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Overnight News Digest July 29, 2025 [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-07-29
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: Northwestern University lays off 425 amid Trump funding freeze by Janani Jana Northwestern University announced Tuesday that it was laying off 425 staffers as the university faces a $790 million federal funding freeze from the Trump administration. The university said that of the 425 positions, nearly half were currently vacant, and the exact number of layoffs was unclear. “I’m still in shock. I think it won’t settle in until my time officially ends,” one staffer who was laid off told the Sun-Times. The employee didn’t want to be named in order to speak freely. The staffer had worked at the university’s Feinberg School of Medicine for two years. “The rumor mill’s been running for months now, ever since the funding freeze was announced ... so it’s not a complete and total surprise, but it was unexpected for it to happen right now,” the employee said. In an email, university president Michael Schill said the school would reduce its staffing budget by about 5%, which included Tuesday’s layoffs. Schill added that personnel costs make up about 56% of the school’s total annual expenditures. Associated Press: Gunman who killed 4 in NYC building blamed NFL for mental health issues and was targeting its office by Jennifer Peltz, Cedar Attanasio, Dave Collins, John Seewer, Philip Marcelo, Eric Tucker, and Mike Balsamo
A gunman who killed four people inside a Manhattan office tower blamed his mental health problems on the National Football League and intended to target its headquarters but took the wrong elevator, officials said Tuesday. Shane Tamura, a Las Vegas casino security worker, was carrying a handwritten note in his wallet that claimed he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known at CTE, investigators said. He accused the league of hiding the dangers of brain injuries linked to contact sports. Tamura, 27, sprayed the skyscraper’s lobby with bullets then shot another person in a 33rd-floor office on Monday before he killed himself, authorities said. Among the deadwere a police officer, a security guard and two people who worked at companies in the building. An NFL employee was badly wounded but survived. The attacker’s grievances with the NFL emerged as police worked to piece together his background and motivations, and as loved ones began to mourn the dead.
The New York Times: Senate, Rejecting Whistle-Blower Alarms, Confirms Bove to Appeals Court by Devlin Barrett
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Emil Bove III, a Trump loyalist whose short tenure in the top ranks of the Justice Department prompted whistle-blower complaints and a storm of criticism from agency veterans, to a powerful federal appeals court judgeship. Mr. Bove had spurred outcries at the department by directing or overseeing the firing of dozens of employees and ordering the dismissal of bribery charges against Mayor Eric Adams of New York. According to one whistle-blower who went public, Mr. Bove also told government lawyers that they might ignore court orders in pursuit of President Trump’s immigration policy goals. Mr. Bove has denied being anyone’s enforcer or henchman, but his nomination to a lifetime appointment one rung below the Supreme Court provoked an intense battle in the Senate. His approval to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which encompasses Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, came by a tiny margin, 50 to 49, with all Democrats and two Republicans, Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, opposing him.
National Public Radio: In a first, the Senate confirms a new CDC director by Pien Huang
After months weathering staffing cuts and disease outbreaks without an official leader, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finally has a new director. The Senate confirmed Susan Monarez, a health scientist and longtime civil servant, to run the public health agency. She is the first CDC director to be confirmed by the Senate under a law passed in 2023, and the first to serve in the role without a medical degree in more than 70 years. The vote was 51-47, along party lines. Monarez takes over an agency in chaos, according to employees who have spoken to NPR. Thousands of workers have left in recent months and support for many programs has been cut. President Trump has proposed slashing CDC's funding for fiscal year 2026.
CNN: Trump threatens India with tariffs as high as 25% by David Goldman
President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to raise tariffs on Indian imports as high as 25% if the allied nations cannot complete a long-sought trade agreement. “They are going to pay 25%,” Trump said. When asked by a reporter if India would pay tariffs of 20% to 25%, Trump said, “Yeah, I think so. India has been – they’re my friends.” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC Monday that an elusive India trade agreement would require more discussion between the two countries. “They have expressed strong interest in opening portions of their market, we of course are willing to continue talking to them,” Greer said. “But I think we need some more negotiations on that with our Indian friends to see how ambitious they want to be.”
DW: Tsunami warnings after quake strikes off Russia's east coast by Karl Sexton
A powerful earthquake struck off the coast of the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia's Far East on Wednesday morning, triggering tsunami warnings in Japan and the US island of Hawaii. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the magnitude-8.8 tremor struck at a shallow depth of 19.3 km (12 miles). Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a tsunami warning, with waves of up to 3 meters (nearly 10 feet) possible in areas along Japan's east and northeast coast. "A tsunami advisory has been issued as of 08:37 (2337 GMT) on July 30," the JMA said on X, adding that "tsunamis will strike repeatedly. Do not enter the sea or approach the coast until the warning is lifted." "Tsunami waves are approaching the coasts. Evacuate as quickly as possible," the JMA said in a separate update. A tsunami warning has also been issued for the US state of Hawaii. Authorities in Honolulu have called for people to evacuate from coastal areas as it said "destructive" waves were expected.
Guardian: Israeli public figures call for ‘crippling sanctions’ on Israel over Gaza starvation by Peter Beaumont
A group of high-profile Israeli public figures, including academics, artists and public intellectuals, has called for “crippling sanctions” to be imposed by the international community on Israel, amid mounting horror over its starvation of Gaza. The 31 signatories of a letter to the Guardian include an Academy award recipient, Yuval Abraham; a former Israeli attorney general, Michael Ben-Yair; Avraham Burg, a former speaker of Israel’s parliament and former head of the Jewish Agency; and a number of recipients of the prestigious Israel prize, Israel’s highest cultural honour. The figures come from the worlds of poetry, science, journalism and academia, and the letter accuses Israel of “starving the people of Gaza to death and contemplating the forced removal of millions of Palestinians from the strip”. It adds: “The international community must impose crippling sanctions on Israel until it ends this brutal campaign and implements a permanent ceasefire.”
El País in English: The Vatican embraces Catholic influencers: ‘We are the gateway to the faith’ by Sara Castro
Paula Vega went viral in 2023 when she decided to spend her honeymoon with her husband in Rome to visit Pope Francis. They arrived dressed as bride and groom and carried their marriage certificate. “We wanted his blessing. I told him I was a digital missionary, and he told me to give it a go,” she says. This 30-year-old from Málaga, Spain, rediscovered her faith almost a decade ago and now shares religious content on Instagram, where she has more than 56,000 followers. She’s already packing her bags to return to the Vatican. For the first time in history, a Jubilee is being celebrated with 1,000 Catholic influencers from 46 countries in a Holy Year that focuses on the virtual world. “The Church realized that young people aren’t in parishes, although they are on social media. We are the gateway to the faith. We have the best message in the world, but we have to know how to sell it,” she says. The event, which will take place on July 28 and 29, takes place in a context where data shows that society is becoming less religious. The percentage of Catholics in Spain is just over half of the population, although only 18.8% are practicing, according to the latest Centre for Sociological Research survey, conducted in April. Among those aged under 24, the number of believers barely exceeds one-third, and church weddings are less popular, having declined by almost 39% since 2015. Two decades ago, 90.2% of the population considered themselves Catholic. It is a rapid and significant shift. Xiskya Valladares, better known as the “Twitter nun,” is self-critical: “Masses no longer attract young people, not even me. They do have faith, but if they don’t go to parishes, it’s our fault. We must connect with reality and offer the message of Jesus in a renewed language.” She lives in Palma de Mallorca, is 56 years old, and is a nun in the Purity of Mary congregation, a philologist, a doctor in communications, and a digital missionary.
Influencers. They are everywhere!
The “Twitter nun” sounds like a really cool person, though.
Everyone have the best possible evening that you can!
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