(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Overnight News Digest September 19. 2024 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-09-19 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. BBC Genetic ghosts suggest Covid’s market origins A team of scientists say it is “beyond reasonable doubt” the Covid pandemic started with infected animals sold at a market, rather than a laboratory leak. They were analysing hundreds of samples collected from Wuhan, China, in January 2020. The results identify a shortlist of animals – including racoon dogs, civets and bamboo rats – as potential sources of the pandemic. Despite even highlighting one market stall as a hotspot of both animals and coronavirus, the study cannot provide definitive proof. The samples were collected by Chinese officials in the early stages of Covid and are one of the most scientifically valuable sources of information on the origins of the pandemic. An early link with the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market was established when patients appeared in hospitals in Wuhan with a mystery pneumonia. The market was closed and teams swabbed locations including stalls, the inside of animal cages and equipment used to strip fur and feathers from slaughtered animals. Kentucky sheriff held over fatal shooting of judge in court A Kentucky sheriff has been arrested after fatally shooting a judge in his chambers, police say. District Judge Kevin Mullins died at the scene after being shot multiple times in the Letcher County Courthouse, Kentucky State Police said. Letcher County Sheriff Shawn Stines, 43, has been charged with one count of first-degree murder. The shooting happened on Thursday after an argument inside the court, police said, but they have not yet revealed a motive. The two entered the judge's chambers, closing the door behind them. Those outside heard gun shots, the newspaper reported. Sheriff Stines reportedly walked out with his hands up and surrendered to police. He was handcuffed in the courthouse foyer. The state attorney general, Russell Coleman, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that his office “will fully investigate and pursue justice”. AP Flood-hit regions in Central Europe will get billions in EU aid WARSAW, Poland (AP) — European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday pledged billions of euros in aid for Central European countries that suffered enormous damage to infrastructure and housing during the massive flooding that has so far claimed 24 lives in the region. Von der Leyen paid a quick visit to a flood-damaged area in southeastern Poland and met with heads of the governments of the affected countries — Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. She said funds will be made available quickly for infrastructure repair from the EU’s solidarity fund, as well as 10 billion euros ($11 billion) from what is called the cohesion fund — for the most urgent repairs. In a special approach, no co-financing will be required from these countries for the money to be released. “Here we say it’s 100% European money, no co-financing,” von der Leyen told a news briefing. “These are extraordinary times, and extraordinary times need extraordinary measures. ” AP A Tunisian presidential candidate sentenced to 20 months vows to campaign from prison TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — One of the candidates challenging Tunisian President Kais Saied in the country’s presidential election next month has been sentenced to prison on fraud charges that his attorney decried as politically motivated. Two weeks after his arrest, a court in the city of Jendouba handed down a 20-month sentence for Ayachi Zammel on Wednesday evening, after convicting him of falsifying the signatures he gathered to file the candidacy papers needed to run for president. Zammel faces more than 20 charges in jurisdictions throughout Tunisia, including four that will be heard on Thursday. The little-known businessman and head of Tunisia’s Azimoun party is one of two candidates challenging Saied in the North African nation’s Oct. 6 election. His attorney Abdessattar Messaoudi said Zammel planned to conduct his campaign from behind bars. The Guardian Former CIA officer sentenced to 30 years for sexually assaulting scores of women A former CIA officer who drugged and sexually assaulted dozens of women was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Wednesday, the Department of Justice announced. Brian Jeffrey Raymond, 48, of La Mesa, California, drugged more than two dozen women and performed nonconsensual sexual acts or made sexual contact with at least 10 women, the justice department said in a press release. Raymond also photographed and recorded videos of victims without their consent while they were drugged or otherwise incapacitated. Raymond had previously worked for the CIA for more than 20 years, the Washington Post reported. Prosecutors said that Raymond, as a CIA employee, would lure women he met on dating apps back to his government-leased apartment, later drugging and assaulting them. The assaults date back to 2006 and took place in multiple countries, including Mexico and Peru. Reuters FCC chair rejects Trump call to pull ABC licenses over presidential debate (Well, duh) WASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The chair of the Federal Communications Commission rejected former U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that Walt Disney-owned (DIS.N) , opens new tab ABC should lose its broadcast licenses over the network's moderating of the Sept. 10 presidential debate. "The First Amendment is a cornerstone of our democracy. The Commission does not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage," FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel said on Thursday. The FCC, an independent federal agency, does not license broadcast networks, but issues them to individual broadcast stations that are renewed for eight-year periods. Trump claimed the debate was "rigged" because the ABC News moderators fact checked several comments he made. "They ought to take away their license for the way they did that," Trump told Fox News. Reuters Putin ally warns West of nuclear war over Ukraine MOSCOW, Sept 19 (Reuters) - A close ally of President Vladimir Putin warned Western governments on Thursday that a nuclear war would ensue if they gave the green light for Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia. Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the lower house of parliament and a member of Putin's Security Council, was responding to a vote in the European Parliament urging EU countries to give such approval to Kyiv. "What the European Parliament is calling for leads to a world war using nuclear weapons," Volodin wrote on Telegram. His message was entitled "For those who didn't get it the first time" - an apparent reference to a warning by Putin last week that the West would be directly fighting Russia if it let Ukraine fire the long-range missiles onto Russian territory. Deutsche Welle EU Parliament recognizes Maduro rival as Venezuela president The European Parliament on Thursday passed a resolution recognizing opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as Venezuela's legitimate president, after incumbent Nicolas Maduro claimed victory in the disputed vote. The vote is non-binding and does not reflect the stance of individual EU member states. The resolution passed with 309 votes in favor and 201 against. "The EU should do its utmost to ensure that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the legitimate and democratically elected president of Venezuela, can take office on January 10, 2025," The European Parliament said.Gonzalez Urrutia's claim has been recognized by the United States, while Spain and other EU member states have limited themselves to refusing to recognize Maduro's win and calling on Caracas to release voting tally sheets. Deutsche Welle Cities start fighting rental crisis triggered by overtourism With the stunning Sagrada Familia basilica, whimsical Parc Guell, and the historic old town, it's no surprise that Barcelona is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. In 2023, 15.6 million holidaymakers visited the Spanishcity. Yet such high tourist numbers have seriously affected the city, as locals struggle to find affordable accommodation because apartments are transformed into vacation rentals. "This is the biggest problem in our city," Mayor Jaume Collboni said at a June press conference. Konstantin Kholodilin, a researcher at the German Institute for Economic Research, studies the impact of vacation rentals on the real estate market. "The more vacation apartments there are, the more rent rises," he said. He says the rise is 2-3% on average, although this varies depending on the location. Vacation rentals have also increased real estate prices, as buyers are interested in investing in properties they can rent to tourists. As a result, major cities around the world are putting restrictions on short-term rentals. New York's tightened rental regulations, which came into force in September 2023, are just as radical as those in Barcelona. USA Today Gun-owner Kamala Harris says 'they're getting shot' if intruder breaks into her house WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday that any intruder who breaks into her home is "getting shot," a comment that seemed to be made in jest during an interview with Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey, while hosting a star-studded livestream town hall with the Democratic nominee, told Harris in an interview that she was surprised to hear during last week's presidential debate with Donald Trump that she is a gun owner. "If somebody breaks into my house, they're getting shot," Harris responded, then broke into a laugh. "Probably should not have said that. My staff will deal with that later." The exchange came during a discussion on gun control. Harris supports strengthening background checks to purchase guns and reinstating a federal assault weapons ban. "Here's my point, Oprah. I'm not trying to take everyone's guns away. I believe in the Second Amendment," Harris said. "These are just common sense," she said of the gun control measures she supports. Washington Post Why parts of the Sahara desert are turning green this month (My daughter was there during the rain) Parts of the Sahara desert are dramatically greener than usual, while the Atlantic hurricane season has been slower than expected. It turns out these two developments are both linked to an unexpected northward shift in storminess across Africa. In North Africa, some of the driest places on Earth have seen five times their average September rainfall. Flooding has affected more than 4 million people in 14 countries, according to the U.N. World Food Program. Heavy rain and floods have killed or displaced thousands and disrupted farming activities in areas where there already isn’t enough food for the population. NASA satellites detect the density of vegetation such as leaves and grass. The Guardian Previously unknown Mozart music discovered in German library [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/9/19/2271626/-Overnight-News-Digest-September-19-2024?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/