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Overnight News Digest October 31, 2023 [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-10-31
Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame, jck, and JeremyBloom. 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: Unwelcome first snow for migrants at police stations: ‘It’s so cold it hurts’ by Michael Loria
Freddy Ortiz, a migrant from Valencia, a Venezuelan city near the Caribbean coast, saw snow for the first time Tuesday, a novel and — for the 43-year-old with no way to shelter — unwelcome experience. “It’s very pretty,” said Ortiz, from his tent set up outside the Near North District police station, “but it’s so cold it hurts.” Thousands of migrants, like Ortiz, are staying at Chicago Police district stations waiting for room in city shelters to open up. Many have found some respite in donations from passersby and city warming buses, but as the city gets its first snow of the season, all that isn’t enough to stave off the cold. “The cold was tremendous,” said Ortiz of the low temps the night before. “It doesn’t let you sleep.” The problem, he said, was that he’s staying outside in a tent “that’s not meant for this.”
New York Times: Prosecutors End Flint Water Crisis Case Against Ex-Governor by Mitch Smith
Prosecutors in Michigan said Tuesday that a series of appellate court rulings meant they could no longer pursue criminal cases against the state’s former governor, Rick Snyder, and others accused of wrongdoing in the Flint water crisis. The announcement was the latest, and apparently final, setback in a troubled prosecution effort that had stretched over seven yearsand spanned the terms of two attorneys general. “The residents of Flint deserved their day in court,” prosecutors said in a statement, in which they also said they considered the cases closed. “If a jury decided that the defendants were not guilty of the charged offenses, so be it. To deny the opportunity to present the evidence and to let the victims tell their story is truly heartbreaking.” More than nine years have passed since state-appointed leaders decided to draw drinking water from the Flint River in an effort to save money. That decision led to a cascade of other failures. Local officials neglected to implement corrosion controls, causing lead to leach from the pipes. Health officials assured residents that the water was safe even as people complained that it smelled bad, tasted funny and was discolored.
NBC News: Hamas could inspire attacks in the U.S., FBI chief Christopher Wray says by Rebecca Shabad
FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday warned that Hamas' actions in the Middle East could inspire other terrorist attacks, including by violent extremists in the U.S. "We assess that the actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration the likes of which we haven’t seen since ISIS launched its so-called caliphate years ago," Wray said in testimony before the Senate Homeland Security Committee at a hearing focused on threats to America. Wray, who testified alongside Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other U.S. officials, said multiple foreign terrorist organizations have called for attacks against Americans and the West in just the last few weeks. "Here in the United States, our most immediate concern is that violent extremists — individuals or small groups — will draw inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks against Americans going about their daily lives," he told senators. "That includes not just homegrown violent extremists inspired by a foreign terrorist organization, but also domestic violent extremists targeting Jewish or Muslim communities."
Washington Post: Home schooling’s rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education by Peter Jamison, Laura Meckler, Prayag Gordy, Clara Ence Morse, and Chris Alcantara
Home schooling has become — by a wide margin — America’s fastest-growing form of education, as families from Upper Manhattan to Eastern Kentucky embrace a largely unregulated practice once confined to the ideological fringe, a Washington Post analysis shows. The analysis — based on data The Post collected for thousands of school districts across the country — reveals that a dramatic rise in home schooling at the onset of the pandemic has largely sustained itself through the 2022-23 academic year, defying predictions that most families would return to schools that have dispensed with mask mandates and other covid-19 restrictions. The growth demonstrates home schooling’s arrival as a mainstay of the American educational system, with its impact — on society, on public schools and, above all, on hundreds of thousands of children now learning outside a conventional academic setting — only beginning to be felt.
FTR, I’m not personally opposed to home schooling and about a decade ago, after hearing my Mom decry the poor quality of Detroit Public Schools, I asked her if she would consider allowing me to home school two of my nephews for high school. She thought the offer interesting but, ultimately, declined.
Guardian: Netanyahu’s political future looks shakier in midst of Israel-Hamas war by Bethan McKernan
For more than a decade, there have been calls for Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to resign – and for no shortage of reasons: growing levels of inequality, Israel’s housing crisis, his penchant for ugly populism, multiple corruption scandals for which he is still on trial, and most recently, attempts at a judicial overhaul. But after the 7 October attack on the country by Hamas, the future of Israel’s ultimate political survivor looks especially shaky, even in the midst of a new war in Gaza. Netanyahu appeared alongside his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, and Benny Gantz, an opposition leader now part of the emergency war cabinet, at their first press conference on Saturday night – a lacklustre affair during which he appeared unfocused, stumbled over the words of a prayer, and then left early after facing hostile questions from reporters. He then took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, just after 1am to post a petulant message piling the blame for 7 October’s security and intelligence failures on the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
BBC News: Afghan refugees fear as Pakistan prepares for deportations by Azizullah Khan and Kelly Ng
Thousands of Afghans living in Pakistan raced to the border on Tuesday ahead of a midnight deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country. Pakistan says 1.7 million such people must leave by 1 November or face arrest and deportation. Most are Afghans. Many refugees are terrified, having fled Afghanistan after the Taliban retook control in 2021. Others have been in Pakistan for decades. "Where will we go if we are forced to leave Pakistan?" asked one young woman. Sadia, who has been studying in Peshawar in north-west Pakistan, said she escaped Afghanistan two years ago for a chance at getting an education, after the Taliban government barred girls and women from school under its harsh version of Islamic law. I am studying here in Pakistan and I wish to continue my education here. If we are forced to leave, I will not be able to continue my study in Afghanistan. My parents, my sister and brother are scared about the future," she told BBC Urdu.
El País in English: Portrait of a catastrophe: Acapulco stares into the abyss after the devastation of Otis by Beatriz Guillén
A bridge has become a reflection of the catastrophe. This infrastructure on the Boulevard of Nations is the only point with cellphone connection in the Punta Diamante area, in Acapulco. Dozens of arms are raised to look for a signal and each represents an edge of the tragedy. Marcos Ávila has crossed half the state of Guerrero, from Cuajinicuilapa, to look for his daughter in the city. Her name is Marixa, she is 20 years old and has not been seen since Wednesday morning. In front of him, Matilde Ledezma cries when she recalls escaping her house with water up to her neck and how she now sleeps on a soccer field. Mónica García, who is diabetic and is running out of medication in the devastated city, is also on the bridge. Each of the dozens of raised arms is a symbol of the disaster that was wrought by Hurricane Otis. Acapulco is a costal city, overlooking the bay that made it a playground for the rich and famous since the 1940s. There is no corner or neighborhood that has been saved from the passage of Otis. The storm left 45 dead and 47 missing, according to official figures, which are constantly updated as access and communication with many neighborhoods is reestablished. Added to the ravages of the ferocious hurricane were the slow and disorganized response of the government, which did not begin the distribution of food supplies until Saturday — four days after the catastrophe — and the looting. There are no longer stores in Acapulco. The city has been absolutely battered.
Finally, tonight, we have the initial College Football Playoff rankings for 2023.
1. Ohio State 2. Georgia 3. Michigan 4. Florida State 5. Washington 6. Oregon 7. Texas 8. Alabama 9. Oklahoma 10. Mississippi
No surprises there, really, Georgia and Michigan have been getting dinged for their strength of schedule.
Have the best possible evening everyone!
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