
Lazzarini, commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the main organisation delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza, said that there had been no pause in the fighting.
Deutsche Welle
Disinformation is acknowledged as one of journalism's, if not the democratic world's, biggest problems. Fake news and misleading visuals have deepened social division and interfered with elections, as well as having other destructive aspects. And generative artificial intelligence, or AI, where, for example, advanced computing allows users to make a minutes-long video from one photograph of a politician, is only about to make things worse.
However at DW's annual Global Media Forum (GMF) in Bonn there was some unexpectedly positive news regarding the increase and spread of disinformation.
People are much more conscious of it, Renate Nikolay, deputy director-general for communications networks, content and technology at the European Commission, told delegates at the international conference on Monday.
"If you look at where we were five years ago, people are so much more aware these days," Nikolay said, citing the various awareness and information campaigns that European Union counties have undertaken. "Just informing people that, watch out, there might be disinformation, has had a really important effect," she argued.
Deutsche Welle
Before the outbreak of war in Tigray, life was quite different for 42-year-old Kebedesh and her family in the northern part of Ethiopia. She ran a small hotel and was also involved in small-scale agriculture. Everything was going well for her.
Then, in November 2020, fighting between the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (FDRE) and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF)broke out. The war — which lasted two years — later saw Eritrean forces and Amhara militia joining hands to support the Ethiopian government forces.
A week after the outbreak of the conflict, as Kebedesh and her 8-year-old daughter were walking through Kafta, a rural area near the Eritrean border, five soldiers intercepted them, four from the neighboring country and one from the central government.
"They aggressively asked me, 'Do you have a man at TPLF?' — I said no," Kebedesh recalled.
The five men gang-raped her. At the same time, they stabbed her daughter and poured boiling water on her stomach to silence her cries for help.
After the soldiers left, Kebedesh gathered all the strength left in her and took her seriously wounded child to an Ethiopian military base to receive medical assistance.
Kyiv Independent
Ukrainian "kamikaze" drones attacked a metallurgical plant and other facilities used for military purposes in Russia's Belgorod, Voronezh, and Lipetsk oblasts overnight on June 17, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) source told the Kyiv Independent.
The confirmation came after Russian governors reported drone attacks on three regions, claiming there were no damage or casualties.
One of the targets was the Novolipetsk metallurgical plant and a local tractor plant in Lipetsk Oblast, according to the source.
"Both enterprises are used by the aggressor for military purposes. In the area of these facilities, local residents heard the sounds of explosions and air defense systems," the source said.
The Guardian, US
Stanford University’s sustainability school has hired a public relations firm to address “potential reputational challenges” amid concern from campus activists over the institution’s extensive ties with fossil fuel companies.
However, that PR firm, the Brunswick Group, has itself faced criticism for working with oil and gas companies, disappointing the university’s climate advocates. Brunswick says it is “vital to engage with companies in the most complex sectors to decarbonize”.
“I was like, God, really?” Amanda Campos, a Stanford sophomore and member of the Doerr School of Sustainability’s student advisory council, said after learning of the partnership.
The sustainability school, which was founded in 2022, and its precursor departments has accepted funding from Exxon, Chevron, Shell and other oil majors, sparking anger from climate organizers on and off campus. It is not alone: fossil fuel companies have funneled hundreds of millions of dollarsinto university research across the US.
The Guardian, UK
Nigel Farage has unveiled a raft of populist pledges, massive tax cuts and £140bn in spending commitments in a Reform UK manifesto that economists said did “not add up”.
The Conservative party, which has struggled to counter the growing Reform threat, accused Farage of being part of a “great entertainment machine” who was not somebody who could govern the country.
Labour strategists believe Reform, which held its manifesto launch in the opposition’s south Wales heartlands, does not represent a serious risk because the party is so poorly organised and is likely to have seen its vote squeezed by the Tories on election day.
Farage, however, said he wants Reform UK to establish a “bridgehead” in parliament with a view to a full assault in five years’ time, suggesting he could be in No 10 following the next general election.
The Guardian, Europe
Employees at Sweden’s national news channel, TV4, were last month told to avoid wearing clothing or badges that might identify their employer’s logo in public. The security risk was deemed too big. The advice was made in response to increased threats against the station and its reporters after its investigative programme, Kalla Fakta (Cold Facts), alleged that the far-right Sweden Democrats – the second biggest party in Sweden – operated a vast network of anonymous social media accounts, coordinating attacks on political opponents and the media.
Sweden is one of the world’s strongest democracies, with very high levels of trust in its media and political institutions. But journalists covering domestic politics now have to fear for their safety.
The Guardian, International
Vladimir Putin will travel to North Korea this week as he seeks continued military support for the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine from one of the world’s most isolated nations.
In his first visit to North Korea since 2000, Putin will meet Kim Jong-un for one-on-one talks in Pyongyang as the two leaders pledge to expand their security and economic cooperation in defiance of western sanctions against both countries.
Putin is expected to arrive in
North Korea on Tuesday with a large entourage of government ministers and advisers, including those responsible for the Russian military and weapons procurement. They include his new defence minister, Andrey Belousov, and Denis Manturov, his top deputy prime minister overseeing the defence sector.
NPR
In a windowless room, Uber driver Farhan Badel took the podium in front of a committee of Minnesota state legislators in early May. As Badel leaned into the microphone and started speaking, the room quieted. Testifying before lawmakers was something he’d done nearly a dozen times before, but he says this time felt like his last chance.
“We’ve been fighting for two long years,” Badel stated, referencing ride-hail drivers’ battle to get a minimum wage law passed in the state. He said his message to lawmakers was this: "Uber and Lyft, especially Uber, notorious for their shady lobbying … should not be allowed to dictate what becomes law in this state.
”The lobbying Badel referenced is part of a playbook Uber and Lyft have used in cities across the country to curb minimum wage laws for drivers. The San Francisco-based companies have barraged lawmakers with emails, sent warning messages to riders and drivers, and threatened to vacate states if they were forced to pay minimum wage.
The crew of the Overnight News Digest consists of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, jeremybloom, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Rise above the swamp, Besame and jck. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) eeff, Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man, wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), rfall, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw.
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