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 JeremyBloom. 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.
BBC
UBS agrees 'emergency rescue' of Credit Suisse
Troubled bank Credit Suisse has been rescued by its Swiss rival UBS in a government-backed deal.
Sunday evening's announcement came after a weekend of emergency talks in Switzerland between the two banks and the country's financial regulators.
The Swiss National Bank said the deal was the best way to restore the confidence of financial markets and to manage risks to the economy.
The Bank of England said it welcomed the "comprehensive set of actions".
Credit Suisse shareholders were deprived of a vote on the deal and will receive one share in UBS for every 22.48 shares they own, valuing the bank at $3.15bn (£2.6bn).
At the close of business on Friday Credit Suisse was valued at around $8bn (£6.5bn).
But the deal has achieved what regulators set out to do - secure a result before the financial markets opened on Monday.
NPR Florida news
Miami Beach sets curfew to control spring break crowds after 2 shootings
The city of Miami Beach has imposed an overnight curfew during spring break to prevent violence and "unruly crowds" after two fatal shootings took place over the weekend.
The curfew largely applies to the city's South Beach district, a popular nightlife destination for spring breakers. It takes effect at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday night to 6 a.m. on Monday, the city said in a news release. More curfew restrictions are planned for Thursday through Monday, the city said, but that it will evaluate future curfew restrictions after the initial window.
The restrictions, which included a state of emergency, were set "in response to the two shootings and the excessively large and unruly crowds, and to mitigate dangerous and illegal conduct," the city said.
The two shootings, one on Friday night and another early Sunday, left two people dead, according to a separate news release.
NPR
Russia agrees to extend the Ukraine grain deal again
Turkey and Ukraine say the agreement with Russia to allow grain exports from Ukrainian ports through a safe corridor in the Black Sea has been extended.
The duration of the extension remained uncertain on Saturday, but it will be at least 60 days. Ukraine and Turkey say the extension will be 120 days, but a spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry told Russian news agency Tass that Moscow had agreed to extend the deal 60 days.
"As a result of our talks with the two sides, we have secured an extension to the deal," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
The agreement was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July in an effort to combat a global food crisis. It was extended in November for 120 days and set to expire Saturday.
The Guardian
Shroom boom: the hunt is on as California rains fuel a mushroom explosion
On a sun-dappled trail in the woods of Calabasas, Jess Starwood narrows her eyes and gasps with glee. Scrambling up a leafy hillside, she points to a small hump in the ground, covered in leaf litter. “That’s a shrump,” she says – a mushroom hump, where a mushroom may be pushing up the ground as it emerges.
There were times when Starwood, an author, naturalist and foraging guide, would walk this trail and consider herself lucky to find even one mushroom. Today, on one of the hikes she regularly leads, we uncover nearly 50 mushrooms of 10 different species pushing up through the ground, growing out of damp logs, or springing from the dark earth.
The reason? A slew of rainstorms walloping California throughout the winter, creating the ideal conditions for mushrooms to thrive. Experts are calling it a once-in-a-generation shroom boom, with highly saturated soils extending the mushroom season far past its usual peak of January and February. That’s brought enthusiasts in droves to forage mushrooms for cooking and medicinal uses, and given researchers a rare opportunity to survey the breadth of fungal diversity that is usually hidden underground.
The Guardian
Covid has not affected people’s happiness around world, study reveals
It claimed 6.7 million lives, locked down entire countries and triggered a global economic slump, but Covid-19 has not affected humankind’s happiness, an international study has found.
Interviews with more than 100,000 people across 137 countries found significantly higher levels of benevolence in all global regions than before the pandemic. And when asked to evaluate their lives on a scale of one to 10, people on average gave scores just as high in the 2020-22 Covid years as in 2017-19.
Things were slightly worse in western countries and slightly better in the rest of the world, but overall “the undoubted pains were offset by increases in the extent to which respondents had been able to discover and share the capacity to care for each other in difficult times,” the 10th World Happiness Report found.
Deutsche Welle
Putin applauds China's desire to help end Ukraine war
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday welcomed China's willingness to play a "constructive role" in ending the war in Ukraine, saying relations between Moscow and Beijing were "at the highest point."
In an article released on the eve of a visit to Moscow by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, Putin said Russia had high hopes for the visit by his "good old friend."
The three-day trip, which begins Monday, is the Chinese leader's first to Russia since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February last year.
China has publicly remained neutral over the conflict while criticizing Western sanctions against Russia and reaffirming its close ties with Moscow.
Beijing said Xi is hoping to deliver a breakthrough on Ukraine as it seeks to position itself as a peacemaker.
The Russian president said the quality of ties between Moscow and Beijing is "higher than the political and military unions of the Cold War era."
"We have no doubt that they [the talks] will give a new powerful impetus to the whole bilateral cooperation," he wrote in an article for a Chinese newspaper.
Reuters
North Korea's Kim calls for nuclear attack readiness against U.S., South Korea
SEOUL, March 20 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for the country to stand ready to conduct nuclear attacks at any time to deter war, accusing the U.S. and South Korea of expanding joint military drills involving American nuclear assets, state media KCNA said on Monday.
Kim's remarks came as the isolated country conducted what KCNA called exercises aimed at bolstering its "war deterrence and nuclear counterattack capability" on Saturday and Sunday to send strong warnings against the allies.
In the exercises, a ballistic missile equipped with a mock nuclear warhead flew 800 km (497 miles) before hitting a target at the altitude of 800 m (0.5 mile) under the scenario of a tactical nuclear attack, KCNA said.
Kim, who oversaw the test, said the exercises improved the military's actual war capability and highlighted the need to ensure its readiness posture for any "immediate and overwhelming nuclear counterattack" through such drills.
Reuters
Colombian president suspends ceasefire with criminal group
BOGOTA, March 19 (Reuters) - Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday said he had suspended a ceasefire with the Clan del Golfo, the country's largest criminal organization, because it had attacked police.
"I have ordered the armed forces to reactivate all military operations against the Clan del Golfo," Petro said in a tweet. "We will not allow them to continue sowing anxiety and terror in the communities."
The ceasefire with the Clan, also known as the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces (AGC), was part of efforts to end the group's part in Colombia's internal conflict, which has killed at least 450,000 people. Announced on New Year's Eve, it was scheduled to last six months.
L A Times
Newsom proposes bond measure, sweeping mental health reform in CaliforniaSAN DIEGO —
Gov. Gavin Newsom is asking lawmakers and voters to approve sweeping mental health reforms that would commit billions of dollars in state funding for behavioral health-based housing and treatment facilities throughout California.
The Democratic governor’s proposal, unveiled Sunday in San Diego, would raise at least $3 billion through a bond measure to fund the construction of new mental health campuses, residential settings and permanent supportive housing. Newsom wants to redirect another $1 billion in funds annually from an existing income tax on top earners to operate the facilities, his office said.
“It’s unacceptable what we’re dealing with, at scale now, in the state of California,” Newsom said during an event at Alvarado Hospital Medical Center to announce his plan. “We have to address and come to grips with the reality of mental health in this state and our nation.”
The governor’s call for a 2024 ballot measure to modernize the state’s behavioral health system is the capstone of his State of the State tour.
My prediction, Newsom will run for President in 2024.
Raw Story
Alan Dershowitz defiantly suggests Trump will 'serve as president from prison'
Attorney Alan Dershowitz predicted former President Donald Trump would be indicted and convicted over hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Dershowitz made the claim after Trump revealed on Saturday that he believed he would be arrested on Tuesday.
"He will be indicted," Dershowitz told Newsmax on Sunday. "In New York, you can indict a ham sandwich. In New York City, you can convict a ham sandwich because the jury pool is so unfair."
"Even if he's convicted, he can run for president," he insisted, pointing out that Trump meets the Constitutional requirements for office.
"He can run for president from prison; he can even serve as president from prison," the attorney said.
Washington Post
Millions of dead fish clog Australian river
Millions of dead fish are clogging up a river in southeastern Australia, angering locals who must endure the smell of rotting carcasses that have blanketed the water for days. Officials say it’s because of a lack of oxygen sparked by rising temperatures and recent floods, while residents are blaming the government for water mismanagement.
“There are dead fish everywhere,” Graeme McCrabb, a Menindee resident, said Sunday, describing the smell in the Darling-Baaka River in New South Wales as far-reaching and pungent. Among the dead fish are native species such as bony bream, Murray cod, golden perch, silver perch and carp, he said. Australian officials have been aware of the disaster since Friday, acknowledging “a developing large-scale fish death event” involving millions of carcasses in the river. The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (DPI) blamed low oxygen levels in the water, known as hypoxia, as floodwaters recede.
Al Jazeera
Israelis, Palestinians agree on steps to curb rising violence
Israeli and Palestinian officials have agreed at a meeting in Egypt to take steps to lower tensions ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The talks in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday stressed the need to prevent any disruptive actions at Jerusalem’s holy sites when Ramadan starts later this week.
In a joint statement following the talks attended by United States, Egyptian and Jordanian officials, the parties also reconfirmed commitments made at a meeting in Aqaba last month, including an Israeli pledge to stop discussion of any new settlement units for four months.
The Israeli pledge was largely symbolic. Israel recently approved the construction of thousands of new settlement homes, and there were no immediate plans to approve additional construction.
Still, mere talk of slowing settlement activity could risk a backlash in Israel’s right-wing coalition government, which is dominated by settler leaders and supporters.