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Overnight News Digest August 31, 2025 [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-08-31
Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame,and jck,. 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, JeremyBloom, FarWestGirl, 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.
BBC
At least 20 killed and dozens more feared dead in Afghanistan quake
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake has struck eastern Afghanistan at a relatively shallow depth of 8km (6 miles)
Officials tell the BBC that at least 20 people have been killed and more than 100 are being treated at hospitals for injuries
Dozens of houses are "under rubble", say multiple sources from the Taliban government, and it is feared that the death toll could rise
Taliban government officials have urged humanitarian organisations to aid the rescue effort in remote mountainous areas - some are only accessible by air due to landslides and flooding.
The quake has shaken buildings from Kabul to Pakistan's capital Islamabad - which is more than 300km (186 miles) away.
The Guardian
Sixty-nine people drown as migrant boat capsizes off coast of Mauritania
ixty-nine people drowned when a vessel full of migrants overturned off the coast of Mauritania earlier this week, coastguard officials said on Friday. The accident occurred late on Tuesday after passengers on the boat spotted the lights of a coastal town about 50 miles (80km) north of the capital, Nouakchott, prompting the occupants to press to one side of the boat, causing it to capsize, Mohamed Abdallah, the head of the coastguard, told reporters. “When the migrants saw the lights of the Mheijrat, they tried to move to one part of the boat, causing it to capsize,” Abdallah said. The boat is understood to have left the Gambia a week ago, carrying about 160 people, including Senegalese and Gambian nationals. The initial death toll was reported as 49, but a subsequent count by the official raised the number to 69. Seventeen survivors were pulled from the water by one of the coastguard’s patrols.
The Guardian
Doctors find drug that is better than aspirin at preventing heart attacks
Doctors have found a drug that is better than aspirin at preventing heart attacks and strokes, in a discovery that could transform health guidelines worldwide. For decades, millions of people have been advised to take aspirin to reduce their risk of experiencing a serious cardiovascular event. A daily low-dose aspirin makes blood less sticky and helps prevent heart attacks and strokes. But now a new study, presented at the world’s largest heart conference, has found that clopidogrel, a commonly prescribed blood thinner, is more effective – and with no extra risk. The stunning discovery was revealed at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Madrid, with the data behind the findings simultaneously published in the Lancet medical journal. The international team of medics behind the study, from countries including the US, UK, Australia, Switzerland and Japan, said the results showed that clopidogrel was “superior” to aspirin and should lead to “extensive adoption” of the drug in clinical practice worldwide.
NPR
As drug deaths hit a 5-year low, Trump continues to cite fentanyl as major threat
Drug deaths in the U.S. have plunged dramatically and steadily since the summer of 2023, according to the latest preliminary data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Figures released this month by CDC show fatal overdoses falling to 77,648 in the 12-month period ending in March of this year. That's the lowest tally of provisional predicted deaths from fentanyl and other street drugs since at least March 2020. Despite the prolonged decline in overdose deaths, dating back to the middle of the Biden administration, President Donald Trump has continued to base a range of controversial policies — from trade tariffs to tougher criminal penalties — on his claim that fentanyl poses a growing threat to Americans. Last month, Trump signed the "Halt Fentanyl Act," establishing 10-year mandatory minimum prison sentences for people convicted of trafficking fentanyl.
NPR
China's Xi and India's Modi vow to resolve border differences at meeting in Tianjin
TIANJIN, China — Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged on Sunday to resolve their border differences and bolster cooperation, ahead of the opening of a regional summit in Tianjin. Modi is on his first visit to China since relations between the two countries deteriorated after Chinese and Indian soldiers engaged in deadly border clashes in 2020. Modi is visiting as part of India's membership into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional political, economic and security group founded by China. The two sides should "not let the border issue define the overall China-India relationship," Xi said, adding that economic development for both countries should be their main focus.
AP News
Trump wants to axe an affordable housing grant that’s a lifeline for many rural communities
Heather Colley and her two children moved four times over five years as they fled high rents in eastern Tennessee, which, like much of rural America, hasn’t been spared from soaring housing costs. A family gift in 2021 of a small plot of land offered a shot at homeownership, but building a house was beyond reach for the 45-year-old single mother and manicurist making $18.50 an hour. That changed when she qualified for $272,000 from a nonprofit to build a three-bedroom home because of a grant program that has helped make affordable housingpossible in rural areas for decades. She moved in last June. In opposition to Trump, Senate Republicans have still included funding for HOME in their draft budget. In the coming negotiations, both chambers may compromise and reduce but not terminate HOME’s funding, or extend last years’ overall budget. “Maybe they don’t realize how far-reaching these programs are,” said Colley, who voted for Trump in 2024
Al Jazeera
‘Fields of rubble’: Israel, destroying Gaza City, kills 78 across enclave
Israel has stepped up its destruction of Gaza City as it plans to seize Gaza’s largest urban centre and forcibly displace around one million Palestinians to concentration zones in the south, as it killed at least 78 people across the besieged enclave since dawn, including 32 desperately seeking food. On Sunday, in Gaza City, the Palestinian Civil Defence reported a fire in tents near al-Quds Hospital after Israeli shelling. At least five people were killed and three wounded when a residential apartment was hit near the Remal neighbourhood. Ismail al-Thawabta, director of Gaza’s Government Media Office, said the Israeli army is also using “explosive robots” in residential areas and forcibly displacing Palestinians in Gaza City. In a statement on X on Sunday, al-Thawabta said the army has detonated more than 80 such devices in civilian neighbourhoods over the past three weeks, calling it a “scorched-earth policy” that has destroyed homes and endangered lives.
Al Jazeera
Two million impacted as Pakistan’s Punjab faces worst floods in its history
Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province is dealing with the biggest flood in its history, a senior official has said, as water levels of rivers rise to all-time highs. Global warming has worsened monsoon rains this year in Pakistan, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, according to a new study. Downpours and cloudbursts have triggered flash floods and landslides across the mountainous north and northwest in recent months. Residents in eastern Punjab have also experienced abnormal amounts of rain, as well as cross-border flooding after India released water from swollen rivers and its overflowing dams into Pakistan’s low-lying regions. “This is the biggest flood in the history of the Punjab. The flood has affected two million people. It’s the first time that the three rivers — Sutlej, Chenab, and Ravi — have carried such high levels of water,” the senior minister for the province, Marriyum Aurangzeb, told a press conference on Sunday.
Reuters
Ukraine vows to retaliate after Russian attacks on power sector
KYIV, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Russian drone attacks on power facilities in northern and southern Ukraine overnight left nearly 60,000 customers without electricity, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowing to retaliate by ordering more strikes deep inside Russia. Three and a half years into the war , Russia and Ukraine have both intensified airstrikes in recent weeks. Russia has targeted Ukraine's energy and transport systems, while Ukraine has been attacking Russian oil refineries and pipelines. "We will continue our active operations in exactly the way needed for Ukraine's defence. The forces and resources are prepared. New deep strikes have also been planned," Zelenskiy said on X after meeting Ukraine's top general, Oleksandr Syrsky, without giving further details of the plans. Ukraine's largest private energy company, DTEK, said Russian drones had attacked four energy facilities in the Odesa region during the night, and local authorities reported that 29,000 people were left without electricity early on Sunday. Hardest hit was the port city of Chornomorsk, just outside Odesa, where homes and administrative buildings were also damaged, said Oleh Kiper, the governor of the wider Odesa region.
Reuters
Political standoff intensifies over Trump's plans for Chicago crackdown
WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - A political standoff over U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to crack down on crime and illegal immigration in Chicago intensified on Sunday as a top administration official promised to deploy more federal officers and the Democratic governor of Illinois portrayed Trump as a threat to democracy. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CBS News' 'Face the Nation' that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Chicago and other parts of the country would be bolstered, but declined to provide details. Noem said Trump would make any decision to deploy National Guard troops. On the same program, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said Trump wanted to deploy troops so that he could halt or manipulate U.S. midterm elections in 2026. "He'd like to stop the elections in 2026 or, frankly, take control of those elections," Pritzker said. "He'll just claim that there's some problem with an election, and then he's got troops on the ground that can take control."
Deutsche Welle
Flotilla with Greta Thunberg on board sets sail for Gaza
An aid flotilla bound for Gaza with Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg on board set sail from Barcelona on Sunday, organizers said. At least 20 vessels left the port on the Spanish east coast just after 15:30 CEST (13:30 GMT) carrying humanitarian aid and a number of activists, as a large crowd of supporters cheered them on. Hundreds of people are aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, which has pledged to "open a humanitarian corridor and end the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people." The maritime convoy is carrying food, water and medicine. "The question here today is not why we are sailing," Thunberg told reporters. "The story here is about Palestine," she said. "The story here is how people are being deliberately deprived of the very basic means to survive. The story here is how the world can be silent," she added.
USA Today
Trump says he will sign executive order mandating voter ID requirement
President Donald Trump said he will issue an executive order mandating voter identification for every voter, an announcement that follows his move in March requiring proof of citizenship in federal elections and baseless claims of voter fraud to argue the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. "Voter I.D. Must Be Part of Every Single Vote. NO EXCEPTIONS! I Will Be Doing An Executive Order To That End!!!," Trump said on Truth Social on Aug. 30. "Also, No Mail-In Voting, Except For Those That Are Very Ill, And The Far Away Military." Trump has long questioned the U.S. electoral system and continues to falsely claim that his 2020 loss to Democratic President Joe Biden was the result of widespread fraud. The president and his Republican allies have also made baseless claims about widespread voting by non-citizens, which is illegal and rarely occurs.
Washington Post
Border Patrol arrested firefighters as they were battling a wildfire
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