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.
Chicago Sun-Times: An early look at the race for mayor of Chicago by Fran Spielman
Mayor Lori Lightfoot may feel like she dodged the big one when former U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan decided not to enter the 2023 mayoral race.
Duncan likely would have had formidable financial support from a business community disenchanted with Lightfoot. His decision not to run leaves business leaders and business money on the sidelines.
It also increases the likelihood of another crowded mayoral field — and a runoff between the top two vote-getters. Lightfoot’s now-dismal approval ratings also mean there’s at least a remote possibility she wouldn’t make a runoff.
Who, then, are the top-tier candidates and possible challengers in an election almost certain to be a referendum on the embattled incumbent — unless Lightfoot pulls a Rahm Emanuel and makes an eleventh-hour decision not to run for reelection?
Washington Post: Covid long-haulers face grueling fights for disability benefits by Christopher Rowland
Deepa Singh, 30, of Louisville, has been seriously ill for two years, racked with extreme fatigue, racing heartbeat and memory problems from long covid that she says prevent her from working. Adding to her distress, she says, has been a grueling — and so far unsuccessful — battle for disability payments.
Singh, who worked as a project manager for a Fortune 100 company, is among a cohort of long covid patients who have been denied disability benefits, either by private insurance companies, which operate benefit plans offered by employers, or by the Social Security Administration, which manages government disability benefits.
Tasked with sorting legitimate health claims from fraudulent or marginal ones, these gatekeepers now face a novel challenge as the coronavirus pandemic drags on: a flood of claims citing a post-infection syndrome that is poorly understood by the medical community and difficult to measure.
CNN: Anxiety and uncertainty grow after basketball star Brittney Griner’s arrest in Russia by Travis Caldwell and Holly Yan
The arrest of two-time US Olympic basketball gold medalist Brittney Griner has left supporters anxious about her well-being and fearful that she might become a political pawn.
Russian authorities said Griner had cannabis oil in her luggage and accused her of smuggling significant amounts of a narcotic substance – an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
It’s still not clear exactly when Griner was arrested last month, or where she’s being detained now.
But escalating tensions between the US and Russia over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has stoked concerns that getting Griner out of Russia will be “very difficult.”
Buzzfeed: A Politically Savvy Prosecutor Is Tanking Orange County’s Justice System Through Racism, Ego, And Retaliation, Insiders Say by Salvador Hernandez
The head of one of the largest district attorney’s offices in the US is tanking the local justice system with his ironfisted grip on the office, using fear and retaliation against subordinates and interfering in high-profile cases to boost his public image, according to internal documents and interviews with current and former employees.
Their accounts come as the district attorney for Orange County, California, Todd Spitzer, is facing a growing list of lawsuits and accusations of racism. More than 70 prosecutors — about a quarter of the office’s entire roster of attorneys — have left over the last three years. All of the alleged misconduct, current and former prosecutors and investigators who spoke to BuzzFeed News said, is to protect Spitzer’s public persona and political career, which they said has come at the cost of morale and the reputation of their office. Justice, they said, has come second to generating positive headlines and protecting the personal brand of the county’s top prosecutor.
“Sometimes that aligns with justice, sometimes it doesn’t,” a current prosecutor said.
BuzzFeed News spoke with 11 current and former law enforcement officials from the district attorney’s office who worked under Spitzer, most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity citing a fear of retaliation. Even those no longer working within the prosecutor’s office said they were concerned that speaking out could lead to personal or professional repercussions within the small world of the Southern California legal system. BuzzFeed News also obtained internal memos, emails, confidential investigative reports, and public court records to corroborate many of their accounts...
NBC News: Covid-19 vaccinations decline to new lows by Elliot Ramos
Americans have stopped rolling up their sleeves for Covid-19 vaccinations, as data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows daily vaccinations have fallen to their lowest rate in more than a year.
The U.S. is averaging approximately 322,000 shots a day, which includes first, second and booster shots. That’s down from a peak of 3.3 million average shots in April, when vaccinations were opened up to all adults, and is the lowest level since January 2021, the vaccination effort's first month when shots were limited to health care workers, essential workers and older adults.
The urgency around vaccinations may be slowing as the omicron wave recedes, with the U.S. averaging 47,300 new cases a day, according to an NBC News tally — a level not seen since July.
The decline in cases has led states to lift their mask and vaccine mandates and prompted President Joe Biden to declare in his State of the Union speech last week, "It's time for Americans to get back to work."
But the slowdown comes as about 77 million Americans — 23 percent of the total U.S. population, including virtually all children under age 5 — remain unvaccinated.
BBC News: War in Ukraine: Troops dig in near Kyiv by Jeremy Bowen
The commander called himself Johnny Dragan, and he smoked each cigarette as fiercely as if it was going to be his last.
Dragan was strengthening a blocking position at a strategic crossroads north-west of Kyiv. If the Russians broke through, Dragan and his men would have to stop them. Behind him was a dual carriageway heading straight to Kyiv.
Off-duty soldiers were eating and resting at a restaurant on the crossroads that Dragan had taken over as his headquarters. The food was hearty, and they stacked their rifles in neat conical piles next to their tables.
Outside, the active shift was working during another bitterly cold day, with the snow settling on their shoulders. A tank was in position. A deadly-looking artillery piece was positioned to fire directly, over open sights, at anything coming down the road that Dragan decided was a threat.
"We're here to destroy the enemy brigades," he said. "The occupiers who've come to our country - and are heading our way."
Christian Science Monitor: Why a region that voted against Zelenskyy now embraces him by Martin Kuz
Little debate existed until two weeks ago about where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could least expect a warm welcome in Ukraine. In Lviv, an elegant, cosmopolitan city of cobblestone streets, cafe culture, and manicured parks on the country’s western flank, residents viewed him more as chief jester than commander in chief.
In 2019, Mr. Zelenskyy, a former actor who played the role of president in a popular comedy series on Ukrainian TV, ran for the real-life position and crushed the incumbent, Petro Poroshenko. He carried every region of the country except Lviv, an area of 2.5 million people that shares the name of its largest city, where he captured only one-third of the vote.
Residents here doubted that the political upstart could deliver on his promises of economic reform, fend off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ceaseless pressure, and guide the country closer to Western Europe. Since then, nothing about Mr. Zelenskyy’s uneven performance in office had changed attitudes in “the soul of Ukraine,” as Lviv is known – until Feb. 24, when Russian tanks rolled over the border.
AlJazeera: Lebanese fearful as fuel and wheat shortage deepens by Kareem Chehayeb
Beirut, Lebanon – Saheer Ghazzaoui, a 24-year-old graphic designer, was already spending the majority of her income helping to provide for her family.
But now, with fuel prices surging in Lebanon, and fears of wheat shortages as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the money she brings in each month is no longer enough.
“We struggle to get gas, and we’re already paying so much for food, medicine, and tuition,” Ghazzaoui told Al Jazeera. “[Now] all our salaries are going just to the necessities, and sometimes it’s not even enough so I have to [take out money] from my savings.”
Up to 90 percent of Lebanon’s wheat and cooking oil imports come from Ukraine and Russia, as well as a large proportion of grain imports. The fighting in Ukraine has engulfed the country’s southern ports, putting a stop to shipments, and imports from Russia have been hampered as a result of financial sanctions imposed on Moscow.
The impact means that Lebanon now has only one month’s wheat reserves left, deepening an already-existing food security crisis in the country.
DW: South Koreans prepare to vote for 'least unpopular' presidential candidate by Julian Ryall
South Koreans are set to vote in the nation's presidential election on Wednesday, the culmination of a vicious campaign between the two leading candidates that has created deep rifts in society.
And warnings abound that whoever emerges victorious will be confronted with a host of pressing political problems made worse by this deeply divided public.
The two front-runners eyeing the presidency, which is presently held by Moon Jae-in, both held last-minute rallies in central Seoul on Tuesday.
Lee Jae-myung, the candidate for the ruling Democratic Party, spent the last few hours touring the city to encourage residents of the capital to back his campaign before a final address at the Cheonggyecheon Stream.
His People Power Party rival, Yoon Suk Yeol, was similarly making final appeals to the electorate and was scheduled to speak to supporters Tuesday night in front of Seoul City Hall. By law, all campaigning must halt at midnight.
Everyone have a good evening!