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 JeremyBloom. 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.
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 12:00 AM Eastern Time.
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CNN: Inside the painstaking negotiations between Israel, Hamas, the US and Qatar to free 50 hostages by MJ Lee, Betsy Klein, and Jennifer Hansler
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu grabbed Brett McGurk’s arm as he walked out of a tense meeting of the Israeli Cabinet over securing the release of hostages Hamas was holding in Gaza.
“We need this deal,” Netanyahu told the White House Middle East coordinator a week ago in Tel Aviv, according to sources familiar with the exchange.
Earlier that day, Netanyahu and President Joe Biden had agreed over the phone that they were ready to accept the broad contours of a deal for Hamas to release 50 women and children who were being held hostage.
A major breakthrough had come two days earlier on November 12. Hamas – after refusing for days – had relented in offering identifying information about several dozen hostages, such as their age, gender and nationalities. The information confirmed that numerous children and toddlers had been taken captive on October 7.
Even though Israel and the US believed there were more than 50 women and children hostages, both sides agreed that they needed to move ahead with securing the release of those 50 – and hope that the deal might incentivize Hamas to release more after the initial group.
Chicago Sun-Times: Lincoln Park Zoo warns of wildlife trafficking through airports, including O’Hare, during holiday travel season by Phyllis Cha
Chicagoans are expected to fly in the largest numbers on record this holiday season, but advocates are asking travelers to help address a different kind of travel that also increases this time of year that’s putting wildlife at risk.
Wildlife trafficking is prevalent during the busy holiday travel season, according to Lincoln Park Zoo, which is working to raise awareness of the issue with the public and enforcement agencies.
Lincoln Park Zoo announced that it would be the first North American zoo to partner with Monitor Conservation Research Society, which researches wildlife trafficking and trends, according to a news release Monday. Lincoln Park Zoo will support Monitor, which is based in Canada, with research that will help identify threats to wildlife and trends among trafficked animals.
New York Times: Johnson Pays Trump Visit as He Faces Mounting Criticism from the Right by Annie Karni
Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday night visited former President Donald J. Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to a person familiar with the meeting, making his first pilgrimage to see the Republican presidential front-runner since his surprise elevation to the top post in the House last month.
The visit to Mr. Trump’s Florida home came at a tricky moment for the inexperienced speaker, who is already facing criticism from hard-right allies livid at him for teaming with Democrats last week to pass legislation to avert a government shutdown. The person confirmed the private meeting on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it.
Mr. Trump’s influence over spending fights in Washington may be limited, but Mr. Johnson’s decision to meet with him within weeks of his election is a sign he knows he cannot afford to have Mr. Trump weighing in publicly against him and hardening right-wing opposition to his leadership.
ABC News: Virginia Democrats propose amendment to guarantee abortion access after winning General Assembly by Laura Romero
After winning full control of the state's General Assembly two weeks ago, Virginia Democrats are wasting no time exercising their power. On Monday, the party introduced four bills including legislation to create a constitutional amendment that would codify abortion access in the state.
"Virginia voters sent a message on Nov. 7 that they want Virginia to remain an open and welcoming state that honors individual freedom, privacy and economic opportunity for all of its residents," said Scott Surovell, the majority leader for the Virginia Senate.
The bills also include proposals to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by Jan. 1, 2026, ban assault-style firearms and create a constitutional amendment that will repeal felon voter disqualification and codify an automatic restoration of rights.
Proposed constitutional amendments do not require a governor's signature. For a resolution to create a constitution amendment, it has to pass both legislative chambers in two sessions over at least two years before going to a vote of the public.
Washington Post: Binance crypto chief Changpeng Zhao pleads guilty to federal charges by Eli Tan and Devlin Barrett
Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty Tuesday to violating criminal anti-money-laundering guidelines — a staggering blow against the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The company will also pay a $4.3 billion fine, one of the largest ever levied against a corporation.
The plea agreement marks the second time this month that a giant of the crypto world has been felled by federal charges. Zhao, who appeared Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, faces as much as 18 months in prison for violating the Bank Secrecy Act, according to sentencing guidelines. He will be fined $50 million and is barred from working with the exchange for three years, court filings show.
Zhao also agreed to step down as chief executive of Binance. He will be replaced by Richard Teng, the company’s global head of regional markets.
Four parties have emerged as front-runners as Dutch voters decide on Wednesday who will lead their country into a new political era.
Voting starts at 07:30 (06:30GMT), and the polls suggest a neck-and-neck race.
Centre-right leader Dilan Yesilgöz is tipped to win and become the first female Dutch prime minister.
But she is in a tight race with anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders and a left-alliance led by former top-ranking EU commissioner Frans Timmermans.
More than 13 million Dutch voters have a choice of 26 parties to vote for on Wednesday, and as many as 17 could win seats.
European eyes are watching this election closely, after 13 years of governments under Mark Rutte. The winner could end up with less than 20% of the national vote and fewer than 30 seats in the 150-seat parliament, unprecedented in Dutch politics.
Guardian: Rapists and kidnappers increasingly targeting migrants crossing Darién Gap by Luke Taylor
Armed bandits are exploiting the record number of people crossing the Darién Gap – a 100km stretch of jungle connecting Colombia and Panama – to kidnap and rape desperate migrants, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The organisation said it treated 397 survivors of sexual violence this year – many of them children – once they safely reached Panama. There have been reports of “group rapes in tents set up for that purpose in the mountainous rainforest and swampland”.
The number far exceeds the 172 recorded in 2022, and the charity says it is the latest example of how the suffering of migrants in the Darién is becoming normalised. MSF is urging the Panama and Colombian authorities to deploy an effective security presence in the jungle to protect migrants.
Among the harrowing testimonies given to MSF, migrants described being taken to tents and raped by groups of armed men in front of other migrants.
DW: Ukraine updates: Berlin pledges €1.3 billion in military aid
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced another military aid package worth €1.3 billion for Ukraine, that will include four more IRIS T-SLM air defense systems. Pistorius also paid tribute to those killed during the demonstrations on Maidan square ten years ago.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians that 10 years ago, "Ukrainians launched their first counteroffensive" against Russian attempts to "deprive Ukraine of a European future," referring to the pro-European Maidan protests.
Meanwhile, the US said it will provide Ukraine with another $100 million in military aid, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said during a visit to Kyiv.
The US State Department also announced it was imposing sanctions against two members of the Russian military, including the so-called "Butcher of Bucha," over alleged human rights violations in Ukraine.
Philadelphia Inquirer: Daryl Hall is suing John Oates. Is the Philly-born pop and R&B duo ‘Out of Touch’? by Dan DeLuca
Daryl Hall is suing John Oates.
The pop and R&B duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970 has forged one of the most successful alliances in musical history. In their heyday — between 1974 and 1991 — the partners scored 29 Top 40 hits and six that reached number one. They’ve been inducted together into both the Songwriters and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and are generally considered the most commercially successful pop music duo of all time.
But all is not well in Hall and Oates land.
On Nov. 16, Hall filed a lawsuit against Oates in court in Nashville. Philadelphia Magazine reported the news after being posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, by Tennessee-based Axios reporter Nate Rau last week.
What is the dispute dividing the duo, who first met in an elevator at the Adelphi Ballroom in West Philadelphia in 1967 while leading their own bands?
1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. Washington
5. Florida State
6. Oregon
7. Texas
8. Alabama
9. Missouri
10. Louisville
Have the best possible evening everyone!