Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame and jck. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Man Oh Man, wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Interceptor 7, 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: CPS tells parents to keep children home Wednesday as CTU prepares for potential strike Thursday by Nader Issa
Failing to reach an agreement with Chicago Public Schools over reopening conditions this week, the Chicago Teachers Union has told its members to work from home Wednesday and prepare for a strike Thursday if city officials ban remote teaching in response.
Leaders of both the union and the school district had held out hope that a deal could be worked out ahead of Wednesday’s deadline for thousands of elementary and middle school staff to report to schools, but the disagreements proved too large to sort out.
The immediate implications of the union’s collective decision to reject in-person work because of health and safety concerns is that about 3,200 preschool and special education students will return to remote learning Wednesday, just two weeks after resuming in-person instruction for the first time since last March.
Schools chief Janice Jackson wrote in a letter to families Tuesday that “the district has no choice but to ask parents to keep your children home tomorrow.”
“Without assurance that there is adequate teaching staff for in-person learning, we must prioritize student safety and ask that parents keep their children home for remote learning tomorrow,” Jackson wrote.
Boston Globe: How underrepresented candidates in Mass. communities can be squelched by electoral systems by Stephanie Ebbert
In Everett today, white, non-Hispanic residents make up less than 44 percent of the population, but they dominate city government. Seventy-five percent of the elected councilors and school committee members are white.
That’s no accident, critics say; it’s a natural outgrowth of the city’s electoral system.
Everett is one of several cities in Massachusetts where all local officials are elected at-large, and none by individual wards or districts. For years, civil rights specialists have called that a recipe for exclusion. White residents, even as a minority, often vote as a bloc and drown out the voices of Black and brown voters. Lawyers for Civil Rights, a nonprofit legal organization, recently put Everett councilors on notice that they’re vulnerable to a challenge under the Voting Rights Act.
“There’s no shot against anybody because they’re a white man or a white woman. We are violating the federal Voting Rights Act,” Everett City Councilor Gerly Adrien, the first Black woman to serve on the council, warned her colleagues at a December council meeting.
Houston Chronicle: Harris County rolls out 'Ready Harris' COVID-19 vaccine portal by Alison Medley
It can be a confusing, frustrating challenge for many Houstonians trying to register for the COVID-19 vaccine in Harris County.
But now there's a new plan to streamline the registration process. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced that "Ready Harris," a new "smart waitlist portal" will launch Tuesday afternoon to make sure that it's a fair process for all who strive to book a vaccination appointment.
"First let me tell you a little bit about our values in Harris County when it comes to distributing the vaccine," Hidalgo said Monday in a press conference. "Let me put it bluntly. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine shouldn’t be like the Hunger Games. It shouldn’t be about who can hit refresh on a browser the fastest. It shouldn’t be about who has special knowledge about when a registration link will open.”
Hidalgo said that all Harris County residents who are eligible can register on the waitlist, and then be contacted once the vaccine supply and appointment times become available. The process will no longer be implemented on a first-come, first-serve basis, a Harris County Health press release stated. Hidalgo underscored that the process needed to be equitable for working families.
“In everything we do to fight COVID-19, we are pushing for not only efficiency but also fairness and equity,” Hidalgo stated at the press conference.
Minneapolis Star Tribune: Minneapolis settles first lawsuit against police stemming from Floyd protests by Randy Furst
The city of Minneapolis has settled the first lawsuit by a demonstrator injured by a police projectile in the aftermath of George Floyd's death.
The City Council has approved a payment of $57,900 to Graciela Cisneros and her attorneys. Last Tuesday Mayor Jacob Frey officially signed off on the payout.
Cisneros, 22, suffered an eye injury when a police officer fired a projectile at her on May 29 as she and her partner were walking home after a demonstration.
"Right now it is looking like she recovered," said Nico Ratkowski, her St. Paul attorney. "The settlement made sense based on what my client and what the city were willing to do," he said.
The city was confronted with large demonstrations and major civil unrest after the death of Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police on May 25. Four police officers have been charged with killing Floyd.
SFGate: Essential workers are no longer priority in Calif. vaccine rollout. Some fear they are 'expendable.' by Joshua Bote
The shift to an age-based COVID-19 distribution has seemingly left essential workers not covered by California's initial phase of the rollout high and dry.
California's new plan, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday, is intended to simplify the thus-far convoluted distribution process for the vaccine in the state — and to ensure that assorted counties in the state adhere to a cohesive rollout plan for a limited number of vaccines.
The state will continue to vaccinate essential workers that are currently covered as part of Phases 1a and 1b's first tier, such as health care workers, teachers and grocery and food laborers — but immunization for other essential workers may be delayed.
That includes workers in transportation, manufacturing and industrial services, among other essential workers.
It may also hamper the likelihood that incarcerated and homeless people get the vaccine.
The proposal has been condemned by some labor unions.
Buzzfeed: The Justice Department Has Rescinded Trump's "Zero Tolerance" Border Policy That Led To Families Being Separated by Adolfo Flores
The Justice Department on Tuesday rescinded the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy that led to the systematic separation of immigrant families at the border.
The memo from acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson to federal prosecutors said the policy — which required charges to be filed in every case referred to them for illegally entering the US, without regard for individual circumstances — was inconsistent with the Justice Department's principles.
The decision to bring charges against someone should involve not only a determination that a federal offense has been committed and that the evidence will probably be enough to get a conviction, but it should also take into account other factors, including personal circumstances and criminal history, the seriousness of the offense, and the probable sentence or other consequences that would result from a conviction, Wilkinson said in the memo.
“While policies may change, our mission always remains the same: to seek justice under the law,” Wilkinson said.
ProPublica: How the CARES Act Forgot America’s Most Vulnerable Hospitals by Brianna Bailey
A federal economic relief package passed by Congress in March promised to provide a lifeline for hospitals, particularly those in rural communities where many facilities struggled to survive even before the coronavirus pandemic.
But over the past 10 months, the distribution of more than $100 billion in CARES Act funding for health care providers has been plagued by a dizzying rollout and, at times, contradictory guidelines for how to use the funding.The result has been a patchwork of problems for rural hospitals, which were already at far greater risk of closure than other health care facilities and in dire need of help, The Frontier and ProPublica found. The scope of those problems is clearly visible in Oklahoma, which tied for the third-highest number of hospital closures in the country in the nine years before the pandemic.
One hospital used more than $1 million in federal aid to pay off its years-old debt to a management company that left before Oklahoma’s first coronavirus case was diagnosed, a potential violation of federal guidelines that could require the hospital to return the money, according to experts.
Washington Post: Democrats turn to quick action on Biden covid relief bill after power-sharing deal in Senate by Erica Werner, Mike DeBonis, and Seung Min Kim
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday that the Senate could vote as soon as next week on a budget bill setting the stage for party-line passage of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan.
“The work must move forward, preferably with our Republican colleagues but without them if we must,” Schumer said. “Time is of the essence to address this crisis.”
Schumer spoke at a news conference a day after Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) signaled he would move forward with a power-sharing agreement governing operations of the 50-50 Senate.
McConnell had sought assurances from Schumer that Democrats would not eliminate the filibuster, the 60-vote supermajority requirement to move most legislation. Schumer refused, but after two centrist Senate Democrats committed publicly to upholding the filibuster, McConnell relented.
New York Times: Biden Will Restore U.S. Relations With Palestinians, Reversing Trump Cutoff by Michael Crowley
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will restore diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Authority, more than two years after President Donald J. Trump effectively ended them. The action signals a return to a more traditional and evenhanded approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after a Trump administration policy that was heavily slanted toward Israel.
The shift, which will include a resumption of American aid to the Palestinians, was announced on Tuesday in a speech by Richard Mills, the acting United States ambassador to the United Nations.
Mr. Mills also reaffirmed support for a “mutually agreed, two-state solution” between Israel and the Palestinians, “in which Israel lives in peace and security, alongside a viable Palestinian state.” And he called on the parties to refrain from unilateral actions, such as the annexation of territory and settlement activity by Israel, or incitements to violence by the Palestinians, that could make such an outcome more difficult.
Analysts and regional leaders say the prospects of an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement are dimmer than they have been in decades. The parties have all but ceased communications, Palestinian leaders summarily rejected a peace plan offered by the Trump White House last year, and the issue is not among Mr. Biden’s top foreign policy priorities.
BBC News: Covid: Curfew stays despite 'scum' riots in Dutch cities
The Dutch government says it will not lift a curfew, after a third night of violent protests against increased Covid curbs across the Netherlands.
Shops in Rotterdam and other cities were looted and Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra said: "It's scum doing this". More than 180 arrests have been made.
The Dutch chief of police said the riots no longer had "anything to do with the basic right to demonstrate".
The criminal violence had to stop, said Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Shop-owners in Rotterdam, Den Bosch and other cities spent Tuesday morning cleaning up the debris from Monday night's violence.
Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb sent a passionate message to "shameless thieves" who had caused the damage: "Does it make you feel good that you've helped ruin your city? To wake up with a bag full of stolen stuff beside you?"
Deutsche Welle: Coronavirus: Europe looks for a way out of vaccine fiasco by Barbara Wesel
The European Union is well behind many other places in the world in its rate of inoculating people against the coronavirus. First, the bloc's vaccination campaign grappled with organizational problems; now, it is facing a shortage of vaccines.
The European Commission had signed contracts with eight manufacturers for a total of about 2 billion doses. But so far only, BioNTech-Pfizer has managed to deliver the goods, and even the US company temporarily cut back its production at the end of January.
AstraZeneca, for its part, plans to deliver only 40% of the announced doses in the first quarter. Are other countries receiving more vaccine doses than the EU, or has the bloc signed the wrong contracts?
The European Commission had previously vaunted its centralized vaccine procurement policy as a success story, in which all member states would gain equal access. "We are very active in terms of ensuring the companies work with us on the basis of the APAs [contracts] they have signed with us," said spokesman Eric Mamer, somewhat defensively, in response to reports of waning supplies. "The question is: What can all the actors do to ensure the process is a success?"
AlJazeera: Indonesia: Doctors reject patients as COVID cases top one million by Jessica Washington and Syarina Hasibuan
Jakarta, Indonesia – Dr Erlina Burhan has been providing medical care for more than 30 years – but now, for the first time in her career, she has been forced to turn away patients.
For the past six months, the intensive care unit (ICU) at her hospital in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, has been operating at between 90 to 100 percent capacity as coronavirus infections surge.
“We reject patients every day because there is nothing we can do if the hospital is full,” said Burhan, the head of the COVID-19 team at the Persahabatan National Lung Hospital.
“Even if the patient is in a very bad condition and needs the ICU, if we have no space, we cannot take them and we have to say, [we’re] sorry.”
Indonesia’s confirmed COVID-19 cases surpassed the one million mark on Tuesday, but doctors are warning the reality in their hospitals is much worse – particularly on the islands of Java and Bali.
Reuters: Tunisia's parliament approves Cabinet reshuffle amid protests by Tarek Amara and Angus McDowall
TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia’s parliament on Tuesday approved a Cabinet reshuffle that deepened the conflict between the prime minister and the president, as hundreds protested outside the heavily barricaded parliament over social inequality and police abuses.
Riot police turned water cannon on protesters outside the parliament earlier on Tuesday, trying to quell the largest rally since demonstrations began this month.
Hundreds of protesters had marched from the Ettadhamen district of the capital, Tunis, where young people have clashed with police several nights this month, and were joined by hundreds more near the parliament.
Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi named 11 new ministers and said he hoped it would inject new blood into his government.
”Young people protesting outside parliament reminds us of our priorities. Their protests are legitimate and the government will listen to the angry youth,” he said.
Science: Vaccine 2.0: Moderna and other companies plan tweaks that would protect against new coronavirus mutations by Kai Kupferschmidt
News from U.S. manufacturer Moderna that its COVID-19 vaccine is still “expected to be protective” against a virus variant first detected in South Africa came as a relief to scientists and the public. But the 25 January announcement included a caveat: Antibodies triggered by the vaccine appear to be a little less potent against the new variant, named B.1.351, than the one the vaccine was developed for. So researchers were perhaps even more relieved to hear the company will start development of booster shots tailored to B.1.351 and other variants.
“These are exactly the steps that I hoped to see,” says virologist Trevor Bedford of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. “It may well not be necessary to have a vaccine update in the fall, but taking these steps now is the right course of action.” Other vaccinemakers are also contemplating updates.
Scientists have grown increasingly concerned that new coronavirus variants may worsen the pandemic. B.1.1.7, first detected in England and now spreading globally, has been shown to be more transmissible; on 22 January, the U.K. government said it may be deadlier as well. B.1.351 and a very similar variant named P.1 that originated in Brazil’s Amazonas state are suspected of evading immunity in people who were vaccinated or previously infected.
Now, researchers from Moderna and the Vaccine Research Center at the U.S. National Institutes of Health have tested the potency of antibodies from eight people who had received the company’s vaccine against a retrovirus modified to express the mutated spike proteins of B.1.351 and B.1.1.7. In a preprint, they report that antibodies neutralized the virus in both cases. But for B.1.351, the levels needed were six times higher than for virus expressing the original protein.
Hollywood Reporter: 'The Great Gatsby' TV Series in the Works (Exclusive) by Lesley Goldberg
The Great Gatsby is coming to television.
A+E Studios and ITV Studios America are teaming with writer Michael Hirst for a big-budget TV series based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic novel. A network is not yet involved as the co-producers plan on shopping the series to premium cable and streaming outlets.
Envisioned as a closed-ended miniseries, for which Hirst (Elizabeth, The Tudors, Vikings) will pen the script and exec produce alongside Groundswell Productions' Michael London (Sideways, Milk). Fitzgerald's estate is also involved as Blake Hazard, a great-granddaughter of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and a trustee of the estate, will serve as a consulting producer.
Sources say A+E Studios has had the rights to the iconic novel for decades, dating back to the 2000 TV movie that starred Paul Rudd as Nick Carraway, Toby Stephens as Jay Gatsby and Mira Sorvino as Daisy. That telepic was a co-production with BBC and aired stateside on A&E. (The rights to the book, effective this year, are now open to the public domain.) The Hirst-led adaptation has been in the works for at least three years, dating back to when the Vikings creator had an overall deal with Barry Jossen's A+E Studios. The updated take was quietly in development last year at Apple before the tech giant changed course.
The Sporting News: Curt Schilling asks to be removed from Hall of Fame ballot after missing 2021 induction by Zac Al-Khateeb
Curt Schilling has once again failed to make the Hall of Fame.
The 22-year MLB pitcher, who made his argument largely with the Phillies, Diamondbacks and Red Sox, gained only 71.1 percent of the ballots needed for enshrinement in Cooperstown — just 16 votes shy of the minimum needed. He earned 70 percent of the votes in 2020.
This was likely Schilling's best remaining chance to make the Hall of Fame, considering it was an overall weak class apart from Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens — players whose careers were marred by PED allegations (they had 61.8 and 61.6 percent of the ballots necessary for enshrinement, respectively). Schilling was consistently great over his playing career, earning six All-Star nods and three World Series rings, including MVP honors in 2001 with Arizona. He never won a Cy Young Award, though that wouldn't have been enough to keep him from enshrinement.
Regardless, Schilling — whose post-career controversies are the reason he hasn't already been inducted into the Hall of Fame — has requested to be left off the ballots in 2022, his final year of eligibility. He will leave his Hall of Fame fate in the hands of the "Veterans Committee," the unofficial name for committees charged with selecting players whose initial 10 years of eligibility have concluded.
Guardian: Black-owned fashion label Telfar wins design award for popular shopping bag by Priya Elan
Black-owned fashion label Telfar has won the Fashion Design of 2020 award from London’s Design Museum for its vegan-leather, gender neutral shopping bag, capping off a change-making period for the brand.
In a 12-month period where fashion has been forced to question its
eurocentric outlook in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests, Telfar has upended the idea of luxury fashion as white, privileged and purely aspirational.
The Telfar shopping bag has doubled as a celebrity favourite (fans include Solange, Issa Rae and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) and a symbol of the brand’s community-led outlook.
“In an era where true luxury is having a functioning health and social security system, I think their slogan – ‘Not for you, for everyone’ – rings very true,” Emily King, guest curator at the Design Museum said, celebrating their win.
Since designer Telfar Clemens and his business partner Babak Radboy created the label in 2005, the duo have been early outliers in fashion’s inner circle. In September they created a range of luxury durags – a cornerstone of black haircare yet banned by the NBA, the NFL, malls, schools and workplaces across America.
Don’t forget that Meteor Blades is hosting a Tuesday night owls thread tonight.
Everyone have a great evening!
(I made it!)