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. Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
BBC
US tells Israel it won't join any retaliatory strikes on Iran
The White House has warned Israel that the US will not participate in any retaliatory strikes on Iran, senior administration officials have said.
Over 300 drones and missiles were fired at Israel overnight, which Iran said was in response to an 1 April strike on its consulate in Syria.
Almost all weapons were shot down by Israeli, US and allied forces before they reached their targets.
Officials said Joe Biden urged Israel to consider its response "carefully".
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, a senior administration official said that Mr Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "think very carefully and strategically" about how his forces replied to the unprecedented action, the first direct attack by Iran on the country.
Reuters
Israeli military calling up reservists for more Gaza operations
JERUSALEM, April 14 (Reuters) - The Israeli military said on Sunday it will soon call up two reserve divisions for operations in Gaza, where it has been conducting
a war against Islamist militant group Hamas.
"In accordance with the situational assessment, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is calling up approximately two reserve brigades for operational activities on the Gazan front," the military said, though it provided no further details.
Earlier this month Israel pulled some forces out of Gaza, saying troops would be preparing for further operations in the territory, including in the southern area of Rafah, where more than a million people have taken shelter.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to evacuate civilians from Rafah before any incursion aimed at crushing Hamas battalions there, but that has done little to quell international concern over the planned assault.
AP
News organizations urge Biden and Trump to commit to presidential debates during the 2024 campaign
NEW YORK (AP) — Twelve news organizations on Sunday urged presumptive presidential nominees Joe Biden and Donald Trump to agree to debates, saying they were a “rich tradition” that have been part of every general election campaign since 1976.
While Trump, who did not participate in debates for the Republican nomination, has indicated a willingness to take on his 2020 rival, the Democratic president has not committed to debating him again.
Although invitations have not been formally issued, the news organizations said it was not too early for each campaign to say publicly that it will participate in the three presidential and one vice presidential forums set by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.
Asked on March 8 whether he would commit to a debate with Trump, Biden said, “it depends on his behavior.” The president was visibly miffed by his opponent in the freewheeling first 2020 debate, at one point saying, “will you shut up?”
The Guardian
Colombians told to shower with a partner as drought hits capital water supplies
Couples in Bogotá are being asked to shower together as water supplies are rationed in the Colombian capital.
Major neighbourhoods were cut off from the water grid on Thursday to preserve dangerously low water levels at reservoirs that have been starved of rain by the weather phenomenon known as El Niño.
“Shower as a couple,” said the mayor of Bogotá, Carlos Fernando Galán. “This is an educational exercise in saving water, nothing else. That kind of thing is going to help us a lot. Those behavioral changes are key.”
Galán also asked residents to consider abandoning their daily hygiene practices entirely given the reservoirs were at “historic lows”.
“If you are not going to leave your house on Sunday or any other day of the week, take advantage of it and do not take a bath,” he pleaded ahead of the water cuts.
The Guardian
‘We found 700 different species’: astonishing array of wildlife discovered in Cambodia mangroves
One of the most comprehensive biodiversity surveys ever carried out in a mangrove forest has revealed that an astonishing array of wildlife makes its home in these key, threatened habitats.
Hundreds of species – from bats to birds and fish to insects – were identified during the study of the Peam Krasop sanctuary and the adjacent Koh Kapik Ramsar reserve in Cambodia. Hairy-nosed otters, smooth-coated otters, large-spotted civets, long-tailed macaques and fishing cats, as well a wide range of bat species, were among the residents recorded by the survey, which was funded by the conservation group Fauna & Flora International. The variety of wildlife has staggered biologists.
We found 700 different species in these mangrove forests but we suspect we have not even scratched the surface,” said Stefanie Rog, the leader the survey team, whose report is published on Sunday. “If we could look at the area in even greater depth we would find 10 times more, I am sure.”
The Guardian
Iran attack puts pressure on US House speaker to pass aid bill for Israel and Ukraine
The US House speaker, Mike Johnson, has said he will aim to advance a bill for wartime aid to Israel this week following Iran’s weekend attack, but did not clarify whether Ukraine funding would be part of the package.
US assistance for both nations has languished amid political bickering in Congress, with Johnson – an ally of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump – blocking an earlier $95bn in aid sought by President Joe Biden for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan which had passed the Senate.
“The House Republicans and the Republican party understand the necessity of standing with Israel,” Johnson told Fox News. “We’re going to try again this week, and the details of that package are being put together right now.
Republican Mike Turner, chair of the House intelligence committee, said on NBC’s Meet the Press that he expected the House would pass a broad aid bill this week.
“I think it will have overwhelming support, both the Ukraine, Israel and Asia packages, not just because of what’s happened with Iran escalating the conflict in the Middle East but because these are allies that need and deserve our support.”
Christian Science Monitor
Two states warn that Biden may be kept off their ballots
The Republican secretaries of state in Ohio and Alabama sent letters to local Democratic party chairs this past week with a warning: President Joe Biden, as the law stands now, won’t appear on their states’ ballots in November.
Both secretaries say the president’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago between Aug. 19 and 22 won’t meet their states’ ballot access deadlines, which require candidates’ party certification 82 to 90 days before Election Day.
The Biden campaign has seemed relatively unfazed by the news, assuring reporters that the president will appear on the ballot in all 50 states. Its confidence may be based on recent history. Just four years ago, the Ohio legislature approved changing its deadline to 60 days before the election to accommodate Mr. Biden as well as Donald Trump, when both the Republican and Democratic conventions were held in late August. Similarly, a one-time exception for Mr. Trump passed the Alabama Legislature unanimously in 2020 (with a vote from current Secretary of State Wes Allen, who was in the Alabama House at the time).
Reuters
Asia stocks slide, gold rises as Middle East conflict sparks safety rush
SINGAPORE, April 15 (Reuters) - Asian shares slumped and gold prices rose on Monday as risk sentiment took a hit after Iran's retaliatory attack on Israel stoked fears of a wider regional conflict and kept traders on edge.
The dollar scaled a fresh 34-year high against the yen on growing expectations that sticky inflationary pressures in the United States will keep rates there higher for longer.
Markets in Asia began the week on a
cautious footing. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
(.MIAPJ0000PUS), opens new tab fell 0.7% after Iran had,
late on Saturday, launched explosive drones and missiles at Israel in retaliation for a suspected Israeli attack on its consulate in Syria on April 1.
And yet…..
CNBC
Dow futures rebound from worst week of 2024 even as traders brace for Israel response to Iran attack: Live updates
U.S. stock futures managed to tick higher Sunday as investors dealt with a multitude of issues, including Iran’s missile and drone strike on Israel and a spike in equity market volatility that sent the Dow Jones Industrial average to its worst week of the year last week.
Deutsche Welle
Notre Dame: State of the restoration 5 years after the fire
The fire was still raging at the Notre Dame Cathedral on April 15, 2019, when French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to renovate and reconstruct the medieval monument within five years.
Since then, work on the Gothic Episcopal church has been in full swing and is apparently on schedule.
"We are meeting deadlines and budget," Philippe Jost, the head of reconstruction efforts, told a French Senate committee in late March. Jost took over the position after his predecessor, ex-General Jean-Louis Georgelin, died while hiking in August 2023.
The cathedral is officially scheduled to reopen on December 8, 2024.
Though it will not be ready in time for the Summer Olympic in Paris, as was initially desired, visitors to the French capital can once again see Notre Dame's towering spire following the recent removal of the surrounding scaffolding. The lead roof is also currently being installed.
Fire-prevention features, such as a sprinkler system and compartmentalized sections, are also part of restoration efforts. Ongoing work includes finishing the electric and heating systems and restoring the internal furnishings.
Raw Story
Asia-Pacific gets new weapon in fight against drug-resistant TB
A faster and vastly more effective treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis is being rolled out in the Asia-Pacific region, raising hopes of a "new era" in tackling one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases.
The region had most of the world's estimated 10.6 million new TB cases in 2022, and more than half of the 1.3 million deaths, World Health Organization (WHO) figures show.
While TB can be successfully treated with antibiotics, more than three percent of new TB patients are resistant to commonly prescribed drugs.
Now, a new drug regimen involving fewer pills and side effects is being rolled out in the Asia-Pacific, including the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia, where trials have shown a more than 90 percent cure rate after six months.
L A Times
California granted federal disaster relief for historic February storms
President Biden has approved California’s request for a major disaster declaration to support recovery efforts from a string of February storms that drenched much of the state with historic rainfall and mountain snow and resulted in numerous deaths, officials announced Sunday.
Nine California counties — Butte, Glenn, Los Angeles, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Sutter and Ventura — will receive federal aid as a result of the declaration, which also includes funding for statewide hazard mitigation efforts, officials said.
“This declaration brings in more resources for local communities across the state recovering from the widespread impacts of these storms,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement thanking the Biden administration for its support.