(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Overnight News Digest April 23, 2023 [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']

Date: 2023-04-23

The Guardian

Indian police arrest Sikh separatist preacher Amritpal Singh after weeks on run

Indian police have arrested a separatist leader who revived calls for an independent Sikh homeland and the secession of India’s northern Punjab state, which has a history of violent insurgency. Amritpal Singh had been on the run since March after capturing national attention in February when hundreds of his supporters stormed a police station in the Punjab town of Ajnala with wooden batons, swords and guns to demand the release of a jailed aide. State police said on Sunday that Singh was arrested in the Punjab town of Moga. The police appealed to people to maintain peace and harmony. A Sikh religious leader, Jasbir Singh Rodde, said Singh surrendered to police after offering morning prayers at a Sikh shrine in Moga. Police then arrested him and took him away, he said.

NPR

No veto: Recreational marijuana will become legal in Delaware Sunday without Gov. Carney’s signature

Starting with the stroke of midnight Saturday, Delawareans over the age of 21 can light up a joint, bong, or bowl of marijuana in private, or eat a weed gummy, without any threat of penalty. That’s because Gov. John Carney said in a written statement at 3:45 p.m. Friday that he would not veto a bill to legalize the possession, use, or transportation of up to an ounce of weed. The governor, a staunch opponent of legalization, also said Friday he won’t veto the bill that created a regulated marijuana retail market. That means, on Sunday, if you get pulled over for speeding or any other traffic violation, you could have an ounce, clearly visible in a bag, sitting on the passenger seat, and police can’t do a thing. No different from having an unopened six-pack of beer in the car. Carney won’t sign the bills into law, or use his veto pen as he did last year with the legalization-only measure. Instead, he will let them become law without his signature.

NPR

Gov. Newsom sends National Guard and CHP to tackle San Francisco's fentanyl crisis

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is directing the California Highway Patrol and National Guard to assist San Francisco authorities in combating the fentanyl crisis in the city. The two agencies will be partnering with the local police department and the district attorney's office to attempt to stem trafficking of the deadly synthetic opioid. "Two truths can co-exist at the same time: San Francisco's violent crime rate is below comparably sized cities like Jacksonville and Fort Worth — and there is also more we must do to address public safety concerns, especially the fentanyl crisis," Newsom said in a press statement on Friday. The four agencies are expected to "crack down" on crimes linked to fentanyl and increase law enforcement presence in public areas. However, Newsom's office vowed that the operation will not target those with drug addictions and instead focus on drug suppliers and traffickers.

NPR

Twitter once muzzled Russian and Chinese state propaganda. That's over now

Dmitry Medvedev, a leading government official and former president of Russia, took to Twitter earlier this month to denigrate Ukraine in a post using language reminiscent of genocidal regimes. And Twitter didn't stop him. In his 645-word tweet titled, "WHY WILL UKRAINE DISAPPEAR? BECAUSE NOBODY NEEDS IT," Medvedev called Ukraine a "Nazi regime," "blood-sucking parasites" and "a threadbare quilt, torn, shaggy, and greasy." The post garnered more than 7,000 retweets and 11,000 likes. One response, though, asked Twitter CEO Elon Musk why he allowed Russian officials to broadcast tweets like this, especially when they used language often associated with genocide. "All news is to some degree propaganda," Musk responded. "Let people decide for themselves."

Al Jazeera

World military spending reaches all-time high of $2.24 trillion What fools we mortals be.

World military spending reached an all-time high of $2.24 trillion in 2022, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine fuelled a sharp jump in military spending across Europe, according to a leading defence think tank. Global spending rose for the eighth consecutive year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said on Monday in its annual report on global military expenditure. There was a 13 percent rise in Europe, the steepest in at least 30 years. SIPRI said most of that was linked to Russia and Ukraine, but other countries also stepped up military spending in response to perceived Russian threats. “The continuous rise in global military expenditure in recent years is a sign that we are living in an increasingly insecure world,” Nan Tian, senior researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. “States are bolstering military strength in response to a deteriorating security environment, which they do not foresee improving in the near future.”

Deutsche Welle

ChatGPT sparks AI investment bonanza “We’ll get rich even though AI is controlling us.”

The artificial intelligence (AI) gold rush is truly underway. After the release last November of ChatGPT — a game-changing content-generating platform — by research and development company OpenAI, several other tech giants, including Google and Alibaba have raced to release their own versions. Investors from Shanghai to Silicon Valley are now pouring tens of billions of dollars into startups specializing in so-called generative AI in what some analysts think could become a new dot-com bubble. The speed at which algorithms rather than humans have been utilized to create high-quality text, software code, music, video and images has sparked concerns that millions of jobs globally could be replaced and the technology may even start controlling humans. But even Tesla boss Elon Musk, who has repeatedly warned of the dangers of AI, has announced plans to launch a rival to ChatGPT. Businesses and organizations have quickly discovered ways to easily integrate generative AI into functions like customer services, marketing, and software development. Analysts say the enthusiasm of early adopters will likely have a massive snowball effect. "The next two to three years will define so much about generative AI," David Foster, cofounder of Applied Data Science Partners, a London-based AI and data consultancy, told DW. "We will talk about it in the same way as the internet itself — how it changes everything that we do as a human species."

Reuters

Mexican president tests positive for COVID-19 for third time

MEXICO CITY, April 23 (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Sunday that he had tested positive for COVID-19, the third known infection, adding that while he was not seriously ill he would take a few days off. Lopez Obrador, 69, who had a serious heart attack in 2013, reported mild symptoms from both of his previous bouts of COVID-19 at the height of the pandemic. "It's not serious," he wrote on his official Twitter account. "My heart is at 100%." In January 2022, Lopez Obrador underwent cardiac catheterization and was found to be in good health. Back then, the government said the president has regular check ups that include lab tests, electrocardiograms, stress tests and CT scans.

USA Today

11th-century Spanish town that's usually underwater emerges in one of 'worst droughts in 50 years'

Long-lost structures built nearly 1,000 years ago are resurfacing – again – amid a historic drought in Spain. According to Euronews, Catalan leader Pere Aragones said that officials in Barcelona and the surrounding region are dealing with one of "the worst droughts in 50 years," which has led remnants of Sant Romà – an 11th-century village that disappeared underwater in 1963 when a nearby dam was built – to become more visible. When revealed, a church, empty cemetery and the foundations of other buildings can be seen intact. Spain’s government warned Tuesday about the eventual need for emergency measures to conserve water. Officials said that reservoirs connected to the Ter-Llobregat river system, which provides the main water supply for Barcelona, have shrunk to 27% of capacity, The Associated Press reported. A drought emergency will likely be declared in September unless there is a substantial amount of rainfall in the area in the coming months, the AP reported. "At this point, it's the worst problem we're facing," Aragones said.

Raw Story

'We're going to lose huge': GOPer predicts massive 2024 loss over anti-abortion extremism

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) predicted Republicans would "lose huge" in the next election if they do not tone down their anti-abortion extremism. Mace cautioned her party after the U.S. Supreme Court stayed a decision that would have blocked the distribution of an abortion drug. "Well, I want us to find some middle ground," she told ABC News. "As a Republican and conservative, constitutional conservative who's pro-life, I saw what happened after Roe v. Wade because I represent a very purple district, as purple as this dress. And I saw the sentiment change dramatically." Mace added: "That is the wrong message heading into '24. We're going to lose huge if we continue down this path of extremities."

Washington Post

Biden is running out of time to avoid calamitous debt ceiling outcomes

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/23/2165521/-Overnight-News-Digest-April-23-2023

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/