(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Overnight News Digest: It's Fall! (at least here, tonight) [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-09-06 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. Images of the day from The Guardian and, from the same source, wildlife photos of the week. From the South China Morning Post: Japan company wows social media with cat ‘staff’ – office clerk, auditor, even ‘chaircat’ Company boss says cats improve morale and team bonding, force staff to take necessary breaks While having a cat in the office is no longer a novelty, hosting nearly a dozen certainly is. After adopting its first cat, Futaba, from a sushi restaurant in 2004, Qnote, a Japanese tech company, simply could not resist “hiring” more felines. Another Japan story, this one from the Asahi Shimbun: Capsule hotel in Tokyo collecting data on guests to improve sleep By KENRO KURODA A capsule hotel in Tokyo is collecting and analyzing heart rates, breathing frequencies and other data of guests to improve the quality of sleep. Information technology provider NTT Data Japan Corp. opened the Sleep Lab hotel on Aug. 9 in front of Shinagawa Station in the capital. One more Japan story, this one from the AP: Prince Hisahito becomes the first royal male in Japan to reach adulthood in 4 decades. By MARI YAMAGUCHI TOKYO (AP) — In a big milestone for Japan’s royal family, Prince Hisahito turned 18 on Friday, becoming the first male royal family member to reach adulthood in almost four decades. It is a significant development for a family that has ruled for more than a millennium but faces the same existential problems as the rest of the nation — a fast-aging, shrinking population. Hisahito, who is set to become the emperor one day, is the nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito. His father, Crown Prince Akishino, was the last male to reach adulthood in the family, in 1985. From Deutsche Welle (DW), link is to a video: Taiwan's paper gifts for the dead Claudio Sieber in Taipei 13 hours ago The practice of burning items as a sacrifice honouring the dead dates back thousands of years. Now 3D design and other technologies are making it even easier to "sacrifice" a deceased person's car, home or furniture. From The Guardian: ‘Weather magic’ and wind lore: the push to preserve ancient knowledge in Vanuatu ‘Talking dictionaries’ among the tools used by researchers to document languages and record Indigenous environmental knowledge Jon Letman Joe Natuman watches for falling leaves and new shoots on trees as a sign it’s time to garden. Then, when a southern wind begins to blow in his small village in Vanuatu’s Tafea province, he is the first to plant yams. Soon, others will follow his lead. Like his forefathers, Natuman is a tupunus, meaning he was born into a lineage that is trained to develop an understanding of how natural forces impact agriculture and wellbeing. As a tupunus, Natuman is respected for his knowledge and ability to identify and use hundreds of plant species and special inherited stones to practise “weather magic”. He also senses winds and uses weather to help his community. Another video, from DW: Seatrac revolutionizes beach accessibility for the disabled Andrea Kasiske 14 hours ago A Greek innovation ensures greater inclusion for beachgoers with limited mobility. Seatrac is a track mechanism that enables them to reach the sea without assistance. More of the serious news below the fold. From Deutsche Welle: Summer 2024 was Northern Hemisphere's hottest on record 20 hours ago After shattering records in 2023, the globe is well on its way to make 2024 the hottest year ever seen, scientists at the EU climate agency warn. northern summer of 2024 saw the highest global temperatures , beating last year's record and making 2024 likely to be Earth's hottest year yet, according to EU's climate monitor Copernicus. Thesaw the highest global temperatures ever recorded , beating last year's record and making 2024 likely to be Earth's hottest year yet, according to EU's climate monitor Copernicus. The global average temperature between June and August was 16.8 degrees Celsius (62.24 degrees Fahrenheit). That's 0.69 degrees Celsius above the 1991 to 2020 average, Copernicus said in a report. 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