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Overnight News Digest Wednesday, March 19, 2025 [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-03-19

The crew of the Overnight News Digest consists of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, jeremybloom, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, doomandgloom, FarWestGirl, Besame, and jck. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Rise above the swamp, 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 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.

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From SciTechDaily:

Food Scientists Have Made Chocolate Healthier – Without Sacrificing Taste

Scientists developed probiotic-enhanced chocolate using natural prebiotics like corn and honey. These synbiotic chocolates had higher antioxidant levels, altered texture, and retained viable probiotics for over 125 days. Orange flavoring improved moisture and protein content. Researchers enjoyed the taste and plan to refine the recipe for added health benefits. ***

Good news on chocolate, bad news on butter, alas.

From SciTechDaily:

This Simple Diet Change Could Extend Your Life – Backed by 30 Years of Research

A large-scale study found that replacing butter with plant-based oils, such as soybean and olive oil, can significantly lower the risk of death from all causes. Researchers linked higher butter intake to a 15% increased risk of mortality, while higher plant-based oil intake was associated with a 16% lower risk. Substituting 10 grams of butter daily with plant-based oil could reduce mortality by 17%. ***

Some good news for coffee and tea drinkers.

From SciTechDaily:

Drinking Coffee Every Day Could Reduce Your Risk of Cancer

Drinking coffee and tea may lower the risk of head and neck cancers, with caffeinated coffee showing the strongest protective effects. However, excessive tea consumption may increase the risk of laryngeal cancer, emphasizing the need for further study. A meta-analysis of previous studies indicates a positive effect, showing a reduced risk of certain cancers among coffee and tea drinkers. A new analysis of data from over a dozen studies suggests that drinking coffee and tea may be associated with a lower risk of developing head and neck cancers, including those affecting the mouth and throat. ***

From Good News Network:

Natural Compound in Grapes and Berries May Aid in Fertility, Resveratrol Study Shows

New research indicates that a natural compound found in the skin of grapes, blueberries and raspberries has the potential to improve female fertility, by improving the quantity and quality of egg cells. The systematic review into resveratrol, which is a polyphenolic compound known for its anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties, is published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), alongside colleagues from Italy, South Korea, and a Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation Trust, examined all previously published research on resveratrol’s effect on female reproductive health. ***

And now for something completely different.

From CNN:

A vast undersea tunnel is being built that will change the road and rail map of Europe

On the shores of the Baltic Sea, in the south of Denmark, a vast engineering marvel is taking shape — piece by giant concrete piece — that, when finished, will drastically redraw the road and rail maps of Europe. The Fehmarnbelt tunnel may not have grabbed the popular imagination in the same way as the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France did more than 30 years ago, but this structure is just as impressive, if not more so. Linking Denmark and Germany, the Fehmarnbelt will carry two-lane road highways under the water in both directions, plus two electrified rail lines — a multiple tube thoroughfare that will plunge beneath the waves of one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. ***

From The Guardian:

France preparing ‘survival manual’ for every household, report says

The French government is reportedly planning to send a “survival manual” to every household in the country with instructions on how to prepare for an “imminent threat” including armed conflict, a health crisis or a natural disaster. If approved by François Bayrou, the prime minister, the 20-page booklet will be sent to households before the summer, French media reported. It will be divided into three parts with advice on how to protect “yourself and those around you”, what to do if a threat is imminent – with a list of emergency numbers, radio channels and a reminder to close doors and windows if the threat is nuclear – and details of how to get involved in defending your community, including signing up for reserve units or firefighting groups. ***

France is taking Russian threats seriously. So is Germany.

From The Guardian:

German MPs approve €500bn spending boost to counter ‘Putin’s war of aggression’

Germany’s parliament has voted in favour of unleashing historic levels of spending to boost the military of Europe’s biggest economy and inject its infrastructure with investments worth hundreds of billions of euros. Incoming conservative chancellor Friedrich Merz along with the Social Democrats (SPD), his likely coalition partners after last month’s election, led the drive for the creation of a €500bn fund and relaxation of its constitutionally protected debt rules. The parties secured the last-minute backing of the Greens, which was needed to push the plans through the outgoing parliament. The package received the backing on Tuesday of 513 MPs, with 207 voting against, and no abstentions. The minimum required was 489 votes. It has been hailed by some as a necessary measure to give Germany the fiscal heft it needs to ensure national and European security, but by others as a “highly risky bet” that will be a burden for generations to come. ***

From Bloomberg:

A New ‘China Shock’ Is Destroying Jobs Around the World

From Indonesia to Mexico, job losses could mount as Trump’s tariffs divert even more Chinese exports from the US. [...] Southeast Asia’s biggest economy lost roughly a quarter-million jobs in the textiles and apparel industry over the last two years, according to the Indonesia Fiber and Filament Yarn Producer Association, which has estimated another half-million are at risk in 2025—effectively wiping out one of four jobs in the sector in a matter of years. That pace is considerably faster than the “China Shock” that claimed as many as 2.4 million US jobs from 1999 to 2011. "This is China Shock 2.0 or China Shock 3.0,” says Gordon Hanson, a professor of urban policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and one of the authors of the research paper that coined the name of the phenomenon. “China has this immense manufacturing capacity, and the goods have to go somewhere.” The lesson from the US experience, he added, is that “there’s a political response to all this. People get mad.” ***

Trump’s tariffs are already hurting millions of people around the world. And it will continue to get worse as his irrational trade wars wreck the world economy.

I am sorry to end this article on a down note. So here are some kitten videos.

Kitten videos. Have a good day and I will be back April 2nd.

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