Overnight News Digest is a daily series posting at approximately midnight Eastern. We have a staff of seven editors, now lead by ek hornbeck.
My OND's always include stories on Afghanistan/Pakistan, Iraq, briefs from around the world, sports headlines, and local sections, frequently including my now-home state of Utah and my childhood home state of Iowa. Plus whatever else I feel like, of course.
Iraq
The day Fox News called
One day shortly after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Hassan Ali answered the door to his family home in Baghdad. Some strange men were standing on the doorstep. "I'd never seen anything like these huge armed men in flak jackets. They were scary. My father was worried they were going to kill us." The men turned out to be bodyguards for a Fox News crew, come to interview Ali and the other four members of his band UTN1.
The story suggested Iraqis wanted to be like us; and, more, that our invasion was to liberate people like us from people - devils, really - who weren't.
Only one problem with UTN1's story as it appeared in the west. It wasn't true. "We weren't a boy band," says Hassan, who is UTN1's guitarist and singer. "That was just a handle for the western media."
Afghanistan/Pakistan
Suicide car bomb in Afghanistan kills 14 primary school children
A suicide car bomb in Afghanistan today killed 14 primary school children in what officials said was a failed attempt to blow up a meeting of tribal elders.
The blast, in the country's eastern Khost province, also killed an Afghan army soldier and a security guard, and injured 58, including at least 40 civilians, the US army said.
MoD names marine killed in Afghanistan
A Royal Marine killed in Afghanistan on Christmas Eve was identified yesterday as Benjamin Whatley, a 20-year-old lance corporal with an "unbridled enthusiasm for life".
Lance Corporal Whatley, from King's Lynn in Norfolk, had been leading his men from the front when he was killed by enemy fire during a "prolonged and fierce" battle with insurgents, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
He is the 136th member of the British armed forces to die in Afghanistan since the start of operations in October 2001. His death comes amid growing concern about the rising toll of fatalities among British military personnel serving in Afghanistan.
Around the World
Church of England deal paves way for women bishops
After years of struggle to avoid schism, bishops have agreed a formula that enshrines the principle of equality for male and female bishops while appeasing opponents of women’s ordination. The first women bishops could take their place in the Anglican Church within three years.
The deal, published in a new report today, provides for a class of "complementary" traditionalist bishop for parishes that refuse to accept a woman diocesan bishop. Such "flying bishops" would have to abide by the authority of the woman bishop, according to the accompanying code of practice.
$10,000 discount for maths, science degrees under HECS changes
The changes will slash the cost of HECS charges for students studying these degrees from $7412 to $4162 a year, substantially reducing the cost of a three-year degree.
Graduates who take up primary school teaching positions will be eligible for a refund of about half their HECS-HELP repayments for up to five years. This would amount to an individual benefit of up to $1500 per year for five years.
The HECS policy changes are designed to encourage more students to study maths and science in Australia but it will also test the theory advanced by some academics that such discounts do not shift student choices.
Bangladesh Elections
Bangladesh's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League (AL) has got landslide majority in the ninth parliamentary election held on Monday, according to the latest primary results announced by the Election Commission early Tuesday.
The primary results of 229 constituencies updated at 6:25 a.m. local time (0025 GMT) were available.
Taking a 'Banksy Tour' in Bethlehem
Paintings by the West's favorite graffiti artist, Banksy, are part of everyday life for Palestinians around Bethlehem. Some images have been erased, others protected -- but some inspire an odd local lore.
In the West Bank, Israel's security barrier has started to resemble the western side of the Berlin Wall. The Israeli side is bleak and clean, but on the Palestinian side graffiti can flourish. I knew the British painter Banksy had tagged the wall a few years ago, but I had no idea where his stencils were. At first I didn't care -- I was just here to see Bethlehem -- but my taxi passed a stencil I had seen in news reports, a dove wearing a bulletproof vest. So I snapped a picture.
A Black Hole in the Banking Bailout
Prosecutors in Germany are investigating accusations of insider trading at Hypo Real Estate, the Munich-based mortgage lender that has recieved billions of euros in government bailouts -- the most of any company so far -- as a result of risky investments in US subprime loans.
They arrived early in the morning in large teams and they raided numerous offices and private residences at the same time. In November 2006, the Siemens corruption scandal came to light with a major police raid -- an affair whose first chapter ended several days ago with a multibillion dollar settlement with the United States government.
Cuba: 2008 worst year since collapse of the Soviet Union
Cuba says it has suffered one of the most difficult financial years since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Economy minister Jose Luis Rodriguez said the Cuban economy had grown by 4.3% in the past year, falling short of the 8% forecast by the government.
President Raul Castro called for austerity measures including cutbacks in official travel and bonuses.
Cuba was hit by hurricanes Gustav, Ike and Paloma this year, with estimated losses of nearly 10 billion US dollars.
Thousands more migrants reach Italy's shores
The number of migrants reaching Italy's southern coastline after a perilous crossing from Africa has soared by more than 50% this year, according to UN figures, highlighting the mounting moral and diplomatic dilemma that will face countries in southern Europe in 2009.
Even before another wave of landings in recent days, the number of arrivals this year soared to 33,000 - 13,000 more than in the whole of 2007, according to figures supplied yesterday by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. Up to 500 more, many of them asylum seekers from countries such as Somalia, are known or feared to have died before reaching Italian shores.
Since December 24, a further 2,400 people have come ashore in the Pelagic islands between Libya and Sicily. The most recent landings took place on Sunday after a boat carrying 331 migrants crashed into rocks fringing the tiny volcanic island of Linosa.
The first ten years of the euro
January 1st, 1999 marked the beginning of the euro area. The euro became the single currency for more than 300 million people, living in eleven countries, speaking different languages, characterised by different historical memories, traditions, customs, habits, behaviour patterns, cultures and institutions. The introduction of the euro ten years ago is a defining moment in the history of European monetary, financial, economic and political integration. It was an event of world significance.
Meanwhile, the process of enlargement of the euro area is on-going. Of the ten member states that joined with the fifth enlargement, four have already joined the euro area, with Slovakia – which will join the euro area on 1 January 2009 - being the first member from the former Soviet bloc.
Somali President Yusuf resigns and Militias Clash in Somalia, Killing at Least 10. Everything still sucks in Somalia.
Argentina temporarily takes over gas pipeline operator
Argentina appointed a supervisor to help oversee pipeline operator Transportadora de Gas del Norte SA, TGN, after the company said it will default on 22.1 million US dollars debt, Federal Planning Minister Julio De Vido announced Monday.
The government will "undertake a complete audit of the company" during a 120-day period, said De Vido who added that Dario Pons, an energy regulation specialist will ensure that "consumers rights aren’t affected by the company’s decisions," he said.
Six Bodies Recovered in Canada Avalanches
Six bodies were recovered Monday a day after two avalanches buried eight snowmobilers in western Canada's backcountry, police said.
The bodies were found late Monday afternoon after a search team plowed through avalanche debris in Fernie, in British Columbia's Elk Valley, about 550 miles east of Vancouver.
Three men from the group clawed through the snow and survived the back-to-back avalanches on Sunday.
The snowfall patterns this year seem to have increased avalanche danger. Utah has 3 4 avalanche deaths already; a teen was reported missing died at sunset tonight in the Uintas.
Iowa
Former CIETC head appeals 7-year prison sentence
The former ringleader of a scheme that defrauded taxpayers out of as much as $2.5 million intends to appeal the seven-year prison sentence she received this month.
Ramona Cunningham filed the notice of appeal through her daughter in U.S. District Court, less than a week after she was sentenced for her role in the misuse of tax money at a state job-training agency.
My dad mentioned this story to me on the phone Sunday night, so I included it here. He is sure the punishment is not harsh enough.
Harkin move kept Agriprocessors plant afloat
A controversial Postville meatpacking plant might have been forced out of business if U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin hadn't stepped in four years ago to give it a multimillion-dollar boost with federal tax money.
The money, nearly $8 million, came from an environmental program from which Agriprocessors normally would have been disqualified. The grant and loan were used to build a sewage-treatment plant that serves only the meatpacker.
(my bold) Yes, the Postville meatpacking plant involved in unpapered and possibly underage labor. There are a number of links at this story.
Utah
Top 10 stories of 2008
(my summary)
- Change in LDS church leadership following the death of Gordon Hinckley.
- LDS church involvement in Prop. 8.
- LDS member Mitt Romney running for president.
- Family services raid on Yearning for Zion polygamist ranch in Texas.
- LDS member and Utah native David Archuleta second place finish in American Idol.
- Economy and gas prices
- Utah Utes's undefeated football season.
They didn't bother to publish the two lists, just write a convulated narrative about them. My order is the one they were mentioned in the story.
Texas: Abuse, neglect at polygamist ranch
Nearly two-thirds of the families living at a polygamist group's ranch — targeted in a high-profile raid last spring — had children who were abused or neglected, Texas child welfare authorities conclude in a new report.
The Department of Family and Protective Services said that 12 girls, ages 12 to 15, were sexually abused "with the knowledge of their parents" after being "spiritually" married to older men within the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Larry Miller, the Trib's Utahn of the Year
As Larry Miller sat in a chair, lassoed by tubes filled with his own blood, pumping into and out of a machine that filtered it and returned it to his body, he reflected on a year hemmed by death and enhanced by perspective.
Just two weeks before, Miller's heart had stopped. It was late at night, but he was in a hospital bed under treatment for other maladies. If he had been anywhere else, he said, "this conversation wouldn't be happening." He was a dead man for the better part of a half-hour as medics pumped his chest, bruising and breaking his ribs to jump-start a heartbeat.
Larry Miller is the owner of the NBA Jazz, the arena in which they play, a string of car dealerships, and at least two entertainment complexes. His health has seriously declined this year. He is LDS and does not attend Sunday Jazz games.
Living History: German immigrant rose to become only Jewish governor
Looking back at the life of Simon Bamberger, the German immigrant who not only was elected a state senator in 1903 but also became Utah's first Democrat, non-Mormon and only Jewish governor in 1916, I can't help but think how true grit is the foundation of formidable men.
Born 1846, Bamberger immigrated to New York when he was 14, and from the very start was on the move west. In Indianapolis, he set pins in a bowling alley. He clerked for his brother Herman in Ohio while the older sibling soldiered in the Civil War. In Missouri, the brothers opened a clothing store, and in 1865, Bamberger ventured further west to collect an overdue bill.
Simon Bamberger is still a great hero in non-LDS Utah.
Music teacher adds lyrics to classic works
Ludwig van Beethoven likely never imagined adding lyrics to his Fifth Symphony, but Debbie Rowe did.
Rowe first began writing the lyrics three years ago, while teaching classical music at a treatment facility for male juvenile sex offenders, who were struggling on tests about the composers.
"I thought, 'What can I do to help them learn it?' I thought, 'What if they sang to the music words about the composers?' " Rowe said.
Political Cartoons
Golding for The Age: Watch out wise guys!
Doonesbury: Meet the Slabens (Gary Trudeau for Slate.com)
Sports Headlines
Sugar-Bowl-Bound Utah Rewards Coach with New Contract
'Football Is Always the Future' (not NFL)
U. of Iowa Hawkeyes play South Carolina New Year's Day in Outback Bowl
Bonus Material
A Year of Harry Potter at mugglenet.com
Out of Context: Religious Makeup of Congress (SLTrib blog)
2008 Top Stories, etc., from The Australian
Mning Deaths, 2008: 28