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
Christchurch mosque gunman Brenton Tarrant's sentencing hearing begins
The Australian white supremacist who killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in New Zealand last year is facing survivors of his attack as a sentencing hearing gets under way.
Australian Brenton Tarrant is likely to be jailed for life for the rampage.
Tarrant pleaded guilty in March and was convicted of 51 murders, 40 attempted murders and one charge of terrorism.
Survivors and the family members of victims will speak at the four-day hearing.
The hearing will take place at the courthouse in Christchurch, the city where Tarrant carried out the attacks in March 2019.
The first session started on Monday morning,
Covid-19 restrictions mean the main court room is relatively empty.
BBC
Thousands evacuated as two storms head for southern US
Thousands of people have been evacuated from parts of the Caribbean and southern US as two storms tore through the region on Sunday.
Hurricane Marco and Tropical Storm Laura have brought high winds and rough seas, causing damage to areas of Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
Heavy rains have also battered the US territory of Puerto Rico.
Marco is expected to make landfall in the US state of Louisiana on Monday, with Laura hitting Texas by Thursday.
But forecasters say that Laura may swing east towards Louisiana, and it could be the first time in recorded history that the state has been hit by two simultaneous hurricanes.
In response to the storms, US President Donald Trump has issued a disaster declaration for Louisiana, ordering federal assistance to coordinate relief efforts. On Saturday, a similar declaration was made for Puerto Rico.
BBC
Thomas Restobar Club: Crush kills 13 as Peru police raid party violating lockdown
At least 13 people died in a crush in Peru after trying to escape police who raided a nightclub violating coronavirus restrictions, police say.
The crush happened as revellers tried to leave the Thomas Restobar Club in Lima's Los Olivos district. Some eyewitnesses said tear gas was used.
President Martín Vizcarra said 15 of 23 revellers arrested had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Peru has been among the Latin American countries hardest hit by Covid-19.
It has recorded more than 576,000 cases of coronavirus cases and more than 27,000 fatalities. Peru's interior minister said around 120 people had attended the illegal birthday gathering on Saturday. After police raided the club, the partygoers "tried to escape through the single exit, trampling each other and getting trapped in the stairway". Eleven men and two women aged in their 20s and 30s died.
The Guardian Nude News
French naturist camp hit by 'very worrying' Covid outbreak
French regional health authorities on Sunday said there had been a “very worrying” outbreak of coronavirus at a naturist holiday resort on France’s Mediterranean coast, with some 100 holidaymakers so far testing positive.
The Cap d’Agde resort in the Herault region, hugely popular among naturists, saw 38 positive tests on Monday and another 57 on Wednesday, the regional health authority said.
The rate of infection was four times higher among naturists in the resort than in the village itself, it added. Another 50 holidaymakers had also tested positive after returning home and results of more tests were expected next week.
The figures are “very worrying” it said, adding an alert had been issued over the resort.
The outbreak comes as France on Sunday reported almost 4,900 new coronavirus cases over 24 hours, its highest figure since May, as the health minister, Olivier Veran, acknowledged there were “risks” in the surging infection levels nationwide.
The Guardian
China says it has been vaccinating key workers since July
The Chinese government has been administering a vaccine candidate to selected groups of key workers since July, a senior health official told state media yesterday.
Zheng Zhongei, head of the national health commission’s science and technology centre, told CCTV the government had authorised “emergency use” and it was in line with the law, the South China Morning Post has reported.
There were no details on which particular vaccine candidate was used or how many people received it, but Zheng said it had been administered to workers including health workers and border officials, who are considered high risk as China’s cases are predominantly imported now. The country has gone seven days without reporting a locally transmitted case.
NPR
More Than 550,000 Primary Absentee Ballots Rejected In 2020, Far Outpacing 2016
An extraordinarily high number of ballots — more than 550,000 — have been rejected in this year's presidential primaries, according to a new analysis by NPR.
That's far more than the 318,728 ballots rejected in the 2016 general election and has raised alarms about what might happen in November when tens of millions of more voters are expected to cast their ballots by mail, many for the first time.
Election experts said first-time absentee voters are much more likely to make the kinds of mistakes that lead to rejected ballots. Studies also show that voters of color and young voters are more likely than others to have their ballots not count.
Most absentee or mail-in ballots are rejected because required signatures are missing or don't match the one on record, or because the ballot arrives too late.
"If something goes wrong with any of this, that's a problem writ large, but it's also going to be one that hits some populations of the United States a bit harder than others, potentially disenfranchises different groups of folks at higher rates," said Rob Griffin of the Democracy Fund, which is conducting a sweeping survey of the 2020 electorate with researchers at UCLA.
Reuters
Global stocks jump as investors pin hopes on coronavirus treatment
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian shares advanced for a second straight session on Monday, underpinned by coronavirus hopes after the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) authorised the use of blood plasma from recovered patients as a treatment option. The announcement from the U.S. FDA of a so-called “emergency use authorization” came on the eve of the Republican National Convention, where Donald Trump will be nominated to lead his party for four more years.
Sentiment was also supported by a Financial Times report that the Trump administration is considering by-passing normal U.S. regulatory standards to fast-track an experimental coronavirus vaccine from the UK for use in America ahead of the presidential election.
“Markets are opening this morning to optimism on the therapeutics front after the FDA authorized the use of blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors to treat sick patients,” said Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at AxiCorp.
Deutsche Welle
Coronavirus: Germany weighs curbs on parties as infections rise
Germany's government is set to meet with state health ministers on Monday to discuss ways to address a steady rise in coronavirus infections.
A main topic on the agenda will be possible federal curbs on private parties and celebrations. Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn said a conversation on the issue was necessary after the government found that, along with people returning from vacation, parties were helping fuel a resurgence of the virus.
Currently, each state has its own limit on the number of people who can attend small private parties and events at large venues. Hamburg, in the country's north, caps private and public events at venues at 50 people, while Berlin currently allows up to 500 people at gatherings. In Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, the limit for events such as weddings has been set to 150.
Read more: Young partygoers defy coronavirus rules for Berlin nightlife
USA Today
Returning from overseas or out of state? The CDC removes its 14-day quarantine recommendation
Travelers returning from a trip outside the country or their state no longer face recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to self-quarantine for 14 days upon return.
The CDC updated its travel requirements online Friday, advising travelers to "follow state, territorial, tribal and local recommendations or requirements after travel." Previous guidelines recommended a 14-day quarantine for those returning from international destinations or areas with a high concentration of coronavirus cases.
Though it still notes that those exposed to the coronavirus pose a risk of infecting others for 14 days, the CDC's page on traveling amid the pandemic recommends that travelers, "regardless of where you traveled or what you did during your trip," follow social distancing guidelines indoors and outdoors, wear a mask outside the home, wash hands often and look out for COVID-19 symptoms upon their return home.
"You may have been exposed to COVID-19 on your travels," the page reads. "You may feel well and not have any symptoms, but you can be contagious without symptoms and spread the virus to others. You and your travel companions (including children) pose a risk to your family, friends and community for 14 days after you were exposed to the virus."
USA Today
California wildfires become a target for looters. A firefighter is among the victims. His wallet was stolen, bank account 'drained.'
California's ongoing historic wildfires have forced tens of thousands of people from their homes, and police said looters are taking advantage of the empty houses.
In one case, a looter took advantage of an unoccupied car. Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart on Sunday told reporters that a California firefighter's marked vehicle was burglarized.
During a separate press conference, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), Battalion Chief Mark Brunton called the incident "sickening" and said the firefighter's wallet was stolen and his bank account was "drained" while he was at work directing firefighting crews in the area.
"That's the extent these people have gone," Brunton said. "Again, this is why we've asked for people to evacuate. The sheriff's department has done a fantastic job in trying to wrangle this, but again, this is what we have as a result."
Washington Post
Court orders Trump to pay Stormy Daniels $44,100 to cover her legal fees
A California court ordered President Trump to pay Stephanie Clifford, the adult-film actress known as Stormy Daniels, $44,100 to cover her legal fees stemming from a dispute over a nondisclosure agreement.
The Superior Court of California in Los Angeles ruled that Clifford was the prevailing party in the dispute and therefore won the right to have her legal fees paid by Trump, according to a copy of the ruling, dated Aug. 17, posted by the court and by Clifford’s lawyer.
“Yup. Another win!” the Stormy Daniels Twitter account tweeted on Friday. White House officials and lawyers for Trump didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The dispute involved a nondisclosure agreement Clifford signed in 2016 in exchange for a $130,000 payment from Trump’s personal lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen. The agreement prevented Clifford from speaking about an affair she says she and Trump had from 2006 to 2007. Trump has denied having the affair.
