Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, Interceptor7, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame and jck. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Man Oh Man, wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck, 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.
BBC
Mauritius oil spill: Wrecked MV Wakashio breaks up
A Japanese bulk carrier that has leaked hundreds of tonnes of fuel oil off the Mauritius coast has broken apart, authorities in the island nation say.
The MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef on 25 July with 4,000 tonnes of the fuel, causing an ecological emergency.
Most of the fuel had already been pumped out, officials said, but on Saturday the ship's condition worsened.
Mauritius is home to world-renowned coral reefs, and popular with tourists.
The MV Wakashio ran aground at Pointe d'Esny, a known sanctuary for rare wildlife. The area also contains wetlands designated as a site of international importance by the Ramsar convention on wetlands.
"At around 4.30pm [12:30 GMT], a major detachment of the vessel's forward section was observed," the Mauritius National Crisis Committee said in a statement on Saturday.
BBC (Autoplay)
Coronavirus: Hundreds gather in Madrid for anti-mask protest
Crowds of protesters gathered in the Spanish capital on Sunday to voice their opposition the mandatory use of face masks and other measures imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus.
People were pictured chanting slogans and holding placards in Plaza Colón in Madrid's city centre.
The mandatory use of face masks was initially introduced in May for those travelling on public transport, and was later expanded to the rest of the country.
The protest comes two days after the government introduced a swathe of new restrictions, including a ban on smoking in public.
Spain has seen a surge in new infections since lifting its three-month lockdown in late June. The national death toll stands at more than 28,600 people.
BBC
Mogadishu attack: Somali troops end deadly siege at Elite Hotel
Somali special forces say they have ended a siege at a hotel in the capital Mogadishu that was stormed by armed al-Shabab militants.
At least 10 people are reported to have been killed at the Elite Hotel in the Lido beach area, plus an unknown number of militants.
The attackers detonated a car bomb outside the hotel on Sunday before storming it and seizing hostages.
The recently built hotel is owned by an MP and is popular with officials.
Witnesses said that the initial blast was heard across Mogadishu and there was chaos as people fled the area.
Security forces sealed off the hotel and exchanged fire with the gunmen inside. Four hours later, government spokesman Ismael Mukhtaar Omar tweeted that the siege was over and all the gunmen had been killed.
The Guardian
Toronto: strip club employee may have exposed about 550 people to Covid-19
Health officials in the Canadian city of Toronto have warned that as many as 550 people may have been exposed to the coronavirus at a downtown strip club after an employee tested positive for the virus.
The potential exposure took place just days after the Brass Rail Tavern, one of the city’s best-known strip clubs, was allowed to re-open. The employee worked four shifts in early August, the city said in a statement, without detailing the capacity in which the employee worked.
Health officials said they had reached out to the clients that had left their details in the establishment’s contact tracing log, urging them to monitor for any symptoms of Covid-19. Public health experts, however, questioned how many patrons would have handed over legitimate contact information.
“You know how long it’s going to take them to chase down 550 guys, half of which probably gave fake ID or information,” Andrew Morris, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto told the Associated Press.
Ontario’s premier weighed in on Friday. “There are 500 people – you’ve got to practice social distancing, you’ve got to put on a mask – I know it sounds ironic talking about that – you have to,” Doug Ford told reporters.
His thoughts soon turned to the strain the news could take on relationships. “I feel sorry for people when they go to their house and tell them that they were at the Brass Rail,” he quipped.
“Really, Honey, I just went in to use the restroom.”
The Guardian
Tens of thousands gather in Minsk for biggest protest in Belarus history
Tens of thousands of Belarusians have gathered in Minsk for the biggest protest in the country’s history, as an extraordinary week of rising sentiment comes to a close.
Seven days after the country’s authoritarian ruler, Alexander Lukashenko, claimed to have secured 80% of the vote in a presidential election, his legitimacy is in tatters and his regime faces its biggest crisis since he came to power 26 years ago. The mood at Sunday’s rally was stoked further by egregious police violence against thousands of protesters earlier in the week.
After Lukashenko called his own rally in Independence Square, the anti-government protesters instead converged on a second world war monument in another part of the city. The carnival atmosphere of the last three days continued, as people cheered, passing cars beeped their horns, and chants of “Resign!” rang out.
Reuters
Biggest Thai protest in years puts pressure on government
BANGKOK (Reuters) - More than 10,000 Thai protesters chanting “down with dictatorship” and “the country belongs to the people” rallied in Bangkok on Sunday in by far the biggest anti-government demonstration since a 2014 coup.
There were cheers for student calls to curb the monarchy’s powers - once a taboo subject - as well as demands for the departure of former junta leader Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a new constitution and an end to the harrasment of opposition activists.
Students have led protests almost daily for the past month, but Sunday’s demonstration drew a broader crowd in the Southeast Asian country, which has experienced decades of protests punctuated by military coups.
NPR
California Issues 1st Rolling Blackouts Since 2001 As Heat Wave Bakes Western U.S.
California electricity providers instituted rolling blackouts Friday night — the first since 2001 — as an intense and prolonged heat wave settled over much of the Western U.S.
Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have experienced brief power outages through the evening, after the body that manages most of the state's electric utilities declared a Stage 3 emergency to help reduce stress on the larger grid.
Electricity demand surged through the day as temperatures topped the triple digits in many parts of the state and people cranked up fans and air-conditioning units to try to stay cool.
The emergency order was rescinded before midnight and power was fully restored to all affected households, the California Independent System Operator said in a tweet.
Still, demand for electricity is expected to remain high through the weekend and well into next week. The heat wave blanketing much of California and other parts of the Western U.S. is expected to persist until at least Thursday, with many places expected to see record high maximum and minimum temperatures, according to the National Weather Service.
Washington Post
Death Valley soars to 130 degrees, potentially Earth’s highest temperature since at least 1931
In the midst of a historic heat wave in the West, the mercury in Death Valley, Calif., surged to a searing 130 degrees on Sunday afternoon, possibly setting a world record for the highest temperature ever observed during the month of August.
If the temperature is valid, it would also rank among the top-three highest temperatures ever reliably measured on the planet at any time and may, in fact, be the highest.
The temperature in Death Valley hit 130 degrees at 3:41 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. If verified, the reading would break Death Valley’s previous August record by three degrees, the Weather Service tweeted.
“Everything I’ve seen so far indicates that is a legitimate observation,” Randy Cerveny, who leads the World Meteorological Organization’s weather and climate extremes team, wrote in an email. “I am recommending that the World Meteorological Organization preliminarily accept the observation. In the upcoming weeks, we will, of course, be examining it in detail, along with the U.S. National Climate Extremes Committee, using one of our international evaluation teams.”
Al Jazeera
US: 18 shot in Cincinnati, 4 dead, in 'extremely violent night'
At least four people have died among 18 people people shot in a spate of shootings during an "extremely violent night" across the US city of Cincinnati, according to local media and police.
The bloodshed in the Ohio city of about 300,000 began when three people were shot at about midnight on Saturday (05:00 GMT) in the Walnut Hills neighbourhood.
Soon after, at about 12:30am (05:30 GMT) on Sunday, police were called to the Avondale area and found 21-year-old Antonio Blair with gunshot wounds. He was taken to University Hospital and died there, police said in a statement. Three other gunshot victims were also taken to the hospital
Police said the department would shift officers from other assignments to beef up the number of uniformed officers in the affected communities and would call on federal prosecutors and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives "to focus on repeat shooters and aggressively bring illegal gun charges".
Raw Story
Iowa’s Gov. Kim Reynolds attacked for ‘Katrina moment’ after it takes 5 days to request help for derecho storms
It was like a hurricane came through the state of Iowa last week with winds at 100 mph or more. It was strong enough to rip off people’s roofs, tear down power lines and trees, and leave people begging for help.
The Iowa governor took nearly a week to file a request for the president for help. Now that Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) is being criticized, she went to Trump, begging for an expedited presidential disaster declaration. For some Iowans, it’s been six days without power in the middle of a hot midwestern summer and a global pandemic. There aren’t cases of expedited disaster declarations, but during President Barack Obama’s administration, they were issued typically within 24 hours of a disaster. It’s unclear why it took Reynolds so long to ask for help or why the White House didn’t step in. Vice President Mike Pence was in the state this week and told Trump-voting farmers “we are with you,” after the disaster, but he left the state without any actions.
USA Today
Pepperoni is the latest coronavirus shortage. Will the scarcity affect your pizza habit?
Move over, national coin and Clorox wipes shortages.
There's a new coronavirus pandemic shortage of the nation's most popular pizza topping.
Small pizza shops across the nation are reporting higher prices for pepperoni, according to Bloomberg, which found a South Dakota shop is paying $4.12 a pound compared to $2.87 in January 2019.
Emily, a New York City pizza shop, is paying $6 a pound, up from $4 earlier this year, chef and co-owner Matthew Hyland told Bloomberg.
“It’s an American right to have pepperoni on pizza,” Hyland told Bloomberg. “Pepperoni is such a huge part of pizza it’s important to us that we keep it accessible.”
