Hi, I'm Chitown Kev and I am substituting for annetteboardman this evening for the Overnight News Digest.
Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, wader, Doctor RJ, rfall, JML9999 and Man Oh Man with guest editors annetteboardman and Chitown Kev. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Interceptor7, BentLiberal, Oke and jlms qkw.
OND is 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 12:00AM Eastern Time.
Welcome to this Forget-Me-Nots Edition of the OND because...I forgot that I was subbing tonight until ~ 10:45. I apologize for the delay.
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The Guardian: Plane crash kills 61 in Russian city of Rostov-on-Don
A Boeing-737 passenger jet operated by the low-cost airline, FlyDubai, has crashed on landing in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, in the south of the country.
All sixty-one people on board were killed when the plane crashed and burst into flames on Saturday morning, a local official said.
“A Boeing 737 crashed as it was coming into land. There were 61 people on board. They are all dead,” said a spokesman from the local ministry, quoted by the official TASS news agency.
There were 55 passengers and six crew members on the plane, the official added.
The accident happened at 0050 GMT, according to an official statement from the emergencies ministry.
“The Boeing 737 on the Dubai to Rostov-on-Don route caught fire (after crashing),” said the statement, adding that the fire was brought under control by 0200 GMT.
AP: Supporters, protesters clash outside Trump rally in Utah
OREM, Utah (AP) -- Protesters clashed with supporters of Donald Trump after he gave a speech in Utah on Friday, ending a day full of presidential candidate appearances that also saw Mitt Romney intensifying his criticism of the GOP front-runner.
Hundreds of people chanted "Dump Trump" and "Mr. Hate Out of Our State" as police in riot gear blocked the entrance to the building, after protesters tried to rush the door and got into dozens of screaming matches with Trump supporters who didn't make into the venue.
Trump said he loves Mormons in his first public appearance of the campaign in Utah. He had critical words, though, for former presidential candidate and Utah resident Mitt Romney, who said he was supporting Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the state's upcoming caucuses
The Guardian: Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam shot and arrested in Brussels
A suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, has been shot and arrested in a police raid in the Molenbeek area of Brussels after a four-month international manhunt.
“We got him,” the Belgian secretary of state for asylum and migration tweeted.Belgian minister confirms arrest of Salah Abdeslam during raid in Molenbeek.
Police said the 26-year-old was wounded in the leg and that a second person was arrested during the operation, which took place as EU leaders met on the other side of the city to discuss Europe’s migration crisis.
The French president, François Hollande, and the Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, left the summit to discuss the operation.
There were several exchanges of gunfire in Molenbeek – the scene of past investigations into the Paris attacks – and police officers were seen surrounding an apartment block there.
Television footage showed black-clad security forces wearing balaclavas guarding a street. Reporters at the scene described white smoke rising from a rooftop and a helicopter hovering overhead.
About three hours after the raid began, two more explosions were heard in the area and Belgian media reported that a third man was arrested.
Reuters: Republican lawmakers to join Obama's Cuba visit
A small group of Republican lawmakers will join President Barack Obama's historic trip to Cuba on Sunday, underlining growing divisions in the party over the future of the United States' trade embargo against the island nation.
At least five Republicans, all known for favoring normal trade relations with Cuba, will make the trip, congressional sources and lawmakers told Reuters.
Republican congressional leaders have made opposition to President Barack Obama's easing of the Cuban trade embargo a hallmark of their foreign policy. But an increasing number of party members, drawn by the economic benefits of scrapping the cold war-era embargo, are lining up to back the White House.
"This is the right policy. He's done the right thing," said Republican Senator Jeff Flake, an outspoken proponent of closer ties with Cuba who is going to Havana.
Besides Flake, Republicans making the trip include House of Representatives members Mark Sanford, Tom Emmer and Reid Ribble, as well as Senator Mark Heller, congressional sources and lawmakers said. All of the representatives confirmed their participation, except for Heller, whose office declined requests for comment. But other lawmakers confirmed his travel.
The Guardian: 'A tipping point': record number of Americans see global warming as threat
A record number of Americans believe global warming will pose a threat to their way of life, new polling data shows, amid strengthening public acceptance that rising temperatures are being driven by human activity.
I think a shift in public opinion and consciousness has been underway for several years now,” Michael Mann, a prominent climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University, told the Guardian.
A spokesman for 350 Action, the political arm of climate activist group 350.org, said meanwhile that politicians who cast doubt on climate science would soon have to take such polling into account. Republicans, he said, “are going to be screwed if they don’t change their tune”.
Polling firm Gallup, which has been tracking public sentiment on the topic annually since 1997, found that 41% of US adults feel warming will pose a “serious threat” to them during their lifetimes. This is the highest level recorded by Gallup, a 4% increase on 2015.
A total of 64% of those polled said they worried about global warming a “great deal” or a “fair amount”, the highest level of recorded concern since 2008. Just 36% of Americans said they did not fret about it, or only worried a little.
Reuters: U.S. wrestler Hulk Hogan wins $115 million in sex-tape suit
A Florida jury on Friday awarded Hulk Hogan $115 million with the possibility of more after finding the Gawker website violated his privacy by publishing a sex tape of the celebrity wrestler.
After deliberating six hours, the jury awarded Hogan $60 million for emotional distress and $55 million for economic damages.
"This is a victory for everyone who has had their privacy violated," Hogan's attorney, David Houston, said.
As the award was announced, the 62-year-old mustachioed wrestling icon cried and hugged Houston.
The case has drawn attention as a digital-age test of a celebrity's privacy rights and freedom of the press under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Gawker publisher Nick Denton said the website would appeal the verdict. A Gawker attorney previously said a loss could put the website out of business.
"We all knew the appeals court will need to resolve the case," Denton said in a statement. "We feel very positive about the appeal that we have already begun preparing, as we expect to win this case ultimately."
The jury is to remain sequestered until Monday when it will consider punitive damages and other matters in the case.
SpiegelOnline: Alone in Berlin: How Merkel Has Gambled Away Her EU Power (3/11/16)
There were times when interactions between the German chancellor and European Council President Donald Tusk were more congenial. When Angela Merkel entered the conference hall at the European Council building in Brussels, Tusk would bow deeply and clasp Merkel's hand. He would then kiss it so intimately that even Merkel, who is used to all manner of obsequiousness, would look in quizzical confusion at the former Polish prime minister's bowed head.
On Wednesday, Merkel got to know a different Tusk. Once again, he sent Merkel a greeting, but this time he opted to use Twitter instead of his lips. He sent out a tweet thanking the countries of the Western Balkans for closing their borders to refugees and "implementing part of EU's comprehensive strategy to deal with migration crisis."
It was not exactly a gallant move from Tusk. For weeks, Merkel has been trying to prevent the closure of the Balkan Route, arguing that Europe cannot leave Greece alone to deal with tens of thousands of desperate Syrians trying to escape the civil war in their country. Three weeks ago, when Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann announced his country would only accept a limited number of asylum-seekers each day -- an announcement that led to border closures up and down the Balkans -- Merkel shook her head with concern. The move, she said, was "not helpful."
And now Tusk. The man who was only able to rise to the European Council presidency with Merkel's backing has now ambushed her.
ESPN: Loss by bettors' choice Spartans good news for Vegas sportsbooks
LAS VEGAS -- More money was bet on Michigan State to win the NCAA tournament than any other team at multiple sportsbooks. That money will be staying in-house.
Middle Tennessee, a 16½-point underdog, knocked off the Spartans 90-81 on Friday in St. Louis. The Blue Raiders were 20-1 to win the game straight and became the eighth No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 seed.
William Hill's Nevada sportsbook took 78 money-line bets on Middle Tennessee, the largest a $265 wager that netted $5,300. A disappointed Spartans bettor risked $150 on the money-line at -7,000 odds. The wager would have netted $2.15.
The Spartans were the most popular bet to win the NCAA tournament at the Westgate SuperBook in both money and number of tickets after the bracket was released. Michigan State, the No. 2 seed in the East Region, was the tournament favorite or co-favorite at most sportsbooks with odds around 9-2. Middle Tennessee could be found as long as 2,000-1. The Westgate took one $5 bet on the Blue Raiders to win it all.
The Guardian: Brazil braces for clashes as anti-Rousseff protests held in 45 cities
Brazil is bracing for a critical moment in its continuing political crisis amid fears that pro-government demonstrators gathering in cities across the country will clash with opponents.
Early on Friday morning police in São Paulo used water cannons in an attempt to clear anti-government protesters from Avenida Paulista, the city’s main thoroughfare, ahead of a march by government supporters and featuring former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Friday’s marches, in at least 45 cities across Brazil, will mark the government’s first show of force following a chaotic week of protests, corruption allegations and political meltdown.
“There is a possibility of conflict on the streets,” said Esther Solano, a professor of social sciences at the Federal University of São Paulo. “People are so angry that if there is any kind of provocation, it will be hard to avoid confrontation.”
In the most explosive development of the past week, the release by a judge of secretly recorded tapes revealing the private conversations of Lula and President Dilma Rousseff has fuelled the anger of both government supporters and opponents.
The move by Sergio Moro, the judge leading Operation Lava Jato, a massive anti-corruption investigation, has seen him hailed as a hero by some and damned as a coup-monger by others.
Both Lula and Rousseff have been implicated to varying degrees in the investigation or its offshoots, as have senior coalition allies and Aécio Neves, the leader of the main opposition party.
AP: Mexican drug lord reading self-help book in prison
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is reading a Christian-oriented self-help book in prison after being denied the small television he used to have before escaping last July, an official said Friday.
Since he was recaptured in January, Guzman has read the classic "Don Quijote," and has now started a Spanish-language version of "The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?" by Rick Warren, a California-based evangelical pastor. The book - which was given to him by prison authorities - contains illuminating quotes like "A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life," and "We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it."
Guzman's food is tested by a dog that is given small portions of his meals; guards then wait 15 minutes before giving the meal to the man long considered the most powerful drug trafficker in the world.
AP: Prehistoric puzzle no more: Illinois fossil a vertebrate
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- For decades, fossil hunters combing the soil near a creek in north-central Illinois have been rewarded with the preserved remnants of a prehistoric creature, its wide-set eyes on stalks and a long, arm-like appendage extending from below them with a pincer-like mouth.
There was no doubt that the Tully monster, Illinois' official state fossil, was "very, very bizarre," said Scott Lidgard, a paleontologist at Chicago's Field Museum. But no one could say exactly what the soft-bodied creature was.
That changed Wednesday with a paper published in the journal Nature: A group of researchers, Lidgard included, concluded the Tully monster had a precursor to a backbone, making it a vertebrate, or primitive fish.
The origin of vertebrates is still an open question, he said, and there aren't many good examples of preserved, soft-bodied fishes. It's also personally important for Lidgard, who's long been charged with the museum's collection of 1,800 Tully monster fossils, the largest in the world.
Amended 12:03 12:23 am 3.19