Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame, jck and Rise above the swamp. . Alumni editors include (but not limited to) 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.
Since 2007 the OND has been 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.
BBC
New York fire: At least 19 killed in apartment block blaze
At least 19 people, including nine children, have died after a fire in a New York apartment building.
Another 32 people were sent to hospital, several of whom are in a critical condition, according to New York Mayor Eric Adams.
Fire department Commissioner Daniel Nigro said they had found victims on every floor of the 19-storey block, saying the smoke was "unprecedented".
He told NBC News the death toll was the worst seen in New York for 30 years.
Sunday's fire broke out in an apartment that spans the second and third floors of the Bronx apartment block at about 11:00 local time (16:00 GMT), officials said.
Some 200 firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze, which officials believe was sparked by a malfunctioning electric heater.
Commissioner Nigro said there were two floors of fire, but the smoke had spread everywhere.
NPR
Neither side is optimistic ahead of U.S.-Russia talks over Ukraine
As 100,000 Russian troops surround Ukraine on three sides, raising the specter of a Russian invasion, officials on both sides were pessimistic Sunday about the possibility that upcoming U.S.-Russia talks in Geneva would lead to any real breakthroughs.
On Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin's demands that the U.S. pull troops out of Eastern Europe, or rule out expanding NATO to include Ukraine.
"Neither of those is on the table," Blinken told CNN's State of the Union.
Blinken didn't rule out moving heavy U.S. weaponry out of Poland, moving missiles, or limiting the scope of U.S. military exercises. If Russia enters into these talks "in good faith," Blinken said, it's possible that the two sides can address concerns and reduce tensions. But prospects are dim while Russia continues to amass troops on Ukraine's border.
"It's hard to see making actual progress as opposed to talking in an atmosphere of escalation with a gun to Ukraine's head," Blinken said. "So if we're actually going to make progress, we're going to have to see de-escalation, Russia pulling back from the threat that it currently poses to Ukraine."
The Guardian
At least 200 villagers killed by bandits in north-west Nigeria
At least 200 people are believed to have been killed in villages in the north-western Nigerian state of Zamfara, in some of the deadliest attacks by armed bandits at large in the region.
Gunmen, themselves fleeing from airstrikes by the Nigerian army, attacked villages for days, opening fire and burning homes between Tuesday and Thursday. Some residents who fled returned to the villages on Saturday after the military organised mass burials. The state government said 58 people had been killed during the attacks, yet distraught residents reported far higher death tolls.
Ummaru Makeri, who lost his wife and three children during the attack, said about 154 people had been buried, including several armed vigilantes, who engaged the gunmen. Residents said the total death toll was at least 200.
Reuters
Death toll from Brazil waterfall rock face collapse rises to 10
BRASILIA, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Ten people died in the dramatic collapse of a canyon rock face on top of motor boats visiting a waterfall in southeastern Brazil, rescuers said on Sunday.
A tower of rocks suddenly broke away from the canyon wall on Saturday and came crashing down, crushing one of the leisure boats at Capitolio in Minas Gerais state. Shocking video images circulated on social media.
Firemen and divers recovered three more bodies from the lake on Sunday, raising the death toll to 10 in the disaster that injured some 30 tourists hit by falling rocks and a huge wave of water caused when the column of rock crashed into the lake.
The region has been under heavy rainfall for two weeks, which could have loosened the rock face.
Deutsche Welle
Saudi princess released from jail
Saudi authorities have released a princess and her daughter who had been detained without charge for nearly three years, her legal adviser said on Saturday.
Princess Basmah Bint Saud bin Abdulaziz al Saud, 57, is a businesswoman, rights activist and member of the Saudi royal family. She and her adult daughter Souhoud Al Sharif went missing in March 2019.
"The princess is doing fine but will be seeking medical expertise," said her legal adviser, Henri Estramant. "She seems worn out but is in good spirits and thankful to reunite with her sons in person."
Princess Basmah was set to travel overseas for medical treatment around the time of her arrest in late February 2019. At the time of her detention, she was informed that she was accused of trying to forge a passport, a close relative said at the time.
The Saudi government has never publicly commented on the case.
In 2020, Basmah said over social media that she had been held in Riyadh for more than a year and was sick.
I can’t access Al Jazeera. That may be a story in itself.
Raw Story
Gov. Newsom calls for $1.4 billion in emergency COVID-19 spending as omicron variant spreads
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday called for California lawmakers to approve $1.4 billion in emergency COVID-19 money as the omicron variant surges. Most of that money would go to expanding hospital surge capacity and increasing testing, including by expanding the hours at testing sites and sending millions of rapid tests to local health departments, community clinics and schools. Newsom’s call for additional funding comes as testing demand outstrips supply in California, resulting in long lines at testing sites and longer wait times for results.
The highly infectious omicron variant now accounts for at least 80% of COVID-19 cases in California, according to Newsom’s office. The state’s daily case rate has skyrocketed, and more than 1 in 5 tests are coming back positive, according to state data.
C/Net
Regulating the tech giants may finally be within reach
For nearly five years, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have promised to rein in the power and influence of Big Tech. Increasingly alarmed by the power that giants like Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook and Twitter wield, they've targeted how these companies harm consumers by allegedly choking competition from smaller players, exploiting personal data for profit and controlling what is shared and consumed online.
Despite the flurries of congressional hearings that started with Russia's use of social media to interfere in the 2016 election, little has changed so far. House and Senate members have introduced dozens of bills including a comprehensive federal privacy law, a modernization of antitrust laws and a rethinking of tech companies' sweeping federal liability shield. But to date, none of them has become law.
Washington Post
Republican leadership bars journalists from Iowa Senate floor, worrying press advocates
When Iowa’s 2022 legislative session commences Monday, there will be a notable absence on the floor of the state Senate: reporters.
Republican leaders in the state Senate told journalists last week they will no longer be allowed to work on the chamber floor, a change that breaks with a more than 140-year tradition in the Iowa Capitol. The move raised concerns among free press and freedom of information advocates who said it is a blow to transparency and open government that makes it harder for the public to understand, let alone scrutinize, elected officials.
The new rule denies reporters access to the press benches near senators’ desks, a proximity current and former statehouse reporters told The Washington Post is crucial for the most accurate and nuanced coverage. The position allows reporters to see and hear everything clearly on the Senate floor and to get real-time answers and clarifications during debates.
The Guardian
Hungry badger may have uncovered Roman coins in Spanish cave
A trove of 209 Roman coins in a cave in northern Spain – hailed by researchers as an “exceptional find” – is believed to have been uncovered by a badger desperately foraging for food.
The coins, dating from between the third and fifth century AD, were spotted in a cave in the municipality of Grado in the northern region of Asturias. They were found mere feet from the den of a badger, months after Storm Filomena dumped heavy snow across swaths of the country.
Researchers believe that the snow forced the badger to step up its foraging efforts, leaving it prodding at a small crack near its den in hopes of uncovering berries or worms.
Instead it appears that the animal hit on a stockpile of worn Roman coins, forged in places as far away as Constantinople and Thessaloniki, archaeologist Alfonso Fanjul Peraza told El País newspaper.
Most of the coins are made of copper and bronze and the largest, weighing more than eight grams and containing 4% silver, is believed to have been forged in London.