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
How the fentanyl crisis' fourth wave has hit every corner of the US
More Americans than ever are dying from fentanyl overdoses as the fourth wave of the opioid epidemic crashes through every community, in every corner of the country.
It was six years ago that Kim Blake's son Sean died from an accidental fentanyl overdose in Burlington, Vermont. He was 27 years old.
"Every time I hear of a loss to substance use, my heart breaks a little more," Ms Blake wrote in a blog dedicated to her son in 2021.
"Another family shattered. Forever grieving the loss of dreams and celebrations."
That year, the US witnessed a grim milestone: for the first time ever, drug overdoses killed more than 100,000 people across the country in one single year.
Of those deaths, more than 66% were tied to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin.
BBC
Sudan conflict: Landmark skyscraper in Khartoum engulfed in flames
Buildings have caught fire in Sudan's capital after heavy fighting between the army and rival forces.
Videos posted online on Sunday showed the iconic Greater Nile Petroleum Oil Company Tower engulfed in flames.
"This is truly painful," said Tagreed Abdin, an architect of the building, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Air strikes and ground battles have continued in Khartoum and other towns and cities since fighting broke out in April.
Over one million people have been forced to flee the country, the UN has said.
Located near the River Nile, the 18-storey oil firm skyscraper is one of the most recognisable landmarks in Khartoum.
Ms Abdin said it defined the skyline of the city, and lamented "such senseless destruction".
It is not yet clear what caused the building's cone-like structure, which has a glass facade, to catch fire. There have been no reports of injuries or deaths.
NPR
NASA releases 'baby picture' of a star that will grow up to be much like our sun
Ever wondered what the Sun looked like in its infancy?
A new image from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured what Earth's sun looked like when it was only a few tens of thousands of years old.
The image of Herbig-Haro 211 (HH 211), released by NASA on Sept. 14, shows the outflow of a young star. "An infantile analogue of our Sun," NASA said in a statement.
Located about 1,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Perseus, HH21 has only about 8% of the Sun's mass. A Class 0 protostar, meaning the nascent star is less than 100,000 years old, "eventually will grow into a star like the Sun," Webb Space Telescope wrote on its website.
The Guardian
Halliburton equipment worth $7.1m imported into Russia in past year, customs records show
US oil and gas multinationals are facing fresh questions over their trade with Russia after customs records revealed that more than $7.1m (£5.7m) worth of equipment manufactured by Halliburton has been imported into the country since it announced the end of its Russian operations.
Last September Halliburton, one of the world’s largest providers of products and services for oil and gas exploration, sold its Russian office to local management amid pressure on all US companies to cease their trade after the invasion of Ukraine.
Russian customs records seen by the Guardian show that despite this move to sell up on 8 September, Halliburton subsidiaries exported equipment of a value of $5,729,600 to its former operation in Russia in the six weeks that followed the sale. The equipment was largely shipped from the US and Singapore although the records show it originated in a range of countries, including the UK, Belgium and France.
The Guardian
Kim Jong-un returns home after Russia trip underscoring ties with Putin
The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, was on his way home from Russia on Sunday, ending a six-day trip that triggered global concerns about weapons transfer deals between the two countries locked in separate standoffs with the west.
Kim began his journey back onboard his armoured train from the Primorye region in Russia’s far east, after a farewell ceremony at the train station, Russia’s state news agency RIA said.
After entering Russia on Tuesday in his first overseas trip in more than four years, Kim met Vladimir Putin and visited key military and technology sites. Earlier on Sunday, he toured a university and watching a show at a Russian aquarium before his departure.
All the Russian warplanes shown to Kim were among the types that have seen active use in the war in Ukraine, including the Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers that have regularly launched cruise missiles.
During Kim’s visit, Shoigu and Lt Gen Sergei Kobylash, the commander of Russia’s long-range bomber force, confirmed for the first time that the Tu-160 had recently received new cruise missiles with a range of more than 4,000 miles (6,500km).
Reuters
Libyan flood survivors weigh water shortages against landmine risk Hobson’s Choice
DERNA, Libya, Sept 17 (Reuters) - People whose homes were swept away by flooding in Libya's eastern city of Derna a week ago faced the dilemma on Sunday of whether to stay and risk infection or flee through areas where landmines have been displaced by the torrents.
Thousands of people were killed after two dams above Derna broke on Sept. 10 during a powerful storm, bringing down residential blocks lining a usually dry riverbed as people slept. Many bodies have been washed out to sea.
More than 1,000 have already been buried in mass graves, according to the United Nations, and aid groups have warned against the practice.
Libyan authorities have confirmed that 150 people have been poisoned by polluted water in the flood-hit areas. Mohamed Wanis Tajouri said he had come to Derna from Benghazi down the coast with fellow medical students to carry out disinfection and sterilization work.
Deutsche Welle
South Africa: Crash kills at least 20 mine staff — reports
A bus crash in Limpopo province, South Africa has claimed at least 20 lives, news agency AFP reported, citing a local transport official.
Spokesperson for the Department of Transport and Community Safety in Limpopo Vongani Chauke told AFP news agency that the bus had been shuttling staff from the Venetia Diamond Mine, operated by De Beers, when it crashed in the north of the country.
"The bus came into collision with a lorry," Chauke said, and added that the crash took place around 1600 UTC, some 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the mine, near Musina, which is close to the border with Zimbabwe.
Details surrounding the cause of the collision are not yet known.
The Venetia mine is the largest diamond mine in the country, accounting for more than 40 percent of South Africa's annual diamond production, and employing more than 4,300 people.
L A Times
Time to panic? The home insurance market in California is collapsing because of climate change
As another legislative session draws to a close in Sacramento, the problem lawmakers failed to fix is one of the most urgent facing Californians: the slow-moving collapse of the property insurance market as costs from climate disasters mount.
It “is not even a yellow flag issue. This is a waving red flag issue,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday night when asked about the failure of the Legislature to act.
This year, multiple companies, including the state’s largest home insurer, State Farm, have announced they are no longer taking on new residential and commercial properties, citing wildfire risk. In fact, seven of the 12 insurance groups operating in California — together, responsible for about 85% of the market — have pulled back.
Washington Post
House Republicans propose short-term funding deal that Senate likely to reject
Half a dozen House
Republicans announced a proposed deal Sunday to temporarily fund the government with the goal of averting a shutdown at the end of the month. But it is far from certain that the proposal would unite their fractious conference to send a bill to the Senate, where it is expected to be rejected.
The short-term funding bill would keep the government running until Oct. 31 and trigger a 1 percent cut to current fiscal levels, according to the plan released just before lawmakers were briefed Sunday evening.
The 1 percent cut is an average for the federal budget. The Defense Department and theDepartment of Veterans Affairs would not receive any cuts, while other government agencies would have their budgets slashed by 8 percent until the end of October.
The effort is meant to garner support from hard-right lawmakers who demanded significant cuts to support a short-term funding extension.
