Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, Doctor RJ, Magnifico, annetteboardman and Man Oh Man. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) wader, planter, JML9999, 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 12:00 AM Eastern Time.
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Outraged Men Are Now Taking Legal Action to Stop Women-Only Screenings
Earlier this week, the Alamo Drafthouse theater in Austin publicly dismissed male critics who had whined decision to hold a women-only screening of Wonder Woman. As the vociferous male outrage continued unabated, the Alamo decided to run the event in their theaters nationwide, doubling down on their intent to provide a positive space for women to celebrate an iconic feminist figure.
I reported on the men who are complaining about the screenings earlier this week, and I thought I was done reporting on this film, assuming erroneously that they would find something more pressing to care about, such as global warming. However, it seems that I was mistaken: According to the Washington Post, "multiple people have filed discrimination complaints" against the theater.
Iowa Lottery takes a pass on fixes to stop fraud. Blame the money, critics say
For more than a year while he worked at the Brick Street Market in Bondurant, Matthew Hinrichs quietly stole lottery tickets, cashing in at least $28,000 in illegitimate prize money, prosecutors say.
When he was finally caught in 2016, Hinrichs pleaded guilty to two felony counts of fraud and was ordered to pay back those winnings, plus nearly $5,000 more.
Lottery officials say their “layers of security” allowed them to track Hinrichs’ activity, providing data that was invaluable to prosecutors in obtaining the conviction.
But critics see the case far differently, saying Hinrichs’ crime could have been spotted much sooner — or prevented altogether — if the Iowa Lottery had fixed weaknesses in its system that were spotted years earlier.
Cleveland to take Q referendum issue to Ohio Supreme Court
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The city of Cleveland will ask the Ohio Supreme Court to sort out the legal issues over whether a referendum on use of city tax money for improvements at Quicken Loan Arena can proceed.
Mayor Frank Jackson and City Council President Kevin Kelley said today that the city's law director would file an action with the state's high court today asking it to rule on whether the city must accept the petition and begin the process toward verifying the signatures they contain.
The city refused to accept the petitions last month, saying that an attempted referendum would unconstitutionally interfere with a contract the city already had entered into over The Q agreement with Cuyahoga County.
^All politics is local. Citizens have rights.
Utah bars fighting the state’s strict new DUI law with fundraising and petition drive
Bar owners in Utah are fighting the state's strict new drunken-driving law, launching an online fundraising push and encouraging residents to sign a national petition.
The Utah Hospitality Association recently launched a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of collecting $25,000. As of Monday people had pledged $3,200. All contributions will go toward lobbying and campaign donations that could help repeal the toughest drunken-driving law in the country, said executive director Alex Dolphin.
Dozens of bars around the state have been sharing the campaign link on social media encouraging patrons to support the effort.
"People that want to see a change in the liquor law, this could be the vehicle to do it," Dolphin said. "We'd like to see patrons of all these businesses chip in five or 10 bucks each."
Earlier this year lawmakers approved — and Gov. Gary Herbert signed — HB155, which lowers the state's blood-alcohol-content limit for a DUI from 0.08 to 0.05 percent.
No death row for Sierra LaMar killer
More than five years after Sierra LaMar vanished while on her way to her school bus stop, a jury on Monday recommended that her killer spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Garcia-Torres will be sentenced in mid-September in Santa Clara County Superior Court by Judge Vanessa A. Zecher, who presided over the whole four-month trial.
Tens of thousands celebrate diversity at Utah Pride Parade downtown
Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of downtown Salt Lake City on a hot Sunday for the annual Utah Pride Parade.
The parade capped off a week of celebration surrounding the 42nd annual Utah Pride Festival. The festival has grown from its small origins to including more than 50,000 participants Sunday.
The growth of the festival and the parade were evident Sunday as nearly 140 parade entries stretched the event to more than two hours. Local companies, organizations of veterans and educators, along with local churches joined major corporations in marching on Sunday, including Delta Airlines, Netflix, Ikea, Sheraton and Visa.
Many of Salt Lake City's top leaders, such as Mayor Jackie Biskupski, Police Chief Mike Brown, Fire Chief Karl Lieb and Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill participated in the festivities.
Salt Lake police estimated between 35,000 and 40,000 people attended Sunday's parade.