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.
Reuters
Hunter Biden pleads guilty in federal tax case
LOS ANGELES, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President
Joe Biden, pleaded guilty to federal tax charges on Thursday, a surprise move that avoids a potentially embarrassing trial weeks before the U.S. presidential election.
Biden had been set to stand trial in a Los Angeles federal courthouse on criminal charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes while spending lavishly on drugs, sex workers and luxury items.
Instead, he pleaded guilty to all nine counts he faced.
Judge Mark Scarsi told Biden he faces up to 17 years in prison and up to $450,000 in penalties. He set sentencing for Dec. 16.
Defendants who plead guilty in criminal cases typically work out an agreement with prosecutors beforehand, hoping to receive a lower sentence in exchange for avoiding trial.
Reuters
Biden administration races to save billions in Ukraine aid as deadline looms
WASHINGTON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is engaged in urgent discussions with Congress to allow it to use up $6 billion in military aid for Ukraine before a Sept. 30 deadline, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The effort comes at a high-risk moment for Ukrainian forces, who are advancing into Russia's Kursk region while trying to hold off Russian forces threatening the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk.
The Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), a key component of a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine
passed in April, allows the president to transfer defense articles and services from U.S. stocks in response to emergencies.
PDA has been the primary mechanism the Biden administration has used to ship weapons to Ukraine. Most recently, the administration
announced on Aug. 23 a new military aid package worth $125 million, including air-defense missiles, counter-drone equipment, anti-armor missiles and ammunition.
Deutsche Welle
Venezuela issues arrest warrant for opposition leader
It's unclear where Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia was when he learned of his arrest warrant — the Venezuelan opposition leader has gone underground — after a Caracas court, usually tasked with trying terrorists, granted the public prosecutor's request to issue it. Venezuela's prosecutors have accused the politician of "serious crimes," including usurpation, falsifying documents and ties to "terrorist" financial backers.
So what actually happened? Gonzalez Urrutia was the Venezuelan opposition's top candidate and stood against longtime President Nicolas Maduro in the country's July 28 election. The government and opposition have been fighting over the result of that vote since it took place.
The opposition, however, has provided the CNE with information that it had access to and this showed Gonzalez Urrutia with a 30-point lead over Maduro. Despite being unable to verify those numbers, Gonzalez Urrutia declared himself president. Several countries, including the US and Argentina, immediately recognized him as such.
Ed Note: On the phone so long I forgot OND; my apologies.
