Here is a few of the stories I found for the Digest tonight
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Tennessee, Arkansas officials hopeful as I-40 bridge repair enters Phase 3; Engineers find 16 plate locations need repair
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Surgeon general urges US fight against COVID misinformation
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Child tax credit starts hitting US families’ bank accounts
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Pressing German-US issues as Merkel meets with Biden
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Watching for birds, diversity: Audubon groups pledge change
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US unemployment claims fall to 360,000, a new pandemic low
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Lebanon: PM-designate Saad Hariri resigns as crisis escalates
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EU takes legal action against Hungary, Poland over LGBTQ rights
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Kremlin papers appear to show Putin’s plot to put Trump in White House
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Afghanistan’s neighbours step up efforts to prevent civil war
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Cuba protests: Tax on food and medicine imports lifted
This Is An Open Thread
Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame and jck. 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.
Tennessee, Arkansas officials hopeful as I-40 bridge repair enters Phase 3; Engineers find 16 plate locations need repair
We’re getting one step closer to getting vehicles back on the I-40 bridge in Memphis, which has been closed since May when an inspector discovered a large crack in a beam.
But late Monday night, TDOT officials announced the consulting engineers have identified a total of 16 plate locations that are critical to repair to open the bridge for traffic. Prep work is being done now, with the first shipment of plates planned this week.
A spokesperson with Tennessee Department of Transportation says the goal is to open the bridge by the end of this month, but it’s worth mentioning that statement was made before TDOT officials made the announcement about the 16 plate locations that need repair.
That could mean the bridge is open to limited, or possibly full traffic. But completion could be different.
AP News
Surgeon general urges US fight against COVID misinformation
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Thursday called for a national effort to fight misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines, urging tech companies, health care workers, journalists and everyday Americans to do more to address an “urgent threat” to public health.
In a 22-page advisory, his first as President Joe Biden’s surgeon general, Murthy wrote that bogus claims have led people to reject vaccines and public health advice on masks and social distancing, undermining efforts to end the coronavirus pandemic and putting lives at risk.
The warning comes as the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations has slowed throughout the U.S., in part because of vaccine opposition fueled by unsubstantiated claims about the safety of immunizations and despite the U.S. death toll recently passing 600,000.
Murthy, who also served as surgeon general under President Barack Obama, noted that surgeon general advisories have typically focused on physical threats to health, such as tobacco. Misinformation about COVID-19, deemed an “infodemic” by the World Health Organization, can be just as deadly, he said.
Over 50 dead, dozens missing as severe floods strike Europe
More than 50 people have died and dozens were missing Thursday as heavy flooding in Germany and Belgium turned streams and streets into raging torrents that swept away cars and caused houses to collapse.
Recent storms across parts of western Europe made rivers and reservoirs burst their banks, triggering flash floods overnight after the saturated soil couldn’t absorb any more water.
“I grieve for those who have lost their lives in this disaster,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during a visit to Washington, expressing shock at the scope of the flooding. “We still don’t know the number. But it will be many.”
Child tax credit starts hitting US families’ bank accounts
The child tax credit had always been an empty gesture to millions of parents like Tamika Daniel.
That changed Thursday when the first payment of $1,000 hit Daniel’s bank account — and dollars started flowing to the pockets of more than 35 million families around the country. Daniel, a 35-year-old mother of four, didn’t even know the tax credit existed until President Joe Biden expanded it for one year as part of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that passed in March.
Previously, only people who earned enough money to owe income taxes could qualify for the credit. Daniel went nearly a decade without a job because her eldest son is autistic and needed her. So she got by on Social Security payments. And she had to live at Fairfield Courts, a public housing project that dead-ends at Interstate 64 as the highway cuts through the Virginia capital of Richmond.
Top Senate Dem sets infrastructure vote, pressures lawmakers
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pressured lawmakers Thursday to reach agreement by next week on a pair of massive domestic spending measures, signaling Democrats’ desire to push ahead aggressively on President Joe Biden’s multi-trillion dollar agenda.
Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was scheduling a procedural vote for next Wednesday to begin debate on a still-evolving bipartisan infrastructure bill. Senators from both parties, bargaining for weeks, have struggled to reach final agreement on a $1 trillion package of highway, water systems and other public works projects.
Schumer said he also wanted Democratic senators to reach agreement among themselves by then on specific details of a separate 10-year budget blueprint that envisions $3.5 trillion in spending for climate change, education, an expansion of Medicare and more.
Pressing German-US issues as Merkel meets with Biden
Angela Merkel’s farewell visit to the White House was shadowed Thursday by pressing issues as well as good will, as she prepared to sit down with Joe Biden to discuss differences over a major Russian pipeline and national views on China as a rising global power.
The German chancellor, who is not seeking another term in September elections, is nearing the end of a political career that has spanned four American presidencies.
Merkel started her day with a working breakfast with Vice President Kamala Harris, and Harris’ office said the two had a “very candid discussion,”
“In part, this is a farewell visit. In part, she is signaling continuity and stability in the German-U.S. relationship,” said Johannes Thimm, a senior fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, a think tank in Berlin.
Palestinians shaken but steadfast as PA suppresses dissent
Nearly two weeks after he was severely beaten by Palestinian security forces, Akil Awawdeh is still short of breath, still shielding his bruised chest with his hand and still haunted by the screams inside the police station.
“Never in my life have I seen such brutality,” said Awawdeh, a local radio reporter who has been covering Mideast unrest for more than a decade. “The sound of people screaming inside the police station, to this day I still hear it. It echoes in my head ... I can’t forget.”
He was among several people who were beaten and detained at a police station on July 5, in one of the most violent incidents in weeks of protests against the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Watching for birds, diversity: Audubon groups pledge change
When Boston socialites Minna Hall and Harriet Hemenway sought to end the slaughter of birds in the name of 19th century high fashion, they picked a logical namesake for their cause: John James Audubon, a naturalist celebrated for his stunning watercolors of American birds.
Now, 125 years after the founding of the Massachusetts Audubon Society for the Protection of Birds, the organization and the nearly 500 Audubon chapters nationwide it helped inspire are reckoning with another side of Audubon’s life: He was also a slaveholder and staunch opponent of abolition.
In the year-plus since George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police, Audubon chapters have pledged to do more to atone for the past, including diversifying their staff and finding ways to make natural spaces more welcoming to people of color. It’s part of a broader reckoning within the wider environmental movement, which for years has faced criticism for its racist origins and lack of diversity.
Dutch crime reporter De Vries dies after Amsterdam shooting
Peter R. de Vries, a renowned Dutch journalist who fearlessly reported on the violent underworld of the Netherlands and campaigned to breathe new life into cold cases, has died at age 64 after being shot in a brazen attack last week, his family said Thursday.
“Peter fought to the end, but was unable to win the battle,” the family said in a statement sent to Dutch media.
While the motive for De Vries’ shooting remains unknown, the July 6 attack on an Amsterdam street had the hallmarks of the gangland hits taking place with increasing regularity in the Dutch underworld the journalist covered.
Two suspects have been detained. Dutch police said the suspected shooter is a 21-year-old Dutchman, and a 35-year-old Polish man living in the Netherlands is accused of driving the getaway car. They were arrested not long after De Vries was wounded.
US unemployment claims fall to 360,000, a new pandemic low
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits has reached its lowest level since the pandemic struck last year, further evidence that the U.S. economy and job market are quickly rebounding from the pandemic recession.
Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims fell by 26,000 last week to 360,000. The weekly tally, a proxy for layoffs, has fallen more or less steadily since topping 900,000 in early January.
The U.S. recovery from the recession is proceeding so quickly that many forecasters have predicted that the economy will expand this year by roughly 7%. That would be the most robust calendar-year growth since 1984.
Dispiriting setback: COVID deaths, cases rise again globally
COVID-19 deaths and cases are on the rise again globally in a dispiriting setback that is triggering another round of restrictions and dampening hopes for a return to normal life.
The World Health Organization reported Wednesday that deaths climbed last week after nine straight weeks of decline. It recorded more than 55,000 lives lost, a 3% increase from the week before.
Cases rose 10% last week to nearly 3 million, with the highest numbers recorded in Brazil, India, Indonesia and Britain, WHO said.
The reversal has been attributed to low vaccination rates, the relaxation of mask rules and other precautions, and the swift spread of the more-contagious delta variant, which WHO said has now been identified in 111 countries and is expected to become globally dominant in the coming months.
Al Jazeera News
Lebanon: PM-designate Saad Hariri resigns as crisis escalates
Lebanon Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri stepped down on Thursday after failing to form a government for over the past eight months.
Hariri resigned following a brief meeting with President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace.
“I withdrew from forming the government,” he told reporters. “Aoun demanded some amendments, which he considered essential, and said we will not be able to reach an understanding with each other… And may God save this country.”
Aoun accused Hariri of already deciding to step down prior to their meeting.
EU takes legal action against Hungary, Poland over LGBTQ rights
The European Commission has launched legal action against the governments of European Union members Hungary and Poland in response to measures seen as discriminating against LGBTQ citizens.
As the “guardian of the treaties” binding the EU together, the commission, which is the executive branch of the bloc, can launch infringement procedures against member states. Such a procedure involves several steps and could drag out over years but could ultimately result in going to the European Court of Justice, which could impose financial penalties.
Both Hungary and Poland are ruled by right-wing, socially conservative governments whose policies have raised rule-of-law questions.
Hungary’s so-called “anti-paedophilia” law, which among other things bans the “promotion” of homosexuality and gender reassignment to under-18s, came into force last week despite many warnings from Brussels and pushback by EU leaders.
Cuba lifts food, medicine customs restrictions amid protests
Travellers arriving in Cuba will be able to bring in food, medicine and other essential items without having to pay a customs fee, the government has announced, its first apparent concession after days of rare protests in the Caribbean island nation.
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero made the announcement in a televised address alongside President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Wednesday night, days after demonstrators first took to the streets on Sunday.
“It was a demand made by many travellers and it was necessary to take this decision,” Marrero said of the easing of customs restrictions on food, medicine and hygiene products.
Risk of ‘catastrophic’ coronavirus surge in Middle East: WHO
A surge of coronavirus cases in several Middle Eastern countries could have dire consequences, aggravated by the spread of the Delta variant and low vaccine availability, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.
After a decline in cases and deaths for eight weeks, the agency said there had been significant increases in cases in Libya, Iran, Iraq and Tunisia, with sharp rises expected in Lebanon and Morocco.
Next week countries across the region will mark the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, which traditionally includes religious and social gatherings where infections could spread.
The Guardian
Kremlin papers appear to show Putin’s plot to put Trump in White House
US supreme court justice Stephen Breyer has said he has not yet decided when he will retire, amid growing pressure from liberal activists and Democratic lawmakers who want to see the Biden administration nominate a younger liberal justice to the bench.
When asked whether he had decided when to step down, Breyer answered no in a CNN interview on Thursday. His ultimate decision will be based “primarily, of course, [on] health”, and “second, the court”, he said. The comments from Breyer, who is now 82 and the court’s oldest justice, follow his previous refusals to retire last month when the supreme court’s most recent term ended.
Breyer currently faces calls from liberal activists and Democratic lawmakers to step down immediately. Many on the political left are trying to persuade Breyer to make way for a younger justice who would be nominated by President Biden while the Senate still holds a thin Democratic majority.
Justice Stephen Breyer says he hasn’t decided when to retire as pressure grows
US supreme court justice Stephen Breyer has said he has not yet decided when he will retire, amid growing pressure from liberal activists and Democratic lawmakers who want to see the Biden administration nominate a younger liberal justice to the bench.
When asked whether he had decided when to step down, Breyer answered no in a CNN interview on Thursday. His ultimate decision will be based “primarily, of course, [on] health”, and “second, the court”, he said. The comments from Breyer, who is now 82 and the court’s oldest justice, follow his previous refusals to retire last month when the supreme court’s most recent term ended.
Breyer currently faces calls from liberal activists and Democratic lawmakers to step down immediately. Many on the political left are trying to persuade Breyer to make way for a younger justice who would be nominated by President Biden while the Senate still holds a thin Democratic majority.
Afghanistan’s neighbours step up efforts to prevent civil war
Afghanistan’s neighbours are stepping up efforts to prevent the country sliding into a full-blown civil war after a rapid Taliban advance that caught the government in Kabul, its allies and much of the region by surprise.
At a meeting in Uzbekistan that opens on Friday, more than a dozen leaders and foreign ministers from regional powers will gather with the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, and senior American diplomats including the top US envoy for peace, Zalmay Khalilzad.
Officially the gathering is to discuss “regional connectivity”, but the focus in breakout sessions and bilateral meetings is expected to be the future of Afghanistan. Pakistan’s president, Imran Khan, and the Russian, Chinese and Indian foreign ministers are among those attending.
CNBC News
Trump to meet with McCarthy as House awaits GOP leader’s picks for Jan. 6 commission
ormer President Donald Trump will meet with Rep. Kevin McCarthy on Thursday as the House minority leader weighs whether to appoint Republicans to the select congressional committee charged with investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Trump announced the meeting, which will take place at his private golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, in a two-sentence statement that did not indicate what would be on the agenda.
“Much to discuss!” Trump wrote.
McCarthy has said that he hasn’t yet decided whether he will make any appointments to the panel authorized last month by the House of Representatives that will probe the attack on Congress by supporters of the former president.
ABC News
Texas Democrats meet with Manchin on voting rights
Roughly a dozen Texas Democrats who fled their state to come to Washington met Thursday in a Capitol Hill basement with the Senate Democrat who holds the key vote in Congress on voting rights legislation, West Virginia's Joe Manchin.
But apparently, the subject of Manchin making an exception to the Senate's filibuster rule for voting rights never came up.
BBC News
Cuba protests: Tax on food and medicine imports lifted
Cuba says it will allow travellers arriving in the country to bring in food, medicine and other essentials without paying import duties.
The announcement was made following the biggest anti-government protests on the Communist-run island in decades.
Thousands took to the streets on Sunday to protest over food and medicine shortages, price increases and the government's handling of Covid-19.
There will be no limit on such goods brought in by travellers from Monday.
However, the measure is only temporary and has been derided as "too little, too late" by critics of the government.
Good News Network
No More Pricks: Scientists Are Rolling Out First-of-its-Kind Blood Sugar Test for Pain-Free Delivery to Diabetics
A world-first, pain-free diabetes test could soon be in the hands of consumers following $6.3 million in funding to establish the first manufacturing facility for the device.
Funded by the Australian Government’s Modern Manufacturing Initiative, the world-class facility will help transition two decades of lab research to retail shelves to benefit more than 460 million people living with diabetes globally.
University of Newcastle physicist and research leader, Professor Paul Dastoor said the first devices are due to roll off the production line by 2023.
For patients afflicted with diabetes, who have up till now had to finger prick multiple times a day in order to monitor their glucose levels, this grant could not have come at a more appropriate time.