Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors jlms qkw, maggiejean, wader, Man Oh Man/side pocket, rfall, and JML9999. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Interceptor7, BentLiberal and Oke. The guest editor is annetteboardman.
Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
Reuters
President Barack Obama will move forward with a plan for the United States to arm the struggling Syrian rebels after some congressional concerns were eased, officials said on Monday.
"We believe we are in a position that the administration can move forward," House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers told Reuters.
The White House announced in June that it would offer military aid to vetted groups of Syrian rebels after two years of balking at directly sending arms to the opposition.
"We have been working with Congress to overcome some of the concerns that they initially had, and we believe that those concerns have been addressed and that we will now be able to proceed," a source familiar with the administration's thinking told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
But both Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees had expressed worries that the arms could end up in the hands of Islamist militants in Syria like the Nusra Front, and would not be enough to tip the balance of the civil war against President Bashar al-Assad anyway.
Reuters
A federal court judge has set the first hearing in Detroit's bankruptcy case for Wednesday to take up the city emergency manager's request to put state lawsuits challenging the bankruptcy filing on hold.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Steven Rhodes agreed on Monday to the expedited hearing requested by emergency manager Kevyn Orr in response to a Michigan court judge's order for Orr to withdraw the Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing on state constitutional grounds.
If Orr's request is granted, top Michigan state officials, Orr and others would also be protected from litigation regarding Thursday's bankruptcy petition.
Detroit, a former manufacturing powerhouse and cradle of the U.S. automotive industry and Motown music, has struggled for decades as companies moved or closed, crime became rampant and its population shriveled by about 25 percent in the past decade to 700,000. The city's revenue failed to keep pace with spending, leading to years of budget deficits and a dependence on borrowing to stay afloat.
The Guardian
The mother of Trayvon Martin has thanked supporters for attending rallies calling for justice over her son's death, as political calls mount for a change in controversial "stand your ground" legislation.
On Sunday, a day after protesters took to the streets of more than 100 US cities to voice their anger over the acquittal of George Zimmerman on charges of second-degree murder, Sybrina Fulton used Twitter to say:
"I would like to personally thank EVERYONE who attended the Trayvon Martin marches and rallies throughout the nation yesterday. United we will continue to stand."
Saturday's demonstrations, which were organised by the veteran civil rights campaigner Reverend Al Sharpton, represented the largest coordinated action to date calling on authorities to act over Martin's death. It came a week after a Florida jury found Zimmerman not guilty. Crowds chanted "Justice, Justice" at a series of rallies and vigils, with events in New York, Miami and Washington among the most well-attended.
The Guardian
The Johnny Depp western The Lone Ranger has attracted ire from disability campaigners over its addition of a prosthetic cleft lip to actor William Fichtner's face, to enhance the "evil" qualities of his outlaw killer character Butch Cavendish. The official character synopsis reads: "Meet Butch Cavendish. A ruthless outlaw whose terribly scarred face is a perfect reflection of the bottomless pit that passes for his soul."
Esteban Lasso, executive director of Canadian-based "cleft care" charity Transforming Faces, said in a statement: "It's disheartening that a major motion picture would perpetuate this negative perception and we hope that in future, birth defects and facial differences will not be used to portray 'evil' characters."
NPR
Retrograde. It seems an unfitting term for America's longest war, but it's the word of the moment for the U.S. military when it talks about Afghanistan. In plain terms, it means something like moving backward as other things move forward — or just opposite the normal flow.
For almost 13 years I have been in the normal flow of journalists — and later the military — to Afghanistan, covering the war that followed Sept. 11. When I first arrived in the fall of 2001, there was no such thing as being "embedded." Journalists depended entirely on local Afghan drivers, fixers and translators.
The official military embed program really began in 2003 with the start of the Iraq War. And from that point on — for better or for worse — that was what you did if you wanted to cover combat operations involving U.S. forces. Cumulatively, at this point, I've spent nearly four years living with soldiers and Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan.
NPR
On a scorching hot summer afternoon along the banks of the Little Bighorn River in Montana, seasonal ranger Mike Donahue brings the historical Battle of Little Bighorn to life with remarkable enthusiasm and passion.
At a recent presentation, Donahue welcomes a crowd to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. "Why did it happen in the first place?" he asks during the presentation. "Because you had two peoples that really didn't understand or appreciate one another very well."
Mike Donahue spends most of the year as an art professor at Temple College in Texas. But for the last 24 years, he's spent his summers as a park ranger at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.
Donahue's interest in the battle goes back to 1958, when he saw the Disney film 'Tonka' about Comanche, a horse from Custer's command that survived the carnage. Donahue is also deeply involved with the study of his Irish heritage, and there's a direct connection with the battle.
Bloomberg
Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli has less than half as much cash as Democratic opponent Terry McAuliffe, with a prominent list of Republican donors sitting out this year’s most competitive U.S. political contest -- and in some cases switching sides.
The financial disadvantage four months before the election illustrates the difficulties confronting an attorney general who is campaigning on an economic growth plan yet is best known for his opposition to gay marriage and abortion.
“Mr. Cuccinelli’s very hard stance on some of the social issues is a concern for me,” said Virginia Beach developer Bruce L. Thompson, chief executive officer of Gold Key/PHR Hotels and Resorts, a financial backer of current Republican Governor Bob McDonnell who in May gave McAuliffe $25,000.
“I believe personally in a woman’s right to choose, but I also think from an economic development standpoint, we’re trying to attract businesses from other areas of the country, and we’re telling women that we’re going to regulate the way that they run their life? I just don’t think we can be exclusionary when it comes to women” and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals, Thompson said.
BBC
Falling television sets have injured nearly 200,000 children in the US over 20 years, a study has found.
Most injuries were not serious, and only 2.6% required hospital admission, the study in the journal Pediatrics says.
But the injury rate has climbed substantially for these accidents, it says.
Researchers say changes in the location of TV sets in the home may be responsible for the figure.
Most injuries occur in children under five, with head and neck wounds the most common.
The researchers looked at national figures for non-fatal television-related injuries to children in the period from 1990 to 2011.
In 2011, 12,300 children nationwide received emergency treatment for TV-related injuries, compared with 5,455 in 1990, the study said.
Spiegel Online
It was a busy two days for the surveillance specialists of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany's foreign intelligence agency. At the end of April, a team of 12 senior BND officials flew to the United States, where they visited the heart of the global American surveillance empire: the National Security Agency (NSA). The purpose of their mission can be read in a "top secret" NSA document which SPIEGEL has seen -- one of the trove of files in the possession of whistleblower Edward Snowden.
According to the document, BND President Gerhard Schindler repeatedly expressed an "eagerness" to cooperate more closely with the NSA. The Germans, the document reads, were looking for "guidance and advice."
BBC
More than 30 million girls are at risk of being subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) over the next decade, a study by Unicef has found.
It said more than 125 million girls and women alive today had undergone a procedure now opposed by the majority in countries where it was practised.
Ritual cutting of girls' genitals is practised by some African, Middle Eastern and Asian communities in the belief it protects a woman's virginity.
Unicef wants action to end FGM.
The UN Children Fund survey, described as the most comprehensive to date on the issue, found that support for FGM was declining amongst both men and women.
FGM "is a violation of a girl's rights to health, well-being and self-determination," said Unicef deputy executive director Geeta Rao Gupta,
BBC
South Africa's first democratically elected President Nelson Mandela, 95, is showing "sustained improvement" in hospital, a government statement says.
However, he remains in a critical condition, said the statement from President Jacob Zuma's office.
Mr Mandela was admitted to a private hospital in the capital, Pretoria, on 8 June with a recurring lung infection.
Revered as the father of the nation, he celebrated his 95th birthday in hospital last week.
Mr Zuma visited Mr Mandela on Monday and assured him of "the love and support of all South Africans", the statement said.
Family row
Mr Mandela became South Africa's president in 1994 after white minority rule ended.
He spent 27 years in prison after taking up arms to fight for democracy.
Reuters
The death toll from a 6.6 magnitude earthquake in China's western Gansu province on Monday more than doubled to 54 people, the municipal government said, with hundreds injured as many homes in affected areas collapsed.
The quake hit Minxian and Zhangxian counties, about 170 km (105 miles) southeast of the provincial capital of Lanzhou, at 7.45 on Monday morning (7.45 p.m. ET Sunday), the official Xinhua news agency said.
It put the number of people seriously injured at 296. Earlier reports by the official Xinhua news agency said 22 people had died.
Eight towns in the remote, mountainous area sustained serious damage in the quake and subsequent flooding and mudslides, state media said.
There were also power outages, while cell phone and Internet coverage was disrupted, residents and state media reported. The Red Cross Society of China said it had sent relief supplies to the affected areas, including jackets and tents.
Reuters
The United Arab Emirates has pardoned a Norwegian woman who was sentenced to jail for illicit sex after she reported being raped by a colleague while on a visit to Dubai, the Norwegian foreign minister said on Monday.
Marte Deborah Dalelv, 24, had been awaiting an appeal hearing of her 16-month sentence handed down this month after a court in the Gulf Arab emirate found her guilty of having sex outside marriage, drinking and making false statements.
"I warmly welcome that Marte Dalelv was pardoned by the ruler of Dubai today. The fight for human rights for all continues," Norway's foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide, said on his Twitter account.
Eide had told reporters Oslo believed the verdict was "completely unacceptable" and said it was contrary to human rights and the basic sense of justice.
The Guardian
The family of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi has branded the army chief who ordered his detention an international criminal, and announced plans to take legal action against him in the international courts.
"What is happening to President Morsi is a violation of his rights by all measures," Osama Morsi, the ex-president's oldest son, told a news conference, flanked by his brother Abdulla and sister Shaimaa. "Our father is held incommunicado which contravenes the most basic of human rights conventions."
Morsi has been detained since 3 July, when the head of Egypt's armed forces, General Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, ordered his removal from power following days of mass protests against his year-long presidency, during which Morsi had himself presided over several high-profile rights violations. Osama Morsi, a lawyer, said his family had not heard from their father since the republican guards assigned for his protection quietly walked away that day and allowed army commandos to take him to an undisclosed military location.
NPR
Pope Francis arrives Monday evening in Rio de Janeiro for a weeklong visit celebrating World Youth Day. Hundreds of thousands of Catholics have made the pilgrimage to see the Argentine-born pontiff, and he is expected to receive a rapturous welcome.
Still, Pope Francis's visit comes at a delicate time for the church in Brazil. Catholicism — the nation's main religion — is facing a huge challenge from evangelicals.
In advance of the pope's visit, evangelical Christians held a rival gathering at Sao Paulo's convention center. It was massive event, with more than 200 stalls scattered around and thousands of visitors over the past few days.
Christianity in Brazil is big business — not only are major superstar pastors represented at the convention, but businesses like Sony Music have booths as well.
Brothers Lucas and Renault Lourenço have been singing together since they were in their teens, and together they are the Brazilian evangelical version of the boy band. Now in their early 20s — sporting matching faux hawks and wearing jeans — they came to reach out to their established fans and sell records to new ones.
Great Barrier Reef
BBC
US fighter jets dropped four bombs on the Great Barrier Reef off Australia's coast during a training exercise that went wrong, it has emerged.
The two planes jettisoned four bombs - two inert and two unarmed - in more than 50m (165 ft) of water, away from coral, to minimise damage to the World Heritage Site, the US navy said.
The jets were to bomb an island range nearby, but the mission was aborted.
The AV-8B Harriers were low on fuel and could not land loaded, the navy added.
The incident happened during the training exercise Talisman Saber, involving US and Australian military personnel.
The two jets had been instructed to target the bombing range on Townshend Island.
However, the mission was aborted when hazards were reported in the area.
Al Jazeera
European Union ministers have agreed to put the military wing of Lebanese group Hezbollah on the EU terror list, in a major reversal of policy.
Dutch foreign minister Frans Timmermans welcomed the decision to put the Shia Muslim group's armed wing on the bloc's terrorism list on Monday.
"It is good that the EU has decided to call Hezbollah what it is: a terrorist organisation," he said.
"For years the Netherlands has pushed for listing Hezbollah... that's why I'm satisfied that we took this important step today."
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Lebanon regrets the decision, but said Beirut will maintain its relations with EU members.
"We will follow up on the issue through diplomatic channels, while we wish the EU countries had carried out a careful reading of the facts and sought out more information," Mikati said.
The cheers - hesitant at first but soon full-throated - erupted as dusk fell on a packed street outside St Mary's Paddington at 8.31pm.
Initial disbelief that the long-awaited news was finally here evaporated almost instantaneously among the crowd, many of whom turned to their mobile phones for confirmation.
Seconds later, the cry went up and spread among the well-wishers:
"It's a boy! It's a boy!"
Few would greeted the news with more joy and excitement than Maria Scott, an ardent royalist from Newcastle who had been camped opposite the Lindo wing for days.
"I'm so, so happy!" she shouted, struggling to make herself heard above the ecstatic celebrations.
To her the baby's gender was of no importance whatsoever.
"As long as he's healthy and Catherine's alright, that's the main thing.
Her fellow royal fans, who waved union flags - and a teddy bear in an
RAF flight suit - could scarcely contain their emotions either.
"Diana would have been so happy," cried one. "She's a grandma!"
SCIENCE, HEALTH AND TECHNOLOGY
|
NPR
The age of the traditional landline telephone is in rapid decline, as NPR's Dan Bobkoff reports on today's All Things Considered.
"For nearly a century, the government has promoted universal access: the idea that anyone should be able to get a reliable home phone connection at a reasonable cost," Dan says. "But phone customers have been ditching traditional phone service. Some now get their home phone from the cable company. Others have gone completely wireless. Verizon has seen a 67 percent drop in the number of customers using copper landlines since 2000."
That statistic prompted us to look at how telephone use has changed around the world. The International Telecommunications Union maintains data about this. It's a U.N. body based in Geneva that, among other things, allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits.
Here's a snapshot of the data. Please note the numbers are regional, not country-based, so the figures for the Americas include both North and South America. The CIS refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, the former Soviet Union. (The * at 2012 and 2013 denotes estimates).
NPR
Not so long ago, most people thought that the only good microbe was a dead microbe.
But then scientists started to realize that even though some bugs can make us sick and even kill us, most don't.
In fact, in the past decade attitudes about the bacteria, fungi, viruses and other microbes living all over our bodies has almost completely turned around. Now scientists say that not only are those microbes often not harmful, we can't live without them.
"The vast majority of them are beneficial and actually essential to health," says Lita Proctor, program director for the Human Microbiome Project at the National Institutes of Health. The project is identifying microbes on key body parts, including the nose, gut, mouth and skin, in order to get a better sense of the microbes' role in human health.
This sea change began with a pretty simple realization.
CNET
Apple announces its fiscal third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, and -- as usual -- all eyes are on how well the iPhone is selling.
The hit product has become a key part of Apple's business and the fuel to dramatic growth over the past several years, though that growth has slowed.
Reports from some phone carriers have provided a peek at Tuesday's results, specifically Verizon, which reported iPhone sales last week that were higher than the carrier originally expected.
Wall Street is expecting Apple to post earnings of $7.31 per share on sales of $35 billion for its quarter, which ended in late June. Those estimates are on the higher end of how much Apple said it expected to bring in when it reported on its previous quarter back in April -- a range of $33.5 to $35.5 billion in sales.
CNET
The good: The Leap Motion Controller is a Kinect-like input device for Macs and Windows PCs. It has impressive 3D spatial tracking and already has dozens of compatible apps. It costs under $80.
The bad: It only works with compatible apps; not as intuitive or reliable as using a touch pad, touch screen, or mouse for everyday tasks; your arms will get tired when using it.
The bottom line: Leap Motion's Kinect-like PC motion controller has its moments of magic, but right now it's more toy than productivity tool.
Computers already have keyboards. They have mice and touch pads. They even have touch screens. But is there room for a totally new interface?
Leap Motion dreams of a future where we’ll use fluid gestures and finger motions in a true 3D input space, taking computing beyond our current type, click, and touch limitations. It’s a dream that others share: Microsoft and the Kinect, for instance. But in the case of the Leap Motion Controller, Leap Motion's first product, the dream isn’t room-filling; instead, it’s intimate, residing in the space that fits on your desk.
ScienceBlog
Is binge eating a tell-tale sign of suicidal thoughts?
According to a new study of African American girls, by Dr. Rashelle Musci and colleagues from the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University in the US, those who experience depressive and anxious symptoms are often dissatisfied with their bodies and more likely to display binge eating behaviors. These behaviors put them at higher risk for turning their emotions inward, in other words, displaying internalizing symptoms such as suicide.
The study is published online in Springer’s journal, Prevention Science.
BBC
The prospect of reversing blindness has made a significant leap, according to scientists in the UK.
An animal study in the journal Nature Biotechnology showed the part of the eye which actually detects light can be repaired using stem cells.
The team at Moorfields Eye Hospital and University College London say human trials are now, for the first time, a realistic prospect.
Experts described it as a "significant breakthrough" and "huge leap" forward.
Photoreceptors are the cells in the retina which react to light and convert it into an electrical signal which can be sent to the brain.
However, these cells can die off in some causes of blindness such as Stargardt's disease and age-related macular degeneration.
There are already trials in people to use stem cells to replace the "support" cells in the eye which keep the photoreceptors alive.
“Charing Cross Bridge, London,” by Claude Monet was one of seven works that were stolen in October from the Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam.
New York Times
BUCHAREST, Romania — Olga Dogaru, the Romanian woman who told investigators she had incinerated seven works of art by Matisse, Picasso and other modern masters in an effort to protect her son, denied in court on Monday that she had burned the works.
Standing alongside her son, Radu, 29, who has admitted stealing the paintings last October from the Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam, Mrs. Dogaru told a panel of three judges that her earlier account of destroying the works in a stove at her house in the tiny village of Carcaliu was untrue. “I did not burn them,” she said in a soft voice.