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.
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Chicago Sun-Times: Exclusive details on Chicago’s bid for 2024 Democratic convention: Bid due May 27 by Lynn Sweet and Tina Sfondeles
The Chicago Sun-Times has learned the bid for Chicago to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention — due May 27 — will tout the proximity of hotels to convention venues, restaurants and tourist spots — the multiple spaces for events in addition to the United Center — and how Illinois, a blue state surrounded by red states, is the living embodiment of Democratic policies and programs.
The convention will be sometime during the 2024 summer, with the date not set. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a DNC vice chair; Gov. J.B. Pritzker; and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot have been working on the city’s bid for months.
The entity created to fundraise for the convention, Development Now Chicago, was incorporated with the Illinois secretary of state on Dec. 2, 2021.
Pritzker, a billionaire, made a substantial contribution to the host committee. On May 10, another major Democratic donor, chairman and CEO of GCM Grosvenor Michael Sacks and his wife, Cari, are hosting an event with Pritzker and Lightfoot for potential donors and labor and business leaders.
Roll Call: Democrats see midterm election boost from abortion ruling leak by Mary Ellen McIntire and Stephanie Akin
Democrats were hopeful Tuesday that a leaked draft Supreme Court ruling suggesting that five justices support overturning Roe v. Wade will galvanize potential voters ahead of the November midterm elections.
But Republicans said issues that have dominated the cycle, including inflation and President Joe Biden’s lagging popularity, remained driving factors in the race, while demanding the leaker be caught and punished.
In reaction to the draft ruling, Democratic leaders called for voters to elect candidates who support abortion rights, and advocates sought to rally sympathetic voters.
“In November, we must elect Democrats who will serve as the last lines of defense against the GOP’s assault on our established and fundamental freedoms,” a joint statement from the party’s national committees focused on the House, Senate, governor’s offices and legislative chambers said. “For voters, the consequences of the election for the future of our country have never been higher.”
New York Times: Hochul Chooses Antonio Delgado as New Lieutenant Governor by Luis Ferre-Sadurni and Nicholas Fandos
Gov. Kathy Hochul selected Representative Antonio Delgado as her new lieutenant governor on Tuesday, elevating a fellow moderate from outside New York City to be her second-in-command and running mate in June’s Democratic primary.
Mr. Delgado will take the oath of office in the coming weeks, replacing former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, who resigned last month in the face of federal public corruption charges. A special state committee also moved swiftly Tuesday morning to add his name to the primary ballot as the favored Democratic candidate in place of Mr. Benjamin.
The swift selection comes as Ms. Hochul and her allies undertake remarkable steps to try to stabilize her young administration from the aftershocks of Mr. Benjamin’s arrest, and reset her campaign less than two months before she will face primary voters.
Washington Post: Three Dozen Tycoons Met Putin on Invasion Day. Most Had Moved Money Abroad. By Peter Whoriskey
On the February day he launched the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin called to the Kremlin a group of his nation’s wealthiest businessmen.
The invasion was a “necessary measure,” Putin told the group, according to news agencies. Alluding to the economic sanctions they would probably face from the United States and European Union, he added, “We all understand the world we live in.”
Each of the invitees was a stalwart of the Russian economy. Fourteen have ranked as billionaires. Their companies represented the nation’s key industries — oil and gas, banking, chemicals. Some have met with Putin for more than two decades.
Yet despite their ties to Putin and standing within Russia, many of them had been moving their wealth out of the country for years, documents show. Of the 37 attendees, more than half are linked directly or through a close relative to offshore companies that handled transactions worth hundreds of millions of dollars, making financial investments, issuing loans and forming family trusts, according to a Washington Post tally based on secret documents in a pair of troves known as the Pandora Papers and Paradise Papers.
Guardian: Russia’s war in Ukraine ‘causing £3.6bn of building damage a week’ by Richard Partington
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is inflicting damage to the country’s infrastructure at a cost of $4.5bn (£3.6bn) a week as bombs tear through thousands of buildings and public utilities, and miles of road.
According to estimates compiled by the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), and supported by the Ukrainian government, the total amount of direct infrastructure damage has reached $92bn since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion in February.
Academics said the figure rose by almost $4.5bn in the week to 2 May, adding that their estimate is probably lower than the true cost because losses from the war are hard to quantify.
With losses since the invasion having risen to about 60% of annual economic output, the researchers said Ukraine was suffering heavy damage to infrastructure that will be expensive to repair or rebuild. The KSE said its project, Russia Will Pay, was based on analysis of thousands of reports of damage caused during the invasion, which have been submitted by citizens, government agencies and local authorities.
BBC News: Israel outrage at Sergei Lavrov's claim that Hitler was part Jewish
Israel has reacted with fury after Russia's foreign minister claimed that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler "had Jewish blood".
Sergei Lavrov made the comments to try to justify Russia's portrayal of Ukraine as "Nazi" despite the fact that its president is Jewish.
Israel's foreign ministry summoned Russia's ambassador for "clarification" and demanded an apology.
Nazi Germany murdered six million Jews in the Holocaust in World War Two.
Mr Lavrov made the remarks in an interview on Italian TV programme Zona Bianca on Sunday, days after Israel marked Holocaust Remembrance Day, one of the most solemn occasions in the Israeli calendar.
When asked how Russia can claim that it is fighting to "de-Nazify" Ukraine when President Volodymyr Zelensky is himself Jewish, Mr Lavrov said: "I could be wrong, but Hitler also had Jewish blood. [That Zelensky is Jewish] means absolutely nothing. Wise Jewish people say that the most ardent anti-Semites are usually Jews."
The minister's statement was met with outrage across Israel's political spectrum.
AlJazeera: Scorching weather forces India to face climate change head on by Kapil Kajal
New Delhi, India – Construction worker Gujral Singh tears up as he voices his concerns about toiling in India’s searing heat this summer.
Tens of millions of Indians are struggling to cope with a relentless heatwave, with temperatures in some regions the hottest in more than 120 years in this South Asian nation.
“It is becoming unattainable for me to accomplish my job,” Singh, 47, a father of two, told Al Jazeera. “I could efficiently do the work the previous summer. I fainted a couple of times already during this summer. I don’t know how will I meet the end needs of my family.”
Pravesh Solanki, 32, another construction labourer, echoed the comments but noted it is not just older people facing the challenges of working outdoors in the extreme heat.
“We are young and full of energy. Still, we hold for a breather after every half an hour, which we used to take after an hour or two. This summer is extraordinarily pinching us,” said Solanki.
Everyone have a great evening!