OND is a 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 12:00AM Eastern Time.
OND Editors consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors jlms qkw, Bentliberal, wader, Oke, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir and ScottyUrb, guest editors maggiejean and annetteboardman, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains
BBC:Deadly Yosemite virus warning to 10,000 US campers
Deadly Yosemite virus warning to 10,000 US campers
Thousands of people could be at risk from a deadly virus in California's Yosemite National Park that has already claimed two lives, officials say.
Four other cases of Hantavirus, a rare lung disease, have been reported.
The park said it is getting about 1,000 calls per day from frightened visitors on its Hantavirus hotline.
There is no known cure for the virus, spread by infected rodent droppings. Symptoms can take up to six weeks and one third of cases are fatal.
BBC:Nigeria SSS spy details leaked
Nigeria SSS spy details leaked
Former Nigerian secret agents have told the BBC they are concerned for their safety after their personal records were published online.
The details of about 60 operatives remained on the comments section of a local news site for days before being deleted, reports the AP news agency.
One analyst told the BBC it was a national embarrassment and danger.
Militant Islamist group Boko Haram has not commented on reports it was behind the leak.
BBC:Firefighters battle huge blaze near Marbella in southern Spain
Firefighters battle huge blaze near Marbella in southern Spain
Spanish firefighters are battling a huge wildfire raging near the wealthy resort of Marbella on the country's Costa del Sol.
At least one person has died and thousands more have been evacuated.
The body of an elderly man was found near Ojen. Rescue workers are searching for his wife.
Evacuations were ordered from near Marbella, Ojen and a camp site at Alpujata, with some 300 British expats among the evacuees.
BBC:Mexico's Lopez Obrador rejects presidential poll ruling
Mexico's Lopez Obrador rejects presidential poll ruling
Mexico's presidential runner-up Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has rejected a court ruling upholding July's election and called for a mass demonstration.
The left-winger said the country's highest electoral tribunal made an illegitimate decision.
On Friday, the body went on to formally confirm the winner, Enrique Pena Nieto, as president-elect.
Mr Lopez Obrador had accused Mr Pena Nieto of using illicit money to buy votes and media coverage.
BBC:German thalidomide maker Gruenenthal issues apology
German thalidomide maker Gruenenthal issues apology
The manufacturer of thalidomide has apologised to the thousands of people born with disabilities as a result of their mothers taking the drug.
Harald Stock, chief executive of German pharmaceutical company Gruenenthal, said it was "very sorry" it had remained silent on the issue.
The drug was sold as a cure for morning sickness in the 1950s and 1960s.
Mr Stock spoke as he unveiled a bronze statue symbolising a child born without limbs because of thalidomide.
BBC:China dissident Wang jailed on Yahoo information freed
China dissident Wang jailed on Yahoo information freed
A Chinese dissident convicted of subversion charges with the help of evidence provided by US internet giant Yahoo has been released from jail.
Wang Xiaoning was freed early on Friday morning, his wife, Yu Ling, told the BBC by telephone.
Mr Wang, who was detained in 2002, served his 10-year sentence in a Beijing jail.
Yahoo drew widespread criticism for providing information linking him to emails and political writings.
Reuters:Government shuts probe of controversial Arizona sheriff, no charges filed
Government shuts probe of controversial Arizona sheriff, no charges filed
(Reuters) - The government has closed a criminal probe into Arizona lawman Joe Arpaio, who styles himself "America's toughest sheriff," and no charges will be filed, the U.S. Attorney's Office said on Friday.
Arpaio and his deputies have been under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department since 2008. Last December, the department said he and his office violated U.S. civil rights laws by engaging in racial profiling of Latinos and making unlawful arrests in their bid to crack down on illegal immigrants.
Arpaio denied any wrong doing, and said he would cooperate with investigators.
Reuters:DOJ targets banks, others in new money laundering offensive
DOJ targets banks, others in new money laundering offensive
(Reuters) - The Department of Justice is shifting its sights to a new offensive in combating money laundering: bringing criminal charges against banks and other financial institutions for weak compliance systems that fail to catch illicit money flows.
Even while the department's money-laundering unit is wrapping up a series of blockbuster cases involving sanctions-busting transactions routed through some of Europe's biggest banks, it has set its sights on the next front.
While the sanctions cases involving Iran and other countries have largely dealt with historical conduct, part of the shift is to pursue ongoing misconduct.
The focus on compliance systems has traditionally been left to financial firms' direct regulators, including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, whose punishments usually amount to a strong slap on the wrist.
Reuters:Scientists test new marine robot hurricane-hunters
Scientists test new marine robot hurricane-hunters
(Reuters) - As Tropical Storm Isaac was on its path through the Caribbean before becoming a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico this week, U.S. scientists were testing an experimental new weather spy tool - an unmanned, marine robot about the size of a surfboard that can gather storm data at sea level.
A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)research laboratory in Miami sent the "Wave Glider," a floating platform of sensors with an underwater stabilizer christened Alex, into ocean waters about 100 miles north of Puerto Rico last week to try to intercept Isaac.
"Isaac did not barrel right over it," said Alan Leonardi, deputy director of NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami, after the storm passed to the south of the island before turning north and making landfall near New Orleans as a Category 1 hurricane.
"But Isaac being the size storm it is, the Wave Glider was able to collect data from the outer rain bands. We can't steer a hurricane, but we did get good data out of it."
Reuters:Merkel seeks Chinese concessions in solar row
Merkel seeks Chinese concessions in solar row
(Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that Germany had no interest in starting a trade war with Beijing over solar exports to Europe, but stressed that China must take action to address distortions to fair competition in the sector.
Beijing was also forced to defend its rare earths exports policy on the second and final day of Merkel's China trip, with Premier Wen Jiabao saying China was not intentionally holding back exports amid a supply squeeze that has driven up prices.
China accounts for more than 90 percent of the global supply of rare earths - essential for the defense, electronics and renewable-energy industries.
During a visit to Wen's home city of Tianjin, just outside of Beijing, Merkel made clear that China needed to make concessions if it wanted to prevent EU action over the solar spat.
Reuters:Obama vows to support veterans, steers back to foreign policy
Obama vows to support veterans, steers back to foreign policy
(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama returned on Friday to the site where he announced the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq two years ago, highlighting his foreign policy record and pledging to take better care of veterans of America's wars.
Obama visited Fort Bliss, Texas, where on August 31, 2010, he said he would make good on one of the signature promises from his 2008 run for the presidency: withdrawing American forces from Iraq.
"We're winding down a decade of war, we're destroying terrorists' networks that attacked us, and we've restored American leadership," Obama told some 5,000 soldiers at Fort Bliss. "As president, I will insist that America serves you and your families as well as you've served us."
The president, in reaching out to the military community ahead of the November 6 election, touted his decision to end the war in Iraq as well as combat operations in Afghanistan. He has promised to support those returning from war with health services and resources to find jobs.
Reuters:Sahara told to repay small investors $3.1 bln
Sahara told to repay small investors $3.1 bln
(Reuters) - Unlisted conglomerate Sahara, one of India's biggest groups and a household name through its cricket sponsorship, must refund 174 billion rupees raised by "dubious" means from 22 million small investors, India's top court has ruled.
Friday's judgment underscored an increasing assertiveness by India's judiciary and regulators as businesses and financial markets expand at a fast pace in Asia's third-largest economy.
K.S. Radhakrishnan, one of the two judges ruling on the case, said in his order that the ruling demonstrated the need to treat economic offences "with an iron hand".
The sting in the judgment's tail was that Sahara must also pay investors - mostly from smaller towns and rural areas where banking penetration is low - interest at 15 percent from the day money was paid in.
LA Times:More iPad Mini evidence spotted in app logs?
More iPad Mini evidence spotted in app logs?
The search for evidence of an upcoming iPad Mini has become worthy of a plot line for one of those forensic investigation shows that make forensic investigation seem a lot more sexy than it surely is.
The latest lead in the case of an Apple slate with a smaller form factor comes in the form of some interesting entries in Instapaper's logs that show devices calling themselves "iPad2,5" and "iPad2,6" accessed the app recently. The most recent 16GB iPad2 now on the market identifies as iPad2,4 when the device interacts with an app.
Marco Arment, developer of the text reader and bookmarking app, speculates that the previously unseen device identifiers could be new GSM or CDMA versions of iPad2,4, but more likely they're the rumored smaller iPad that could be based on the second-generation iPad.