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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Chicago Sun-Times: Brandon Johnson not taking Lori Lightfoot’s word on city finances by Fran Spielman
Mayor Brandon Johnson isn’t taking Lori Lightfoot’s word for it when she claims to have left the city in great financial shape, with an $85 million shortfall that’s among the lowest in recent Chicago history.
Johnson is doing his own fiscal forecast and holding a series of community roundtables next month before he releases that new document.
Newly appointed Budget Director Annette Guzman outlined the timetable Tuesday after the City Council’s Budget Committee unanimously approved her appointment.
To accommodate the Council’s large freshman class, Guzman is inviting rookies and veterans alike to “Budget 101,” a boot camp of sorts to help them “understand the complexity” of the city’s financial challenges and the budget process “from beginning to end.”
Johnson plans to release his revised budget forecast by Sept. 30 and deliver his first budget address on Oct. 11. The tentative schedule calls for a final Council vote by Nov. 15.
Guardian: Missing Titan sub’s air supply dwindling as search yields no results by Richard Luscombe
US Coast Guard officials said on Tuesday afternoon that the crew of the submersible Titan, which went missing in the Atlantic during a dive to the wreck of the Titanic, had about 40 hours of breathable air remaining, if they are still alive.
Capt Jamie Frederick also told reporters at a media briefing that a massive sea and air search that began on Sunday night for the vessel and five men aboard, and which has so far covered 7,600 sq miles of a remote area of the ocean, had “not yielded any results”.
Rescue teams were racing against time to locate the 22ft-long (6.7-metre-long) vessel, which had a 96-hour supply of oxygen when contact was lost on Sunday at one hour and 45 minutes into its descent to the wreck site 12,500ft (3,800 metres) beneath the ocean’s surface, about 370 miles (600km) from the coast of Newfoundland.
New York Times: Judge Strikes Down Arkansas Law Banning Gender Transition Care for Minors by Rick Rojas and Emily Cochrane
A federal judge in Arkansas on Tuesday struck down the state’s law forbidding medical treatments for children and teenagers seeking gender transitions, blocking what had been the first in a wave of such measures championed by conservative lawmakers across the country.
The case had been closely watched as an important test of whether bans or severe restrictions on transition care for minors, which have since been enacted by 19 other states, could withstand legal challenges being brought by activists and civil liberties groups. It is the first ruling to broadly block such a ban for an entire state, though judges have intervened to temporarily delay similar laws from going into effect.
In his 80-page ruling, Judge James M. Moody Jr. of Federal District Court in Little Rock said the law both discriminated against transgender people and violated the constitutional rights of doctors. He also said that the state of Arkansas had failed to substantially prove a number of its claims, including that the care was experimental or carelessly prescribed to teenagers.
Washington Post: Judge Cannon sets Trump trial for August, but it’s not likely to stick by Perry Stein and Devlin Barrett
The judge presiding over the Justice Department’s criminal case against former president Donald Trump said Tuesday that the trial could begin as early as Aug. 14 — a timetable that is likely to be pushed back as lawyers navigate the complexities of an unprecedented case that hinges on highly sensitive classified documents.
Judge Aileen M. Cannon, a federal judge in Florida, wrote in a court filing that hearings in the case would be held in her Fort Pierce courthouse, though she noted that location could change as the criminal proceedings get underway.
The government filed its 38-count indictment against Trump and his valet, Walt Nauta, in the West Palm Beach courthouse, about an hour south of Fort Pierce. Cannon has the authority to decide in which of the five divisions within the Southern District of Florida the trial will take place.
CNN: Pride flags vandalized at Stonewall National Monument in New York by Meron Moges-Gerbi
The New York Police Department is investigating “a criminal mischief pattern” of vandalism against Pride and transgender flags at the Stonewall National Monument during Pride month, it said in a statement.
The police department said its Hate Crime Task Force is investigating three incidents, which occurred June 10, June 15 and June 20.
According to police, individual or individuals were seen removing Pride flags that were displayed on the fence of the monument. In two of the incidents, the flags were also broken, the statement said.
There were no injuries as a result of the alleged crimes, and it’s not clear from the statement released Monday if the same person or people were involved.
Earlier this month, the NYPD tweeted a photo of individuals it said were “wanted for criminal mischief” in connection to the June 10 incident and asked for public assistance.
BBC News: Andrew Tate charged with rape and human trafficking by Lucy Williamson & George Wright
Controversial influencer Andrew Tate has been charged in Romania with rape, human trafficking and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women.
His brother Tristan and two associates also face charges. All have denied the allegations.
The Tate brothers were first arrested at their Bucharest home in December.
In March, they were moved from custody to house arrest following a ruling by a Romanian judge.
The indictment deposited with the Bucharest court says that the four defendants formed an organised criminal group in 2021 to commit human trafficking in Romania, but also in other countries including the US and the UK.
It names seven alleged victims who it says were recruited by the Tate brothers through false promises of love and marriage.
AlJazeera: India’s Modi faces human rights criticism ahead of US visit by Brian Osgood
The administration of President Joe Biden is preparing to host a state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week, paying little mind to critics who say the United States is turning a blind eye to human rights violations in India under Modi’s right-wing government.
In a press conference on Tuesday, White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that Modi’s trip to the US will affirm a “deep and close” partnership.
“The visit will strengthen our two countries’ shared commitment to a free, open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific,” Kirby said, adding that India will be a “critical strategic partner for the United States in the coming decades”.
Largely absent from Kirby’s comments were concerns about India’s human rights record and the Modi government’s embrace of a far-right Hindu nationalism known as Hindutva, which critics say has created a hostile environment for the country’s minorities, especially Muslims.
DW: Honduras: Prison riot leaves dozens of women dead
A riot at a women's prison near the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa on Tuesday left at least 41 people dead, officials reported.
Although there were reports of violent clashes, the majority of the deaths appeared to be from a major fire that broke out during the riot.
Deputy Security Minister Julissa Villanueva declared a state of emergency at the National Women's Penitentiary for Social Adaptation (PNFAS) and authorized the immediate intervention of emergency services, her ministry wrote on Twitter.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro expressed her shock at the riot which was "planned by maras with the knowledge and acquiescence of security authorities."
"I am going to take drastic measures!" Castro wrote on Twitter. She has summoned the Minister of Security and the president of the Intervention Commission to render accounts.
Have the best possible evening everyone.!