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.
Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
Chicago Sun-Times: HUD accuses city of Chicago of environmental racism by moving polluters to Black, Latino neighborhoods by Brett Chase
The city of Chicago is violating the civil rights of its residents by relocating polluting businesses from white communities into Black and Latino areas that already are overwhelmed with environmental and health issues, federal officials have found after a nearly two-year investigation.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is demanding that Chicago change its unlawful planning, zoning and land-use policies so they don’t discriminate against communities of color, according to a letter HUD sent to the city.
If Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration doesn’t agree to work on a plan to overhaul its processes and policies, City Hall could lose hundreds of millions in federal housing money.
In 2021, HUD says City Hall distributed $375 million in grants and other funding from the agency among 13 departments.
Detroit Free Press: Michigan football's Jim Harbaugh: Have the courage to let the unborn be born by Kirkland Crawford
Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh lent his celebrity and his voice to an anti-abortion event on Sunday in Plymouth, sharing his reasoning why he's against abortion.
According to the Detroit Catholic publication, Harbaugh and his wife, Sarah, were speakers at the Plymouth Right to Life event at the Inn at St. John's, designed to raise money for several anti-abortion charities and programs in southeast Michigan.
“In God’s plan, each unborn human truly has a future filled with potential, talent, dreams and love,” Harbaugh said. “I have living proof in my family, my children, and the many thousands that I’ve coached that the unborn are amazing gifts from God to make this world a better place. To me, the right choice is to have the courage to let the unborn be born.”
The abortion debate has been reignited across the country after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision, sending the issue back to individual states.
As the article later states, Harbaugh has taken political stances across the political spectrum and he has devoted time, energy, and money to issues related to children’s health.
But still…I mean, Jim Harbaugh will never have to make “the right choice” so...
New York Times: Abortion Provider Prepares Defamation Suit Against Indiana Attorney General by Ava Sasani and Sheryl Gay Stolberg
An Indianapolis doctor who provided abortion care to a 10-year-old rape victim is preparing to sue Attorney General Todd Rokita of Indiana for defamation after he said he would investigate her actions in the case, according to a statement released on Tuesday by her lawyer.
Dr. Caitlin Bernard earned the ire of conservative lawmakers and pundits after she told The Indianapolis Star about her patient, a 10-year-old girl who crossed state lines from Ohio to receive an abortion. Ohio is one of nearly a dozen states with abortion restrictions that do not make exceptions for rape or incest.
The case drew national attention after President Biden mentioned it this month while signing an executive order in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
CNN: Mom believes Sesame Place character was intentionally racist toward two 6-year-old Black girls by Carol Alvarado, Michelle Watson, and Jacquelyne Germain
The mother who posted a video showing a costumed character appearing to ignore two Black children during a parade at Sesame Place in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, says the theme park’s explanation of the incident as a “misunderstanding” is not enough.
Jodi Brown and her attorney told CNN on Tuesday that the Sesame Place character, Rosita, was intentionally racist toward her niece and daughter.
In the nine-second video shared by Brown, on Instagram, her daughter and niece are seen reaching out for a hug from the character, Rosita. In the video, Rosita is seen high-fiving others before seemingly wags her finger at an unidentified person and then shakes her head no at Brown’s daughter and niece before walking away from them.
Brown told CNN that the character Rosita was walking down the parade route high-fiving and hugging other children when the character intentionally ignored her daughter and niece.
“Right after the character passed them, there was another little girl next to them who was of a different race and [Rosita] hugged her,” Brown said.
Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska visited the White House on Tuesday, part of her high-profile trip to Washington as the Russian war in her country enters its sixth month.
Zelenska arrived at the White House just after 1:30 p.m. and was greeted on the South Lawn by President Biden and first lady Jill Biden. The president presented Zelenska with a bouquet of yellow sunflowers, blue hydrangeas and white orchids — reminiscent of the colors of the Ukrainian flag — and the first lady hugged Zelenska.
The group, which included Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, posed for a photo at the south entrance to the White House, flanked by an American flag and a Ukrainian flag. They did not answer reporters’ shouted questions about what they would discuss.
Zelenska and Jill Biden had a private meeting, then held an expanded meeting with Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Isobel Coleman, the deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); Victoria Nuland, undersecretary of state for political affairs; Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy; and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff.
BBC News: Heatwave: Records fall as extreme heat bakes Western Europe by Malu Cursino
Records have tumbled and firefighters faced new blazes as much of Western Europe baked in a gruelling heatwave.
The UK, normally used to milder climates, saw temperatures of more than 40C (104F) for the first time.
Germany saw its hottest day of the year so far while Portugal raised its death toll after days of excess heat.
Deadly wildfires have swept the continent. The UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned there was worse to come.
Heatwaves have become more frequent and more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change.
"In the future these kinds of heatwaves are going to be normal, and we will see even stronger extremes," WMO chief Peterri Taalas said.
In addition to record temperatures in the UK, several fire services declared major incidents after a surge in fires.
Guardian: Kemi Badenoch knocked out of Tory leadership race by Peter Walker
Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss are locked in a tight race for a chance to become prime minister, alongside Rishi Sunak, as polling seen by the Guardian suggests Labour could beat any of the three at a general election.
The former levelling up minister Kemi Badenoch was eliminated in Tuesday’s ballot of Conservative MPs, coming fourth among the remaining contenders with 59 votes.
Sunak remained in the lead with 118 votes, just short of the 120 needed to secure a spot in the last two. Mordaunt, the international trade minister, kept her second spot with 92 votes, up from 82, but Truss, the foreign secretary, closed the gap by picking up 15 extra votes to reach 86.
The three contenders will be whittled down to two on Wednesday afternoon, and Tory party members’ final decision on who will become prime minister will be announced on 5 September.
DW: Russian President Putin in Iran for trilateral talks
Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Tehran on Tuesday for talks with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts on key issues affecting the region.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the ongoing conflict in Syria as well as the UN-backed proposal to allow for grain to be exported from Ukrainian ports.
Putin said the talks were "truly useful and rather substantial" and said that the leaders had adopted a joint declaration, pledging to bolster cooperation in terms of the situation in Syria.
Putin also called for the revival of the Iran nuclear deal, stressing the importance of preserving it.
"We consider it important to continue efforts to preserve the nuclear deal and to create conditions for its renewed sustainable realization on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 2231," Putin said following the talks.
Have a good night, everyone!