(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Overnight News Digest February 16, 2025 [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-02-16
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 (RIP), 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 since 2007, 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
Musk’s DOGE seeks access to personal taxpayer data, raising alarm at IRS Alarm bells should be ringing!
Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service is seeking access to a heavily-guarded Internal Revenue Service system that includes detailed financial information about every taxpayer, business and nonprofit in the country, according to three people familiar with the activities, sparking alarm within the tax agency. Under pressure from the White House, the IRS is considering a memorandum of understanding that would give officials from DOGE — which stands for Department of Government Efficiency — broad access to tax-agency systems, property and datasets. Among them is the Integrated Data Retrieval System, or IDRS, which enables tax agency employees to access IRS accounts — including personal identification numbers — and bank information. It also lets them enter and adjust transaction data and automatically generate notices, collection documents and other records.
Ed note: We haven’t seen trump’s tax returns from 8 years ago.
BBC
Trump makes first Supreme Court appeal in test of power to fire officials
President Donald Trump's attempts to shrink the federal bureaucracy are heading to the Supreme Court, according to US media. He has filed an emergency appeal to the country's highest court to rule on whether he can fire the leader of an independent whistleblowing agency. Hampton Dellinger, head of the US Office of Special Counsel, sued the Trump administration after he was fired by email this month. Trump has also sacked more than a dozen inspectors general at various federal agencies along with the jobs of thousands of employees across the US government. On Saturday, a divided US Court of Appeals in the nation's capital rejected the Trump administration's request to overrule the lower court. That has led to the justice department filing an emergency appeal to the conservative-dominated Supreme Court. It is the first case the president has taken to the justices since he took office last month.
BBC
A glimpse at Picasso and Pollock masterpieces kept in Tehran vault
It has been dubbed one of the world's rarest treasure troves of art but few people outside its host country know about it. For decades, masterpieces by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock have been kept in the basement of a museum in Iran's capital Tehran, shrouded in mystery. Only a small portion of the work has been exhibited since the 1979 Iranian Revolution but in recent years, the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art has been showcasing some of its most captivating pieces. The museum was built in 1977 under the patronage of Pahlavi, the exiled widow of the last Shah of Iran who was overthrown during the revolution. Pahlavi was a passionate art advocate and her cousin, architect Kamran Diba, designed the museum.
BBC
Can Europe conjure a united front on Ukraine's future?
Europe's leaders are scrambling. Their hastily convened security summit in Paris on Monday is proof of that. They are still reeling from not being invited by the US to talks with Russia over the future of Ukraine. US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he could be meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin "very soon". Can Europe, under pressure, put political differences and domestic economic concerns aside, and come up with a united front on security spending and on Ukraine's future, including potentially sending troops there - to force themselves a spot at the negotiating table? Even at the small Paris gathering, it will be hard, if not impossible, to agree concrete defence spending increases. Poland plans to spend 4.47% of its GDP on defence in 2025. The UK is struggling towards, and hasn't yet reached, 2.5% of its GDP. But leaders can pledge to coordinate better, spend more inside Nato and shoulder most of Ukraine's post-war reconstruction. The EU is expected to bolster its defence effort too.
The Guardian
At least 48 people killed in Mali goldmine collapse
At least 48 people have been killed in the collapse of an illegally operated goldmine in western Mali, authorities and local sources have said. “The toll at [6pm] today [Saturday] is 48 dead following the collapse,” said a police source. “Some of the victims fell into the water. Among them was a woman with her baby on her back.” A local official confirmed the cave-in, while the Kenieba goldminers’ association also put the death toll at 48. The search for victims was ongoing, the head of an environmental organisation said. Saturday’s accident took place at an abandoned site formerly operated by a Chinese company, sources told AFP.
Reuters
Japan's GDP beats forecasts as consumption, business spending perk up
TOKYO, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Japan's economy grew faster than expected in the fourth quarter, on improved business spending and a surprise increase in consumption and shoring up the central bank's case for more interest rate hikes. Gross domestic product expanded 2.8% annualised in the October-December quarter, preliminary data showed on Monday, beating a median market estimate of a 1.0% gain in a Reuters poll. The upbeat data helped lift Tokyo's Nikkei stock benchmark (.N225) , opens new tab and the yen . But while the data showed some bright spots for the world's fourth-largest economy, analysts said that the headline figure was flattered partly by a fall in imports, which improved net trade, as well as year-end bonuses. "Details of the results indicate that the economy was not as strong as the headline number suggests," Kazutaka Maeda, an economist at Meiji Yasuda Research Institute, said.
And yet…..
The Guardian
Japan releases 200,000 tonnes of emergency rice stockpile as prices soar
Japan is to flood the market with almost a quarter of a million tonnes of stockpiled rice in an unprecedented attempt to arrest soaring prices caused by record summer heat, panic buying and distribution problems. The government will release up to 210,000 tonnes of rice, the agriculture minister, Taku Eto, said on Friday, as consumers battled a surge in prices of more than 50% in recent months. Speaking shortly before the decision, Eto noted that the government did not normally intervene in the market, but conceded that recent price rises “have had a significant impact on people’s lives. The price hike has been too sharp, which is why we have made this decision.” Japan’s rice stockpiles had already depleted after record-breaking temperatures affected the 2023 crop.
The Guardian
Egypt draws up Gaza reconstruction plan that would exclude Hamas
An alternative to Donald Trump’s plan to turn the Gaza Strip into a US-owned “Riviera of the Middle East” is being prepared by Egypt in conjunction with the World Bank, under which Hamas would be formally excluded from governance and control of the territory’s reconstruction. The process would be handed over on an interim basis to the control of a social or community support committee. No member of Hamas would sit on the committee. But the future military status of Hamas within Gaza is unresolved, which is likely to be a barrier to Israeli endorsement of the plan. Arab states – principally the United Arab Emirates and Qatar – are preparing to make financial offers to fund reconstruction, but on the basis that Palestinians are given the right to remain in Gaza and are not forced to seek temporary or permanent refuge in Egypt or Jordan.
Al Jazeera
Rubio says Hamas ‘must be eradicated’, casting doubt on Gaza ceasefire deal
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has fully endorsed Israel’s war aims in the Gaza Strip, saying Hamas “must be eradicated” and throwing the future of the shaky ceasefire into further doubt. Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in West Jerusalem on Sunday at the start of a regional tour, where he is likely to face pushback from Arab leaders over US President Donald Trump’s proposal to displace the Palestinian population from the Gaza Strip and redevelop it under United States ownership, a plan that human rights organisations have called ethnic cleansing. “The president has also been very bold, not the same tired ideas of the past but something new,” Rubio told reporters. Netanyahu welcomed the plan, also referring to it as “bold”, and said he and Trump have a “common strategy” for Gaza’s future. Echoing Trump, he said “the gates of hell would be open” if Hamas does not release dozens of remaining captives abducted in its October 7, 2023 attack that preceded the war.
Deutsche Welle
Can Arab nations stop Trump's 'Gaza Riviera' plans?
The proposal apparently used by US President Donald Trump to come up with his controversial idea about a "Gaza Riviera" actually sounds appealing. Media reports suggest Trump's idea was based on a 49-page document drawn up by Washington-based economics professor Joseph Pelzman last summer. His plan for Gaza included renewable energy, a light rail system, airports and harbors, digital governance and beachfront hotels. Reconstruction is clearly necessary in Gaza. After over a year of Israeli bombardment — retaliation for the October 7, 2023, attacks by the Gaza-based militant group, Hamas — much of the enclave is in ruins. A fragile ceasefire is in effect. But in order to make his plan happen, Gaza needs to be "completely emptied out," Pelzman said during a podcast last August. The US "can lean on Egypt" to accept refugees from Gaza because the country is in debt to the US, he suggested.
USA Today
At least 10 dead in Southeast as extreme weather sweeps nation; more to come
LOUISVILLE, Ky. − At least 10 people have died this weekend after a powerful storm battered the much of the Southeast, bring strong winds, heavy rains and devastating flooding. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear confirmed that nine people were killed after floodwaters started sweeping across the state. Emergency responders also conducted more than 1,000 rescues, Beshear said. "I am sad to share some more tough news tonight, Kentucky. We just confirmed another weather-related death out of Pike County, bringing our total loss to 9 people," Beshear said on X, formerly Twitter, Sunday night. Beshear initially reported that at least eight people had died during a news briefing Sunday afternoon, noting that he believed the number of the deaths would grow. Almost 100 million Americans were under weather alerts, watches and warnings Sunday as a wall of bitter cold air swept across much of the nation's northern tier while wild storms prompted water rescues and tornado warnings across the South. At least 700,000 homes and businesses were without power by Sunday night from New York to Alabama due to heavy rains and high winds, according to poweroutage.us
NPR
Protests are set to take place on Presidents Day. Here's why
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/16/2304248/-Overnight-News-Digest-February-16-2025?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web
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/
