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) 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: Chicago man admits inciting city rioting in August 2020 by Jon Seidel
A Chicago man admitted in federal court Tuesday that he used his Facebook account to set off rioting and looting in the city in August 2020.
James Massey, 23, pleaded guilty to inciting, participating and carrying on a riot. A 19-page criminal complaint filed when he was first charged last March alleged that he sent online messages late on Aug. 9, 2020, such as “WE LIE TOGETHER WE DIE TOGETHER” and “Lets get ready to steal b----.”
Massey admitted to much of the conduct in that complaint during his hearing Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly. He faces a likely sentence of around two years in prison. His sentencing hearing is set for May 10.
Two people were shot and 13 police officers were injured amid the August 2020 rioting that led to standoffs with police and left heaps of shattered glass and empty storefronts from the South Loop to Lincoln Park.
Washington Post: A middle-aged woman is the third patient to be potentially cured of HIV, scientists report by Carolyn Y. Johnson
A middle-aged, mixed-race woman is the third patient to be potentially cured of HIV, with the virus in long-term remission four years after she received a transplant of stem cells harvested from an infant’s umbilical cord blood, scientists said Tuesday.
The new case, reported at the annual meeting of the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infection, is the first time the transplant approach has been successfully reported in a mixed-race woman, an advance that reinforces the exciting concept that an HIV cure may be possible in a wider array of people by using cord blood.
In 2009, scientists first reported that a White man with leukemia, originally known to the world only as the “Berlin patient,” had been possibly cured of HIV with a transplant of stem cells resistant to HIV. A decade later, the approach was used in the “London patient,” a Hispanic man with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. A man in Dusseldorf, Germany, was reported to be in HIV remission after a transplant in 2019, but he was not counted by the research team as a previously cured patient.
One-off reports of long-term HIV remission have inspired hope and reignited the search for an HIV cure, but they also come with inherent limitations. All of the patients, including the middle-aged woman, who was treated by doctors at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, received the transplant as part of treatment for cancer.
CNN: The 3G network shutdown will impact more than just phones by Samantha Murphy Kelly
With AT&T's 3G network shutting down next week, and other carriers following suit later this year, a range of products require updates to continue working, including some home alarm systems, medical devices such as fall detectors, and in-car crash notification and roadside assistance systems such as General Motors' OnStar.
Just as many mobile carriers have
urged customers to swap their older 3G iPhones, Android phones, e-readers and other handheld
devices for newer models ahead of the shutdown, other businesses are urging customers to upgrade or replace some of the everyday products and services in their homes and cars before they drop connectivity.
If left unaddressed, the stakes could be high in certain cases.
Millions of cars, for example, may no longer have the ability to contact first responders after a collision or
receive updates such as location or traffic alerts for built-in GPS systems. Some vehicles, including Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac, have
software upgrades for
drivers to connect their systems to a 4G network, but other models will
reportedly lose this feature for good.
New York Times: Jan. 6 Inquiry Subpoenas 6 Tied to False Pro-Trump Elector Effort by Luke Broadwater
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol subpoenaed two of Donald J. Trump’s campaign aides and Republican Party officials from battleground states on Tuesday as it dug deeper into a plan to use false slates of electors to help the former president stay in office after he lost the 2020 election.
The use of bogus slates was one of the more audacious gambits employed by allies of Mr. Trump to try to keep the presidency in his hands, and the committee’s members and investigators have made it increasingly clear in recent days that they believe the effort — along with proposals to seize voting machines — was a major threat to democracy.
Among those subpoenaed on Tuesday were Michael A. Roman and Gary Michael Brown, who served as the director and the deputy director of Election Day operations for Mr. Trump’s campaign. The panel also summoned Douglas V. Mastriano, a Pennsylvania state senator; Laura Cox, the former chairwoman of Michigan’s Republican Party; Mark W. Finchem, an Arizona state legislator; and Kelli Ward, the chairwoman of Arizona’s Republican Party.
In letters accompanying the subpoenas, the committee said it had obtained communications that showed Mr. Roman’s and Mr. Brown’s “involvement in a coordinated strategy to contact Republican members of state legislatures in certain states that former President Trump had lost and urge them to ‘reclaim’ their authority by sending an alternate slate of electors that would support former President Trump.”
AlJazeera: Ottawa police chief resigns amid criticism over trucker protests
Ottawa’s police chief has publicly announced his resignation, after he faced days of widespread criticism over the force’s handling of an ongoing anti-government trucker protest in the Canadian capital.
Peter Sloly on Tuesday afternoon confirmed earlier reports that he had stepped down as head of the Ottawa Police Service, saying in a statement posted on Twitter that he made the decision with “a heavy heart”.
“Since the onset of this demonstration, I have done everything possible to keep this city safe and put an end to this unprecedented and unforeseeable crisis,” he said, adding that police had acquired new resources and enforcement tools.
“I am confident the Ottawa Police Service is now better positioned to end this occupation.”
Guardian: Prince Andrew settles Virginia Giuffre sexual assault case in US by Caroline Davies, Harriet Sherwood, and Richard Adams
The Duke of York has settled the sex assault case filed against him by Virginia Giuffre for an undisclosed sum, sparing him the humiliation of giving evidence in a trial and protecting the royal family from further reputational damage.
The out-of-court settlement in the US civil case means Prince Andrew makes no admission of guilt over claims by Giuffre that he sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was 17, allegations he has repeatedly denied.
In a letter filed to the judge, Lewis A Kaplan, lawyers for Andrew, 61, and Giuffre, 38, said the two had reached a “settlement in principle”. A statement read: “The parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon Ms Giuffre’s receipt of the settlement (the sum of which is not being disclosed).”
It added that Andrew would make a “substantial donation” to Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights. International lawyers told the Guardian that the cost to Andrew was likely to be more than $10m (£7m) even before paying his own legal bill that is expected to run into millions.
Deutsche Welle: Russian-Belarusian maneuvers: Concern and mistrust near the Ukrainian border by Ales Petrovich
Dubbed "Union Resolve 2022," the Russian-Belarusian maneuvers at military training sites in Belarus are scheduled to last until February 20. The name of the ten-day exercises alludes to the Russian-Belarusian "Union State." In 2021, the two former Soviet republics agreed on closer integration, including on a military level.
Trains carrying military equipment from Russia started arriving in Belarus long before the maneuvers began. Observers are now doubtful that all this equipment will be withdrawn once the exercises finish. In the West, there are fears that the maneuvers could be a cover for an imminent invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Both Moscow and Minsk, however, deny this.
What are the soldiers training for?
The official line is that the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko and Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed in the fall of 2021 to hold unscheduled exercises. These were first announced by Minsk at the end of November.
Later, the Russian and Belarusian defense ministries said the maneuvers were intended to, among other things, strengthen the Belarusian border in sections where the "infiltration of rebel groups with weapons and equipment" could not be ruled out. Furthermore, the military units involved were to practice "search and elimination of saboteurs and illegal armed groups." As for where the maneuvers would take place, the locations originally named were mostly military training grounds and airfields in western Belarus.
BBC News: Karnataka hijab controversy is polarising its classrooms by Divya Arya
How do you sit in a classroom with people who shouted slogans against your right to wear a hijab?
That's the question troubling Saima, whose name has been changed on request. Last week, the 20-year-old was one of several hijab-clad Muslim women who watched anxiously as hundreds of Hindu students protested against Islamic headscarves. They were wearing saffron scarves and turbans, and yelling Jai Shri Ram or "victory to Lord Ram" - the chant and the colour are commonly associated with the Hindu right-wing.
Saima, the only Muslim woman in her class, says she saw many of her classmates among the protesters.
The hijab has become the subject of a fierce debate in India. It all began last month when six teenagers at a government-run college in Karnataka's Udupi district began protesting after they were barred from classes for wearing headscarves.
The issue quickly turned divisive with Hindu students turning up in colleges wearing saffron shawls, and right-wing groups on both sides making provocative statements. Fearing violence, the state government shut down high schools and colleges.
Everyone have a great evening!