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.
Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
Washington Post: As New York rental aid program ran dry, contractor boasted of ‘38 percent margins’ by Jonathan O’Connell
The chief executive of the consulting firm running New York’s emergency rental assistance program told employees the company made “38 percent margins” on its contract with the state, triggering alarm among state officials, who called the chief executive statement’s “beyond troubling.”
Scott McIntyre, chief executive of Guidehouse, congratulated employees in a November presentation on doing a strong job of running the program and touted that the firm had earned $115 million in fees over six months, according to a video of the presentation obtained by The Washington Post.
“We’ve earned $115 million in six months, with 38 percent margins, and we have a significant extension that is currently pending,” he said in the presentation, which was recorded by the company and made available for employees to view online.
New York’s rental assistance program is part of a national effort to distribute $46.5 billion in federal funds to struggling renters nationwide. Guidehouse, based in McLean, Va., began managing New York’s program in May, after winning a no-bid contract under Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D).
New York Times: Commerce Dept. Survey Uncovers ‘Alarming’ Chip Shortages by Ann Swanson and Katie Edmondson
WASHINGTON — The United States is facing an “alarming” shortage of semiconductors, a government survey of more than 150 companies that make and buy chips found; the situation is threatening American factory production and helping to fuel inflation, Gina M. Raimondo, the commerce secretary, said in an interview on Monday.
She said the findings showed a critical need to support domestic manufacturing and called on Congress to pass legislation aimed at bolstering U.S. competitiveness with China by enabling more American production.
“It’s alarming, really, the situation we’re in as a country, and how urgently we need to move to increase our domestic capacity,” Ms. Raimondo said.
The findings show demand for the chips that power cars, electronics, medical devices and other products far outstripping supply, even as global chip makers approach their maximum production capacity.
CNN: Exclusive: Federal prosecutors looking at 2020 fake elector certifications, deputy attorney general tells CNN by Evan Perez and Tierney Sneed
(CNN)— Federal prosecutors are reviewing fake Electoral College certifications that declared former President Donald Trump the winner of states that he lost, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told CNN on Tuesday.
"We've received those referrals. Our prosecutors are looking at those and I can't say anything more on ongoing investigations," Monaco said in an exclusive interview.
The fake certificates falsely declaring Trump's victory
were sent to the National Archives by Trump's allies in mid-December 2020. They have attracted public scrutiny amid the House's January 6 investigation into
the pressure campaign that sought to reverse Trump's electoral defeat.
Monaco did not go into detail about what else prosecutors are looking at from the partisan attempt to subvert the 2020 vote count. She said that, more broadly, the Justice Department was "going to follow the facts and the law, wherever they lead, to address conduct of any kind and at any level that is part of an assault on our democracy."
DW: Scholz, Macron say diplomacy can fix Ukraine-Russia standoff
What did Scholz and Macron say?
Scholz called on Russia to pursue "clear steps" to de-escalate tensions.
Scholz said a Russian threat to Ukraine's territorial integrity would bear "serious consequences" for Moscow. In addition, he defended how the German government has handled the crisis.
"We have done a great deal to actively support economic development and democratic development in Ukraine," Scholz said.
Macron said the two countries are "united" in the need for de-escalation in Ukraine.
"If there is an attack, there will be retaliation and the price (for Russia) will be very high," Macron said.
At the same time, the two leaders said diplomatic talks will continue.
"We will never give up dialogue with Moscow," Macron said.
Representatives from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France will meet in Paris tor talks on Wednesday in what's known as the Normandy format, a development which was praised by Scholz.
AlJazeera: Corruption is on the rise and pummeling human rights: New report
The COVID-19 pandemic has been used in many countries as an excuse to curtail basic freedoms and sidestep important checks and balances, according to a new report that stresses the need to accelerate the fight against corruption to uphold human rights and democracy.
The annual Corruption Perceptions Index from Transparency International warns that “human rights and democracy across the world are under assault.”
The Berlin-based nongovernmental organisation surveys business leaders and experts to assign scores to 180 countries and territories on their perceived levels of public sector corruption.
Using a scale from 0 to 100 (with 100 being very clean and 0 ranking as highly corrupt), the 10th annual report found that two-thirds of countries scored below 50. The average score was 43 out of 100. Overall, the fight against corruption is having mixed results – with some nations making gains and others falling behind.
France24: ‘The Russians are coming’: Sweden on edge as Russia flexes military muscle
Not long after Russia began its massive troop buildup along Ukraine’s border, several Russian amphibious warfare ships briefly moved into Baltic Sea waters, some of them coming uncomfortably close to Sweden. That, and a series of recent drone flights of unknown origin over the country’s nuclear power plants, has put Sweden on edge, reawakening longstanding fears of a possible Russian incursion.
The Swedish Armed Forces reported in mid-January that six Russian Amphibious Warfare ships had left their naval base in Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave wedged between Poland and Lithuania, and entered the Baltic Sea. Although it is not unusual for Russian vessels to move into the area, the number of them moving in was out of the ordinary.
Sweden immediately took the move as a warning signal, referring to the “changing security situation in Europe and the Baltic Sea area” and responded by swiftly boosting its military presence on the southeastern Swedish island of Gotland. Within 48 hours, the island of 60,000 inhabitants swarmed with patrolling soldiers and armoured tanks in a scene not seen in decades.
BBC News: Guatemala convicts ex-soldiers for raping indigenous women
Guatemala's highest court has sentenced five former paramilitaries to 30 years in prison for raping dozens of indigenous Maya women during the country's civil war in the 1980s.
The men were members of so-called Civil Self-Defence Patrols, armed groups formed and supported by the military.
The 36 victims were aged 12-52 when the crimes happened, prosecutors said.
"There were massacres. Many women were raped," said Antonina Vale, a survivor. "It's the pain we have in our hearts."
Around 200,000 people were killed or disappeared in the 1960-1996 conflict. Most of them were members of indigenous groups, who were targeted by the army and right-wing paramilitaries, accused of supporting left-wing guerrillas.
The three-week trial at the Supreme Court in the capital, Guatemala City, included testimony from survivors and relatives of the victims of the Achi indigenous group.
The rapes, they said, happened around the village of Rabinal, north of the capital. The area, which was targeted heavily during the war, is the site of a mass grave with the bodies of more than 3,000 people.
Everyone have a great evening!