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 Rise above the swamp. . 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.
Since 2007 the OND has been 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.
- Some stories for tonight:
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William Hurt: Oscar-winning actor and Marvel star dies at 71
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At least 19 migrants missing after boat capsizes off coast of Libya
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Poland rebuilds abandoned rail tracks to Ukraine to help refugees fleeing the war
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Sanctions may ground Russia's planes, but the firms that own them can't get them back
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Why Baghdad will be one of the cities hardest hit by global warming
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U.S. gasoline prices edge lower after hitting record high last week
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Musk says Tesla, SpaceX see significant inflation risks
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COVID digest: China daily symptomatic cases more than triple
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Ukraine latest updates: 2,187 residents killed in Mariupol
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Russian missiles strike Ukrainian military range near Poland, killing dozens. Moscow promises further attacks.
BBC
William Hurt: Oscar-winning actor and Marvel star dies at 71
William Hurt, the Oscar-winning US actor whose roles ranged from acclaimed 1980s dramas to Marvel films, has died at the age of 71, US media say.
Hurt won the best actor Oscar in 1986 for playing a prisoner in a Brazilian jail in Kiss of the Spider Woman.
He was nominated two more times in the next two years, for Children of a Lesser God and Broadcast News.
In recent years, he has been known as General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross in five Marvel blockbusters.
Hollywood website Deadline quoted a statement from Hurt's son Will as saying: "It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father and Oscar winning actor, on March 13, 2022, one week before his 72nd birthday.
"He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes. The family requests privacy at this time."
The Guardian
At least 19 migrants missing after boat capsizes off coast of Libya
A boat carrying about two dozen migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya on Saturday, with at least 19 people missing and presumed dead, authorities said.
Libya’s coastguard said that a group of 23 migrants – Egyptians and Syrians – set off from the eastern city of Tobruk earlier in the day. Three migrants were rescued and taken to hospital. Only one body was retrieved and search efforts were continuing, the agency said.
The shipwreck is the latest tragedy at sea involving migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean from the north African nation in a desperate attempt to reach European shores. Libya has emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East, hoping for a better life in Europe.
NPR
Poland rebuilds abandoned rail tracks to Ukraine to help refugees fleeing the war
KROŚCIENKO, POLAND - In a remote mountainous province in the southeast tip of Poland, surrounded by snow and bare trees, 11 burly men in orange suits are hard at work.
They are rushing to rebuild an abandoned rail line first laid more than a century ago that runs through the hills from Ukraine into Poland. They hope it will help ferry refugees escaping Russia's war on Ukraine to safety - but it's laborious work.
They are digging by hand, using pick axes and rakes to drag out rocks that were first put down when the tracks were built in the 19th century.
Its 26 degrees and you can see the steam of their breath as they drag out rotted ties and then, with a grunt and some teamwork, slide a new one in. A gas-powered drill rumbles along the tracks fixing them into place with thick 8-inch screws.
It's a three-hour drive for the workers to get here, on the southernmost border crossing with Ukraine on the outskirts of the tiny town of Krościenko. It will be a three-hour drive home when night falls.
Theirs is one of several crews trying to replace an 18-mile stretch of the line that has deteriorated beyond use.
NPR
Sanctions may ground Russia's planes, but the firms that own them can't get them back
Sweeping economic sanctions appear to be taking a heavy toll on Russia's economy; the ruble has collapsed, companies like Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Boeing have pulled out, and businesses there are struggling.
This includes Russia's airlines, which are now almost entirely flying only domestically and could soon be forced to cut back on that.
But there's a big problem in that most of the planes the Russian airlines fly are leased from Western companies, and the aircraft owners now fear they'll never get their planes back.
Since the end of the Cold War, the aviation industry has become more global than ever, and it is completely interconnected.
"The west relies on China and Russia just as much as they rely on the west," says George Dimitroff, head of valuations for the aviation analytics company Cirium. "And I think these sanctions will probably demonstrate how dependent we are on each other."
NPR
Why Baghdad will be one of the cities hardest hit by global warming
Baghdad is already pretty hot. And it's likely to get even hotter.
A report from the European Union Institute of Security Studies projects that the number of days when temperatures in Baghdad hit 120 degrees will go from roughly 14 per year to more than 40 over the next two decades.
The study forecasts that the Iraqi capital, which is already seeing longer heat waves each summer and higher peak temperatures, will be one of the places hardest hit by global warming.
Baghdad set a new record high of 125.2 degrees on July 28, 2020. The next day it cooled down to 124.
In summer the Baghdad city government now regularly declares "heat holidays" ordering residents to stay home.
"When it gets to 50 degrees (122 Fahrenheit) we already stay at home," says 70-year-old Razak Abdul-Zahra Mubarak, one of dozens of street vendors in Al Maidan square in Baghdad. "We don't need the government to tell us to get out of the sun ... when it gets like that."
Reuters
U.S. gasoline prices edge lower after hitting record high last week
NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters) - U.S. gasoline prices at the pump edged lower over the weekend after reaching all-time highs last week following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Retail gasoline prices fell for the second straight day on Sunday to $4.325 per gallon, below a record of $4.331 hit on Friday, according to American Automobile Association data. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February has roiled energy markets worldwide since, bringing more expensive fuel costs to motorists who have also been hit by higher inflation.
Americans allocated a record-low share of 1.3% of their total spending on gasoline and energy goods during lockdowns imposed by governments during the coronavirus pandemic in April 2020, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Reuters
Musk says Tesla, SpaceX see significant inflation risks
March 13 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Sunday the U.S. electric carmaker and his rocket company SpaceX are facing significant inflationary pressure in raw materials and logistics.
Musk in a tweet also asked about inflation rate outlook and said his companies "are not alone", retweeting an article saying the Ukraine-Russia conflict sent commodity prices to their highest levels since 2008.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been ramping up the prices of metals used in cars, from aluminum in the bodywork to palladium in catalytic converters to the high-grade nickel in electric vehicle batteries, and drivers are likely to foot the bill.
While metals have not been the target of Western sanctions as yet, some shippers and auto-parts suppliers are steering clear of Russian goods, putting more pressure on carmakers already reeling from a chip shortage and higher energy prices.
Deutsche Welle
COVID digest: China daily symptomatic cases more than triple
The number of symptomatic coronavirus cases in mainland China rose to 1,807, almost tripling from the previous day, and reaching a two-year high. The daily count rose from 476 in the previous 24 hours, including 114 initially classified as asymptomatic, who later developed symptoms.
China's southern city of Shenzhen, home to 17 million people, went into a citywide lockdown, after reporting 66 new cases. The city is home to tech giants like Huawei and Tencent and its central business district was also sealed Sunday.
Gernot Marx, the head of the Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Divi) in Germany said face-masks should continue to be worn in indoor public areas even after March 20, when most of Germany's coronavirus restrictions will be rolled back.
"Wearing masks is a proven and simple protective measure. It would be a mistake to give this up before we need to," he said, urging states to maintain the rule.
The federal government has proposed a law to take effect from March 20 which gives more limited powers to the states to impose coronavirus restrictions.
Indoor mask mandates will still be allowed at nursing homes, hospitals and public transport as well as testing in nursing homes and schools. Long-distance train and plane travelers will also be required to wear masks.
Germany reported 146,607 new cases and 50 additional deaths in the past 24 hours.
Al Jazeera
Ukraine latest updates: 2,187 residents killed in Mariupol
- Russian and Ukrainian officials have suggested talks might yield positive results within days, despite battles raging on.
- The city council of besieged Mariupol has said 2,187 residents have been killed since the start of Russia’s invasion.
- Authorities in Lviv say the Russian military launched a deadly air strike targeting a Ukrainian base in Yavoriv near the Polish border, killing at least 35 people.
- People in Kyiv are scrambling to escape, with the bulk of Russian ground forces about 25km (16 miles) from the centre of the Ukrainian capital.
- NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia might use chemical weapons in Ukraine and that such a move would be a war crime.
- The number of refugees fleeing Ukraine is nearing 2.7 million, according to the United Nations.
Washington Post
Russian missiles strike Ukrainian military range near Poland, killing dozens. Moscow promises further attacks.
MUKACHEVKO, Ukraine — At least 35 people were killed and 134 injured on Sunday when a barrage of Russian missiles slammed into a military facility in western Ukraine about 15 miles from the border with Poland, Ukrainian officials said. It was the closest attack thus far to NATO’s border and an ominous expansion of Russia’s targeting.
The Russian Ministry of Defense charged that the facility was a “training center for foreign mercenaries” and a storage base for weapons and equipment being sent to Ukraine by “foreign countries.” A day earlier, the Kremlin warned that it viewed Western weapons shipments “legitimate targets.”
In another sign of the expanding conflict, the White House said national security adviser Jake Sullivan would meet in Rome on Monday with a top Chinese official to warn of what Sullivan said would “absolutely be consequences” for any Chinese efforts to assist Russia in evading sanctions.