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 since 2007, 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.
BBC
Trump rules out another presidential debate against Harris
Donald Trump has ruled out another presidential debate against his rival Kamala Harris before November's election.
He said on Thursday - two days after the pair's first showdown in Philadelphia - that Harris only wanted a rematch because he "clearly" won.
Several instant polls taken after Tuesday's contest indicated voters felt Harris had performed better than her Republican opponent.
Trump added that Harris should instead "focus" on her job as vice-president.
Shortly after, at a campaign rally in North Carolina, Harris responded by saying they "owe" voters another debate because "what is at stake could not be more important".
Polls suggest the two candidates are in an extremely tight race with just two months to go before the election.
BBC
New York's police commissioner resigns amid corruption probe
New York Police Commissioner Edward Caban has resigned a week after it came to light that federal authorities had raided his home and seized his phone, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced.
The federal government has launched multiple criminal probes into the city government that have involved officials including Mr Caban, the city's first Latino police commissioner.
Mr Caban's resignation left Adams to appoint a new leader of the world's largest police force for a third time in three years.
He picked Tom Donlon, who ran the FBI's National Threat Center and helped lead the agency's investigation into the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City. During a brief news conference on Thursday afternoon, Adams praised Mr Caban's tenure as head of the NYPD, saying that there was "a drop in crime for 13 of the 14 months he served as commissioner".
NPR
Trump must comply with gag order in New York after appeal dismissed
New York’s appeals court is keeping in place a limited gag order on former President Donald Trump, striking down his latest attempt to get the order lifted.
The gag order, put in place by New York's Judge Juan Merchan, prevents the current Republican presidential nominee from speaking about court staff, prosecutors or their families. Merchan had previously said the order would be lifted after Trump is sentenced. Last week, Merchan pushed that sentencing off to Nov. 26, after the election.
In May, Trump became the first sitting or former president to be tried and convicted of felony charges. Merchan originally put in place a broader gag order that prevented Trump from also speaking about witnesses and jurors during the trial. That part of the order has since been lifted, with some limitations for juror protection.
NPR
Keurig misled the public over claims its K-Cup pods are 100% recyclable, the SEC says
Keurig has agreed to pay $1.5 million in penalties after the Securities and Exchange Commission charged the company with making misleading statements about just how recyclable its popular K-Cup single-use coffee pods are.
Questions over whether the single-use, hard-to-recycle plastic Keurig K-Cups are environmentally friendly have hovered over the company for years. A peer-reviewed paper from 2021 found that coffee pods account for more emissions than other ways of making coffee, because of greenhouse gases created from producing the packaging and from the subsequent waste.
A spokesperson with Keurig Dr Pepper said in a statement to NPR, "We are pleased to have reached an agreement that fully resolves this matter." The firm has agreed to pay the fines without admitting or denying the SEC findings.
The Guardian
Los Angeles hit by double whammy of wildfires and earthquake
Millions of residents in the Los Angeles area were rattled by a 4.7 magnitude earthquake that hit early on Thursday morning and came as the region continues to battle multiple wildfires that have yet to be brought under control.
The quake’s epicenter was 4 miles north of Malibu, according to the US Geological Survey. The tremor unleashed boulders on to a Malibu road, visibly shook Santa Monica’s historic 1909 wooden pier and jolted people from bed. No injuries or damages were immediately reported.
The shaking was felt as far as 45 miles (72km) away in Orange county, where people reported items moving in their homes, and was followed by several smaller aftershocks. A live camera at the 115-year-old Santa Monica pier, about 10 miles away from Malibu, showed several seconds of intense shaking. Bruce Silverstein, a Malibu councilmember, said he had lived in the community for 13 years and this was the hardest quake he’d felt yet.
AP
USPS’ long-awaited new mail truck makes its debut to rave reviews from carriers
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — The Postal Service’s new delivery vehicles aren’t going to win a beauty contest. They’re tall and ungainly. The windshields are vast. Their hoods resemble a duck bill. Their bumpers are enormous.
“You can tell that (the designers) didn’t have appearance in mind,” postal worker Avis Stonum said.
Odd appearance aside, the first handful of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles that rolled onto postal routes in August in Athens, Georgia, are getting rave reviews from letter carriers accustomed to cantankerous older vehicles that lack modern safety features and are prone to breaking down — and even catching fire.
Within a few years, the fleet will have expanded to 60,000, most of them electric models, serving as the Postal Service’s primary delivery truck from Maine to Hawaii.
The current postal vehicles — the Grumman Long Life Vehicle, dating to 1987 — have made good on their name, outlasting their projected 25-year lifespan. But they’re well overdue for replacement.
Al Jazeera
US House passes bill targeting China that would limit EV tax credits
The United States House of Representatives has narrowly voted to approve legislation to tighten rules limiting Chinese content in vehicles qualifying for US electric vehicle (EV) tax credits.
The House voted on Thursday 217 to 192 to approve the bill, which has not been taken up by the US Senate, to tighten the definition of Chinese components that make vehicles ineligible for US EV tax credits.
The bill, sponsored by Representative Carol Miller, a Republican from West Virginia, would tighten the definition of a so-called “Foreign Entity of Concern” that applies to China and other countries. She said it would “ensure that Chinese companies can no longer benefit from electric vehicles tax credits meant for US manufacturers”.
The rules required under an August 2022 law are designed to wean the US electric vehicle battery supply chain away from China.
Currently, 22 of the 113 EV or plug-in hybrid models for sale in the US are eligible for the EV tax credit – and just 13 get the full $7,500 credit, Bozzella said.
Washington Post
Boeing strike appears increasingly likely, as union votes on contract
More than 33,000 union workers will start voting Thursday on measures that could bring Boeing airplane production to a halt with a massive strike at the embattled aerospace giant early Friday morning.
The work stoppage would begin if members, mostly in Washington, reject a deal reached by Boeing and union leadership this past weekend hailed by both parties for its historic gains for workers, including 25 percent pay raises over four years.
Despite the strong gains won in the contract, aggrieved rank-and-file union members, who build the company’s flagship planes, are eager to seize a rare opportunity to claw back lost ground over more than a decade of pay that has failed to keep up with the cost of living.
Jon Holden, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751, told the Seattle Times on Tuesday that he expected his members to vote down the deal and strike.
