Welcome to the Overnight News Digest
The OND is published each night around midnight, Eastern Time.
The originator of OND was Magnifico.
Current Contributers are ScottyUrb, Bentliberal, wader, Inerceptor7, rfall, JML9999 and NeonVincent.
Stories and Headlines
- House Approves Payments to Indians and Black Farmers
The House passed landmark legislation on Tuesday to pay for about $4.6 billion in settlements with American Indians and black farmers who say they faced discrimination and mistreatment by the government.
Lawmakers voted 256 to 152 to send the measure to President Obama, whose administration brokered the settlements over the past year.
The package would award about $3.4 billion to American Indians over claims that they were cheated out of royalties overseen by the Interior Department for resources like oil, gas and timber since 1887. Another $1.2 billion would go to African-Americans who claim that they were unfairly denied loans and other assistance from the Agriculture Department. |
- E.U. launches formal antitrust investigation into Google
The European Commission, the European Union's executive body, said Tuesday it has opened a formal antitrust investigation into Google's search practices. The E.C. said in a release it will focus on whether Google illegally used its dominance in search to lower the rankings of unpaid search results from competitors while giving preferential rankings to its own services. |
Also see a BBC story on the EU/Google.
- US house prices in fresh decline
US house prices fell again in September and at a quicker-than-expected rate, a survey has suggested.
Prices were down 0.8% from the previous month on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to the Case-Shiller index of 20 major US cities.
The data - which is actually an average of house prices during July, August and September - was lower than expected. |
- Interpol issues 'Red Notice' for Wikileaks' Assange
Interpol has issued a "Red Notice" for the founder of the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, Julian Assange.
It said the Australian was wanted for questioning in Sweden over an alleged sex offence, which he has denied.
The Red Notice does not amount to an arrest warrant. Instead, it asks people to contact the police if they have any information about his whereabouts. |
Above story from BBC - limeyswife also has a diary on this.
- New York Legislature votes to block Hydraulic Fracturing, temporarily
Gov. David A. Paterson is considering whether to sign legislation that would impose a temporary moratorium on the issuing of permits for a controversial type of natural gas exploration that has raised broad safety concerns in New York State.
The State Assembly voted 93 to 43 on Monday night to block new permits for the drilling practice, known as hydraulic fracturing, until May 15. The purpose would be to give the state more time to address safety and environmental worries, especially concerns that the drilling could contaminate groundwater supplies.
The Senate approved the temporary moratorium in August.(link) |
Eddie C has a diary on this as well.
- What Makes President Obama Think He Can Work With GOP Leaders Who Are Opposed Even to Food Safety?
(The Nation 11/30) On the same day that McConnell was presenting himself as a serious senator who could find common ground with the president and Democrats on issues of consequence to the nation, he cast a vote that confirmed his unwillingness to swim in the mainstream.
If there is one issue that ought to unite members of Congress from both parties and all ideologies, it is food safety.
Yet, when the Senate voted Tuesday on the Food Safety and Modernization Act, the first significant expansion of the authority of the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to inspect and protect the nation's food supply, twenty-five senators said "no."
The Senate vote on this bipartisan bill was a lopsided one, with seventy-three members (all the Democrats, fifteen Republicans, Connecticut Independent Joe Lieberman and Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders) backing the food safety bill. But it is nothing short of remarkable that twenty-five members—all Republicans—voted "no" on a measure that not so many years ago might reasonably have been expected to pass unanimously. |
- Leaks expose US and UK fears over Pakistan nuclear arms
US and UK diplomats feared Pakistan's nuclear material could fall into the hands of terrorists, the latest leaked classified US diplomatic cables reveal.
The documents, released by Wikileaks, warn that Pakistan is rapidly building its nuclear stockpile despite the country's growing instability. |
Might be old news to some, but thought it might be fun to include this interview anyway:
- Markos Moulitsas Zúniga: 'I was a Republican!'
(The Nation 11/30) How did Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, founder and publisher of the Daily Kos—the largest progressive community blog in the United States—go from a Reagan-loving conservative to a successful entrepreneur in the progressive movement?
In this Brave New Chat, Zúniga explains how his time served in the military, which he describes as "kind of the ultimate socialized eco-system," led him to realize just how selfish his fellow-Republicans were. |
More from The Nation: Memo to Democrats: You Have the Power
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On How the US Combats Domestic Terrorism
I felt this was a thoughtful story from the New York Times on so-called domestic terrorism and how it is addressed.
Terror Cases Strain Ties With Some Who Can Help
PORTLAND, Ore. — The arrest in a plot to bomb a popular Christmas tree-lighting ceremony here has renewed focus on the crucial but often fragile relationship that many Muslim communities have with federal law enforcement agencies.
Many Muslim leaders nationwide say they are committed to working with the authorities to fight terrorist threats and applauded the work in Portland. But some say cases like the one in Oregon, in which undercover agents said they helped a teenager plan the attack, risk undermining the trust of Muslim communities that federal agents say is essential to doing their jobs.
The failed Portland plot is one of several recent cases, from California to Washington, D.C., in which undercover agents helped suspects pursue terrorist plans. Some Muslims say the government appears to be enabling and even sensationalizing threats that can lead to backlashes against Muslim communities.
(photo by Susan Scubert, NYT)
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